Question
My website doesn't WOW me. My goal is to have potential patients stay on my site, look at everything I have to offer, and hopefully request an appointment - any suggestions?
Answer
To convert your website visitors into patients you have to engage them by incorporating engaging information on your site. Many of us have probably gone to a website and have decided not to use that service because it looks kind of sketchy. Your website can be a powerful marketing piece. You have to get visitors to trust you, so you have to be seen as credible. In fact, 75% of users admit they make judgments about the credibility of the company based solely on the design of its Web site (Fogg, 2002).
There are some different things we can do to increase credibility. Much of it revolves around having updated content and functionality on your website being up to date. Here are some areas that you can focus on:
Updated News and Information - Many people like to post articles on their websites. At AudiologyOnline we have an article tool for our website customers, so if they have a short article they want to post, they can log in to their Web site manager and quickly add the most up to date information there. Some people post their latest patient newsletters. Since they are already producing and mailing it, they can post a PDF copy on their website. Another example is that we have a news feed that we populate for our customers and they can set that up to automatically update their websites with short announcements via a widget. Keeps the site looking up to date with little or no effort from the customer. As another type of "article", some locations have created an online tour of their practice so you can see the environment and what can be expected at the office. It gets people familiar with the practice and also lends credibility to the services they provide.
Videos - Provide an introductory video of yourself and what your practice has to offer. There is nothing better than you sitting down with one of your patients. The problem is you cannot be everywhere at once. This is where Internet video delivers, and where you can earn credibility by showing you are a real professional. Include informative videos about hearing loss or amplification. AudiologyDesign, AudiologyOnline's website program, has a recorded library of videos from hearing aid batteries to degree of hearing loss to hearing aid styles to embed in a website, and then the patient can educate themselves on their own time, at their own pace. You have to engage your visitors with compelling content, with a strong call to action. Internet video is one of those social media activities you can easily incorporate. Videos are the closest thing people have to physically sitting down and talking with you. People today expect to see videos on Web sites.
Functionality - Overall, make your site useful. Some people put their patient forms online. This makes it easy for those patients that like to come to the visit prepared with paperwork in hand. Include personalized maps so they can easily locate you, and directions to your office, especially if you are not in a free-standing building. Design your site so that different Web elements float over the page or in a new window in the existing site. It encourages people to stay on your page. They worked so hard to find you and get there, the last you want to do is open new windows or redirect traffic away from your site.
Contact Information - When providing your contact information, double check to make sure your address and phone number are correct. You would be surprised how many folks do not have this right or do not have contact information in a convenient, intuitive location. If you want people to call or find you, you have to have that information on every single page. If someone prints a page, the name and contact information should be on that page.
Your website should not just focus on making you go "Wow", it needs to make your patients go "Wow!" You are a credible professional with highly-desirable skills to offer to your patients. Having a well-designed website makes you able to establish your credibility with potential patients before they pick up the phone to call. It's great that you see the value in having an effective online presence;I hope the above points give you some things to think through.
AudiologyOnline currently hosts websites for about 800 practices around the United States. We would be happy to help you design and help you find solutions to your websites. You can find additional information on how to create a website through AudiologyOnline at www.audiologydesign.com
Reference
Fogg, B.J. (2002). Stanford guidelines for web credibility: A research summary from the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. Stanford University. Retrieved August 10, 2011, from https://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html.
Editor's Note: This Ask the Expert was taken from the course Connect and Convert: Internet Marketing Best Practices by Paul Dybala, Ph.D. To view the recorded course, register at: www.audiologyonline.com/ceus/recordedcoursedetails.asp?class_id=18540
Paul Dybala, Ph.D., is an Audiologist and the President of AudiologyOnline. He is responsible for strategic and operational activities within the company. Dr. Dybala has a diverse range of backgrounds in the areas of hearing aid technology, communication disorders and the Internet. This has focused his professional mission to make the Internet a useful medium for audiologists and the patients they serve. His graduate degrees are from the University of Texas at Dallas / Callier Center for Communication Disorders. He currently resides in Dallas, TX.
