Grow Your Medical Or Healthcare Business Online With WordPress

Medical or Health professionals today face growing challenges.

Online Challenges For The Health And Medical Profession

Today, more than ever, businesses in the medical and health industry must work harder than ever to remain competitive. Not only do you have to maintain an active presence in the community your business serves, you must also develop an active digital presence. This includes having a dynamic website and searching for better ways to market your practice online.

As well as investing money advertising offline on newspapers, ads in industry publications and magazines, radio and television spots, etc., businesses in the health industry are now finding that they need to delegate a larger share of their budget to develop and maintain a website that can drive prospective clients, engage users, outrank the competition in search engines and social media, and help to increase their presence online.

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

One other problem that medical organizations (and other professions) face online, is that your site has only around 30 seconds to help users find the information they are looking for or they will look 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 Professionals In The Digital Economy

As well as facing a number of challenges, there are also many online opportunities available to medical-related practices that are willing to evolve to meet digital demands and can think strategically about marketing their business better online.

In this detailed guide, you will discover opportunities to find new clients and establish stronger online credibility for your business.

As well as providing useful website improvement tips, we also recommend that you consider using WordPress to power your health website or blog.

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

• Why A Poorly Designed Web Site Can Lose You Prospective Buyers And What To Do About It
• WordPress In Business – The Complete Guide To Growing Your Successful Small Business Using WordPress

How To Improve Your Health Center Website

This section looks at how to improve your website and get better results. We will look at what pages your site needs, what content you need, your layout and navigation structure, etc.

If you need website planning assistance, read this detailed guide: Planning A Website: A Comprehensive Guide For Non-Technical Business Owners

Essential Web Pages

Professional websites require several essential web pages. Let’s take a look at the pages your  need to have and how to set up your health or medical-related website for best results.

Your Services

It’s essential to include a page that describes your services and any products that you offer. Depending on which area of health or medical services you specialize in, this page could include services like:

• Medicine & Surgery – e.g. ear, nose & throat, nephrology blood disorders, plastic surgery, gerontology, renal, endoscopy, ophtalmology surgical outpatients, etc.
• Dental Services – e.g. preventive dentistry, holistic dentistry, oral hygiene, teeth whitening, dentofacial orthopedics, emergency dentistry, etc.
• Cardiology – e.g. heart monitoring, chronic heart conditions
• Prenatal & Postnatal – e.g. obstetrics, midwifery, etc.
• Child Health – paediatrics, child development, children services, etc.
• Diagnostic services – breast screening, lung screening, x-ray, gynaecology, MRI scanning, allergy testing, etc.
• Pathology – laboratory testing and analysis, routine pathology testing, occupational and environmental testing, speech pathology, etc
• Counselling – mental health services, alcohol, tobacco & other drug services, trauma counselling, wellness coaching, social work services
• Alternative treatments – acupuncture, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, shiatsu, chiropractic services, hypnosis, etc.
• Other medical services – diet and nutrition, othopedics, reproductive services, rehabilitation, neurosciences, artificial limbs, sleep therapy, home care, sexual health, medical equipment, etc.

List all of the services you provide, not just the ones you specialize in. Educate your visitors about the benefits of using these services and direct them to your contact or appointment booking page.

About Us

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

It’s important to also list any awards, certifications, recognitions, accreditations, publications, associations, etc., that you can use to promote your services and to set yourself above similar service providers.

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

Meet Your Staff

Are you searching for cost-effective ideas to sell more products online? Then help prospective clients get to know, like and trust you and your business better.

Prospects need to relate to your business. A great way to do that is to have a page that introduces your staff. It should include a photo and a brief bio. Since most visitors won’t be that well-versed in health-related terms it should tell who they are and what they specialize in. It should also explain what those specialized areas do. This page should also include social buttons so your prospective clients can follow selected staff members on their social networks.

On this page, don’t be afraid to humanize your people with personal stories, hobbies, etc., but make sure to outline your employee’s expertise, how they contribute to the success of your team, and more importantly, how they will help add value to your clients’ business.

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

If you need help how to add an updatable list directory of staff or team members to your web site with no coding skills required, go here: How To Easily Add An Employee List Directory

Work With Us

List any job or career opportunities within your company. This page can include training provided, employee benefits, professional development, etc. You can also include information such as the job outlook and additional career opportunities in the health or medical-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 this 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 kind of services you offer. By adding a page with case studies and testimonials from previous clients, you are also helping to provide prospective clients with social proof online.

(Add a web page with reviews from clients and case studies. Screenshot source: arrowsmiledental.com)

We have created a comprehensive article on using case studies, testimonials and client reviews to improve your business results online. Go here to learn more about this: Learn How To Improve Your Visitor-To-Sales Conversions With Highly Effective Client Testimonials

Contact Us Page

A contact page is crucial.

Your contact page should include:

• Company Name
• Your address
• Phone number
• Fax
• Contact email address
• Map and directions
• Web URL
• Contact form
• Contact name
• Links to social media profiles
• Online chat

If your business services several locations you want to make this clear when displaying the address and contact information.

You can also include links to an FAQ page, main pages, online booking request, helpdesk, newsletter opt-in form, blog, etc.

Add A Blog

A blog can be a very powerful business marketing tool. Many blogging platforms typically include a content management system that allows you to easily promote your business by publishing content such as news, updates, educational information, opinions and discussions, educational videos, webinars, etc.

If you already have an medical site, then consider adding a WordPress-powered blog to create more exposure for your medical clinic.

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

Not many people know this, but WordPress can turn your web presence into an automated traffic machine that can help drive a stream of targeted visitors to your web site, simply by adding regular content to your web site.

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

Go here to learn more:

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

Legal Information

As a professional business, having a compliant website is vital. This is not only important for establishing trust and credibility with prospective clients, but also to ensure that no local, regional or federal laws and regulations are being breached wherever your business is located.

Adding some or all of 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 threats and legal inconveniences:

• Contact Page
• Privacy Statement
• Terms And Conditions
• Website Disclaimer
• Affiliate Agreement
• Anti-Spam Policy
• Compensation Disclosure
• DMCA Notice
• Earnings Disclaimer
• External Links Policy
• Health/Financial Disclaimers
• Refund Policy
• Video/Audio Terms
• etc.

We have written a detailed article on adding legal pages to your site. To learn more about this go here: How To Add Legal Pages To Your Site

Improve Your Web Content

In today’s fiercely competitive global business economy, content marketing has become one of the key differentiators for businesses selling similar products or services.

Providing great content with useful advice, information or tips will get your visitors to share your information and come back for more. This is a great way to educate your visitors and prospects about your services.

For example, if your business provides weight loss services, then some of the areas you could cover in your content include:

• Potential health issues caused by being overweight
• How to set realistic, but achievable weight loss goals
• How to recover physically and emotionally after weight loss surgery – useful tips and recommendations
• Useful tips that will help you curb the late night urges for a snack (e.g. sleep earlier)
• Etc.

You can also create a series of informative articles that will help your your prospective clients gain a better understanding of your services, by explaining benefits, procedures, terminology, etc.

Include the keywords and terminology in your content that your readers will 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 teach you how to drive more traffic to your website, save money creating high-quality content for your visitors and grow your business online using content marketing. It’s not only a great course with loads of useful information, it’s also completely FREE!

Improve Visitor Experience

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

Using RSS Feeds

An RSS feed provides lots of benefits for your website.

If you provide content that adds value to others, 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
• Doesn’t rely on email
• Feeds can be shared and picked up by other sites online
• Allows for subscribing
• A feed provides a way for links to point back to your site
• RSS feeds can be submitted to RSS directories and aggregator services
• There are a number of ways readers can receive your content (e.g. users can read your content on their mobile device using a feed reader)
• It’s built into WordPress

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

You can find RSS feeds with useful content for your website by visiting sites of health and medical-related government departments and key industry bodies.

For example, here are some examples of RSS feeds containing useful information that you could add to your site:

• US Department Of Health And Human Services – e.g. Blog RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/SelectedHhsBlogPosts, etc. You can search by departments and select individual feeds, like feeds on women’s health issues (e.g. Emergency preparedness, Healthy aging, Heart health and stroke, Menopause, Pregnancy, etc.) here: http://womenshealth.gov/news/rss/rss-feeds.html
• US National Libraries Of Medicine – For a directory of feeds from leading medical journals, publications and websites (e.g. The Oncologist, The Psychiatrist, JCI – The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Toxicological Sciences, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, etc.) go here: http://www.healthplusplus.com/wiki/List_of_RSS_feeds_on_health
• National Institutes Of Health (www.nih.gov) - Find many health-related RSS feeds here: http://www.nih.gov/Subscriptions.htm
• US Food And Drug Administration (FDA) – Find feeds on fda-related news and topics like consumer health information updates, food safety reports, tainted products, vaccines, blood and biologics, 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 - Get various RSS feeds on health-related 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. Medical 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 choose individual RSS feeds here (http://www.medicinenet.com/rss/article.htm) (e.g. Allergies, Men’s health, Chronic Pain, Depression, Prevention & Wellness, Heart, etc.)
• Medical News Today – Featured Headlines: http://rss.medicalnewstoday.com/featurednews.xml
• Medical News Today – You can also choose specific feeds here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/newsfeeds-rss (e.g. Bipolar, Seniors/Aging, Compliance, Dermatology, Smoking/Quit Smoking, Women’s Health/Gynecology, Ear, Nose and Throat, etc.)

You can also just search online for general feeds, e.g. “medical rss feeds” or search for feeds on specific topics, e.g. “lung cancer rss feeds”, “preventive medicine rss feeds”, “obesity rss feeds”, etc.

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

Checklists & Charts

Checklists and explanatory charts are a great way to help increase user engagement, add value to your readers and set yourself apart from the competition. Charts and checklists can give them step-by-step information and resources to get necessary tasks completed. Checklists and charts are also great educational tools.

Forms, charts and checklists can include topics such as:

• Booking appointments
• Checklists for post-surgery recovery
• Health checklists for specific medical conditions
• Dental checklists – e.g. first visit, caries prevention program, cosmetic dentistry, etc.
• Fitness and nutrition program checklists
• General charts & infographics (e.g. acidity level of different foods, sleep requirements at different stages of development, etc.)

Other Tools

Providing unique online tools, gadgets and applications on your website can help increase visitor engagement and significantly add value to your potential clients. Calculators are useful tools for your website. Others would include things like diagnostic tools, or even recipes.

In the next section, we will look at a number of online tools you can add to your website using WordPress plugins and themes that can also help to improve seo, increase user engagement and generate more visitors to your business.

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This is the end of section one of this comprehensive guide on ways to grow your medical business presence online.

To continue, click this link:

• Your Medical Clinic Website – Improve Search Engine Optimization, Improve User Engagement And Increase Web Traffic Generation With WordPress Plugins

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