Pay per click (PPC) is a paid advertising strategy that can help your hospital or clinic generate more leads. It helps you reach your target market by placing ads in search engines like Google and Bing.
Though organic digital marketing efforts can help establish a long-term brand identity, sales revenue may take months to begin. PPC is the quickest way to generate leads and accommodate patients online. Here are some ideas for using PPC to attract new patients.
Show Your Ads on Google
Google lets you to bid for keywords and show your brand in the top search result. If you are just starting your website and want timmediate patient inquiries through PPC, you will need to bid higher for keywords to beat those who have established high website ranks.
While you’re doing your PPC came, continue with your search engine optimization (SEO). As you gain a higher website rank, you will spend less on your medical PPC ads, according to Digital Authority Partners.
To improve your sites, create well-researched content, and providing exceptional customer support.
Meanwhlie, to generate quality leads, refine your Google ad campaign’s demographic profile. For example, if you house patients near a hospital, target local women of childbearing age.
Choose keywords with a high click-through rates but are not too expensive. Go for those that will bring traffic to your hospital or clinic. If you have more money, bid on expensive keywords.
Maximize YouTube’s Ad Campaign Potential
Google owns YouTube. If you have video materials for clinic promotion, you can also use YouTube’s PPC to drive more inquiries and boost your lead generation campaign. YouTube can provide a separate ad promotion for your website or brand aside from your Google PPC.
YouTube leverages your video material. Still, you must join the bidding process and specify your target audience to attract suitable patients or clients for your advertisement.
You should also build and optimize your YouTube account, you might buy subscribers to optimize your channel perfectly. It’s important to mention that the community tab is available to channels with at least 500 subscribers on YouTube. So you can get fans if you’re struggling to build manually.Be consistent with your messages across the platform to establish your credibility online.
In essence, if your YouTube ad contains a website link, the landing page must have related medical content that helps the user know more about what the ad contains. If a user cannot find more information about the ad’s content, he or she will simply leave the page. You wouldn’t want to waste leads because PPC campaigns cost more.
By Jared Jost, vice president of marketing, PatientPop.
Jared Jost
Of all the changes we’ve seen in the last century, the digital revolution has an excellent claim on being the most profound. As businesses of every stripe discover just what can be done within the rapidly evolving digital world, ongoing changes continue to shake up the landscape. This affects and benefits medical practices just like any other company or business, and several significant points have emerged that best illustrate how medical practices can take advantage of the changes that have given patients increased access and decision-making power.
1. Acknowledge this is the current world of patient demand
It would be easy for physicians to ignore the details and intricacies of the digital landscape, simply because they have a full schedule and a loyal patient base. Why change? Because patients are expecting digital access, and healthcare providers’ opportunities for acquisition and retention exist online.
A 2019 PatientPop survey found that three out of four people have gone online to find out about a doctor, a dentist, or care. Fifty-seven percent of patients do this with some level of regularity. Being present and available online is simply a matter of going where the patients are.
2. Attract patients the way any business attracts customers
As practice owners will tell you, a healthcare
practice is a healthcare business. Your patients are your customers, and
potential patients in your market are looking for you or your services online.
If you’re not easily found, your business could get lost.
That’s why having a strong web presence is crucial to your success. Not only
does it position your practice to be found more readily online, but it also
delivers a great first impression for patients unfamiliar with your practice.
What are the best steps to get started?
Claim and optimize your
professional profile listings on websites that patients are most likely to
visit. Make sure your information is clear and updated, starting with Google,
Facebook, Yelp, and WebMD. Then move onto other business sites, especially
those that cater to your local market.
Modify and improve your presence. Once you’ve updated all your online profiles (at minimum, get your “NAP” right — name, address, phone number), get more detailed. Include your specialty, photos of your practice and staff, and details about the care services you deliver.
Consider expanding social media. Your Facebook page and presence is essential for local business, but if you have the resources to go further, give it a try. Maybe Instagram. Twitter. YouTube. Think about using video, not just across social media channels, but on your own website. Make your content informative, and show prospective patients that you and your practice are welcoming and deliver top-notch care.
3. Simplify scheduling for patients and staff
One thing that kills online shopping is an
overly complex cart. If it’s tough to get the customer to conclude the sale,
that can mean lost revenue — and a lost customer. In online retail,
this is called “cart abandonment.” Similarly, if you don’t make it easy for an
interested website visitor to make an appointment with your practice, you lose
the opportunity at a new patient.
To encourage that appointment, feature online
scheduling on your own website and across any third-party websites that offer
it. In ideal situations, requests can integrate directly into your EHR’s
scheduling system, per your rules and parameters.
Additionally, set up your mobile presence to allow click-to-call
functions, so that mobile users can call you directly with one click. This
makes for a convenient process and helps you better “convert” website
visitors—mobile or otherwise—into patients.
4. Pay close attention to online reviews, both positive and negative
The 2019 PatientPop survey previously
referenced noted that when patients decide on a healthcare provider, patient
reviews are their most influential online source. Online reviews are one of
your greatest tools in drawing in new potential patients.
Make sure you monitor reviews across the web and when you find negative
reviews—and they do happen to everyone—be ready to respond promptly and
concisely. Tell any dissatisfied patient that you appreciate their feedback,
want to address their concerns, and can speak with them directly to remedy the
situation. You’ll show that patient, and any others reading the interaction,
that you’re the kind of doctor who listens and responds to your patients.
5. Keep it simple
It can be tempting to quickly add new software
or service to meet an immediate need or tackle a business problem. But that
often requires adding more along the way —
to cover website management, SEO, online reputation management, blog
development — burdening your practice with
multiple tools and extra costs. Instead, look for an all-in-one offering that
can connect all the points of your web presence and online reputation in one
practice growth solution. You’ll get unified
insight into how well your efforts are performing, and a single point of contact
for your ongoing needs.
As the digital age continues to produce new
and exciting developments, making these fit into your current operations will
help produce the best chances at success going forward.
