Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

Health or medical professionals today face increasing challenges.

Challenges Health Professionals Face Online

Today, more than ever, businesses in the medical industry must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to become actively involved in the community your business serves, you must also maintain a strong digital presence. This includes having a dynamic website and learning how to better market your medical services online.

In addition to spending dollars in offline marketing, businesses in the health or medical industry are now finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget need to be assigned to develop and manage a website that can attract new clients, engage users, outrank the competition in search engines and help to increase their marketing reach online.

This means that your website not only has to look professional, your pages have to load fast, and your site layout has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs may change over time and sections will need to be updated frequently. This requires a well-developed website and content management strategy.

One other problem that health professionals face online (as do other professions for that matter), is that you have an average of thirty seconds to provide users what they are looking for or they will look elsewhere.

“Websites have evolved into central information hubs where service information is still present but enhanced with web portals, hyperlinks to state and federal sites, and a variety of free tools.”

Michael Alter, http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/tips-for-improving-your-website

Opportunities For Medical Businesses In The Digital Economy

As well as facing many new business and technology changes, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for businesses in the medical profession that can evolve to meet the demands of the digital economy and think progressively when it comes to marketing their business services better online.

In this guide, you will discover new ways and opportunities to attract and engage new visitors and establish stronger online credibility for your business.

As well as providing tips and information on ways to improve your web presence, we also recommend that you consider using WordPress to power your health or medical-related business website or blog.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress, see these articles:

• How A Poorly Built Website Can Cost You Business And What To Do About It
• Everything You Need To Know About Growing Your Small Business Using WordPress

Practical Tips For Improving Your Website

This section will show you how to improve your health-related website and get better results online. We show you what web pages you need, what content works best, navigation structure, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your health-related website, go here: A Practical Guide To Website Planning For Business Owners

Improve Your Web Pages

All websites need some essential web pages. Let’s discuss the pages your  should have and how to set up your website for best results.

Services And Products

You need a page that explains your products or services. Depending on which area of health you specialize in, your page could list services such as:

• Medical And Surgical – e.g. anaesthetics, pulmonology endocrinology, cosmetic surgery, incontinence, rheumatology, urology, optometry palliative care, etc.
• Dentistry – e.g. general dentistry, holistic dentistry, oral hygiene, restorations, orthodontics, emergency dental, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac patient rehabilitation, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal & Neonatal – e.g. obstetrics, maternity services, etc.
• Child Health – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic – breast screening, lung screening, radiology and imaging, gynaecology, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology services – lab testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, insurance and corporate testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health services, alcohol, tobacco & other drug counselling, domestic abuse, diet and nutrition counselling, social work services
• Alternative treatments – acupuncture, aromatherapy, holistic medicine, massage therapy, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services – weight management, chiropody, reproductive services, rehabilitation, neurosciences, artificial limbs, mobility, home and community care, community health, medical supplies, etc.

List all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using your services and direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

Who We Are

This page should give a description of your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropy, etc.

It’s important to also mention any medical-related awards, recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc., that could be used to promote your practice and to position yourself above the competition.

(List all of your business awards accreditations, certifications, recognitions, associations, publications, etc. in the About page. Image source: squaremedical.com.au)

Core Team

Are you looking for simple ideas to sell more products or services online? Then make it easier for your prospects to get to know you and your business better.

People need to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your people. This page should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors are probably not very well-versed in medical terms it should tell who they are and what they specialize in. You may also want to explain what those specialties mean. This page can also include social buttons so your site visitors can follow your team members on their social networks.

In this page, make sure to outline each employee’s experience, why they are an asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a page that introduces your employees to prospective new clients. Image source: southperthchiro.com.au)

We have written a detailed tutorial on how to create and add an easy-to-maintain simple team members directory to your WordPress site using a free WP plugin here: Tutorial: Adding An Employee List Directory In WordPress

Work For Us

This is a listing of job opportunities within the clinic. It should include type of training provided, benefits, professional development, etc. You can include information such as the job outlook and additional career opportunities in the medical industry.

Include also a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, subscribe to your contact list, follow you on social media, etc.

Case Studies

Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to attract potential clients and showcase the services you offer. By adding a page with client reviews and case studies, you are also helping to establish social proof for your business.

(Add a page to your site with case studies and client reviews. Screenshot image source: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have written a detailed article on using testimonials and reviews to grow your business online. Go here to learn more: How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Lead Conversions Using More Effective Testimonials

Contact Us Page

Having a contact page is absolutely vital.

It should include the following information:

• Company Name
• Physical address
• Phone number
• Fax
• Email
• Google Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media profiles
• Interactive chat feature (optional)

If you operate in different locations you will want to make that clear when showing your address and contact info.

Consider also including a few links point to the most commonly asked questions page, frequently-visited pages, booking request, helpdesk, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Medical Or Health Blog Section

A blog is a powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs typically comprise of a content management system that is simple to use and allows you to promote your business by publishing content like news and announcements, updates, educational articles, discussions on current topics, how-to videos, media presentations, etc.

If you already have an established health site, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to promote your medical services.

If you don’t have a website yet, or if your existing website is very hard to add new content to or not delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can be used both as your website and blog.

Something not many people know about, is that an expertly configured WordPress site can turn into an automated traffic system that will begin attracting web traffic to your website, simply by adding content on a consistent basis to your website.

(WordPress can generate web traffic automatically to your website)

Go here to learn more about this:

• Web Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Driving More Web Visitors Automatically

Legal Info Pages

As a professional business, ensuring that you have a website that complies will all legal requirements online is vitally important. This is not only important for establishing credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not breaching any local, regional and federal laws or regulations wherever you provide services.

Adding the legal pages below to your health-related website will help you stay out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:

• Contact Us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a detailed article about adding legal pages to your website. Go here to learn more about this: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your Website

Tips For Improving The Content On Your Site

In today’s globally competitive economy, having a well-planned content marketing strategy has become one of the key differentiators for businesses selling similar products or services.

You want to provide great content with useful information, advice or tips that will get your visitors sharing it with others and coming back for more content. This is the most effective way to inform and educate site visitors and prospects about your services.

For example, if you provide weight loss services, then some of the areas you could cover as content on your site:

• What’s the difference between being overweight and obese?
• How to identify the bad habits that need to be corrected to ensure sustainable weight loss
• Comparing different diets, e.g. Low carb diet, South Beach diet, Nutrisystem diet (what these are, how they can benefit you, are they effective)
• Useful apps for tracking calories and exercise
• Etc.

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your your readers understand your medical-related services, by explaining benefits, procedures, costs (including payment plans, insurance coverage, etc).

Include keywords in your content that prospective clients will be searching to find you online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with easy-to-digest information and practical tips that will teach exactly how to drive more traffic to your site, save money creating useful content that will add value to your site visitors and grow your presence online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Ways To Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

Improving user experience (known as UX) helps you keep visitors coming back and engaging with your site. This section will show you different ways to improve visitor engagement and UX.

Using RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds provide plenty of benefits for your health-related business.

If you provide information that adds value to others, other businesses may want to syndicate your content.

Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other sites using RSS feeds, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared online
• Feeds allow users to subscribe
• A feed provides links back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• There are multiple ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. users can read your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• It’s built into WordPress

There are also benefits to adding syndicated content to your site from other sites, such as the fact that you don’t have to write, manage or update the content.

You can find RSS feeds with useful content for your website by searching online for relevant government departments or key industry bodies.

For example, here are examples of feeds you could add to your website:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Latest news feed: http://www.hhs.gov/rss/news/hhsnews.xml, etc. You can search by departments and select individual feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breastfeeding, Health care for women, Heart health and stroke, Mental health, Violence against women, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a directory of feeds from various medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. BMJ Disease in Childhood – Education and Practice, Journal of Biological Chemistry, BMJ Sexually Transmitted Infections, jobs.ac.uk health and medical jobs, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Find various health-related RSS feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• FDA – Find RSS feeds on fda-related news like FDA drug safety, food allergy reports, pet health, radiological health, etc. and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• UK Department Of Health (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health) – Latest news: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-health.atom
• The Department Of Health (Australian Government): http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/xml/rssLatestNews.xml
• Department Of Public Health (Australia – State Level): e.g. Victoria – http://www.health.vic.gov.au/rss/newsfeed.xml
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (www.cdc.gov) - Find various health-related RSS feeds and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News Feeds: You can search medical news RSS feeds in places like the NYTimes RSS feeds section (e.g. Health news: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Health.xml)
• MedicineNet – Weekly Health and Medical News Digest: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/weeklyhealth.xml. You can also choose specific RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, Mental Health, Nutrition, Food, & Recipes, Pregnancy, Sexual Health, Women’s Health, etc.)
• MedicalNewsToday.com – Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also select specific RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Stem Cell Research, Multiple Sclerosis, Melanoma/Skin Cancer, Veterinary, COPD, Dyslexia, Obesity/Weight Loss/Fitness, etc.)

You can also just search online for general RSS feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific areas, e.g. “homecare rss feeds”, “hearing rss feeds”, “huntingtons disease rss feeds”, etc.

(RSS feeds can help to improve your health or medical-related site’s user experience.)

Provide Online Charts & Checklists

Adding checklists and educational charts to your site is a fantastic way to help increase user engagement, add value to your readers and provide something unique. Checklists and medical forms can provide step-by-step information and resources to get necessary steps performed. Forms and checklists are also great instructional tools.

You can provide checklists, charts and forms covering a range of areas such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for pre or post surgery
• Health checklists for specific systems
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, oral maintenance program, general dentistry, etc.
• Weight loss and exercise program checklists and charts
• General charts & infographics (e.g. sugar content in different foods, the importance of sleep at different ages, etc.)

Other Tools

Providing useful online tools, gadgets and applications on your site can help increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Health-related calculators, for example, are useful tools to add to your website. Others can include things like diagnostic tools, and even recipes.

In part 2, we will be discussing a several WordPress-based tools you can add to your site that can also help improve search engine optimization, improve user engagement and generate more traffic to your business.

***

This is the end of section one of this guide on ways to improve your health-related business web presence.

To continue, click here:

• A Complete Step-By-Step Guide To Growing Your Health Clinic Business Online – Part 2

***

***