How to Increase Referrals from Your Website?
Guest post by Natasha Ace
As marketing is ever-evolving, we have to continue to adapt in ways that are completely foreign to our skillsets. As our practices grow, we need to add innovation in leaps and bounds. It’s hard to know everything! Many clinic owners spend a small fortune on Google Adwords or ways to increase their Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). While the health field isn’t the most expensive area for keywords (find out who is here), it’s important to ensure that those who land on your site actually make a booking to use your service. So, we’re giving you five quick tips to help make your website succeed in delivering more referrals to your clinic.
1. Change your Bio
Contrary to the common belief that your bio should be about you, it shouldn’t! You should understand who your ideal client/customer/ patient is and then your bio should speak to them. Use the symptoms that they’re experiencing in their everyday life. Why are they looking for your service? Then, if you can answer one question: “How can this business help me” you’re in for more bookings. If you’re interested in hearing the #1 secret to writing a great bio click this link here.
2. Know your Ideal Client
Not only should your bio be speaking directly to your ideal client, but your whole website should also be as well. Often times, websites are trying to reach everyone and be everything to everyone and anyone who might look at it. However, we know that is not possible!
So instead of trying to please everyone, focus on who you want to see in your practice. Then, tailor your online content to them. This way, if you’re doing things like SEO marketing or Google Adwords, that marketing can drive more of the right people to your website, and those people are then more likely to respond to your content. This means you’ll have less “impressions” (people who just see your website) and more people who act on your call-to-action.
3. Create a strong Call-to-Action
It’s highly likely that people visiting your website are ready to use your service. They’ve seen your website, like the content, they love the bio that answers “How can this person help me?”, and they are now ready to take action. So let’s help them make that appointment right away with a big “Book Now” call-to-action!
Zanda has a great Online Booking feature that you can easily add to your website. This feature is PERFECT for reducing the amount of admin time needed to convert an inquiry to a booking. It’s also great for when you don’t have 24-hour phone/email coverage. Let’s be honest, your ideal client isn’t only looking to make an appointment with you from 9 to 5, so use this feature in Zanda by adding it to your website and start taking bookings 24 /7. The best thing too is that you can integrate it with Stripe to take credit card payments thus ensuring that clients who book without speaking to your team are committed to attending. If you’re not using Zanda, make sure you at least have some other call to action on your website, for example, a clickable phone link or an email address.
4. Add a Video
Make your site you! What better way to show personality and create a connection than to include a welcome video? It doesn’t need to be too long or professionally recorded – you can always go and get professional videos when you’ve grown a bit and have some extra cash to spend. Nowadays you can use your smartphone to record high-quality videos and host to YouTube or Vimeo. Your video just needs to show some of your personality.
Depending on the size of your business, your welcome video may be placed on your home page. If you’re in a larger business, each team member can record their own short video to be embedded within their bio. The video should be short (under two minutes) and might include a brief introduction along with some simple facts about yourself. For example; “Hello I’m Natasha Ace and I’ve been working for 15 years in this field. I have a dog named Humphrey. I enjoy F45, and the book I’m reading at the moment is Wuthering Heights.” While you’re a professional, you’re still showing a “human” side that will draw the right clientele your way.
5. Ensure your Website is Accessible
Make your website user-friendly for those with disabilities. Over 4 million people in Australia have some form of disability. That’s 1 in 5 people! If your website isn’t accessible for those with disabilities, you’re missing out on a large number of inquiries that you could be receiving.
You can easily (for free) add an accessibility statement and button to your website by using User Way. If you’d like to see this app in action, take a look at www.privatepracticealliance.com and click the button that says ‘Accessibility’. This free feature will update your website by changing the spacing, removing animations, and highlighting links. All of these features will help anyone who may have difficulties navigating your site better.
I hope you find these few tips helpful! The beauty of technology is how affordable and (mostly) easy to do yourself. Don’t feel the need to implement everything I’ve mentioned here all at once. Build the items into your strategy and monitor the effects the changes have on your bookings. By using and improving the resources you already have, you shouldn’t need to spend much (or any) money on Google Adwords, or other expensive marketing strategies. You likely already have people who are visiting your site, and looking for the services you provide – all they need is just that little bit of extra encouragement to take action and make a booking!
Natasha Ace is a practice building guru who has worked with private health practices for 15 years. She brings international experience and practical applicable ideas to any size practice. She’s driven by numbers but understands the nuance of the client journey and how it intertwines with business analytics. She’s inspired by the vision of the co-founders of Zanda and absolutely loves how Zanda focuses on its customer’s journey and paves the way for their customers to focus on their client’s journey.