Whether you’re running a dental clinic, a psychology clinic or a medical practice, every healthcare provider needs a professional-quality website. Your website is your way of introducing yourself to people who are looking for answers to their questions or solutions for their symptoms, and you only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Around a quarter of Australians regularly search for health information online. Even in your own district, your potential clients and patients will be using web searches to find you. The right website not only shares awareness of your services, it indicates your credibility and trustworthiness. It also allows patients to book appointments and manage their payments.
Though, there’s a lot to consider when setting up a health practitioner website. There’s ensuring compliance with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), making sure your website is accessible for people with disabilities and keeping the site responsive and user-friendly.
When choosing the essential elements for a healthcare website, it’s important to consider both search engine optimisation (SEO) and the user experience (UX).
Essentials for a Health Practitioner Website
While “Dr Google” is no replacement for a medical professional, the search engine is the first place most people go to these days when searching for treatment.
Search engine optimisation is the strategy of reaching the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) through organic methods. It involves a number of techniques, such as keyword research, content creation and link building. Through extensive research and relevant keyword targeting, SEO allows you to reach the people searching for your services without having to pay for advertising.
User experience is about providing a relevant, meaningful experience to your readers. It includes all the interactions the user has with your product and how to make them engaging, intuitive, pleasant and consistent. Some fundamental principles of good UX include the visual hierarchy of how elements are laid out on the screen and ensuring your online experience is as accessible as possible.
Some essentials include:
SEO
Helpful people-first content
Helpful, reliable, people-first content remains one of Google’s top ranking factors. Prioritise providing web users with relevant, well-researched information that answers their questions and showcases your expertise, and you’ll please the bots in turn. On a healthcare website, this can include blogs, engaging videos, and staff directories with detailed biographies and contact information. When it comes to content, remember Google’s E-E-A-T principle: expertise, experience, authority and trustworthiness.
Target long-tail keywords
SEO always involves keyword research to find the terms readers are using to land on your site. While simple keywords like “hospital near me” can be used, focusing on more defined longer-tail keywords such as “women and children’s hospital Brisbane” often brings you more relevant results.
Include a strong call-to-action (CTA)
A call-to-action entices your reader to make that phone call or book that appointment. It’s essential for turning leads into new patients and clients. You can seamlessly include a CTA at the end of a blog post with an element like a button to click or a new patient form to download.
Include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
FAQs are one of those aspects that are beneficial both for UX and for SEO. It gives readers a place to easily find all the information they need in short and easy-to-read answers and makes it easier for Google to crawl your site as well.
User Experience
Easy-to-find contact information
Information such as your phone number, email address, business location and operating hours should be as easy to find as possible. This saves your reader from having to click or scroll too much to find the most relevant information. Elements like a top menu bar or sticky sidebar menu can make these details easier to incorporate.
Well-organised design and branding
A neat, easy-to-navigate website free from clutter and with the logo clearly displayed will stand out in your customers’ minds and inspire feelings of trust. A well-organised site is easy to navigate with clearly labelled menus on display.
Virtual accessibility
The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the factors that drove several industries (including the medical industry) to embrace the benefits of Telehealth. Telehealth removes the barriers of location and travel and lets you reach a more significant number of patients, particularly in rural areas. It also makes scheduled appointments more convenient for busy people.
Original quality images
Authentic and original images humanise your practice and create a more engaging user experience with a reduced bounce rate. Stock photos are easily recognisable for what they are, so for best results, keep your pictures high-quality and unique.
How Do Health Practitioner Websites Vary From Other Industries
In some ways, health practitioner websites need to uphold higher standards than regular ones due to the sensitive nature of healthcare and the importance of legal regulations. While many principles for good SEO and UX hold true across all types of company websites, some areas take on more importance in an industry like healthcare, including:
Compliance with AHPRA regulations
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) protects public safety by making sure healthcare professionals are appropriately trained and qualified to practice. AHPRA also has advertising guidelines with penalties for false or misleading information. Understanding AHPRA standards and other regulations like Australian privacy law for patient information helps keep your clinic out of trouble.
Content-heavy, health focus
It goes without saying that health practitioner websites are geared towards patient needs and health resources. While other industries may focus more on product benefits or brand stories, health practitioner sites tend to be heavier on information and more focused on helping clients make the right decisions.
Trust and professional credibility
While having a trustworthy and credible reputation is important for any brand, it’s even more vital when people’s health is on the line. Health-focused websites should highlight the professional credentials, accomplishments and experience of the team.
Get Your Healthcare Website Healthy with Anchor
If you’re looking for a professional-quality, AHPRA-compliant website, Anchor Digital can help. We’ve helped a number of healthcare-related clients promote their clinics and practices with multi-faceted marketing strategies that prioritise both SEO and UX.
Anchor’s web design services take both usability and aesthetics, UX and UI, on board to put your website and services in front of the people who need them most. Our website designers use state-of-the-art programs, tools and techniques, and our web developers code them into life.
Our brand design services help you clarify your own brand identity and keep it consistent across different forms of communication, differentiating yourself from others in your field in interesting ways. We help you create a memorable logo and a distinct tone of voice that demonstrates your personality. We anchor all our strategies in research that uncovers what your prospective patients and clients are looking for so that we can help you meet their expectations.
For a healthcare website that delivers all the essentials and more, contact the Anchor team.
