Healthcare Website Optimization Tips for Success

Are you on the road to success for practice's website?

One of the best selling points your imaging center might have, is your quality of service. Now, it's time to see if your website showcases the same level of quality you hold your staff to. In healthcare marketing, search engine optimization and having a patient-friendly website is key.

To ensure that your website is being effective, you’ll want to go through and check all the moving parts. You don’t need to hire an SEO specialist or spend a ton of money to evaluate your website.  As long as you know what to look for, you can get started today!

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Modern Style

Be honest with yourself, does your website look modern and sleek? Does it reflect the kind of high quality, technologically advanced medical care you provide? If your website looks like a high school student designed it in their computer class circa 2003, with sparkling and spinning graphics, it might be time to update.

Updated Content

If your website has said the same thing on the home page since you launched 5 years ago, Google probably doesn't even know you exist. You need to update your webpages with new content regularly. Adding a blog to your website can help you add fresh content without overloading your on-page content.

Keyword Optimized Page Titles

If a patient went on Google and typed in “MRI in Tampa fl” you would hope that your Tampa based imaging center would come up first in their search results. If you don’t have the terms “Tampa” or “MRI” in your page's title though, it’s very unlikely.  Think about the search terms your patients would use and be sure to incorporate them into your content.

301 Redirects

If you've recently revamped your website or moved to a template site like Wordpress or Squarespace, it's possible that some of your old URL links might have changed. To make sure links out on old social media posts or in old blog articles aren't broken and leaving your visitors perturbed, set up 301 redirects so that the old URLs go to similar new pages rather than pages that don’t exist anymore.

Alt Image Description

Appropriately used images on your website or blog posts are great, but make sure that you have added image titles and descriptions to them so they aren’t just taking up space and are working to grab the attention of Google for terms you're hoping to rank for organically.  This way they help to boost the power of your page.

Google Analytics

Do you have Google Analytics set up? If you answered ‘no’ to this question, then go in time out. How are you tracking the success of your website? How do you know if people are actually using your site? You can’t improve if you don’t know where you stand.

Calls to Action

Make sure you have a call-to-action on each appropriate landing page on your website. These should be accompanied by a contact form giving patients the opportunity to request appointments online, ask questions if they are unable to get on a phone or just to get more information.

Want us to do an evaluation of your website? Fill out the form below!

9 Things You Need to Know About AdWords

Whether you’re an AdWords novice or have been Google certified for years, there is always something new to learn in the world of search marketing and advertising. Today we’ll explore some basic AdWords training principles to incorporate into your healthcare marketing strategy, so you’ll be more prepared for conversations with your team about your paid search strategy.

The 9 Things You Should Know About Google AdWords:

1.     CPC/PPC vs. CPM

CPC (cost-per-click) and PPC (pay-per-click) are terms that can be used interchangeably and mean that your bid-strategy is to pay Google only when people click on your ads. You can also choose to take the CPM (Cost-Per-Thousand impressions) bidding approach which determines your costs based on how many times your ads are shown. CPC is more common and helps give you a better indication of your ROI.

2.     Keyword Planner

Google offers a FREE keyword planner tool for all Google AdWords users. You can use this to determine search volume of certain keywords, estimate competition and average bids along with helping you come up with more appropriate keywords for your campaigns.

3.     Difference between Ad Campaigns and Ad Groups

Ad Campaigns can have multiple Ad Groups underneath them. Think of Ad Campaigns as the different service lines for your practice (ex: Women’s Imaging or Diagnostic Imaging for a radiology center) and think of Ad Groups as the specific services or modalities that fall under those campaigns (ex: Mammograms and Ultrasounds).

4.     Negative Keywords

You can add negative keywords to your campaigns, which indicates to Google that you don’t want your ads shown when people search for certain terms that might be similar to your terms. For instance, let’s say you are using the keywords “diagnostic imaging centers” and “imaging centers” but someone typed into Google “imaging services” they will get results for imaging centers and also digital printers, so you’d want to add “digital imaging” as a negative keyword.

5.     Branded Keywords

When you create an ad campaign for branded keywords, that means ads will show up when someone searches the name of your practice. It might seem counter-intuitive since you’re already coming up 1st organically, but it’s still beneficial to own that real estate. It helps contribute to your overall ad rank if you’re converting well on your branded terms, but keep in mind you don’t have to budget as much for these campaigns.

6.     High Search Volume with Low Competition

It’s a good idea to focus on keywords that have higher search volumes and lower competition. This won’t always seem like a good approach from the get go, but if you do well with converting lower competition terms, you’ll be in a stronger place when you start bidding on more competitive terms.

7.     AdWords Certifications

Anyone can become AdWords Certified through Google and it doesn’t cost anything. Always ask your paid search team if they are certified. It doesn’t take much to do so. First, you take the AdWords Fundamentals exam and then you choose to take either the Search, Display, Mobile, Video or Shopping Advertising exam. Once you pass both, you’re officially certified. Side Note: There are tons of free study guides online and through Google.

8.     Search Network vs. Display Network

These are kinds of campaigns; “Search Network Only” means that your ad will only show up on Google, “Display Network Only” means your ad will only show up in Google’s Display network of websites and videos, including YouTube and Blogger. “Search Network with Display Select” is a combo, which enables your ads to show up in both scenarios.

9.     Ad Rank vs. Quality Score

Your AdWords’ ad rank is the grade that determines in where your ad is displayed on a search results page. Your ad rank can fluctuate based on your bid amount and the quality score Google has given to your ads. Quality score is measured by your ad’s headline, description, destination URL, relevancy and the keywords you’ve chosen. If you have a higher quality score for your ad you could end up paying less per click since Google has determined that you’re providing valuable information for their searchers.

Learn more about Google AdWords by reaching out to the members of our paid search team and by checking back for more blog posts about paid search and healthcare search engine optimization tactics.

Do’s and Don’ts of Cause Related Marketing for Imaging Centers

Throughout the year, there are so many opportunities to develop a cause-related marketing campaigns for your imaging center aimed at spreading awareness. Encouraging your local medical community to get involved can be a challenge, but it seems like there is something to celebrate or spread awareness of each month. The key to getting engagement is having your radiology marketers develop strong, personal and emotional campaigns related to these causes.

List of Awareness Months:

January – Weight Loss Awareness Month

February – Black History Month & American Heart Month

March – National Nutrition Month & Women’s History Month

April – Autism Awareness Month

May – ALS Awareness Month

July – Sarcoma Awareness Month

September – National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month & Colon Cancer Awareness Month

November – Prostate Cancer/Men’s Health Awareness Month

>> Read On For More Awareness Months

Once you’ve built time into your annual marketing schedule and set aside a budget to promote your marketing campaigns, how do you make sure that you are ready for radiology marketing success?

Explore these do’s and don’ts of cause-related marketing campaigns:

• DO encourage action and engagement with your campaign as opposed to asking participants to just make a donation or purchase a product. Donating to these causes is of course important, but to make a lasting effect create an opportunity where people can truly get involved by volunteering time or attending an awareness event.
• DON’T pick a cause just because everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon. Your message will fall flat if you’re simply trying to copy others around you and it won’t have the impact you imagined.
• DO select a cause you and your staff feel passionate about. The more dedicated you are to the cause, the more effective your campaign will be because people will be inspired to get involved when they see how much it means to you.
• DON’T try to push your own agenda using the campaign as a vehicle for your own benefit. If you’re going to launch a cause-related marketing strategy it should be genuine and contribute to someone other than yourself.
• DO pick something to support that can reach people on a personal level and make it easy for people to participate. Launching a social media campaign would be a good start but give people various ways to get involved. If you only leave them with one option, it’s likely people won’t be as inclined to get involved.
• DON’T be afraid to go big with your campaign and think about how this can turn into an annual activity. Think long-term about how your actions can contribute to the cause you are supporting.

What If My Imaging Center Gets a Bad Review Online?

It’s a healthcare practice’s nightmare; to learn that a disgruntled or disappointed patient has left a bad review online.  As an imaging center, you attempt to provide top notch patient care to everyone that comes through your door, but no matter what, you might still meet a patient who is just hard to please.

Regardless of how well your staff treats your patients, they can develop a negative opinion of your imaging center. They can become disgruntled for a number of reasons that you can manage, but there are some ways patients can become frustrated that are out of your control.

Patient Experiences You Can Control

Feeling Welcomed – With a Smile

Clean, Comfortable Waiting Area

Easily Accessible Contact Information

Convenient Access to Patient Records

Patient Experiences You Can’t Control

Longer Wait Times – Due to External Delays

Frustration/Pain Based on Patient Ailment

Patients with Bad Attitudes

High Care/Procedure Costs

Read More: Why Your Healthcare Practice Needs Social Media

So, what do you do if a patient leaves a negative review of your imaging center on Facebook or Yelp? Or, what if a patient tweets something negative to you? How do you handle it?

How To Handle Bad Reviews on Social Media:

Step 1: Don’t delay. Be sure to respond quickly to reviews so you can take control of the situation before it has the chance to snowball into a bigger issue. Even if the bad review is in fact warranted, you can still salvage the situation with an appropriate response.

Step 2: Determine if the complaint is based on something you could control making it warranted, or if the complaint is something that doesn’t have to do with the quality of your service. Ex: “The front desk girl was very rude and was playing on her cell phone while I waited at the desk.” This is something you can fix as opposed to a review that reads, “I’ve been in pain for months so I tried to schedule an MRI at this imaging center but they wouldn’t give me an appointment unless I was referred by a doctor.”  We know that in radiology, diagnostic testing requires a script, but some patients may not know that. So, while you can’t change this fact, you can do a better job of explaining this to patients and giving them advice on what to do next.

Step 3: Always be sympathetic, no matter what. An apology isn’t always warranted if the patient’s negative review is unwarranted. Sometimes people just complain to complain but even if they are wrong, you need to show empathy in your response.

Step 4: Offer some kind of solution or compromise. You can’t erase the past and you can’t refund patients for their care, but that doesn’t mean you can’t offer some kind of solution. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is provide the patient with the contact information of your marketing representative or office manager so they can speak directly with a person who might be able to help them. This is also an opportunity to do some further investigating to see if this can be a learning opportunity for your practice.   

Some things to remember with regards to online patient reviews:

1.     Just because you don’t think you have a Facebook page for your practice, doesn’t mean there isn’t a location listing on Facebook where patients can check in and write reviews. You must take ownership of your business’ page and merge the listing page to control it. You can’t control a Facebook listing but you can control a business page!

2.     People are most likely to leave a review of their healthcare providers when they either have an extraordinarily positive or extraordinarily negative experience. You won’t often get people who say that their experience was just okay. Focus on branding your patient experience so it is something worth talking about in a positive light.

3.     Sometimes a negative review with a strong, helpful response from the practice is more influential than a positive review. As a patient, seeing that someone from a practice would go out of their way to make amends for a negative experience shows that they are willing to go above and beyond for their patients.

Read More: Why You Need to Brand Your Practice’s Patient Experience

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Need help managing bad reviews online for your practice? We can help, just fill out the form below!

Why Your Radiology Practice Needs a Social Media Strategy

Many radiology groups think social media in the medical field is a waste of time, but we're here to tell you why that just isn't the case. Your practice needs a social media strategy for a number of reasons, but to excel in radiology marketing you don't even have to do much. Healthcare providers are accepting that health care social media is a necessity, but your competition may not yet be on board. 

Let's look at some reasons why your practice needs a social media strategy:

1.     Because it's the best way to reach consumer-driven patients…

Your mother might say, “if Johnny and everyone else was jumping off a bridge, would you do it too?” In this case, your answer should be a resounding, “YES MOM, I’M JUMPING AND I LEFT MY PARACHUTE AT HOME.” Doctors, hospitals and specialists all over the country are using their Facebook business pages to reach patients, so radiology practices must get on board. Patients are turning to Twitter as well, thanks to the Health Care Hashtag project brought to you by Symplur, making weekly tweet chats and hashtags trend within the industry.

2.     Because Search Engine Optimization is your key to success…

SEO practices help your website rank higher for patients searching certain keywords. Want to be the first website to show up when they search for “best doctor in Tampa?” Well, you’ll have to work for it.  New SEO practices have shown that more weight is being put on your social sites.  This means, if you have patients providing reviews and sharing your posts with their friends, you will be in a better position for patients looking online for practices like yours.

3.     Because older people are really into “The Facebook”…

My most active Facebook friend is 100% my Grandma. She “Likes” and shares every post I make, no matter what it is about. She “Likes” every local business she is a patron for, including her doctors.  Specialists like radiologists have a largely elderly patient population, but they assume they aren’t reliable for social engagement. That just couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when it comes to “The Facebook,” as my grandma calls it.

4.     Because you can use Twitter to reach the unreachable…

PR pros don’t tell you this secret openly, but Twitter is the most affordable and easiest way to reach your local media.  Industry leaders, community influencers and news reporters are all over Twitter. You can open lines of communication with them and then when they have the chance to highlight you or use you as a resource, you’ll be ready.

5. Because people like to complain…

People are much more inclined to share negative experiences than positive ones. Let’s face it, by nature, we like to whine and complain. Often, your disgruntled patients will turn to social sites like Facebook, Google Places or Yelp to air your dirty laundry.  If you don’t manage your pages, you can’t defend your practice, correct the situation and improve the patient’s impression of you. Care doesn’t end when your patients walk out the door; you need to be accessible to them.

Read More: What If My Practice Gets a Bad Review on Facebook