Learn how to effectively market your practice on the Internet

Every day, more than 4 million Americans search online specifically for health care information. Half of the homes in the US have Internet access,¹ and the percentage is expected to reach 75% by the end of 2005.² According to the Kelsey Group, a leading market data reasearch firm, online local commercial searches—those seeking businesses “near my home or work,” represent one in four searches from online buyers. It is likely the next chiropractic patient in your community is looking online to find you.

Understanding how patients look online to find you is vital to creating a Web-based marketing strategy. A customized Web site is an important step, akin to hanging out your shingle, and it should be part of your overall online marketing plan, which includes professional association memberships, doctor profile pages for contracted insurance companies, your practice Web site, and promotions.

Joining a national or state chiropractic association is an important online marketing tool. These associations have some of the highest numbers of consumer traffic. They are also considered by many patients to be legitimate information sources for health care information and referrals. Many professional association Web sites offer patients the chance to find a local doctor through an internal search engine of the association’s database of members. If you are a member of associations like the American Chiropractic Association, then you are already on the Web through its Find a Doctor link.

Insurance companies and preferred provider networks will also post your information online. Remember, those enrollment forms you filled out a few years ago to get on that insurance panel? Much of that information is now accessible online to health plan enrollees. The insurance companies provide this information to help their subscribers choose the right doctor from the list of credentialed doctors in the area.

Periodically, you or your staff should check these kinds of links to make sure your office, Web site and contact information is correct. One typo in your phone number or in the link to your Web site, and that marketing opportunity can become a dead-end link. Every few months, check the panel provider listings for the insurance companies and preferred provider networks with which you are affiliated.

Other sources that may offer free listings include commercial Web sites specializing in health care and chiropractic information, chiropractic product companies that provide patient referrals, and some not-for-profit organizations that raise money for research or treatment for specific conditions. These groups will either access their own database of participating doctors or another national published database.

A Site for Sore Backs
While these free listings can give you a presence online, nothing is as important as a well-designed office Web site for getting new patients. When a prospective patient is searching online to find information about the right doctor for them, only a Web site can truly deliver that information. If there is no information other than your phone number and address in a listing and the patient wants to learn more, she will likely choose a doctor who has a Web site.

If you are still not convinced about the importance of a Web site as part of your practice-building plan, then consider this: 79% of households with income more than $75,000 have Internet access¹ and often use it to get all types of information, including health care. This group of affluent Americans also has the highest use of chiropractic. Without a Web site, you can miss eight out of 10 of your best patients.

A Web site is your introduction to the rest of the world, especially the world of new patients. Creating a successful Web site requires more than just skills in artistry and writing. Online search engines look for specific features, links, and keywords, especially in title tags, headings, and body text that best describe your service. Keywords include wellness, back pain, spine, and healing. You can have the world’s most beautiful and informative site, but if it is not designed for search engines or is too graphic intense for easy and fast downloading, then no one will ever see it. A professionally designed custom Web site is usually available for around $1,500–$2,000, plus a nominal hosting and maintenance fee of $50–$100 per month. It only takes a few new patients to provide a quick return on your investment.

Christine Hanczaryk, DC, of Flint, Mich, realized the importance of a well-designed Web site when she and her father relaunched their office’s Web site, www.bristolchiropractic.com, and got surprising results. “Our old Web site wasn’t showing up on search engines and didn’t offer enough personal information,” explains Hanczaryk. “Our new Web site designer helped us add important features about our office, what services we offer, pictures and biographies of our doctors, a map to our office, a library of chiropractic information, and special additions to help us get better rankings on search engines. Those changes made a big difference, and our Web site generates about seven new patients a month.”

When searching for a Web site design firm, it helps if they have designed other chiropractic office Web sites. Rather than write and develop all the basic information about chiropractic care (such as treatments, anatomy, exercise, symptoms, subluxations, etc) chiropractic Web site companies have vast quantities of material that you can individually select and tailor to fit your own practice. This works a lot faster than having to write dozens of pages yourself.

Show and Tell
A Web site’s most important new patient generator is the show-and-tell section. You need to show prospective patients why your office is special and right for them. Be sure to include pictures and information that tell about yourself and your staff and office so prospective patients can get to know you even before they walk into your office. Be sure this section communicates the complete range of services that you offer, explains how chiropractic can be effective across a range of health care problems and highlights the advantages of chiropractic wellness care. The more you show and tell, the more you will engage that prospective patient and the more likely he will schedule an appointment.

Web sites can also be designed to enhance your existing patient base. Some chiropractic Web site design firms can create special features for your current patients, too. Emailing reminders for appointments or for home exercises are a simple way to keep in touch with patients and maintain rapport.

Special news articles can be posted or e-newsletters can be sent to patients to keep them up to date on health information and serve as a reminder to maintain chiropractic care.

You should also continuously promote your Web site by establishing links from other Web sites, such as online directories at professional associations, health insurance and preferred provider network sites, commercial health care Web sites and other online resources. Your Web site address should also be printed on your business cards, stationery, brochures, ads, and other promotional materials.

A final consideration when choosing a Web-design firm is that you should take a look at the other chiropractic Web sites it has designed and make sure that it specializes in optimizing sites for localized search engines. Ask for referrals and run searches yourself to see where those sites rank in their cities (in Yahoo type: chiropractor city state). Once your office Web site is up and running, prospects need to easily find it, and search engines are the world’s online concierge.

An online marketing strategy should be a part of every chiropractor’s marketing plan. With more than 110,000 monthly Internet searches for chiropractors, word-of-mouth new-patient referrals are being quickly outpaced by Internet search engines. National directory lists may offer you a small online presence, but the importance of a Web site cannot be understated. Having a strong Web site is fast becoming even more important as the leading search engines, like Google and Yahoo, move to search localization, which favors search optimized practice-based Web sites above the various chiropractic directories. If you do not yet have a Web site, then you are letting a world of new patients pass you by every day without letting them know that you are open for business. CP

Mark Mandell, DC, MBA, is a chiropractor and marketing consultant. He served as the medical staff chairman of the 1994 World Cup Opening Ceremonies and as an attending physician for US track and field events. Mandell can be reached via email: mmandelldc3@comcast.net;  or at (732) 690-1568.

References
1.    US Department of Commerce. Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce; 2001.
2.    PIP Data Memo: Use of the Internet in places other than home or work. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project; March 3, 2004.