The facts are clear – 90% of people find local businesses through search engines.
Potential customers are jumping online to find an answer to a question a cure to a problem or hopefully your contact details. This means a clear, up to date and consistent web presence is critical for all optometry practices.
The most important online listing and the central hub of your digital presence is your own website. Solely relying on other digital channels (even thought they are extremely important) for your digital presence (Google, Facebook etc) can be risky as they dictate the look and information presented about you. Your own website is the only online channel where you have complete control over how your practice is presented to the world. It is also where you can showcase all the things you do as a business. From Eye tests to contact lenses to Myopia Control and everything in between. When you have this content on your own site, Google is much more likely to find this content and send a local, related search query to your website.
Why Have Your Own Website?
- Your website is your brand and you have full control over it.
- You can communicate your passions, who you and your team are and show you are an expert in eyecare
- It becomes the central point for all your digital activity
- Your objectives (book an appointment, contact us) can be given prime real estate
- Demonstrates that you are serious and professional
- A lot of your details and information around the web may be pulled from this central source
What Makes a Great Website?
Make Sure Your Website Offers a Good User Experience
User Experience refers to how the site looks and feels to the average user that lands on your site. This includes how simple your website is to navigate, if the colours and layout are easy on the eye, if the user is properly directed to the places you want them to go onsite and the actions you want them to take, etc. Some important tips for user experience when designing your website include:
- Mobile Friendliness- An increasing percentage of people are using mobile devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, to perform tasks that used to be reserved for desktop computers and laptops. This includes doing internet searches, getting directions and requesting appointments. This is why it’s important to make sure that your website appears correctly when displayed on mobile devices, and that animations and large image files are minimized or eliminated entirely. This ensures that your website loads quickly on mobile, which is a calculation google considers when ranking sites for various searches.
- Calls to Action (CTAs)- It’s not enough just to get users onto your website and reading your content. You want them to book appointments or take other actions related to their eye care. This is where CTAs come in. CTAs are simple actions (not more than a few words) that clearly let your patients know what their next step should be. Great examples of CTAs that work are, “Book Your Appointment Today,” “Fill Out This Form For a Free Eye Exam,” or “Click Here to Learn More!”
Don’t Neglect The Role of SEO in Practice Marketing
Practice Homepage- Your homepage is the front door of your website. Most of the traffic to your site will come through here, and Google often considers this the most important and authoritative page you have. You should be sure that a general rundown of all your practice’s information and major offerings are featured here to give Google an understanding of what eye care services and/or products you provide, who your ideal patients are, where you are located and how you can be reached.
Service Pages- Make sure to discuss all the services your eye care practice provides, especially those that set your practice apart from others. This is also where you expand on the major offerings mentioned on your homepage. This page is essential as a way to naturally include the types of keywords you want Google to rank your site for.
Location/Contact Page- It’s important for Google to know where you’re located, when your practice is open and how to reach you. When someone in your area searches for services you provide, Google will direct them to your website as a result. Your location page should have your practice phone number, your address and your practice hours. If there are other suburbs or neighbourhoods nearby that you also want to draw patients from, be sure to mention on your location page that you see patients from there, and include directions to your practice from these areas.
Practice Homepage- Your homepage is the front door of your website. Most of the traffic to your site will come through here, and Google often considers this the most important and authoritative page you have. You should be sure that a general rundown of all your practice’s information and major offerings are featured here to give Google an understanding of what eye care services and/or products you provide, who your ideal patients are, where you are located and how you can be reached.
To discuss your website please contact the ProVision Marketing Department marketing@provision.com.au or (03) 8544 3900.
