12 Strategies to Drive Traffic to Your Website and Grow Your Patient Base

Barry Eneh • June 20, 2024

Struggling to fill your appointment book? Discover 12 proven strategies to drive traffic to your website and attract more patients than ever before! Driving traffic to your small and mid-sized medical practice website and growing your patient base requires a strategic approach that improves both digital marketing techniques and patient experience modalities. These strategies are rooted in data, patient experience, provider pains, and the force of market competition:

1. Optimize Your Website for SEO

  • Details: Ensure your website is optimized for search engines with relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and high-quality content. Studies show that 77% of patients use search engines before deciding on a provider and booking an appointment.


  • Provider Pains: Difficulty in attracting new patients.


  • Market Competition: High competition in local search results.

2. Create High-Quality Content

  • Details: Develop informative blog posts, videos, and infographics related to your specific medical services. Websites with blogs have 434% more indexed pages, leading to better search rankings.


  • Patient Experience: Educates patients, builds trust, and showcases expertise.


  • Market Competition: Differentiates from competitors with valuable content.

3. Utilize Social Media

  • Details: Engage with patients on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest. YouTube or Tiktok. Your choice of social media depends on your target market. 41% of respondents say that social media impacts their choice of a specific doctor and medical facility.


  • Provider Pains: Limited patient engagement.


  • Market Competition: Leverage social media to create a community and provide timely updates and relevant information.

4. Implement Online Appointment Scheduling

  • Details: Offer easy online scheduling through your website. 77% of patients want the ability to book, change, or cancel their appointments online.


  • Patient Experience: Convenience in booking appointments.


  • Market Competition: Keeps up with practices that already offer online booking.

5. Invest in Paid Advertising

  • Details: Use Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok Ads, and other PPC campaigns to drive targeted traffic. Healthcare-related searches account for at least 5% of all Google searches.


  • Provider Pains: Difficulty in reaching the right audience.


  • Market Competition: Helps stand out in a crowded market.

6. Encourage Patients to Actively Interact and Engage

  • Details: Ask satisfied patients to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades. 84% of patients use online reviews to evaluate doctors, clinics and healthcare services.


  • Patient Experience: Positive reviews build trust and credibility.


  • Market Competition: Outperforms your competitors with higher and more positive reviews and ratings.

7. Offer Telehealth Services

  • Details: Provide virtual consultations and follow-up services. Telehealth usage increased by 38 times from the pre-COVID-19 baseline.


  • Patient Experience: Adds convenience and expands access to care.


  • Market Competition: Attracts patients who prefer or need remote consultations.

8. Email Marketing Campaigns

  • Details: Send regular newsletters and health tips to your patient list and discuss topics of interest to them. Email marketing has an average return on investment of $42 for every $1 spent.


  • Patient Experience: Keeps patients informed and engaged.


  • Market Competition: Maintains ongoing communication with patients.

9. Leverage Local SEO

  • Details: Optimize your practice for local searches with Google My Business. 46% of all Google searches are seeking local information about available services close to their home.


  • Provider Pains: Struggles to appear in local search results.


  • Market Competition: Ranks higher in local searches than competitors.

10. Host Community Events

  • Details: Organize health fairs, free screening days or webinars. Community engagement can increase patient acquisition by at least 25%.


  • Patient Experience : Enhances community presence, patient interaction, and conversion.


  • Market Competition: Builds a local reputation and loyal patient base.

11. Enhance Patient Experience

  • Details: Focus on patient comfort, preference, convenience, reduce wait times, and improve communication. 88% of patients are influenced by online reviews that mention the patient experience and satisfaction.


  • Provider Pains: High patient turnover due to dissatisfaction.


  • Market Competition: Attracts and retains patients through superior service.

12. Develop a Referral Program

  • Details: Encourage current patients to refer friends and family members with some incentives. Referral programs can boost new patient acquisition by up to 30%.


  • Patient Experience: Patients value personal recommendations. Word of mouth is still the most effective marketing strategy.


  • Market Competition: Gains new patients through trusted referrals.

By implementing these 12 simple steps you can transform your website from a hidden gem into a bustling hub of patient activity. By leveraging the power of targeted traffic, engaging content, and strategic outreach, you cannot only increase your online visibility but also build a loyal patient base. Remember, the key to sustained growth is consistency and adaptation- staying current with digital trends and always ready to refine your approach as new trends emerge. Start today, and watch your practice thrive!



Ready to take your practice to the next level? Contact us today!

Contact Us

1st Hour Services:

• AI-powered professional websites.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

• Mobile app development.

• Content creation.

• Brand image and Reputation management.

• Social media management.

Barry Eneh

Co-founder


Barry is a health enthusiast and co-founder of 1st Hour, a Boston-based, marketing and technology company established in 2023. 



At 1st Hour, we harness our unique expertise as clinicians and operations specialists to empower small and medium-sized businesses. Our innovative solutions in website design, content creation, SEO, app development, social media marketing, and brand management forge impactful connections with your target audience. With a focus on affordability, we drive unparalleled engagement and growth. Our mission is to connect businesses with key audiences and those most likely to benefit from their brand promise and expertise.

Experience

  • Founding Director of APNO-USA Health Service Group.
  • Healthcare leader at VA. 
  • Over 20 years of experience in healthcare operations and clinical practice at private and public healthcare systems.

Education

  • MSC in Integrated Marketing Communications, Franklin University. 
  • MPH in Public Health Management, Wright State University. 
  • PhD in Healthcare Administration, Walden University.

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