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As patients increasingly turn to the internet searching for doctors, it’s important for healthcare providers to understand what criteria they use to make decisions when selecting a physician. At wellneste.com, we have conducted extensive research into these patters of behavior and firmly believe why being on a network such as wellneste.com will advance your practice with unprecedented results.
Search Engines
One of the most common ways patients search for doctors is through search engines like Google. Patients may type in keywords like “doctor near me,” “best doctor in [city],” or “specialist for [condition].” In order to rank well in these search results, doctors should make sure their online presence is optimized for search engines. This includes using keywords in website content, having a mobile-friendly engagement page, and having accurate and up-to-date contact information. Doctors should also consider creating transactional intent pages that optimizes engagement as opposed to posting lots of informational content. People are busy and unless they can reach the right doctor at the right time they will opt out and move on to the next healthcare provider that can cater to their immediate needs.
Health Portals
There are many online health portals that provide directories of doctors in different specialties and locations. Patients can search for doctors by location, specialty, and other criteria. In order to appear in these directories, doctors should make sure they are listed on relevant websites and that their information is accurate and up-to-date. Doctors can also consider participating in online patient reviews on these portals to help build their reputation and attract new patients.
Social Media
Patients may also turn to social media platforms not necessarily to see posts or watch videos but rather to ask for recommendations and referrals from their friends and followers. The challenge with social media these days is that most doctors have outsourced their social pages to rookie agencies or freelance digital nomads who are actually hurting the doctor’s brand and reputation by becoming gatekeepers. These third-party agencies handle upwards of five or six if not more doctor accounts and by the time they respond, doctors will have lost patient interest and trust which is the essence in online relationship building and personalized care.
Online Reviews
Many patients rely on online reviews when choosing a doctor. They may read reviews on Google, Healthgrades, or other review websites to get a sense of what other patients think of a particular doctor. In order to build a positive online reputation, doctors should encourage their patients to leave reviews after their appointments. Doctors can do this by sending follow-up emails or by having staff members ask patients to leave a review after their appointments, especially on trusted and reputable networks such as wellneste.com. Doctors should also respond to both positive and negative reviews to show that they value patient feedback and are committed to providing high-quality care.
Specialty and Expertise
When it comes to making a decision about which doctor to choose, patients consider a range of criteria. One of the most important factors is specialty and expertise. Patients may look for a doctor who specializes in their specific condition or have expertise in a particular area. In order to attract these patients, doctors should make sure their website and online profiles clearly indicate their specialty and expertise. This is why we create offer / visit pages on wellneste.com. Each doctor clearly demonstrates their area of expertise and the service they provide to patients in need of their service. Lumping services together only confuses visitors and leads to indecision. We also use video interviews for Doctors to provide educational content that demonstrates their knowledge and expertise in a particular area with a call to action that can increase interest.
Location and Availability
Patients also prefer doctors who are conveniently located and have flexible scheduling options. Doctors can attract these patients by making sure their contact information is easy to find on their online profiles. Doctors should also consider offering online appointment scheduling or telemedicine options to provide greater flexibility and convenience for patients. Which is why at wellneste.com we have created inbox message forwarding that allows patients to send messages directly to the doctor or their clinic for follow-up. This again increases patient engagement, trust and allows for higher conversion.
Making Attractive Offers
The medical profession is a B2C industry and patients like to feel special. Once a patient has arrived on your web page it is important to grab their attention with a unique “offer”. This maximizes engage and can lead to increased footfall into the clinic. Doctors can build a positive reputation by building relationships with new patients by making an attractive offer.
Insurance Acceptance
Patients may need to choose a doctor who accepts their insurance plan. Doctors should make sure their online profiles clearly indicate which insurance plans they accept. Doctors can also consider offering financial assistance programs or payment plans to help patients who may have difficulty affording care. For high cost procedures this level of flexibility shows compassion and care towards patients who may be in need of your services but may have financial limitations.
Personal Connection
Finally, patients may choose a doctor based on their personal connection and comfort level with the doctor during their initial consultation. Doctors need to build rapport with patients through direct access between themselves and patients. Making new visitors jump through hoops on a busy website is only going to increase abandonment rate on the website. This is why at wellneste.com we believe in total transparency between our healthcare experts on the network and the public. Direct access is key in the era of web 3.0.
Conclusion
As patients increasingly turn to the internet to find doctors, it’s important for healthcare providers to understand how patients are searching and what criteria they use when making decisions. By understanding the trends, optimizing your online presence and building a positive reputation that can meet the needs of their patients, doctors can provide personalize care in order to attract new patients for their practice.
At wellneste.com we have spent many years studying the evolution of the web and have put together a best practice model that can help overcome the current challenges doctors face when considering taking their practice to the next level. JOIN the Network.
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Chris Shahabi
Founder, wellneste.com