Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The digital age has not only revolutionized the way business is done worldwide, it has also created many challenges and opportunities for health professionals and financial service providers.

Challenges Professional Health Providers Face Online

Today, more than ever, medical providers must work hard to remain competitive and find new clients. Not only do you have to be fully involved in the community your business serves, you must also develop a strong digital presence. This includes having a dynamic website and searching for better ways to market your health or medical services services online.

As well as spending dollars in offline marketing, you will probably find that in order to compete with other web-marketing savvy health businesses, you will need to designate a larger amount of your marketing budget to develop and manage a website that will drive prospective clients, engage users, outperform the competition in search engines and social media, and help increase your marketing exposure online.

This means that your site not only has to look great, your web pages have to load fast, and be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of the website may change over time and many areas will need to be updated frequently. This requires implementing sound web and content management strategy.

Another difficult challenge that health providers face, and all other professions for that matter, is that they have only around 30 seconds to provide visitors with what they need or they will leave and 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 Health Professionals

As well as facing many business and technology changes, there are also loads of online opportunities available to businesses in the health-related profession that can adapt to meet the demands of the digital economy and who can think progressively when it comes to improving their online business marketing skills.

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

As well as providing tips and information on cost-effective ways to improve your website, we also recommend that you consider using the WordPress CMS platform to power your health-related business website.

To learn more about the benefits and advantages of using WordPress, go here:

• Discover Why A Poorly Constructed Website Can Cost You Business
• An Online Guide To Growing A Successful Small Business Using A WordPress Blog

How To Improve Your Website

This section looks at how to improve your health or medical-related website and get better results. We show you what pages you need, what type of content works best for health or medical-related websites, your layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, visit this page: A Basic Guide To Web Site Planning For Business Owners

Basic Website Pages

All business websites require some basic web pages. Let’s review these.

Description Of Products And Services

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

• Medical And Surgical – e.g. acute pain management, orthopedics endocrinology, reconstructive surgery, stroke, rheumatology, urology, ophtalmology surgical outpatients, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, children’s dentistry, oral hygiene, veneers, crowns and bridges, dental braces, emergency dental, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac patient education, coronary care
• Prenatal/Neonatal – e.g. birth suites, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screens, lung screening, hearing, gynaecology, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology services – lab testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, insurance and corporate testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling services – mental health, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, marriage counselling, wellness, social work services
• Alternative therapies – Chinese medicine, aromatherapy, colloidal silver therapy, shiatsu, chiropractic, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – diet and nutrition, podiatry, lymphedema therapy, rehabilitation, medical genetics, artificial limbs, assisted living, home care, community health, medical transport, 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 appointment booking page.

Who We Are

This page needs to describe your business and what it stands for, its unique approach, causes that you support, etc.

Remember to include any awards, recognitions, certifications, accreditations, publications, associations, etc., that could be used to promote your business and to position yourself above the competition.

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

Our Team

Are you searching for quicker, simpler and cheaper ideas to sell more products online or increase user interaction on your site? Then one of the things you can do, is make it easier for your visitors to get to know your organization better.

You want your business to be relatable. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff or team members. It should include a photo and a mini biography. Since most visitors will not tend to be well-versed in medical or health terms your bio descriptions should tell who they are and what they specialize in. It should also explain what those specialties mean. This page can also include social buttons so your visitors can follow some of your team members on their social networks.

In this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your team member’s qualifications, why they are an invaluable asset to your team, and more importantly, how they can help add value to your clients’ business.

(Make sure to add a ‘meet the team’ page. Image source: southperthchiro.com.au)

We have created a detailed tutorial on how to easily add an easy-to-maintain list of employees or team members to your website without touching code here: How To Easily Create A Simple Staff List In Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills

Recruitment Page

This is a listing of job opportunities within the business. This page can include training provided, benefits, opportunities for advancement, social activities promoted by your business, etc. You can also include information such as the job outlook and upcoming career opportunities in the health-related industry.

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

Testimonials & Case Studies

Case studies and testimonials from past clients are a great way to attract prospective clients and showcase the services you offer. Adding a page with case studies and testimonials from past clients also establishes social proof.

(Add a web page with case studies and testimonials. Screenshot image sourced from: arrowsmiledental.com)

If you want to learn more using client case studies and reviews to grow your business online, go here: Discover How To Convert More Visitors Into Qualified Leads Using Compelling User Testimonials

Contact Us

Having a contact page is essential.

Your contact page should include the following:

• Business Name
• Your physical location
• Telephone
• Fax number
• Contact email address
• Google Map and directions
• Web URL
• Contact form
• Contact name
• Social media web addresses
• Online Chat/Skype (optional feature)

If your business services different areas you should make this clear when showing your address and contact info.

Consider also including links to an FAQ section, useful pages, booking form, helpdesk, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog

A blog is a very powerful marketing tool for your business. Blogs are built around a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing timely content such as news and events, updates, educational articles and tutorials, informative posts, promotional videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an medical site, then consider adding a WordPress blog to promote your medical organization.

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

Something few people know about, is that WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic system that can instantly begin delivering an ongoing stream of new targeted traffic to your web site, simply by publishing regular content to your web site.

(An expertly configured WordPress site can automate your traffic generation)

If you would like to know more about this here:

• WordPress Web Site Traffic Blueprint – Learn How To Turn Your WordPress Website Into A Web Traffic Machine

Legal Information Pages

Having a compliant website is vital. This is not only important for building credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no laws or regulations are being contravened in whichever location you service.

Depending on what services and products you provide, adding the legal pages below to your 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 And Conditions Of Use
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Linking Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a detailed article about adding legal pages to your site. For more details: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Website

Improving Your Content

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

Provide useful content with great tips and information that will get your visitors to share your web pages online with others and come back for more content. Publishing content is the most effective way to inform and educate site visitors and prospective clients about your business and services.

For example, if you provide products or services that help people manage their weight, then some of the topics you could cover as content on your site:

• Nutrients your body needs on a daily basis (carbs, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins)
• Is weight loss surgery right for you? (who should get it, risks, success rates)
• Incorporating exercise into your busy schedule
• Smartphone apps for tracking calories and exercise
• And endless other content topics

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

Use the same keywords and terms in your articles 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 and practical tips that will show exactly how to drive more traffic to your website, save money creating useful content for your visitors and grow your business online using content marketing strategies. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also 100% FREE!

Ways Of Improving Visitor Engagement And User Experience

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

Use RSS Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds can help to improve your visitor engagement and UX in a number of different ways.

If you provide valuable information, other sites 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
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• Feeds allow users to subscribe
• It provides links back to your site
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories
• There are multiple ways your readers can receive your content (e.g. users can read your content on their mobile device using feed readers)
• It’s built into WordPress

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

You can find many useful RSS feeds by visiting sites of relevant government departments or well-known industry bodies.

Below we have listed some useful RSS feeds you could add to a medical or health-related 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 RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Emergency preparedness, Environmental health, Illnesses and disabilities, Menopause, Pregnancy, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a list of RSS feeds from various medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. Rheumatology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Obesity, BMJ Journal of Clinical Pathology, Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 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 – Get RSS feeds on fda-related topics like criminal investigations press releases, food safety, tainted products, cosmetics, 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. Western Australia – http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/feed/?types=news
• Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (www.cdc.gov) - Get 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 RSS feeds in places like the NYTimes feeds section (e.g. Fitness and nutrition: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Nutrition.xml)
• MedicineNet.com – 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. Lung Conditions, Men’s health, Chronic Pain, Oral Health, Senior Health, Heart, etc.)
• MedicalNewsToday.com – MNT Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• MedicalNewsToday.com – You can also select specific feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Urology/Nephrology, Caregivers/Homecare, Lymphology/Lymphedema, Emergency Medicine, Alcohol/Addiction/Illegal Drugs, Breast Cancer, Crohn’s/IBD, etc.)

You can also just search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific subjects, e.g. “seniors rss feeds”, “diabetes rss feeds”, “genetics rss feeds”, etc.

(RSS feeds can help to improve your website’s UX.)

Checklists And Charts

Checklists and charts are a great way to help increase visitor engagement, add value to your audience and provide something unique. Charts and checklists can give them useful information and resources to perform a task. They are great educational tools.

Checklists, charts and medical forms can cover areas such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for pre or post surgery
• Health checklists for specific conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, caries prevention program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Fitness and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. sugar content in different foods, sleep requirements at different ages, etc.)

Online Tools

Providing useful tools and applications on your site can help increase visitor engagement and add value to your visitors. Calculators, for example are popular tools for your website. Others can include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.

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

***

This is the end of part one of this step-by-step guide on ways to improve your health or medical-related business online.

Click here to access Part 2:

• How To Successfully Grow A Health Clinic Web Presence With WordPress – Part 2

***

***