Does your website convert visitors into patients?
Contributed by: Dave Ostler General Sales Manager, Epic Marketing
Your online presence is your first impression to the world. It takes less than two-tenths of a second for a visitor to form a first opinion of your business based on the quality of your website. Are your visitors sticking around, or hitting the back button?
Allow me to introduce the concept of conversion.
Conversion is the art of getting your visitors to perform an action that you have determined to be valuable to your business. This could be requesting a free consultation, “liking” you on Facebook, or subscribing to your monthly newsletter. Simply put – conversion is turning visitors into customers.
Here’s the golden rule of conversion: clarity trumps all. Figure out what users are looking for when they arrive at your site. While a unique website design may be eye-catching, if users can’t answer 1) who you are 2) what you offer and 3) why they should choose you in a matter of seconds, you can say sayonara to that lead.
- Who are you?
When users first land on your page, they are in the orientation phase. In a matter of seconds, they decide whether that page is relevant to what they are looking for. Clutter, blocks of text, and poor graphics confuse and overwhelm users, and will seriously hurt your conversion rate. The purpose of your website should be very clear in your logo, headline, and supporting text and graphics.
- What do you offer?
Next, use copy and design elements to guide the user toward conversion. If you specialize in treating back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain, consider highlighting these three conditions on your homepage.
- Why should I choose you?
Finally, tell users clearly and simply why they should choose your practice instead of continuing their online pursuit. Make sure that your value proposition is clearly stated. If you offer a free consultation for new patients, this should be highlighted on your homepage and internal pages in the form of a call-to-action.
Conversion isn’t about attracting new visitors; it’s about making the most of your existing traffic. If it’s been a while since you last looked at your website, it may be time for a revamp. Take the time to identify the top three things you want users to do as a result of visiting your site. Do you want them to request a free consultation via an online form? Call your clinic? Define your goals, and then optimize your website accordingly.
Contact David: dostler@marketingepic.com (801) 505-9322
DrR says:
Thanks Dave for this informative article. We appreciate your contributions.
DrR