Chapter 3: The Perils of A Pretty Website Getting New Patients With the RIGHT Site Now that you understand the importance of your reputation, your practice ranked by search engines, and the potential it has to reach new weight loss clients, it's time to build an online hub from the ground up. A results-driven marketing strategy that drives business growth begins with an effective website. Notice I used the term effective? Most business owners focus on how good their site looks, and how good it makes them look, not in terms of how Google will register and rank it, which is a mistake. You also must consider how the site looks and functions from a new patient point of view. The real purpose of a website is to connect with potential new patients and demonstrate to them that you understand their problems. For a weight-loss practice, this means creating a website that provides information, inspiration, and images that will highlight how much you care about these potential new patients and their struggle with being overweight. A website must be designed to meet one business objective, convert new website traffic into actual patient traffic. This is what we call the conversion rate. What do I mean by conversion? Conversion is the process of driving Internet traffic to your website and then designing it so people will be inspired to call your office to make that first appointment. It sounds simple, but it isn't. You must use the site to connect with potential new patients in a uniquely personal way. Design your website with one goal: Motivate new patients to trust you and call your practice! Your staff can also impact conversion rates. Train them to work with potential new clients on the phone and make it more likely that calls will turn into appointments. Your team can also be responsible for converting new patients into recurring patients by providing excellent service and care. A high conversion rate begins with a functional and informative website that speaks directly to the patient. You understand their problems, and your services will help them achieve their goals. Warning: Developing a new website can be a minefield of expensive mistakes and strategic errors. Your website development must be managed by someone with a deep understanding of Internet marketing from the aesthetics down to knowing how to code it and get it recognized and ranked by Google. One classic mistake is hiring a team of designers who have only a superficial knowledge of how online marketing works. Big marketing agencies and web designers will suggest a complex website with beautiful graphics. You'll hear phrases like parallax web design, asymmetric grid, dynamic content, split content, micro-interactions, and intuitive interface. These may be cool features, and if your goal is an expensive, flashy website, then go ahead and take this route. But I don't recommend it. These sites are rarely designed with either Google web standards or new patients in mind. They look great but rank extremely low in search results. You won't get seen, and patients will not be engaged. The second most popular option is the DIY site. It's built by a friend, or a friend of a cousin, or whomever. It's a low-cost option until you realize that it's a pre-packaged, cookie-cutter, and unprofessional. You'll end up with mediocre photos, stolen content, and a hefty monthly fee for updates and maintenance. And, the site still won't register with search engines so it won't get ranked. If you don't show up in search results, you won't get new patients. This is costly, no matter how inexpensive it may seem at first. Practitioners must keep one goal in mind when designing a website: attracting potential new patients. A fancy site developed by an agency that has interactive menus and customized features distracts the audience. It makes it difficult for people to get the information they are hungry for, even if they find you. DIY sites don't work much better. Amateur sites look unprofessional, and they don't show up in online searches, and patients don't find the information they want most. What's the solution? A website constructed and coded to register with Google and other search engine crawlers. And give potential new clients what they want! (1) A modest, straightforward website with useful information, (2) a list of your services, and (3) a sense of who you are so that they will trust you enough to call your office and schedule an appointment. Makes sense, right? Our data shows that a well designed, straightforward website with informative content, carefully selected keywords, and good quality photos are all that you need. And, of course, it must be coded with search engine algorithms in mind. Combine this kind of site, link it with original social media content, and before long, your practice will rise in search engine results. Your practice will be discovered by new audiences who will visit the site and then call for an appointment. A new website pays off only if it brings in a steady stream of new patient calls and visits every month. That's the right kind of site. Be Basic We've been talking about the importance of getting high search engine rankings, and the next chapter discusses the specifics of that. However, before we move ahead, I want to share the basics needed for a compelling, successful website. We have a secret formula for drawing pre-qualified website traffic, people who are ready to call for an appointment. The first challenge is separating that qualified traffic from "window shoppers" or idle Internet surfers. The specifics of how to do this are covered later on in the book. For now, just understand that our strategy drives only people who are already interested in your services. By following certain rules, you can create a site that converts site visitors into new patient calls to your clinic. So, let's take a look. The first rule is looking at the language you use. Online content is now how we communicate. How you "speak" to people, in writing, matters a great deal. Imagine for a moment what a potential new patient is going through. How do they feel about the issue of weight loss? What are their concerns, their struggles? Show them, using the right language and the right images, that your practice is the place to call. Our studies show that the more modest, caring, and informative a website is, the more phone calls and conversions the practice experiences. A robust, functional website speaks to the patient's needs and is more successful. So, what does the "right" site look like? It's limited to a few basic but essential pages. Home Page Blog About Us Services Contact Us And, that's it. If you've ever gotten a website or marketing proposal from an agency, the simplicity of our website can seem underwhelming. But these sites work! A fancy, complex website with too many bells and whistles is hard for potential new patients to navigate. This causes them to be slow to pick up the phone and act on their impulse. Imagine being overweight and at home. You are quite likely frustrated, embarrassed, or afraid of failing. You decide to do an online search to feel better. There is a spark of motivation to make a change. According to the research, the first thing you'll do is type in "weight loss boston," or something similar. As results flood the screen, sometimes as many as 160 million listings, you pour over the list. What is it you will look for? Any listing for a weight loss service that is nearby and convenient, with positive reviews. Let's say you click on a listing and jump to a website. If what you find is straightforward information and a sense that someone cares about your struggle, you're going to stay on the site. If there are great patient reviews, a special offer, and a professional approach, you are far more likely to call that doctor. People simply want to know that they are dealing with an experienced professional who is trustworthy and cares about their weight loss problems. The weight loss market, in particular, is overrun with flashy ads, wild discounts on unproven supplements. Some clinics push invasive and expensive surgical options. Potential new patients won't identify with fake miracles or false promises. They can't afford, nor do they want to undergo drastic surgery. Give them clear information regarding your affordable, practical weight loss solution. Highlight the success your patients have experienced and let them know that you can be trusted. This is the content that makes it easy for a new patient to call. Imagine being desperate to lose weight, searching for support on the Internet, and in the middle of all of the B.S., you find a listing by a trusted medical doctor, in your neighborhood, who is a real person. Your website lets them know you understand their struggle, that you have helped others. Give them success stories and excellent reviews written by real people. Show them there is someone who cares. That's how you get the call for an...
