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With over 1 Billion websites and more than 1 TRILLION unique URL’s in the virtual world, it’s no longer good enough to just have a website you need to be found!
42.3% of the world’s population is online, and whilst the internet becomes ever more crowded, so the opportunities to promote business there continue to grow, regardless of the market you are in. And of course vets need to be online because increasingly that’s where animal owners are spending their time; many are choosing their vet practice dependant on the perceived quality of whatever Google turns up…
In fact, according to a recent study (Bayer), 24% of cat owners prefer to choose a practice with an up-to-date website, 21% want online booking and a massive 70% seek animal-related advice online! To find out more, see Ross Tiffin’s blog, Thoroughly Modern Moggie - it’s an interesting read!
Vets recognise the significance of the internet. According to our recent white paper, practices rated the website as a top promotional tool with 42% giving a “highest importance” score of 10/10.
Your website really should be at the heart of your online strategy, with social interactions taking place on other platforms designed to drive people back to your website and through your doors. To achieve this your website needs to be continually updated and developed. Here are my 5 top tips for doing this:
1. Design and layout.
Of course first impressions count, so your website needs to be professional, credible and welcoming…and up-to-date! You’d be surprised how many practice websites display pictures of team members long-gone and information that is no longer applicable! It also needs to be built using a solid navigation system; a whopping 76% of people say the most important feature of a website is the ease with which they can find the info they’re after.
2. Content is King.
It’s important to offer unique content wherever you can as the online world is highly competitive and unique content is one of the drivers for SEO. Find time to write weekly blogs and spread the links to your blogs across social media channels to generate interest and drive traffic; good blogs enhance your credibility and GREAT blogs go viral!
3. Call to Action.
It’s all very well driving traffic to your website but once you’ve got owners there you want to use this opportunity to start to develop a relationship. For this you need an email address so you can build a database of people potentially interested in your services and use this to contact them. So on your Home Page you may wish to invite people to register with your site to receive newsletters, info about offers, invites to client evenings or maybe to receive a download on puppy or kitten care or some other freebie?
4. Accessibility.
Last year mobile usage overtook the use of fixed internet access (desktops) for the first time and not surprisingly, Google didn’t take long to latch onto this fast-growing trend. So from April 2015, websites that are NOT mobile-friendly are now penalised when it comes to search rankings, so if you’ve not yet got a mobile-friendly website then you need to speak to your web developer - pronto.
5. Be found!
This blog started with the importance of being found and here it will end. SEO is a bit of a black art as no-one except Google really knows how it all works but there are simple things you can do to make sure you increase your chances of being picked up by people looking for the products and services you offer. These include placing keywords in the content you publish and tagging articles and blogs so they may be more easily picked up by search engines. Most of you will have claimed your Google business listing (if not, do so now!) and you can build inbound links by getting others sites to link back to you, writing guest blogs for other people and including your practice in online directories.
Regarding directories, there are many good ones out there (use them all) but the only site where you can list individual services along with your practice is vetmart and we’ve been pleasantly surprised to find owners are more often seeking specific veterinary services rather that just a practice- so please register and join us to help drive owner traffic back to you today!
If you're interested in learning more this subject and other veterinary business-related topics, speak to your local St Francis Group Territory Manager about The Business Academy. Their seminar series covers marketing, people and finance and are very well-received.
I’ve just recorded a series of webcasts to support their seminars, covering everything from using Twitter to promoting services and selling products online…oh, and one about website ownershiptoo!