In today’s digital world, having a website is a must; but having a website that converts visitors to your site into clients or patients is the key to growing your business or practice.
One of the most important things your website offers is information about what you do and who you serve, and how the services you provide benefit your patients. You’ll convey most of this information through the copy on your website, so you want it to be the absolute best that it can be.
When a new visitor arrives on your website, you need to make an excellent first impression in a limited amount of time. If your website is challenging to navigate or understand, or your visitor can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll quickly move to the next option, and you’ve lost your chance.
On the other hand, if your website provides friendly and relevant information in a way that’s easy for visitors to navigate and understand, you now have a chance to convert this visitor into a patient or client.
Google and other search engines also look for original and engaging content when indexing websites for ranking. This means that your creative and exciting content can get you better placement on the search engine results page (SERP) when your clients look for your services. Better rankings equal more traffic and conversions.
So, now that you understand why your website content matters, here are seven tips to help you create captivating content for your website.
Your practice or company is unique and original, and your content should be too. There is no one else out there providing the services you do in the exact way you do. So, focus your website content on capturing what makes you unique and sets you apart from other practices in your area.
Keep your content original no matter how tempting it might be to cut and paste information from other websites.
Google rewards unique, relevant, and engaging content with better ranking while penalising content that is plagiarised.
Understanding what the people who visit your website are looking for is essential for providing the correct information. Keep in mind what is important to them and how they will consume your content.
Include the most relevant information first, which gives you a better chance of grabbing their attention and keeping them on your website.
Make your content easily scannable, as most people don’t read a website like they would a book. Instead, they’re scanning your website for the information they need, and if they can find it easily, they’re likely to stay and learn more about you.
Provide links throughout your content to make it simple for readers to move quickly to other pages of your website that may have the information they’re looking for.
Be sure to make your landing page compelling, informative, and interesting, as this may be your only chance to grab your reader’s attention and keep it.
When you write your content, think about how you would talk to your patients. Don’t use jargon or terminology that you think makes you sound more intelligent or more professional. Instead of impressing your potential patients, talking above them may actually alienate them.
You can still share pertinent information without overwhelming your readers with terminology they may not understand. Instead, keep your tone friendly and conversational when you write. This will result in content your readers want to engage with and remember to return to when they need information.
Remember, your readers want straightforward, scannable content filled with information. So, don’t use run-on sentences. Instead, break them into smaller, readable sentences. Keep paragraphs small, with only two to three sentences. Make your pages visually appealing to look at.
Instead of writing a wall of text, which readers will find daunting, break things up with headers, bullet points, lists, and images.
Create interesting headers to grab attention and break up the text. For example, provide bullet-pointed lists for quick and easy reference. Use images or infographics to inform your readers and break down the text.
Remember these quick, easy steps for content formatting:
When you add images to your website, you’re also adding interest. Be sure to use your own photos or stock photos that you’ve purchased or legally acquired. Do not just take images from other websites and use them on your own.
When you upload images to your website, make sure they’re correctly sized and formatted correctly. Otherwise, an image that is too large may slow down your page loading and cause your reader to leave or “bounce” to another website. Also, take the time to ensure that your website is user-friendly and formatted appropriately for both desktop and mobile users.
The same is true of video content. If you choose to add videos to your website, be sure they’re high-quality and filled with relevant information. Videos shouldn’t be too long but should engage and provide information quickly.
When done properly, videos can be an excellent way to reach new potential clients or patients since many people prefer to get their information through watching rather than reading.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) can help you achieve better ranking, which means more traffic to your website.
SEO requires a little time and thinking about what your reader is looking for. However, if you can figure out what your reader wants and what phrases they might be typing in when they search for information on Google, these phrases become your keywords, and you can include them in your website content.
For example, if you’re a psychologist specialising in children’s or family counselling, you’ll want to include that terminology in your website content. So your reader might type ‘children’s counsellor’ or ‘child psychologist’ into their search engine, and these are the terms to include in your text so Google can match your reader with the relevant information they’re looking for.
You might also include geo modifiers to identify you to a specific location further. For example, you might say: ‘If you’re looking for a compassionate child psychologist in Sydney, our team would love to talk with you.’ Your geo modifier helps to narrow down your keyword even further.
If you need help determining the right keywords for your area or your content, you might consider doing some research with a keyword tool. For example, Google has a free keyword research tool called Google Keyword Planner that could be an excellent place to start.
One of the primary purposes of your website is to introduce new and prospective patients to your services so that hopefully, they will contact you. So, don’t forget to invite them to do so with a CTA in your content.
Make sure that all your website pages include your contact information. Keep in mind that younger patients like the convenience of online communication and scheduling. So, if you can provide online scheduling tools on your website, you’re likely to reach a broader market.
A CTA in your content might sound like our example above, ‘If you’re looking for a compassionate child psychologist in Sydney, we invite you to contact our clinic for more information.’
CTAs typically fit well at the end of a page as a friendly reminder that your reader is invited to get in touch with you.
Whenever you’re going to publish something to share with the internet, it’s best to review your work. Better yet, ask someone else to check it after you do.
You and your proofreader should initially be on the lookout for spelling errors and grammar mistakes. Also, consider whether your content is friendly, engaging, and communicating the messages and information you want before publishing it.
You can also use a duplicate content checking tool like Copyscape to ensure that you didn’t inadvertently copy any other website’s content.
Content is king on the internet.
Spending some time creating exciting and engaging content for your readers will pay off as you achieve a better ranking with Google. You may also enjoy more visits from new clients to your website and achieve higher conversions, which means more new patients for you to serve.
It’s also a good idea to change and update your content periodically. You can do this by adding videos to your website, posting an informative monthly blog, or answering frequently asked questions (FAQs) on your site.
If you don’t have the time to focus regularly on your website content, you might consider working with a marketing agency. Your team at PractiPro can help you with things like custom website design, ongoing marketing coaching, and monthly SEO optimisation.
