Productivity

Acquire new patients through SEO

When creating an online marketing plan, focus on search engine optimization.

BY JENNIFER KIRBY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Nowadays, consumers let their fingers do the typing and clicking when it comes to searching for a desired product or service, including health care. In fact, 72% gather health information online, says the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.

When ophthalmic practices create an online marketing plan to reach potential patients, they must prioritize search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is a means of boosting visitors to a specific website by having it appear at the top of a Web search results page. SEO is important because 75% of Internet users never look past the first search results page, says HubSpot’s “100 Awesome Marketing Stats, Charts & Graphs.” (HubSpot is an inbound marketing software platform.)

Although several search engines exist, those interviewed say a practice should concentrate on Google — it’s the most popular search engine in the world and, thus, can provide the biggest return. (See Google’s “Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide” at http://bit.ly/1cpVpgW.)

Here, digital medical marketing agency professionals and ophthalmology practice marketing directors explain the essential SEO elements that allow practices to ensure a steady stream of new patients.

A mobile-friendly website

In March 2015, mobile device use to access the Internet surpassed desktop computer use, reveals comScore, an Internet analytics company. In recognizing this growth, Google began using mobile-friendliness as a website ranking signal in search engine results pages in April 2015.

To provide a mobile-friendly website, get in touch with your website vendor, says Alex Lopez, director of marketing for Alphaeon Corporation, health-care products and services company. “You definitely want to talk to your website vendor about changing your ‘fixed’ website, if you haven’t already, because it’s hurting your business.”

To determine whether your website is mobile-friendly, visit http://tinyurl.com/zmunpf8, and use the “Mobile-Friendly Test.”

An engaging website

For organic (or natural placement) SEO, you must engage patients. This is an unpaid, algorithm-driven means of achieving a top position on a search results page.

A total of 70% of the links clicked on search pages are organic, says MarketingSherpa, a marketing research institute. On Google, 18% of organic clicks go to the No. 1 position on a search results page, 10% go to the No. 2 position, and 7% go to the No. 3 position, according to a study done by SlingShot SEO, a Web search strategy company.

To engage potential patients, Michael Dobkowski, director of Business Development at Glacial Multimedia, a digital medical marketing agency, says your website should provide:

• Correct phone number and address

• Easy navigation

• Dynamic design

• Popular keywords, such as “LASIK,” photos, videos, and blogs (such as LASIK stories, patient interviews, and mission trips)

• Call-to-action statements, such as “Schedule a Free Consultation” and “Learn About Our Financing Options.” “The practice website could have all the right components and be creating a lot of traffic, but if the phone number and address are wrong, the practice won’t be included on third-party directories,” Mr. Dobkowski says. This includes Google’s highly coveted “Local Search” box, which pertains to searches within a specific location and shows just three practices per geographic location, he says.

Social media

Social media enables SEO via its advertising options. Facebook and Twitter offer targeted advertising options (behavior, demographics, interests, location, etc.), and practice-created ads appear on each site’s newsfeeds. Behavior-targeted advertising, in particular, is twice as effective at transforming users who click on the ads into buyers vs. run-of-network ads, or randomly placed ads, says a study conducted by the Network Advertising Initiative. Facebook ads appear as posts, while Twitter ads include hashtags and follow the 140-character limit. Each social media platform offers an array of management tools and varied pricing.

For more, visit www.facebook.com/business/products/ads (which includes Instagram advertising information) and https://business.twitter.com/solutions, says Mr. Dobkowski, whose clients have had great success with these ads. “The idea behind social media ads, like Facebook, is that prospective patients are more likely to see ads when placed on their newsfeeds and, therefore, act on them,” he says. “So, someone sees an ad, clicks on it, and it brings them to the business’ website.”

Retargeted advertising

This SEO driver “follows” the consumer. For example, if a prospective patient clicks on a practice’s website and then leaves for a completely unrelated website, a banner ad from the practice website appears in the unrelated website. A total of 70% of website visitors who are retargeted via display ads are more apt to convert to a product or service on a website, reveals Wishpond Technologies Ltd, a Canadian marketing suite for retailers and brands.

“We have retargeted banner ads through a TV station that we also advertise with, and we’ve seen some success with it,” says Kyle McKinnon, director of marketing at Tylock Eye Care and Laser Center in Irving, Texas.

Paid search advertising

Also known as “pay-per-click” (PPC), this method of SEO requires the Google AdWords advertising service. Specifically, the service enables businesses (or, in this case, medical practices) to have keyword-related advertisements on Google. Each time an ad is clicked, it sends the user to the business’ website, and the medical practice pays Google a specific fee that comes from a monthly practice-created budget.

PPC is beneficial for SEO because it can be used to determine which keywords garner the most traffic. Businesses make, on average, $3 in revenue for every $1.60 they spend on Google AdWords, says PowerTraffick, a company that provides online marketing services.

When using Google AdWords, narrow your focus on your practice’s top-two services, says Mr. Lopez. “The more keywords you want to market, the more expensive Google AdWords is going to be.”

Also, it’s important to make sure the practice budget is large enough for the advertisement to stay visible 24/7, says Mr. Dobkowski — you don’t want to miss out on providing blepharoplasty, for example, to someone who looks for a provider at 4 a.m.

Making it work

Most practices have one or more staff members who post to Facebook and Twitter, but an outside company often is needed to monitor SEO, says Joan Wahlman, director of marketing at the Mann Eye Institute and Laser Center, which has multiple locations in Texas. “There aren’t enough hours in the day with seeing patients and such for practices to stay on top of it on their own,” she says.

To find the “right” digital marketing company, Mr. Lopez suggests getting references from peers and asking for “tangible” results.

Along with SEO, practices should focus on prompt appointment booking, Ms. Wahlman says.

“We have counselors call prospective patients the day after receiving online forms because we know if we don’t get in touch with them fast, they’ll contact another practice, making our online marketing efforts a waste, she says. “I think often the perception with online marketing is, ‘I’ll just throw some money out there, and that will work.’ But, maintaining and acquiring patients comes back to relationship building through strong customer service.” OP