Four Tips To Get Your Online Presence Ready For The New Year

The new year is just a few days away and having a strong online presence will be more important than ever in 2017.  Having a well-designed, informative website is a necessity these days, not just a luxury.  According to a report by Yelp, 85% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses.  Not only do consumers visit businesses’ websites, but they also visit their social media profiles and, most importantly, any reviews that may be posted online.  The following tips will help you increase your online presence, as well as make sure the information already out there is accurate and informative.

Be aware of what reviewers are saying.

Make sure you know what people are saying about your practice.  There are many review sites where patients and employees alike can voice their opinions.  Try to publicly reply to any negative comments and offer a solution to any problems that may have been expressed.  You may not be able to make that specific patient happy, but you can show prospective patients that you’re making an effort to keep your patients satisfied.

Make sure you’re on Google business listings.

Google business listings allow patients to view the most relevant information about your practice at a glance.  Information like your address, phone number, hours, and even reviews will be available to users right in the search engine results.  

Be mobile-friendly.

A recent report by searchengineland.com revealed that nearly 60% of all search engine queries were made on mobile devices.  That number is even higher - at 68% - for the healthcare industry.  Make sure your website is easy to navigate on mobile devices, as you’re more likely to get visits that way than on a desktop version.

Acquire a professional email domain.

We see a lot of small practices using unprofessional email domains and it’s a bad move on multiple levels.  Using an email address like mypractice@yahoo.com not only gives off an unprofessional impression, but is also in violation of HIPAA.  For a very small fee, you can acquire an email domain for your practice that will give a much more professional impression and might even save you thousands of dollars in fines.

We hope these tips have made you think about how you can increase your web presence in 2017.  And don’t forget that we’re still here for any hiring needs you may have in the new year!

Happy new year from the team at CHS.