Most savvy business owners understand the power of the web in terms of attracting new customers and converting visitors to patients. Gone are the days when the internet was seen as a speculative new frontier best left to the so-called “experts.”
We now live in a world where people turn to the internet for answers. Whether they are looking for a product or service, average consumers are now likely to use the internet as a resource for gaining a better understanding of their requirements.
The key is in having your website present at that exact moment—when your ideal patient is looking for online information to aid them in their decision on which practice is best. You need to provide the answers to the questions that your target audience is asking, and then you need to convert that visitor into a new patient.
Easier said than done
Many small business owners have been left frustrated by their failure to attract new patients via their web presence. Many end up convincing themselves that their clientele is somehow not interested in the internet—that they are finding their answers elsewhere. Such a conclusion is false, and it may well be vital to your business that you do not make the same dangerous assumption.
It certainly is fair to say that building a strong online presence is not easy. But the potential return on investment is too great to ignore—especially considering that a huge proportion of small business owners either don't recognize the importance of the internet in generating business, or are simply driven to paralysis by the question of how to start.
But take it from us, we are not dealing with rocket science here, folks. And we are here to help.
Building for Success
Creating an online presence that creates new patients for your practice is essentially a two step process:
Attract visitors
Convert those visitors
Today our summarized focus is on the second step, converting the people that visit your website and/or blog. At its heart, doing so is a remarkably straightforward process.
First you measure the success of your site in converting visitors. This is possible with a tool such as Google Analytics (which is entirely free).
Then you assess the effectiveness of your efforts, and adjust to suit. This could involve changing the design of your site, the visibility and/or number of elements on your site whose goal is to actually convert (such as signup forms), the copy on your site, or the quality and/or quantity of your blog posts.
Scratching the Surface
Consider this article as a primer on the fundamentals of improving your site's performance. Having an understanding of the “why” makes actioning the “what” all that more straightforward.
Stay tuned, as we will be delving into the steps mentioned in today's article in far more detail in the future!