Is your website doing its job? Is it connecting with prospective patients, bringing them to your appointment book? If your website is no longer boosting your practice’s business, it’s high time you found a new web developer. You’re losing revenue when your website is out-of-date.
It’s true that anyone can develop a website with today’s technology. But a professional web developer — one that specialises in dental practice websites — will be especially attuned to your visitors’ needs. That experience is priceless, as your website is a key component in marketing your practice to local patients.
Your website reflects your practice’s “brand” — the impression you project in social media. It’s got to be a positive reflection that converts visitors into patients, without confusing or frustrating them. You want them to make an appointment, that’s the goal.
Let’s look at the essentials for a dentist’s website, so you’ll know the questions to ask when interviewing a professional web developer.
Adapts to all devices
Most adults have a smartphone, so it is imperative that your website is designed to fit that small screen size. In fact, a responsive website adjusts to fit the screen size of any device — smartphone, laptop, tablet, desktop computer. This ensures each person who visits your site has a great user experience.
Easily pops up in search results
You deserve a beautiful site that is strategically designed to be found in search. If you want patients to find and enjoy your site, it needs to be optimized and designed by someone who knows what they’re doing.
A seasoned web developer has plenty of tried-and-true search engine optimization strategies to boost your standing in search results. This typically involves data to share your brand, location, services, and star rating with search engines.
They’ll also increase traffic by updating your website with new tags, descriptions, content, and links. Additionally, page speeds will be optimized for fast-loading on any device.
SEO keywords require research
Web development is nearly a science today, with a focus on SEO keywords that can make or break your efforts. A professional web developer will conduct the research necessary to identify the best keywords for your specialty, your local area, and your patient base. These relevant keywords will be woven into your content in a very natural flow to boost traffic and attract the optimal audience for your practice.
This is a non-issue when you work with a healthcare web developer because they’ll create content that’s specific to your specialty and local area. Keywords relevant to your patient base will be weaved into the content in a natural-sounding manner to boost traffic and attract the right audience.
Easy navigation is essential
In one study, nearly all respondents (94 percent) cited navigation as the most important website feature. Patients must be able to find the information they’re seeking — it’s just that simple. You need drop-down menus that work efficiently for your prospective patients. The tabs must reflect your services in a straightforward, well-organised outline — using terms lay people will recognise.
If patients can’t easily find your options for orthodontics, for example, or your treatments for jaw pain, or your emergency number, they will move on to the next dentist. People are in a hurry, and don’t have time to search your site for answers.
An experienced dental web developer knows what patients are looking for. You can trust them to organize your website in a style that visitors will find very helpful.
Features must help patients
Online scheduling is very popular now; one survey found that 31 percent of patients appreciated having that function on a website. Patients also like seeing information about the provider staff — bios, pictures, and videos of the office, as well as patient testimonials.
Your website should make a great first impression, truly reflecting your practice — with images of your waiting room, artwork, flowers and plants, treatment rooms, lots of smiles from staff dentists, hygienists, office assistants. All those images make patients feel comfortable with your practice in a welcoming way — so they’re more likely to make an appointment.
Overwhelmed? Let us handle the details
Somnowell Marketing has a team in place to develop a website that will attract and convert prospective patients. Our professional web developers have worked with dental practices like yours that need a “refresh” and reinvention of their websites. If it’s been a few years since you last fine-tuned your site, you’re overdue for a refresh.
We can figure out how to best enhance your dental SEO, your site navigation, and your content. Your practice deserves a site that truly reflects the outstanding patient care you provide.
Also, if it’s time to automate redundant tasks, we take the burden off your shoulders. Emails, messaging, web content, blogs, social media — we can handle it all. The information is always from respected sources, and will dispel any misinformation. Your online content and social media posts are an investment in your practice’s reputation — and that’s undeniably priceless.
