Marketing to patients online has never been more important in an age where, according to a report by Datareportal.com, 81% of internet users search for services online. Medical services are no exception to this statistic, and more people are turning to online reviews, reputations, and social media to seek out a new doctor. To keep up with today’s digital pace, doctors need to know how to connect with patients at every step in online searches.
The steps patients take to find a doctor online
Doctors can increase their patient lead generation by identifying the places patients most frequently visit to find a new medical professional. You can turn your focus on SEO, healthcare keyword marketing, review responses, and social media accounts when you understand how and where traffic is naturally driven to your website. By engaging online patients at every step, you increase the chance that someone chooses your service over another’s.
Organic searches
Search engines like Google are the most popular, and simplest, place for patients to find a doctor, and this is likely the first step someone takes. Typing in a keyword, such as “dentist,” and a location is common for those just starting a search. You can take advantage of these broad searches by incorporating similar keywords across your website.
Honing in on location-specific keywords can be especially beneficial, as it can make you stand out above popular medical sites that dominate search engine result pages. Using such keywords positively impacts your SEO, making your website more likely to show up higher on the list of search engine results, and therefore resulting in more online conversions for your business.
Reviews
Another place you can engage with patients and earn new ones is on your online reviews page. Once options have been narrowed down through a search, patients are likely to turn to online reviews to make a decision. You can build up a good reputation through online reviews in several ways. To get more reviews in general, ask patients directly to leave a review and provide instructions in your office on how to do so. Then take time to respond to reviews each week, ensuring that you are polite when responding to negative reviews and declaring appropriate changes to address issues. This demonstrates a sense of care that patients want to see in a doctor.
Social media
Finally, you can use social media to boost your credit and reach a larger audience. If you know what platforms your patients use most, you can place advertisements and information for your practice there. This is a great way to reach patients indirectly. Media presence is also highly valued among online users, and you can use different platforms as tools to improve your reputation by offering quick snippets into behind-the-scenes office life and answering patient questions. This encourages current patients to keep returning to your practice as well.
Bring in patients at every step
If you are struggling to connect with patients across the web, Doctor Genius can help. We work with doctors and medical professionals to make online marketing easy and effective. Contact us to learn about our marketing services.
Doctor Genius, located at 16800 Aston Street, Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92606, provides a range of services for practice success. We seek to meet our clients’ needs by providing a variety of marketing, SEO, practice optimization tools, and coaching to transform the healthcare experience. Though we work to provide the most accurate information, the content found on this website is solely intended for entertainment purposes. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is entirely correct. You may not use the information on this site to cure, prevent, or diagnose a perceived medical issue. If you have healthcare-related needs, please speak directly to a healthcare professional. Never self-perform medical treatments discussed on this website. All images displayed are also for entertainment purposes only, and personal experiences may differ. Please note that the business tactics mentioned on this site might not be applicable to your industry or practice.
