Your website can be your most powerful tool for easing those concerns so that prospective patients can move forward.
Prospective patients might look at a dozen plastic surgery practices before they choose just one. Your website could be the first one they look at or the last, but it needs to make a winning impression.
Standards are getting higher when it comes to websites. Your patients might not know the first thing about design, branding, or marketing, but they know when a site looks trustworthy in their eyes.
To determine if your website needs digital facelift, ask yourself these questions:
1. Is Your Site Mobile-Friendly?
About 52% of all online traffic comes from a mobile phone. An even higher percentage of all emails are first opened on mobile. Plastic surgeons should have a modern website with a responsive design. That means the navigation and graphical elements automatically resize so they’re easy for anyone to use – whether on a smartphone, tablet, or traditional desktop.
2. Does Your Site Load Fast?
Just how fast is a “fast” website? Google recommends all pages should load in two seconds or less. Usability research shows that it only takes a delay of one full second for a user to wonder if something’s gone wrong. Google PageSpeed Insights will get you started measuring your website’s speed. Scripts and oversized images can be optimized or removed to make a site faster.
3. Are You Using Social Proof?
Plastic Surgeons have long used “before and after” photos to show off amazing results. Modernize the concept by making sure you have a gallery of well-lit, high resolution photos along with patient testimonials. Ideally, your gallery should depict a full range of services performed on women and men across all the age groups you serve. Always follow up with patients for testimonials!
4. Are You Monitoring Your Reviews?
Sites like Yelp – and specialist sites like Healthgrades – will always factor into patient decisions about their plastic surgeons. You can’t control what users post on these sites, but you should respond politely and professionally to any negative reviews. Got great scores? Some services even let you import your top reviews and overall score directly onto your own website.
5. Are You Giving Patients the Chance to “Meet” Your Plastic Surgeons?
Sure, your medical staff is busy. You might not have time to personally meet and greet everyone who shows interest in your services. But your website lets you do the next best thing with video marketing. High quality videos of your doctors and office help patients feel like they know you. In a series of short videos, surgeons can introduce themselves for that personal touch.
6. Are You Answering Your Patients’ Burning Questions With Blogs?
The biggest question most would-be patients have is a simple one: “Will it work?” That might require a personal consultation, but there are many questions you can answer effectively on your site. The more topics you cover, the easier it is for Google to associate you with your areas of expertise and give you more opportunities to rank higher in search results.
7. Are You Making it Easy to Contact Your Office?
Everyone has their own communication preferences, and your website should cater to as many of them as possible. That means, at minimum, providing phone and email contacts. Many Plastic Surgeons are going a step further with chat functions integrated right into their site. These can be AI-based or use live representatives. Social media customer service works for some brands, too.
8. Is Your Social Media Linked to Your Website?
Speaking of social – visitors love to know that your website is active and frequently updated. Putting your social media feed right on your home page reassures them and gives them an extra incentive to follow you on Facebook or Instagram. Social media is a terrific way to promote your recent patient success stories. You can also share videos and content from your blog.
9. Are You Using Local Search to Your Advantage?
Patients don’t want to travel far for the best Plastic Surgeons – they want options in their own neighborhood. To capture these “near me” searches, make sure your full office address is listed in the contact page and footer of your website. Also claim your page in local directories like Google My Business, which allows Google to easily pinpoint your location.
10. Are You Gathering Patient Feedback to Do Better?
Your website is such a valuable tool because it works for your practice around the clock. It never has to stop or slow down, but it’s never complete, either. Actively collect patient feedback to find ways to make your site better over time. One surefire way is to focus on getting your email list subscribers to answer short surveys, as they may be more invested in your brand.
A surgical facelift is more than just an incision, and a digital facelift is more than just one tip or technique. New York Ave is the digital marketing team that can make it easier for you.
We tailor personalized digital strategies for Plastic Surgeons that get people excited about what you do. That means more patients in chairs and less time chasing the latest marketing fads.
To find out more or get started, contact us today.
