Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The digital business age has not only transformed businesses worldwide, it has also created increasingly difficult challenges and great opportunities for medical and health services providers.

Challenges Medical & Health Professionals Face Online

Now, more than ever, businesses in the health and medical industry must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the community your business serves, you must also maintain an active presence online. This includes having a website and learning how to better promote your business online.

In addition to investing dollars advertising offline, businesses in the health or medical-related industry are also finding that they need to designate a larger part of their marketing budget to developing and maintaining a website that brings in prospects, engages visitors, outranks the competition in search engines and social media, and helps to give their business a wider marketing reach online.

This means that your website not only has to look professional, your pages have to be fast-loading, and your site layout has to be easy to navigate, but even more importantly, your site’s needs will change in time and many areas will need to be updated often. This requires the implementation of a well-planned website and content management strategy.

Another challenge that health organizations face (as all other professions do for that matter), is that your site has only about thirty seconds to help visitors find what they need or they will find what they are looking for 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 The Medical And Health Profession In The Online Economy

As well as facing many business and technology changes, there are also many online opportunities available to businesses in the medical or health industry that are willing to adapt to meet digital economy challenges and who can think strategically about marketing their business better online.

This detailed guide will help you uncover new ways to find more client bookings and build more online credibility for your business.

As well as providing practical tips and information on ways to improve your health-related web presence, we also focus on the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress Content Management System to power your health or medical-related business website.

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress CMS platform, go here:

• Discover Why A Poorly Built Website Can Lose You Money
• The Business Owner’s Guide To Using WordPress

Tips To Improve Your Medical Site

Let’s start by going over the basic information you need. In this section, we’ll look at how to improve your website and get better results online. We will look at what web pages you need, what content you need, layout and navigation, etc.

If you need any help with website planning, visit this page: The Website Planning Process Explained - A Comprehensive Blueprint For Business Owners

Your Website Pages

Professional websites need a number of basic pages. Let’s go over the pages your  should have and how to structure your website for best results.

Your Services And Products

It’s essential to include a page that explains your services and any products that you offer. Depending on which area you specialize in, this page can list services like:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. acute pain management, orthopedics blood disorders, cosmetic surgery, rehabilitation medicine, renal, urology, optometry day surgery, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, holistic dentistry, gum disease, veneers, crowns and bridges, implants, emergency dentistry, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac monitoring, coronary care
• Prenatal/Neonatal – e.g. birth suites, maternity services, etc.
• Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – mammography, skin cancer, oral health, gynaecology, magnetic resonance imaging, food allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology – laboratory testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, occupational and environmental testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health services, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, marriage counselling, wellness coaching, social development services
• Alternative treatments – Chinese medicine, reflexology, natural therapy, tai chi, chiropractic services, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – diet and nutrition, othopedics, reproductive services, rehabilitation, neurosciences, prosthetics, assisted living, home and community care, clinical information, medical supplies, etc.

Make sure to 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

The ‘About Us’ page needs to describe your business and explain to visitors what your business stands for, its unique approach, philanthropic activities, etc.

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

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

Staff Page

If you are looking for inexpensive ways to grow your business online or increase user interaction with your site, then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for visitors to get to know your business better.

You want prospects to relate to your business. One great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team. This page should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be familiar with health terms it should tell who they are and what they specialize in. You may also want to explain what those specialized areas do. It can include social buttons so your visitors can follow selected team members on their social pages.

On this page, make sure to outline each staff member’s expertise, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

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

We have created a detailed tutorial about how to create and add an updatable list of employees to your site here: Adding An Employee List Directory To Your WordPress Site: Step-By-Step Tutorial

We’re Hiring

List any career opportunities within your clinic. This page can include type of training provided, employee benefits, advancement opportunities, social activities sponsored by your organization, etc. You should also include information such as the job outlook and new career opportunities in the medical or health-related industry.

Also include a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to the page, join your updates list, follow your social pages, etc.

Case Studies & Testimonials

Testimonials from past clients and case studies are a great way to attract prospective clients and showcase the services you offer. Adding a page with testimonials and case studies also helps your medical-related business to provide social proof online.

(Add a web page with testimonials from past clients and case studies. Image source: arrowsmiledental.com)

If you want to learn more using client testimonials and client reviews get better results online, go here: Create Better Results Online Using Highly Effective User Testimonials

Contact Us Page

A contact page is essential.

Your contact page should include the following:

• Company Name
• Your physical location
• Phone
• Facsimile
• Contact email
• Map and directions
• Website address
• Contact form
• Contact name
• Links to social media pages
• Online chat (optional)

If you operate in multiple areas you want to make this clear when showing the address and contact info.

Consider also including a few links point to the most commonly asked questions page, main pages, online booking form, support area, newsletter, blog, etc.

Add A Blog Section

A blog can be a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs are built around a content management system that is simple to use and allows you to easily promote your business by publishing timely content like the latest news, product releases, training articles and tutorials, opinions and discussions, videos, webinars, etc.

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

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

Not many people know this, but WordPress can turn into an automated traffic machine that will help begin driving a stream of web traffic to your business, simply by adding new content to your website on a regular basis.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can drive new visitors automatically to your site)

Go here to learn more:

• WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint – How To Turn Your WordPress Web Site Into An Automated Traffic Generation Machine

Legal Information Pages

Having a compliant website is essential. This is not only important for building trust with visitors, but also to ensure that you are not breaking laws and regulations in whatever region you service.

Adding some or all of the following legal pages to your website will help you stay out of legal hot water with most regulatory authorities, third-party service providers, and other potential sources of threats and legal inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms And Conditions 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
• and others

We have written a comprehensive article about adding legal pages to your website here: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site

Ways To Improve The Content On Your Site

In today’s globally competitive economy, being generous with content that educates and informs readers has become one of the key success differentiators for businesses.

You will want to provide great content with useful information, advice or tips that will get your readers sharing your web pages online with others and coming back for more. Using content is the most effective way to inform and teach site visitors and prospective clients about your business and services.

For example, if you provide services that help people manage their weight, then some of the topics you could cover in your content include:

• Nutrients your body needs on a daily basis (protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals)
• How to identify the bad habits that need to be corrected to ensure lifetime weight loss
• Is hypnosis and effective weight loss treatment?
• How to modify recipes for healthier results (e.g. replacing sugars, fats, etc.)
• And endless other content topics

You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your your prospective clients gain a better understanding of your health or medical-related services, by explaining benefits, procedures, terminology, etc.

Remember to use the same keywords in your content that your readers would search for online.

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

Improve Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Syndicate Content With RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in several ways.

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

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

• All of your content updates are in one place
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Your feeds can be shared
• Users can subscribe to your RSS feed
• It provides a way for external links to point back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• There are a number of ways readers can receive your content (e.g. read your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• RSS is built into WordPress

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

To find useful RSS feeds just search online for health-related government departments or respected industry bodies.

For example, here are some examples of feeds containing useful information that you could consider adding 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 specific RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breast cancer, Healthy aging, Illnesses and disabilities, Menopause, Smoking and how to quit, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a list of feeds from leading medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. BMJ Quality and Safety in Health Care, JAMA & Archives, BMJ Sexually Transmitted Infections, Medscape, Molecular Biology and Evolution, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Find various RSS feeds on health-related news and topics here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• FDA – Find FDA-related RSS feeds (e.g. enforcement reports, food safety, recalls, vaccines, blood and biologics, etc.) and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• Department of Health UK (www.gov.uk) – 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 - Find many feeds on health-related news and topics and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News: You can search medical news feeds in major news publications like the NYTimes feeds section (e.g. Research: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Research.xml)
• MedicineNet.com – Daily Health and Medical News: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/dailyhealth.xml. You can also select specific RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Medications, Mental Health, Cholesterol, Diabetes, Eyesight, Travel Health, etc.)
• Medical News Today – Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also choose individual RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Gout, Headache/Migraine, Compliance, Hearing/Deafness, Parkinson’s Disease, Respiratory/Asthma, Obesity/Weight Loss/Fitness, etc.)

You can also search online for general RSS feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific topics, e.g. “infectious diseases rss feeds”, “preventive medicine rss feeds”, “erectile dysfunction rss feeds”, etc.

(RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your medical-related site’s UX.)

Add Checklists

Checklists and charts are a fantastic way to help increase visitor engagement, add value to your visitors and provide something unique. Forms and checklists can give them step-by-step information and resources to get necessary tasks performed. Checklists and charts are also great client instructional tools.

Forms, charts and checklists can include areas such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for pre or post surgery
• Health checklists and charts for specific medical conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, oral hygiene program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Weight loss and exercise program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. acidity level of different foods, sleep requirements at different ages, etc.)

Adding Unique Tools

Providing unique tools and applications on your website is a great way to increase visitor engagement and add significant value to your visitors. Health-related calculators are popular tools for your website. Other tools would include things like nutritional tools, or even recipes.

In part 2, we will be discussing a several online tools you can add to your website using WordPress plugins that can improve search engine optimization, increase user engagement and generate more traffic to your business.

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This is the end of part 1.

To continue, click this link:

• Grow Your Medical & Health Services Website – How To Improve Search Engine Optimization, Increase User Engagement And Generate More Visitors To Your Website Using Plugins & Themes

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