Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress
Health professionals face many challenges in the web economy, especially when it comes to growing a successful business online.
Challenges Medical Providers Face Online
Now, more than ever, businesses in the health industry must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the community you serve, you must also develop and maintain a strong digital presence. This includes having an effective website and learning how to better market your practice online.
As well as investing dollars marketing offline, you will probably find that in order to compete, you will need to delegate a more significant part of your marketing budget to develop and manage a website that drives prospective clients, engages users, outranks the competition in search engines and social media, and helps you gain a wider degree of marketing exposure online.
This means that your site not only has to look great, your pages have to 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 frequently updated. This requires the implementation of a well-developed website and content management strategy.
One other difficult challenge that health services providers face with their websites, as most professions do for that matter, is that your site has only about thirty seconds or less to help visitors find what they are looking for or they will go 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 And Health Services Professionals
As well as facing many challenges, there are also plenty of online opportunities available for businesses in the medical profession that can evolve to meet the demands of the online economy and think progressively when it comes to marketing their services better online.
In this comprehensive guide, you will learn about opportunities to increase traffic and establish online credibility for your business.
As well as providing general website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress Content Management System (CMS) to power your health-related website or blog.
For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress platform, see the articles below:
Useful Tips For Improving Your Website
Let’s start by going over some basic stuff. In this section, we’ll look at ways to improve your health website and get better results online. We will look at what pages you need, what content works best for health or medical-related websites, useful tips for improving layout and navigation, etc.
If you need specific help with website planning, see this article we have written: The Website Planning Process: A Basic Guide For Non-Technical Business Owners
Your Website Pages
Professional websites require some essential pages. Let’s go over the pages your should have and how to structure your medical or health website for best results.
Services Page
You need a page that describes your services and any products that you offer. Depending on which area you specialize in, this page could list services like:
- Medicine & Surgery – e.g. anaesthetics, neurosurgery hematology, plastic surgery, gerontology, rheumatology, bariatric surgery, eye diseases operating theaters, etc.
- Dentistry – e.g. cosmetic dentistry, holistic dentistry, oral health, veneers, crowns and bridges, dental implants, emergency dentistry, etc.
- Cardiology – e.g. heart monitoring, coronary care
- Prenatal & Postnatal – e.g. birthing, midwifery, etc.
- Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
- Diagnostic services – mammography, skin cancer, radiology, gynaecology, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
- Pathology – lab testing and analysis, routine pathology testing, fine-needle aspiration biopsy, speech pathology, etc
- Counselling services – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug counselling, marriage counselling, diet and nutrition counselling, social development services
- Alternative treatments – Chinese medicine, homeopathy, reiki, shiatsu, osteopathy, hypnosis, etc.
- Other medical services – diet and nutrition, chiropody, reproductive services, stomal therapy, medical genetics, artificial limbs, assisted living, home care, clinical information, medical supplies, etc.
List all of the services you provide. Provide your visitors with information that will educate them about what these services do and direct them to your appointment booking page.
About Us
The ‘About Us’ page should give a description of your business and explain to visitors what it stands for, its unique approach, philanthropy, etc.
It should also include any medical-related awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, associations, publications, etc., that you can use to promote your medical services and to set yourself above the competition.
(List all of your awards accreditations, certifications, recognitions, associations, publications, etc. in your About Us page. Screenshot image source: squaremedical.com.au)
Core Team
If you are searching for quicker and easier ideas to sell more products online, then help your prospective clients get to know, like and trust you, your team and your business better.
You want your business to be relatable. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your team members. This page should include a photo and a mini bio. Since most visitors will not tend to be well-versed in health or medical terms your bio descriptions should tell who they are and what their specialties are. It should also explain what those specialized areas do. It should include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow individual staff members on their social pages.
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 outline your person’s expertise and qualifications, how their skills contribute to the success of your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.
(Make sure to add an employee page. Image sourced from: southperthchiro.com.au)
For a detailed step-by-step tutorial about how to easily create and add a directory of employees in your web site, go here: How To Create A Simple Staff Directory In Your WordPress Site Without Editing Code
Work With Us
List any job or career opportunities within the business. This page would include training offered, benefits, opportunities for advancement, social activities sponsored or encouraged by your business, etc. It should include case studies of trainees who have risen within your organization and information about new career opportunities in the health 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 newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.
Case Studies And Testimonials
Case studies and reviews from clients are a great way to attract potential clients and showcase your services. By adding a page with reviews from clients and case studies, you are also helping to provide social proof.
(Add a web page with reviews from clients and case studies. Image source: arrowsmiledental.com)
We have written extensively about using case studies, testimonials and reviews to grow your business online. For more info, see this article: Turn More Visitors Into Prospects With Compelling Testimonials
Contact Us
A functional contact page is absolutely vital.
It should include:
- Name
- Address
- Phone
- Facsimile
- Email address
- Map and directions
- Website address
- Contact form
- Request for more information – who to contact
- Social media links
- Online chat
If you operate in different areas you will want to make this clear when showing your address and contact information.
Consider also including links to an FAQ section, main pages, online booking form, support area, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.
Add A Blog
A blog is a powerful business marketing tool. Many blogging platforms typically comprise of a content management system that allows you to promote your business using content such as news and announcements, new releases, educational articles and tutorials, discussions on current topics, how-to videos, infographics, etc.
If you already have an established health or medical site, then consider adding a WordPress blog to market your medical services.
If you don’t have a website yet, or if your existing health site is hard to keep updated with new content or not giving you the results you want, then WordPress can serve as both your website and your blog.
Not many people know this, but WordPress can turn into an automated traffic-generation system that can instantly begin to drive new visitors to your web site, simply by publishing content to your website on a consistent basis.
(An expertly configured WordPress site can automate your traffic generation)
Go here to learn more:
Legal Pages
As a professional business, ensuring that you have a website that complies will all legal requirements online is 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 practice.
Adding the legal pages below 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 legal threats and inconveniences:
- Contact Page
- Privacy Policy
- Terms And Conditions Of Use
- Website Disclaimer
- Affiliate Agreement
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Compensation Disclosure
- DMCA Notice
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Linking Policy
- Health and Financial Disclaimers
- Refund Policy
- Video/Audio Terms
- and others
We have written a detailed article on adding legal pages to your site. Go here to learn more: The Importance Of Adding Legal Pages To Your WordPress Site
Improving Your Content
In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, the sooner you start publishing great content on your site, the quicker you will begin to see results and differentiate yourself from other competing businesses.
By providing useful content with great information, advice or tips, you will get your readers sharing it with others and coming back for more. Publishing content is the most effective way to inform and teach your visitors and prospective clients about your business and services.
For example, if you provide solutions that help people lose weight, then some of the topics you could cover as content on your site:
- Potential health issues caused by being overweight
- How to ask for support for your weight loss efforts (friends, family, weight loss seekers)
- Recovering after weight loss surgery – useful tips and recommendations
- How to modify recipes for achieving healthier results (e.g. substituting sugars, fats, etc.)
- Etc.
You can also create a series of educational articles that will help your prospective clients understand your services, by explaining benefits, procedures, costs (including payment plans, insurance coverage, etc).
Include keywords and terminology in your articles that prospective clients will search for.
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 web site, save money creating useful content that will add value to your visitors and grow your presence online using content marketing strategies. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!
Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience
Improving your site’s user experience (generally referred to as UX) helps keep visitors coming back and using your site. This section will show you ways you can improve your visitor engagement and UX.
Syndicate Content Using RSS Feeds
An RSS feed provides lots of benefits for your website.
If you provide information that adds value to others, other businesses will want to syndicate your content.
Some of the benefits of syndicating your content to other businesses using RSS feeds, include:
- All of your updates are in one place
- Content distribution doesn’t rely on email
- RSS feeds can be shared online
- Users can subscribe to your feed
- It provides links to your content
- Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
- RSS provides a number of ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can view your content on their mobile device using feed readers)
- It’s built into WordPress
There are also a number of benefits when it comes to providing 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 RSS feeds with useful content just visit sites of relevant government departments and industry bodies.
Below we have listed some RSS feeds containing useful information that you could add to your site:
- 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 choose specific RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Emergency preparedness, Health care for women, Illnesses and disabilities, Mental health, Pregnancy, 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. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (American Association for Cancer Research), BMJ Journal of Medical Genetics, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Chemical Society, BMJ Evidence-Based Mental Health, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
- National Institutes Of Health (www.nih.gov) - Find various feeds on health-related topics here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
- FDA – Get feeds on fda-related news like criminal investigations press releases, FDA drug shortages, product recalls, drugs, 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 - Get many feeds on health-related topics and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
- Medical News: You can search medical news feeds in places like the NYTimes RSS feeds section (e.g. Medical research: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Research.xml)
- MedicineNet – Weekly Health and Medical News Digest: http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/weeklyhealth.xml. You can also select individual feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Allergies, Cancer, Migraine Headaches, Pregnancy, Eyesight, High Blood Pressure, etc.)
- MedicalNewsToday.com – Medical News Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
- MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also choose specific RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Anxiety/Stress, Vascular, Compliance, Regulatory Affairs/Drug Approvals, Heart Disease, Prostate/Prostate Cancer, MRI/PET/Ultrasound, etc.)
You can also just search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific topics, e.g. “rheumatology rss feeds”, “flu rss feeds”, “drug trials rss feeds”, etc.
(Use RSS feeds to provide your visitors with a better user experience.)
Add Checklists And Charts
Adding checklists and educational charts to your site is a great way to help increase visitor engagement and add value to your readers. They can give them useful information and resources to complete necessary steps. Forms and checklists are great client educational tools.
Forms, charts and checklists can cover subjects such as:
- Checklists/forms for booking appointments
- Checklists for pre or post surgery
- Health checklists for specific systems
- Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, oral hygiene program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
- Weight loss and nutrition program checklists and charts
- General charts & infographics (e.g. caloric level of different foods, the importance of sleep at different stages of development, etc.)
Provide Online Tools
Providing useful tools and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Calculators, for example are great tools you can add to your website. Other tools can include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.
In the next section of this detailed article, we take a look at a number of online tools you can use in your site using WordPress plugins and themes that improve your search engine optimization, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.
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This is the end of part 1.
Click here to view the rest of this guide:
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"Wow! I never knew there's so much to learn about WordPress! I bought one of the WordPress for Dummies three years ago, such authors need to be on this course!" - Rich Law, Create A Blog Now