Month: August 2012

How easily and frequently potential patients find your website relies greatly on how visible it is in the search engine’s search results.  Websites that rank higher get more traffic than those sites buried several pages back.  More importantly, increased website traffic translates to more new patient appointments for your office.

To achieve a good ranking position, you must be implementing a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.  Best practice SEO can help you climb the rankings, but poor SEO techniques may prevent you from reaching a top spot on the first page. Avoid these common SEO mistakes to keep your website on track for optimal online visibility.

Thinking SEO is a one-time commitment

This is perhaps the most common—and dangerous—mistake people make when it comes to search engine optimization.  SEO is not a set it and forget it strategy. It’s an ongoing process that involves keeping up with the search engines’ ever-changing algorithms in order to achieve a high organic ranking in the search results.

Going overboard with keywords

“Content is king” when it comes to SEO.  The content on your site is not only what visitors will read to learn about your practice, but it is also what the search engines use to rank your site. To rank well for certain words or phrases, such as “dermatologist in West Orange” these keywords need to appear in the body of your text.  What this doesn’t mean is littering the content on your pages with so many keywords that it appears unnaturally. This is known as “keyword stuffing”—a tactic that makes your site look spammy to both your visitors and the search engines.

Choosing quantity link building over quality

Link building is one of the primary means by which the search engines determine the value of your site, but having more links doesn’t mean anything if they aren’t of high quality. Avoid linking to irrelevant sites and other low-quality link sources. Instead focus on building quality links from sources that are relevant to your practice and specialty. Ten quality links are much more valuable in the long run than 100 spammy links that will ultimately hurt your ranking.

Are poor SEO efforts hurting your Google presence? Talk to Officite about implementing a six month SEO strategy that focuses on quality, best practice techniques that are tailored for your specific website needs and practice location.

Your website has the potential to play a vital role in the promotion of your practice online.  Likewise, it can also have a negative impact on a first time visitor’s perception of your office if your website’s appearance and performance aren’t up to speed.

Don’t let a few flaws in your site’s presentation cost you new patients. Look for these signs that your website needs refreshed to keep visitors on your page.

Design is outdated

Potential patients are visiting your website to get a feel for your practice. But if the first impression they get from your site is that it’s outdated, then what message are you sending about your office?  Like most things, website designs require maintenance in order to remain effective. Consider giving yours a facelift if it hasn’t been changed since you first launched your site.

Broken links

Have you checked the links on your website lately?  A visitor may think they are clicking to a page to learn more about Invisalign, but when they get there the page no longer exists. This is not only frustrating, but it sends the message to the patient that your practice doesn’t offer the services they are looking for.

Confusing navigation

Visitors to your site will want to learn more about your office, your services and your staff. A well designed website will have organized buttons and tabs that quickly direct them to that information with ease. Cluttered sites, however, may cost you business as users will move on to a competitor’s site that provides the content they are looking for in fewer clicks.

Missing links to social media

If you’re already blogging and using Facebook to engage with patients online, then you’re one step ahead of many of your local competitors.  But if you haven’t included these important URLs on your website home page, don’t expect many people to join your social network.  By simply displaying social media buttons on your site, you’ll let visitors know that they can join your community for additional interaction with your practice.

Put yourself in your patients’ shoes. When you visit a site for the first time, what features are immediate turn offs? Outdated designs and photos?  Disorganized content? Broken links? If your website exhibits any of these signs, talk to your website provider about ways to enhance its usability and visual appearance.

For a free Web presence consultation, contact Officite at 800-908-2483, and speak to your personal Web Presence Advisor!