According to a 2022 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NSHS) and published by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), 58.5% of adult consumers searched the Internet for health and medical-related information.
The consumer’s journey doesn’t end with the search. It might start his journey from concerned user to paying client.
According to Google, the initial search drives three times more visitors to healthcare websites and three times more bookings for doctor’s appointments and medical checkups.
A well-designed healthcare website can convert users when they land on the page seeking information.
If you don’t have a website for your healthcare business, we’ll explain why you need one.
If you have an underperforming website for your healthcare business, we’ll give you remedies that could nurse it back to health.
Why You Need A Website For A Healthcare Business
Health is a serious issue for everyone. If you’re showing symptoms of a possible health condition, you want to get information from a trusted source. The obvious choice would be a doctor.
The question is: “Which doctor?”
A 2024 Report prepared by the Milbank Memorial Fund and the Physicians Foundation revealed that 28.7% of adult consumers don’t have a standard source of healthcare.
Health can be regarded as a personal matter. Rather than seeking recommendations from a friend, searching for information on the Internet is more convenient.
This is why your healthcare business needs a website.
1. People Want Answers ASAP
Have you seen the Mayo Clinic website?
When you land on the home page, you’ll have access to a feature that allows you to search for diseases and conditions from A to Z. If you know the disease, type the name in the query box and launch a search.
The quick-search feature is situated on the top third of the home page. Its function and location address the user’s search intent immediately.
Search Intent is the user’s primary objective when launching the search.
Based on Google’s updated Quality Rater Guidelines, the search engine giant considers satisfying search intent a significant ranking factor. Search Intent is listed under “Part 2: Understanding User Needs” at 12.7.
If the user finds the answers he’s looking for, his next step might be to contact you.
2. A Website Makes Your Business Accessible
People aren’t only looking for answers to healthcare-related questions.
They want to learn more about the people running the healthcare business:
- What services do you offer?
- Who comprises your team of healthcare specialists?
- Where can people find you?
- How do people contact you?
- How much do you charge for services or consultations?
Think of your website as a more dynamic, helpful, and informative version of the Yellow Pages.
Instead of letting their “fingers do the walking,” their fingers will “do the tapping” on their mobile phones to contact you.
3. Your Competitors Have Websites
A Local Search Association (LSA) study showed that 60% of consumers performed an online search before scheduling a healthcare appointment.
| Healthcare Specialization: | Percentage of Online Search: |
| Chiropractors | 61% |
| Clinics | 67% |
| Dentists | 71% |
| Hospitals | 69% |
| Nursing Homes | 79% |
| Optometrists | 74% |
| Physical Therapists | 84% |
| Physicians and Surgeons | 71% |
(Source: LSA)
Although there is no specific data available on the number of healthcare businesses that have websites, it’s clear from the table that consumers are actively searching online for healthcare providers.
Let’s assume you run a search:
“Dental clinic near me.”
Which dental clinic would you visit – the one with a website or without?
It can be frustrating to come across a search result that doesn’t have a website, right? Where do you go to get more information about the clinic?
Social media? Online directories? Community forums?
With a website, you have a central hub of all the information a user needs to decide.
4. Outsource Tasks to a Website
You can improve the efficiency of your office by transferring some tasks to your website:
- Appointment setting via booking engine.
- Customer services: Chat support, email support, and contact forms
- Accounting and Billing: FAQs, chat support, email support, and contact forms.
- Marketing: Blogs and include links to your social media pages.
- Sales: Include a product page allowing users to buy products you sell, such as supplements, devices, and healthcare protective gear.
You can reduce operating costs by contracting these services to remote workers or freelancers.
Remember, your website never closes down for business.
You can get inquiries, appointment bookings, and purchases 24/7.
5 Qualities of an Effective Healthcare Website
A website is an investment in your business. As an investment, the intention is to build a website that will yield future dividends.
The saying goes, “To make money, you must spend money.”
We bring this up because some well-meaning people might encourage you to use a website builder with free templates.
Yes, it can be done – but you’re taking a considerable risk.
As you’ll find out in this section, to be effective, a website must have certain qualities that ensure its performance, functionality, and value to users.
If your website doesn’t make a good first impression on the user, you’ll lose an opportunity to build your business.
Here are the five qualities of an effective healthcare website.
1. Focused on Search Intent
Every time a visitor lands on your website, it is an opportunity to get an appointment or sell a service.
The key is to satisfy the user’s search intent.
Your website must provide the information users are looking for, such as:
- The Unique Value Proposition (UVP) of your company: What makes you different from other healthcare service providers? Why should I patronize your business instead of another?
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): FAQs are vital because they drive search intent. FAQs could be the landing page for many consumers. They want to learn more about their specific health conditions.
What are the symptoms? What are the potential outcomes? What are the stages of the disease? What is the survival/recovery rate? What are possible remedies? What type of medical professional should I see?
How long is the treatment? What are the treatments and processes? How much does treatment cost?
- Products and Services: What medical and healthcare services do you provide? Do you have a clinic? Do you do house calls?
What types of payment do you accept? What kinds of insurance do you accommodate?
- About Us: Who are the healthcare specialists on your team? What are their experiences, accomplishments, and specializations? How can your team help site users?
- Blog Page: Similar to FAQs, the blog page gives you the platform to highlight your healthcare knowledge.
Blogs can enhance your reputation as an expert in a specific medical field. They can build your brand and motivate readers to avail of your services.
Write about the latest trends and technologies in healthcare. Share your opinions on the most common health issues. Give tips on how to prevent certain illnesses.
You can do keyword research to uncover the most popular topics in your field of healthcare. You can visit the websites of your competitors and go through their FAQs.
Check your social media pages. What questions are commonly asked by your audience? Post a survey on your social media. Include a link to a Google Sheet file they can access to participate in the survey.
2. Empathetic Design Elements
If you suspect something’s wrong with you, feelings of anxiety, fear, and worry slowly take over. Waiting for the results of your search query can be nerve-wracking. Reading the information can either lead to a sigh of relief or a feeling of gloom.
People who visit healthcare websites might be anxious, fearful, or worried. They’re not only concerned about their health. They’re also concerned about the cost of the treatment and medicines.
Your website must present empathetic design elements or aesthetics that help allay fears, build trust, and inspire confidence in your business.
Here are examples of empathetic design elements for a healthcare website.
- Color: Over the years, studies have proven that Color Psychology is real and can impact businesses.
Certain colors trigger specific reactions and emotions from consumers. Using the right color for your healthcare website can influence consumer behavior.
For healthcare, colors like blue, green, grey, and earth tones are ideal because they’re associated with trust, efficiency, and cleanliness. Use lighter shades of these colors to generate a calming effect.
- Images: When it comes to images, use human faces instead of graphics or animation. People are naturally drawn to human faces because they assure trust and authenticity.
You can use stock photos of healthcare professionals for the home page and products and services page. For the About Us page, we recommend using your actual faces.
Let your audience know there are real people behind the business. Show users that you’re not running a fly-by-night operation.
Some users will run an actual Google or social media search about you because they fear getting scammed (more on that later!) If the results come out negative, they’ll be at ease.
- Videos: An explainer video will provide all the information a user needs about your healthcare business.
Video is a powerful medium for delivering content because it appeals to the senses of sight and hearing.
The elements of a video – visuals, soundtrack, dialogue, and the use of colors – can collectively work to trigger the desired emotions. Videos have a memory retention rate of 95%, higher than text or images.
3. Design Elements That Highlight Trust
In the first quarter of 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed their office received more than 16,000 complaints about healthcare fraud.
Americans lost $16 million of their hard-earned money to healthcare scammers.
Cybercrime is a threat every consumer faces when they transact online. Before they explore a website, they want to be assured their personal information and well-being are safe.
How can your website assure users they’re on a trusted platform?
- SSL Certificates: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is an encryption program that protects your data as it’s transmitted from browser to server.
Users who see the padlock or “https” before the URL will feel secure exploring your website.
Google used to require SSL certificates for e-commerce websites. The search engine giant has made SSL a ranking factor.
If your website doesn’t have an SSL certificate, it will be penalized in the search rankings and marked “Not Secure.”
- 2FA or MFA Security Protocols: Two-factor authentication (2FA) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can be annoying but essential for securing your site users.
They’re for your users’ own good!
2FA uses two identification protocols to verify the user’s identity before granting access. MFA uses 2FA protocols plus one or more systems to tighten security further.
The usual protocols used for 2FA are a One-Time Password (OTP) via email and mobile phone push notifications.
An MFA can use these two protocols plus a combination of a fingerprint scan, facial recognition, IP address authentication, and location- and time-based factors.
- Social Proof: Social proof is evidence that influences other people’s behavior.
Social proof includes customer testimonials, positive reviews, five-star ratings, social media mentions, recommendations, awards, and citations.
If you see a glowing positive review about a product or service, won’t you be enticed to patronize the business?
Ask your loyal clients if they’re willing to post a testimonial about your business. Invite followers on your social media pages and online directories to share their experiences.
It would add more weight to the testimonials if your clients were willing to include their pictures.
- Proof of Authenticity: The challenge of running an online healthcare business is you carry the suspicion of being a fly-by-night operation like the Sword of Damocles.
Including a web page allowing users to view your business papers and service provider licenses would be a good idea.
A printout of the first page of your SEC Articles of Incorporation, copies of your professional licenses, and memberships to industry organizations help establish the authenticity of your business.
- Social Media Links: Adding links to your social media pages makes it easier and more convenient for users to learn who you are and what your business is about.
Many businesses often misunderstand or overlook the “Social” in social media. To socialize means to engage or develop relationships within the community.
You can’t build relationships by talking about business all the time. Use social media to establish the personality of your business.
Share stories with your followers. Introduce your healthcare team. Give them a BTS look at what a day in your clinic is like. Respond to comments – even the negative ones – but be respectful.
In short, humanize the business!
4. Ensure Website Accessibility
Your website would be sending the wrong message if it wasn’t accessible to people with disabilities.
In 2021, we wrote an article, “4 Ways to Check Website Accessibility,” and discussed why ensuring everyone can enjoy their experience with your website is important.
One line that stands out from that article is:
“To not include the needs of the disabled when designing a website further adds to their disabilities.”
Website accessibility isn’t a choice; it’s a must.
The American Disabilities Act (ADA) 2010 is a federal law that mandates businesses invested in technology to have their technologies accessible and useful to people with disabilities.
Read our article to learn more about website accessibility. If your website isn’t accessible, contact us.
5. Optimize Your Healthcare Website for Search
Optimization involves implementing techniques, processes, and strategies to help search engines find your website.
Search engines use crawl bots to scour the Internet for web pages that align with a user’s search query. You need keywords, links, search intent-focused content, and sitemaps to guide the crawl bots to your web pages.
Users must be impressed with your website. If they’re unimpressed, they’ll leave.
How can you impress users?
- Incorporate mobile-responsive design.
- Ensure fast download speed.
- All buttons and links must be 100% functional.
- Use powerful and definitive Calls-to-Action.
- Choose a custom website design instead of website templates.
- Optimize content with the right keywords.
You can have these qualities in place, but if your healthcare website isn’t optimized for search, it won’t be found online.
Conclusion
The five qualities of an effective healthcare website share one objective: To get the user to take action.
When someone searches for a healthcare website, serious concerns might be driving the intent.
You want them to be assured, “We found the right website,” and encouraged to contact you.
There’s more to an effective website than the points discussed in this article. If we got you interested, let’s have a conversation and discuss how we can help create a healthcare website that delivers results.
