How To Attract More Patients to Your Medical Practice

Attract More Patients to Your Healthcare Practice With These 6 Tips

After the last year and the way healthcare has changed forever, you might be wondering how in the world you are going to attract more patients to your practice? 

Whether you are a doctor or a healthcare practice manager, there are so many creative ways to answer that question. But it's important to consider the digital transformation that is happening and start there. 

With the shift to Telehealth and answers to almost every health question being readily available online, it is important to put your efforts into ways you will attract more patients! 

When people have health concerns in today's day and age, they immediately turn to Google and the Internet to find their answers. 

Although the Internet might not always give prospective patients the right diagnosis to their concerns, don't you want yours to be the first medical practice they call for a consultation?

6 Ways To Attract Patients To Your Medical Practice

1. Establish Online Presence 
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3. Ask For Reviews
4. Utilize GMB
5. Start Blogging
6. Nurture Current Patients

Establish an Online Presence

With 72% of internet users saying they have looked online for health information in the last year, having an online presence is key. 

Start by establishing a website for your practice or auditing your current website. 

Think of your website as a virtual office where current and potential patients can learn about the doctors at your practice, learn more about your practice specialty, make appointments, stay up to date with news, learn about educational opportunities, sell products, and so much more. 

There are many options out there for physicians to find a template online and plug and chug for a cheap monthly price, but be careful. 

What many of those options fail to advertise is that you do not own the rights to that site. It is important as a medical practice that HIPPA laws, as well as many other rules and regulations, are followed so it is necessary to only work with the best web development teams for healthcare out there. 

Search Engine Optimization 

Once you have a beautiful, user-friendly, and mobile-optimized website, the real work begins. 

Just having a website is not enough. You must do the proper things to attract people to that website...and we're talking about search engine optimization or SEO. 

Doing the proper things for SEO changes depending upon recent Google updates but generally include things like: creating a business profile, pushing your practice's information to directories, utilizing Google My Business, search engine submission, website location META, Google Analytics, and performing quarterly or even yearly audits.

Does it all sound like a lot of time and effort? Are you worried you don't know anything about SEO? 

We suggest using an SEO program to relieve the stress of managing all it takes to make search engine optimization successful. 

Ask For Reviews and Take Them Seriously

Asking for reviews is not something new and we're honestly not sure why so many practices don't partake! 

Not only do reviews help patients make initial judgements of your practice but they have huge SEO benefits as well. 

Taking the time to ask each patient to leave a review and then making sure they have left it on the right platform is very time consuming. 

Don't forget that asking for reviews (without a system in place) leaves your practice vulnerable to unhappy patients who want to be heard and understood.

Just one bad review of your medical practice could really impact the way your practice is perceived online. 

Obviously our health is one of the most valued things in life. People take time to read reviews when choosing a practitioner. 

Just one upset patient (with a totally fixable problem...if you only knew) leaving a bad review could be catastrophic. 

A great way to help your practice avoid bad reviews is by using a reviews system. A reviews system not only helps to remind patients to leave a review but it initially asks them about their visit. By first asking them to rate their experience, it gives you a chance to right the wrong, before they leave a negative review. 

Experience the Value in Google My Business

Let's set the record straight. The white box on the right hand side of your Google search results, showcasing a specific business is not there by chance. That business took the time to follow the steps to utilize their Google My Business listing. 

Taking control of your' GMB listing and really putting in the effort that it requires is where your medical practice will start to see results. 

It all starts with verifying and cleaning up your listing, optimizing, and posting weekly.

Taking these steps, as well as getting your patient reviews and managing your page consistently, will allow your practice's online presence to grow. 

Start Blogging 

Starting a blog is easier than you think and totally worth every penny and second you will invest in it. 

Blogging will provide numerous benefits to your practice including: providing knowledge and answers to current and future patients' questions, attracting patients to your website, increasing search results with keywords, and garnering major SEO benefits.

Creating content, optimizing (but not over optimizing) for SEO, and performing all of the other intricacies it takes to run a successful blog that will increase web traffic to your practice is hard for the average person. 

Not to mention that blogging is time consuming and normally incredibly expensive. 

That is why we recommend using a blogging system to get all the benefits of blogging, without actually lifting a finger! 

Nurture Your Current Patients

Don't forget you have access to all of the potential clients you could ever dream of with your current patients. Word of mouth advertising is not dead and sometimes all it takes to gain new patients, is to nurture the ones you already have. 

According to Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), promotional products are the most well-received form of advertising, consumers are more likely to do business with an advertiser that gives them a promotional gift, and they provide the best ROI out there. 

With promotional marketing, you can build relationships with current patients while at the same time turning them into walking billboards and advocates for your practice.

Give your patients a branded reusable bag full of logo'd goodies when they leave your office. Mail them something to their home on their birthday or any day just to let them know your practice is thinking of them. The benefits will far outweigh the cost. 

Looking for Results?

Being a doctor or practice manager doesn't mean you are a digital marketing professional too! We're here to help. In fact, in 2020, our team helped one urology practice bring in 1 million website visitors. 

Our team has also built over 10,000 websites and our proprietary digital marketing tools have helped countless healthcare practices across the US...and yours could be next!

What are you waiting for? We have SEO programs starting at just $75 a month. 

Click the image below to sign up for a free digital marketing audit for your healthcare practice valued at $2500. 

Guest Post by Reece Smith