Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

The digital business age has not only revolutionized business around the world, it has also created growing challenges and opportunities for medical or health businesses.

Challenges Medical And Health Services Face Online

Now, more than ever, medical providers must work harder to stand out from the crowd and find new clientele. Not only do you have to become actively involved in the community you serve, you must also develop an active digital presence. This includes having a website and learning how to better promote your health services online.

In addition to spending dollars in offline marketing activities like advertising on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television, etc., you will probably find (if you haven’t already) that in order to remain competitive, increasingly larger amounts of their budget need to be assigned towards the development and management of a website that can attract new clients, engage visitors, outperform the competition in search engines and social media, and help to give your business wider reach online.

This means that your site not only has to look professional, your pages have to be fast-loading, and your website has to be easy to navigate, but it’s also important to keep in mind that the needs of the website will change over time and some areas will need to be frequently updated. This requires having a sound website and content management strategy.

Another challenge that medical-related organizations face, as do other professions for that matter, is that you have only around thirty seconds to give visitors the information they are looking for or they will leave your site 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 Medical And Health Services Professionals In The Digital Economy

As well as facing significant business and technology changes, there are also many online opportunities available for businesses in the health-related industry that are willing to evolve to meet online demands and can think outside the box in terms of marketing their business better online.

This detailed guide will help you uncover new ways to generate web traffic and improve your business presence online.

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

For more information about the benefits and advantages of using the WordPress content management system (CMS), go here:

• Learn How A Poorly Constructed Web Site Can Cost You Customers
• WordPress In Business – A Beginner’s Guide To Growing Your Business With A WordPress Blog

Practical Tips For Improving Your Website

This section will show you ways to improve your website and get better results. We show you what pages you need, what type of content works best for medical or health-related websites, useful tips for improving your layout and navigation, etc.

If you need additional information about website planning, go here: A Cost-Saving Guide To Web Site Planning For Non-Technical Business Owners

Your Website Pages

All websites require a number of basic web pages. Let’s discuss these.

Description Of Products And Services

You need to include a page that describes your services and products. Depending on which area of health or medical services you specialize in, this page could include services like:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. ear, nose and throat, orthopedics endocrinology, reconstructive surgery, stroke, renal, weight loss surgery, ophtalmology operating theaters, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, children’s dentistry, cleaning services, veneers, crowns and bridges, dental implants, emergency dental, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. cardiac surgery, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal/Neonatal – e.g. birthing, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health services – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screening, skin cancer, radiology, pap smears, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology – lab testing and analysis, emergency pathology testing, food and water testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling services – mental health services, alcohol, tobacco & other drug counselling, couples, diet and nutrition counselling, social work services
• Alternative therapies – Chinese medicine, homeopathy, colloidal silver therapy, shiatsu, osteopathy, hypnotherapy, etc.
• Other medical services/therapies – weight management, othopedics, fertility services, speech language therapy, inherited diseases, artificial limbs, hearing aids, home and community care, clinical information, medical equipment, etc.

List all of the services you provide. Educate your visitors about what these services do and why they should book an appointment with you.

Who We Are

This page needs to describe your business and explain to visitors what your business stands for, its unique approach, causes supported, etc.

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

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

Staff Page

Are you looking for quicker and simpler ways to sell more products or services online or get people to stay longer on your site? Then make it easier for your visitors to get to know 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. It should include a photo and a brief bio. Since most visitors are probably not well-versed in health or medical-related terms your descriptions should tell who they are and what they specialize in. It should also explain what those specialized areas do. It can also include social buttons that will allow your site visitors to follow individual staff members on their social pages.

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

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

We have created a detailed tutorial on how to add a simple team members directory to your web site using free plugins here: How To Easily Add A Simple Employee Directory To Your WordPress Site With No Coding Skills Required

Recruitment Page

This is a listing of career opportunities within your practice. This page should include training, benefits, professional development, etc. You should also include case studies of recruits who have established a solid career path thanks to your company and information such as the job outlook and additional career opportunities in the medical and health industry.

Include also a positions available section in your page. If there are no positions currently available, consider inviting people to return periodically to this page, join your newsletter, follow your social pages, etc.

Testimonials And Case Studies

Case studies and client reviews are a great way to attract prospective clients and showcase what kind of services you offer. By adding a page with reviews from clients and case studies, you are also helping to are also providing social proof.

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

If you want to learn more using case studies, testimonials and client reviews to improve your business results online, go here: How To Get Better Results Online Using Awesome Testimonials

Contact Page

A clean contact page is crucial.

Your contact page should include some or all of the following information:

• Company Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Fax
• Email
• Map and directions
• Web URL
• Contact form
• Request for more information – who to contact
• Links to social media pages
• Interactive chat (optional)

If your business operates out of multiple areas you should make that clear when showing the address and contact information.

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

Add A Blog Section

A blog is a very powerful business marketing tool. Blogs typically include a content management system that allows you to promote your business by publishing timely content like news, product releases, educational articles and tutorials, discussions on current topics, educational videos, infographics, etc.

If you already have an established medical or health website, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to market your medical clinic.

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

Something few people know about, is that WordPress can turn into an automated traffic system that can help begin attracting an ongoing stream of targeted traffic to your website, simply by adding regular content to your site.

(WordPress can automate your traffic generation)

For more details, go here:

• Website Traffic Blueprint – How To Create An Automated Web Traffic-Getting Machine

Legal Information Pages

It’s crucially important for health services providers businesses to make sure they have a compliant website. This is not only important for building trust and credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that you are not contravening any local, regional and federal laws and regulations wherever you do business.

Adding some or all of 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 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 Links Policy
• Health and Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

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

Tips For Improving The Content On Your Site

In today’s fiercely competitive online business economy, the sooner you start to publish content on your site, the quicker you will begin to see results and differentiate yourself from other competing businesses.

You want to provide useful content with information, tips and advice that will get your readers to share your web pages online and come back for more. Using content is the most effective way to educate site visitors and prospective clients about your services.

For example, if your business provides services that help people lose weight, then some of the topics you could cover as content on your site:

• What is fiber and how can it help you with weight loss?
• How to identify the bad habits you need to correct to ensure lifetime weight loss
• Characteristics of different diets, e.g. HCG diet, South Beach diet, Jenny Craig diet (what these are, how they can benefit you, how effective they are)
• What salad dressings can derail your weight loss goals (and healthier choices)
• Etc.

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

Remember to use relevant keywords and terms in your articles that readers would search to find you online.

We recommend subscribing to our Content Marketing Email Training Series. You will receive a comprehensive series of training emails with actionable information and practical tips that will teach you how to drive more traffic to your web site, save money creating high-quality content that will add value to your site visitors and grow your presence online using content. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Improve User Experience

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

Syndicate Content With RSS Feeds

RSS feeds provide plenty of benefits for your medical-related business.

If you provide useful content, 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 content updates are kept in one place
• your content distribution doesn’t rely on email
• Can be shared online
• Feeds allow users to subscribe
• It provides a way for external links to point back to your content
• Feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregators
• RSS provides various ways for your readers to receive your content (e.g. subscribers can read the content on their mobile device using different applications)
• RSS is 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.

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

Below we have listed some examples of RSS feeds you could consider adding 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 also select individual RSS feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Breast cancer, Healthy aging, Heart health and stroke, Menopause, Screening tests and vaccines, 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 Evidence-Based Nursing, Journal of Biological Chemistry, CDC USA, BMJ Tobacco Control, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health - Get many health-related feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• US Food And Drug Administration (FDA) – Find RSS feeds on fda-related topics like FDA drug safety, health fraud, product recalls, cosmetics, etc. and podcasts here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/ContactFDA/StayInformed/RSSFeeds
• Department of Health UK (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 topics and podcasts here: http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/rss.asp
• Medical News Feeds: You can search medical news feeds in places like the NYTimes 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 RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Allergies, Menopause, Chronic Pain, Diet & Weight Management, Exercise & Fitness, Women’s Health, etc.)
• MedicalNewsToday.com – Medical News Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• Medical News Today – You can also select individual RSS feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. MRSA/Drug Resistance, Stroke, Health Insurance, Regulatory Affairs/Drug Approvals, Food Intolerance, Mental Health, Alzheimer’s/Dementia, etc.)

You can also search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific subjects, e.g. “ADHD rss feeds”, “mental health rss feeds”, “liver disease rss feeds”, etc.

(RSS feeds can help to improve your site’s user experience.)

Checklists And Forms

Checklists and explanatory charts are a fantastic way to help increase user engagement, add value to your audience and set yourself apart from the competition. Forms and checklists can provide useful instructions and resources to complete necessary tasks. They can also be great client instructional tools.

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

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for pre or post treatment
• Health checklists for specific medical conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, maintenance program, general dentistry, etc.
• Fitness and exercise program checklists and charts
• General charts & infographics (e.g. sugar content in different foods, the importance of sleep at different stages of development, etc.)

Provide Unique Tools

Providing useful online tools and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and significantly add value to your visitors. Health-related calculators, for example, are popular tools for your website. Other applications could include things like nutritional tools, or even recipes.

In the next section, we will look at a several WordPress plugins and themes you can use in your website that improve your seo, increase user engagement and drive more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of part one of this article on ways to grow your health or medical-related business online.

To continue, click this link:

• A Complete Guide On How To Build And Grow Your Medical Services & Health Clinic Online – Part Two

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