We live in an ever-growing digital age. More and more people are utilizing the internet as a resource to find businesses, do research, connect and even find community. The need for a professional and dynamic website that conveys your message of hope and healing has never been greater. Your health and wellness website is your online hub to connect with current and new patients. Is your website keeping your patients away? Learn how to prevent your website from turning away patients!
“97% of consumers used the internet to find a local business” – Bright Local
All social media, video content, Facebook ads, Google ads, landing pages, etc. should all be connected to your website and should funnel people to your website. Because of this, it’s important your website is fantastic!
Not just okay.
Website functionality, mobile readiness, Google standards, design standards, and user experience standards continually change. Because of this it is crucial to keep up with the times if you want to be relevant online.
If your website has not been updated in the past 5 years it is overdue.
So, if you are looking to build a great health and wellness website, below are 6 keys things to keep in mind:
Table of Contents
The very first thing that you should do is define your message. This message will be instrumental to connecting with your ideal patient (more on this in #6 below). What do you want to communicate to your potential patients about your office? This should include sharing:
Your website should have laser focus on your overall message so you can effectively reach the right people. This is a huge step to prevent your website from turning away patients.
Website security is extremely important. Google will downgrade your website if it is not secure. This means that people who need your help won’t even be able to find you! Here are some absolute essentials when it comes to website security:
You can know if your website has an SSL certificate installed on it by looking at the upper left-hand corner and seeing if there is a lock next to your URL. If there’s no lock next to your URL (or it is a broken lock) you do not have an SSL certificate installed.
Another way to know is if you type in “https” instead of “http” when putting in your website URL. If your website does not load with “https” then you do not have an SSL certificate installed. You should be able to add this via your hosting provider.
Another extremely important part of website security is keeping your website software up to date. If you are utilizing the WordPress platform for your website (recommended) it’s important you keep your WordPress, website theme, and all installed plug-ins up to date. Website updates are constantly released to address new security vulnerabilities and improve functionality. Fail to update and your site will have issues causing people to click off your site. Or worse, the entire website goes down.
Lastly, a very important security measure is to make sure that your website is backed up every day. If there is ever an issue with malware, your site gets hacked, or there is a software conflict your site can be restored quickly.
On a related note, all our websites come with an SSL certificate. Also, our website service plan includes a daily back up and installation of new software as needed.
80% of people don’t scroll on your website. So, it’s crucial you put the most important information at the very top of your website. This area is called “above the fold.” For example, here are some above the fold essentials we include in every website design:
If these essentials are not included at the top of your website a visitor is likely to be frustrated and leave the site quickly. Make it easy for people to find what they’re looking for and prevent your website from turning away patients!
If your gorgeously designed website isn’t set up properly, it won’t be discoverable by search engines. Basically, you must make sure your website is search engine optimized so Google and other search engines can find it. This is a big deal if you want to start reaching the RIGHT people. Ignoring search engine optimization will cause your site to essentially be non-existent. A big step for this is to define your ideal patient and set up your SEO or health and wellness digital marketing plan to help them discover you. We’ll discuss how to focus on your ideal patient below.
Along with optimizing your website for search engines, it’s also extremely important to optimize your website for conversion. The key steps you want visitors to take, must be clear. Your website should guide them to go from a visitor, to a lead, to a new patient. There are several ways to accomplish this like providing relevant lead magnets that engage a visitor who is not ready to become a new patient yet. Know your ideal patient and the types of resources that they want. Then set up your site to convert this traffic to new patients. They’ll thank you for it!
Lastly, it’s extremely important that your website and your entire online presence is focused on your ideal patient profile. When marketing is focused everyone it’s effectively focused on no one. Honing your marketing in on your ideal patient profile will make a tremendous difference in its effectiveness. The key to developing an ideal patient profile is to ask yourself a series of questions:
This is important for you to understand who your ideal patient is including their:
Begin by picturing who this ideal patient is and think about their daily life. Is it someone with migraine headaches, who wakes up every morning, not knowing if their day will start with a headache? Is it a frustrated and tired young mother who can’t find an answer to her baby’s colic? Beginning to picture that person’s daily life will really help you with the rest of the questions.
You’re in business because you’re solving a problem for your target audience. How does that problem affect their day to day life? Go into detail and focus on the nuances that illustrate how that problem makes them feel.
What is most important to your ideal patient? Think about their pain points to better understand their goals.
Where is your ideal patient? Are they online? And if so, where are they online?
Will your ideal patient think you are trustworthy? Will they picture you as credible and knowledgeable about their condition or problem?
Answering common objections for your prospective ideal patients is a key part of building trust and credibility. What are the most common questions that patients have when they 1st come into your office?
Make sure you share this information with your entire team so that all of you are focused on your ideal patient. This focus is then applied to your website and then to any marketing you do.
The above 6 steps share how to prevent your website from turning away patients. If you or someone on your team has the expertise and time to do this…awesome! We hope this proves as a guide for you to get the results you're looking for. But, if the thought of doing any of this is confusing, daunting, or you just don’t have the time…we’re here for you. A quick call would be good to see how we can help you reach your ideal patient. It’s who we are and what we do! You can reach us as (800) 217-0584. Or you can visit our website.
Keep bringing hope and healing to sick and suffering people!
