When you handle marketing for a smaller physician’s office, there’s no room for wasted spending. You have to get the most out of a limited budget. Here are the steps to take to ensure you’re following best online practices with your marketing strategies for a small medical practice.
Check your website
Your website needs to be seaworthy before you launch a major marketing initiative. It also has to be mobile-friendly and it has to load fast. Not only do users get impatient with a site that doesn’t load instantly, but search engines are unforgiving for even being a second too slow. The best way to start is by having your developer conduct an audit and tell you what technical improvements need to happen.
Own local SEO
The steps to earning placement in local listings—Google’s 3-pack that comes up anytime someone punches in “doctor near me” into a search engine—are loaded with details that can be frustrating to keep up with. But they’re all important.
Major directories—Google My Business, Yelp, etc., probably already have a profile for your office. But you need to claim the listing and then fill it with the right information. Be absolutely certain everything here is accurate—not just the obvious of name, address and location, but review the office hours. If you have different hours on Saturdays, make sure that’s noted. Check that the phone listing is the main office number.
You’d be surprised at how often these little details get missed—and how much the omissions or inaccuracies hurt you in the local search rankings.
Create interesting content
Write blog posts and do videos on subjects that are timely and pertinent in your community. Right now that’s clearly COVID-19 issues. But even when there’s not a global pandemic, there’s always something that people in your office are getting asked about. If your patients are asking, other people are too. Make your website a go-to place for informed medical commentary.
Interesting content then helps strengthen your social media footprint. Patients that follow you on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram know that their friends and neighbors are also interested in these pertinent medical issues, so they’ll share your content. And now your marketing circle is expanding.
Ask for reviews
Your ratings from reviews in places like Yelp are also a signal to search engine algorithms on who to rank. Ask your best patients to give you a review. This is something a lot of physicians are uncomfortable with and that’s understandable. But you know that your few unhappy patients are certainly going to make their voices heard. Get your allies talking too.
Use Google Analytics
Learn how to get the most from Google Analytics. GA offers a treasure trove of information in understanding how people get to your site and what they do upon arrival. Don’t make decisions on marketing or content without consulting data. You wouldn’t conduct your medical examinations in an off-the-cuff unscientific manner, so don’t do it when making digital marketing decisions.