Pediatric Blog

The start of a new year is traditionally the time where people make resolutions to improve their lives and businesses going forward. There may be one spot where goals are needed that is often overlooked in a busy practice - your website.

A practice’s web presence is its public face to the world and largest referral engine. When people move to a new town they often research local providers through Google. And even when they receive a word of mouth recommendation, the practice’s website is the first place they go to learn more about you.

Here are 5 good resolutions to set for your practice’s website this year:
 

1. Grow your website traffic
   Take a look at your website traffic reports for 2016 and set your goal for this year to increase that number. Traffic increases can come from advertising, using social media, and/or directory submissions on popular sites like SuperPages, Healthgrades and Vitals.
2. Optimize your site for usability
   The tipping point has arrived. Now more than half of all consumer traffic to U.S. websites is coming from mobile devices. If your website is not optimized for the small screen of a smartphone you’ll lose visitors fast.
   
   Additionally, although moving text and images may make your site more enjoyable to look at, it doesn’t make it easy to use or findable in search. Make sure it is compliant with web best practices for usability and search engine crawls.
3. Rank higher on Google
   If you search for your specialty and your hometown, is your website one of the first results on the page? It should be. It is estimated that Google makes changes to its search algorithm every day, with major upgrades happening multiple times a year. So the SEO keywords you built into your site two years ago will not perform the same today. Many practices take advantage of a service like RemedyConnect to stay up to date with Google’s every move.
4. Increase your current patient satisfaction
   Don’t forget about taking care of the patients you already have. Patients today are looking for convenience from their providers. What options can you provide to serve your patients online through your website? Hosting a web symptom checker or a “page my doctor” service can be big satisfiers.
5. Get more new patients
   When you have satisfied patients, they are likely to refer their friends and neighbors. Make sure the content and layout of the website drives visitors towards that goal. Frequently asked questions, a new patient sign up form, and a direct phone line for questions are all helpful for patients shopping for a new doctor.