Can I, Should I Market My Practice on the Web, Part 2?

Posted October 13th, 2007

You’re planning a website for your practice. What should you include? What should you leave out?
by Chuck McKay

There are two important criteria when designing the content for your web site: relevance and credibility. Make it interesting to your patients and potential patients.

Focus on Patient Experiences.

In general people are anxious when they don’t know what to expect. Your website should reassure visitors that you’re competent and approachable.

Present information as the patient wants to see it. Instead of “We want to brag about us,” present your content as “Here’s why this is important to you.”

At the minimum, your site should include some basic pages to guide site visitors.

Home -
About Us -
Q&A / FAQ -
Patient Testimonials -
Patient Resources -
Locate Us –

Let’s look at these one at a time.

Home –

This page should quickly explain what you do and why patients should choose you. Put the most compelling information nearer the top of the page in the visible portion (above the fold, in the vernacular).

Consider using an involvement device on this page:

calculators – a diet center could provide Body Mass Intex calculations
before and after pictures – great for cosmetic dentistry or plastic surgeons
checklists – should patients come to our clinic or go directly to the emergency room
surveys – do you have the signs of periodontal disease (vision loss; seasonal allergies; autoimmune disease)?
charts – compare the treatments to stop snoring
instructions – how to conduct a breast self exam

About Us -

Call it “About Our Doctors and Staff,” or “About Our Team.” This page is for credibility. It should give the potential patient confidence that you can solve her problems.

Include your board certifications and additional training.

This is also a great place to use video clips of the staff. A simple statement of “I’m Nurse Ratchett. I’ve worked for Doctor Coldfinger for 13 years. I’m very proud that we’ve invested in the latest generation of X-Ray machines so we can get your results in just minutes,” can put people at ease before they ever visit your office or meet your staff.

Q&A (or FAQ) -

Sit down with your staff and make a list of the questions they hear most often from patients. Organize the list so that the questions naturally lead from one to the next. Answer the questions.

Patient Testimonials -

Encourage your patients to tell of their experiences at your office. In writing they can be powerful endorsements. Video clips are even more so.

Be sure to use both the patient’s name and image (photo or video) for extra credibility.

Patient Resources (or Our Policies) –

This is where you explain your credit policies, whether you’re accepting new patients, and how you handle walk-ins.

Digitize your brochures and make ‘em available for download. Create an info sheet that summarizes your policies and make it downloadable, too.

Do you have a newsletter? Put copies here. Provide links to support groups or recommended reading.

And upcoming events should be detailed either here or on your home page, depending on how important they are to your practice.

Locate Us –

Tell people how to find you. List your hours of operation and follow it with your phone and fax numbers, street address, and directions to your office.

If your webmaster has minimal programming ability, he can add a “widget” (a small bit of code) from Google Maps to put a scalable map to your office on your site.

These are the basics, and in some form this information should be made easily accessible to your website visitors.

Of course, you’ll never write anything that makes people question your sincerity, your trustworthyness, or that of your specialty.

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Can I, Should I Market My Practice on the Web, Part 2? copyright © 2007 Chuck McKay and AdvanceMyPractice.com. All rights reserved.

Chuck McKay is a marketing consultant who works primarily with professional practices and owner operated businesses. Questions about website design for health care practices may be directed to ChuckMcKay@ChuckMcKayOnLine.com.