So, you have a website…

Nowadays, almost all of your new patients will discover your practice via your website. Of course, many will still come as a result of referrals from existing patients, but, in today’s market, you also need to seriously consider the value of online searches. So here are a few points to contemplate:

The Basics

Be certain that your telephone number, physical address and practice hours are posted prominently, and that your hours are accurate and updated for any holidays or vacation closings.

Assign a dedicated staff person to be responsible for your web presence. Even if your website is outsourced to a third party company, have someone in your practice stay on top of things.

Post recent patient before-and-after treatment, photos, introduce new staff members, and provide daily updates via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Remember to make your website fun as well as informative.

On the Technical Side

Be sure the following are taken care of:

MetaTags: these are embedded in the code that make up your web pages and allow search engines to understand what your website is all about. The more complete they are, the better your chance of showing up first in online search results. For example, your page has a MetaTitle, such as “Fred Garris, DDS, Family Dentistry, Greenville, NC 27834.”   You also have a MetaDescription, like “pediatric and orthodontic dental practice serving Greenville 27834, Washington 27889, Ayden 28513 and the greater Pitt County area.” With these tags in place, a search such as “family dental practice 27834” will most likely return the results with your website listed first.

Be sure to include basic content in your website also. A prospective patient might search for “maxillofacial surgery and restorative treatment,” so you need to ensure that your website content addresses the specifics related to your practice.

Create and maintain a Google+ account. This helps Google display not only a picture of your practice, but a map to your location and your office hours as well.

Whenever you include photos of your practice, be sure they show patients and staff interacting. This helps prospective patients relate to you and feel welcome.

If you have a “Contact Us” page, each resulting email message must receive either an email reply or a telephone call within five minutes. This cannot be stressed enough. Any longer period will give that patient time to consider another practice instead of yours.

Invite your patients to post online reviews of their experience with your practice.

Take the time to have a few friends or colleagues examine your website. They can be a great source of information that might otherwise get overlooked.

Remember that most web traffic today comes from smart phones and other mobile devices. For this reason, make sure your website is mobile-friendly. It should automatically adjust for the size of the device that is being used.

All in all, the most important point to understand--- your web presence is no longer an optional part of your overall practice marketing plan, but is, in fact, an integral, essential part of it. Give your website the attention it deserves, and you will reap the rewards.