Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The online economy has not only transformed business worldwide, it has also created growing challenges and opportunities for businesses offering medical services.

Online Challenges For The Medical & Health Profession

Now, more than ever, health or medical businesses must find smarter ways to remain competitive and generate new clientele. Not only do you have to actively participate in the community you serve, you must also develop a strong presence online. This includes having an effective website and learning better ways to market your medical or health services online.

In addition to investing dollars in offline marketing, businesses in the medical-related industry are also finding that increasingly larger amounts of their budget need to be delegated towards developing and maintaining a website that will attract leads, engage visitors, outrank the competition in search engines and help to increase their presence online.

This means that your website not only has to look great, load fast, and be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, the needs of your website will change over time and sections may need to be updated frequently. This requires the implementation of a well-developed web and content management strategy.

One other difficult challenge that medical or health-related organizations face with their websites (as most other professions do for that matter), is that your site has around thirty seconds or less to provide visitors what they are searching for or they will go elsewhere to find what they need.

“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 Web Economy

As well as facing significant business and technology changes, there are also loads of online opportunities available for medical-related practices that can evolve to meet the demands of the online economy and who can think progressively about improving their online marketing skills.

In this detailed guide, you will learn ways and opportunities to source new potential clients and see significant improvements in your online results.

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your health or medical-related business online, we also focus on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system to power your health business website or blog.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress, see these articles:

• Discover How A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Cost You Money
• How To Grow Your Business Using A WordPress Site

Practical Tips To Improve Your Health Center Website

Let’s start by covering the basics. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your website and get better results. We will look at what pages your site needs, what type of content works best, tips for improving layout and navigation, etc.

If you need assistance or help planning your medical website, read this detailed guide we have written: The Website Planning Process - A Practical Blueprint For Business Owners

Basic Web Pages

Professional websites need a number of essential web pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  should have and how to set up your website for best results.

Products And Services

It’s essential to include a page that lists your products or services. Depending on which area of health or medical services you specialize in, this page can list services such as:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. anaesthetics, orthopedics hematology, reconstructive surgery, neurology, renal, weight loss surgery, optometry surgical outpatients, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, holistic dentistry, cleaning services, restorations, braces, emergency dentistry, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac patient rehabilitation, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal & Neonatal – e.g. birth suites, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screens, skin cancer, audiology, gynaecology, MRI scanning, food allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology – laboratory testing and analysis, routine pathology testing, clinical trials, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling services – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, trauma counselling, diet and nutrition counselling, social work services
• Alternative therapies – Chinese medicine, homeopathy, holistic medicine, massage therapy, osteopathy, hypnosis, etc.
• Other medical services – weight management, sports medicine, reproductive endocrinology, speech language therapy, medical genetics, artificial limbs, mobility, home care, community health, medical transport, etc.

List all of the services you provide. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using your services and direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

About Us

This page needs to describe your business and what your business stands for, its unique approach, community events, etc.

Remember to also include any awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, publications, associations, etc., that you can use to promote your services and set yourself above similar service providers.

(List all of your professional awards recognitions, accreditations, certifications, publications, associations, etc. in your About page. Screenshot image sourced from: squaremedical.com.au)

Your Team

If you are looking for ways to grow your business online, then something you can do, is help your visitors get to know you, your team and your organization better.

You want your business to be relatable. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team members. It should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be that well-versed in health or medical terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what they specialize in. It should also explain what those specialized areas mean. It should include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow selected team members on their social networks.

On this page, don’t be afraid to show the human side of your team members with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to highlight your team member’s expertise and qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

(Add a page that introduces your team to prospective new clients. Screenshot source: southperthchiro.com.au)

To learn more about how to easily add an easy-to-update list directory of staff members in a WordPress site using free WordPress plugins, see this tutorial: How To Add A Simple Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site

We’re Hiring

List any job opportunities within the business. It should include training provided, employee benefits, professional development, etc. You can include information such as the job outlook and new career opportunities in the health or medical-related industry.

Also include a positions available section in this page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, subscribe to your newsletter, follow you on social media, etc.

Case Studies And Testimonials

Reviews from clients and case studies are a great way to attract prospective clients and showcase what type of services you offer. By adding a page with case studies and testimonials from past clients, you will also help to provide social proof for your business.

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

We have written extensively about using case studies, testimonials and reviews here: How To Turn More Visitors Into Qualified Prospects Using Powerful User Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a functional contact page is vitally important.

It should include some or all of the following information:

• Name Of Your Business
• Location
• Phone
• Facsimile number
• Email
• Map and directions
• Website URL
• Contact form
• Name of person to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Online chat feature (optional)

If you operate in several locations you want to make that clear when displaying your address and contact info.

You should also include a few links point to the most commonly asked questions page, frequently-visited pages, booking request, support area, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Health Or Medical-Related Blog

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many blogging platforms are built around a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business using content such as news, updates, useful articles, opinions and discussions, videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an established health-related website, then consider adding a WordPress blog to market your organization.

If you don’t have a website yet, or if your existing health or medical-related site is very hard to keep updated with new content or not delivering you the results you want, then WordPress can act both as your website and business blog.

You may not have been told about this, but an expertly configured WordPress site can become an automated traffic-generation machine that will begin to deliver web traffic to your web site, simply by adding new content to your website on a regular basis.

(WordPress can automate your traffic generation)

For more info, see this article:

• Web Traffic Blueprint – A Complete Guide To Growing Your Web Visitors Automatically

Legal Pages

It’s very important for medical practitioners businesses to have a compliant website. This is not only important for establishing credibility with visitors, but also to ensure that no local, regional or federal laws and regulations are being broken wherever you practice.

Depending on the products and services you provide, adding some or all of the legal pages below to your health or medical site will help keep you out of trouble with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers (e.g. Facebook), and other potential sources of legal threats and inconveniences:

• Contact Us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• and others

We have written a comprehensive article about adding legal pages to your website. Go here to learn more about this: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

How To Improve The Content On Your Website

In today’s globally competitive economy, the sooner you begin to engage in the practice of content marketing, the quicker you will begin to see results and differentiate yourself from the competition.

By providing useful content with tips and information, you will get your visitors sharing your web pages with others online and coming back for more. This is the most effective way to inform and educate site visitors and prospective clients about your services.

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

• How does fiber help you lose weight?
• Easy portion control habits (smaller plate, don’t put food on the table, more vegetables)
• Tips for developing an exercise regimen you can enjoy and will stick with
• How to modify recipes for healthier results (e.g. substituting sugars, fats, etc.)
• And endless other content topics

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your readers understand your services, by explaining benefits, procedures, terminology, etc.

Use the same keywords in your content that prospective clients will search for online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive regular training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will show exactly how to drive more traffic to your website or blog, save money creating high-quality content for your visitors and grow your business online using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Using RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds provide many benefits for your business.

If you provide valuable information, other businesses will want to syndicate your content to their visitors.

Some of the benefits of having other businesses syndicate your content, include:

• All of your updates are in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Can be shared online
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• An RSS feed provides links to your content
• Your feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• There are a number of ways readers can receive your content (e.g. users can view the content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• RSS is built into WordPress

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

To find useful RSS feeds for your website, visit sites of relevant government departments and key industry bodies.

Below we have listed examples of RSS feeds containing useful information that you could add to your site:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Blog feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SelectedHhsBlogPosts, etc. You can also choose specific feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breastfeeding, Environmental health, Heart health and stroke, Minority women’s health, Screening tests and vaccines, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a list of feeds from well-known medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. Haematologica, Nutrition Journal, Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery, BMJ Journal of Clinical Pathology, The New England Journal of Medicine, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Get many RSS feeds on health-related news here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• US Food And Drug Administration (FDA) – Find FDA-related RSS feeds (e.g. enforcement reports, MedWatch safety alerts (human medical products), product recalls, animal and veterinary news, 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. NSW – http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pages/rss.aspx
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention - Find many RSS feeds on health-related topics and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News: You can search medical news feeds by going to publications like the NYTimes RSS feeds section (e.g. Health news: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Health.xml)
• MedicineNet.com – Daily Health and Medical News: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/dailyhealth.xml. You can also select specific feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Medications, Men’s health, Neurology, Pediatrics / Healthy Kids, Eyesight, Women’s Health, etc.)
• Medical News Today – Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• Medical News Today – You can also choose individual feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Cystic Fibrosis, Pharmacy/Pharmacist, Radiology/Nuclear Medicine, Emergency Medicine, COPD, Epilepsy, Personal Monitoring/Wearable Technology, etc.)

You can also search online for general RSS feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific subjects, e.g. “eczema rss feeds”, “emergency medicine rss feeds”, “ultrasound rss feeds”, etc.

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

Adding Downloadable Forms

Adding checklists and educational charts to your site is a great way to increase user engagement and add value to your audience. Forms and checklists can provide visitors with useful step-by-step instructions and resources to complete tasks. Checklists and charts can also be great instructional tools.

You can provide a range of forms and checklists (or links to these) covering subjects such as:

• Checklists and forms for booking appointments
• Checklists for post-surgery recovery
• Health checklists and charts for specific medical conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, oral maintenance program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Weight loss and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. caloric level of different foods, sleep requirements at different stages of development, etc.)

Add Online Tools

Providing unique tools and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your visitors. Calculators are great tools you can add to your website. Others could include things like nutritional tools, and even recipes.

In part 2 of this detailed article, we take a look at a several WordPress-based tools you can use in your website that can also help to improve your search engine optimization, improve user engagement and drive more traffic to your business.

***

This is the end of part one.

To continue, click here:

• How To Grow Your Health Clinic Website Successfully With WordPress – Part 2

***

***