Recently I met with an optometrist to talk about the state of their current website and online marketing. Now she isn’t interested in increasing patient flow at this point; instead, she’s thinking about selling her practice in a few years and retiring but wants to make a great first impression with her website and set up the new owner for success.
As we talked about online marketing and branding, she asked me a good question. Is there any value to blogging for the practice website? I think the answer to this question depends on the goals you as the practice owner have for your business.
- If you’re looking to attract new patients and grow, maintaining a blog on the practice website is a key component of digital marketing strategy.
- If you want to increase your online visibility for specialty services you offer such as dry eye treatments, myopia management, or vision therapy, publishing blog articles about these topics can help position you as a thought-leader and expert for these services.
If you have these goals, read on to learn more about the value of blogging for your optometry practice website and some best practices.
Improve your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It should be no surprise that many of us turn to “Dr. Google” to research our symptoms. While that probably drives healthcare practitioners crazy, that behavior is here to stay. You can use that to your advantage by adding high-quality articles to your website which answer questions related to the eye health and vision care services you offer to drive traffic to your website, build trust, and ultimately convert website visitors into scheduled appointments. Regularly publishing relevant content helps improve your website’s ranking on search engines. Higher rankings mean more visibility and easier access for potential patients researching their symptoms online.
Educate prospective and existing patients
Blogs are an excellent medium to educate both current and prospective patients about eye health, common vision problems, and the importance of regular eye exams. Well-informed patients are more likely to seek out and appreciate your services.
Use your blog to highlight the range of services you offer, such as specialized eye exams, contact lens fittings, and treatments for specific conditions. This helps patients understand what they can expect from your practice and encourages them to make an appointment.
Demonstrate your expertise
By regularly publishing informative articles, you position your practice as an authority as an optometrist. This is particularly helpful if you want to carve out a niche, such as a local dry eye specialist, to build trust with potential patients and set you apart from competitors.
Answer common questions
As an optometrist, you probably receive questions from patients during exams and your staff hears questions from them in the optical. During Marketing Strategy Review meetings with customers at Optometry Marketing Services, we ask owners and managers what questions they’re hearing from people in the practice. The reason we ask about this is we know that if ten people ask you a question, hundreds more are asking Dr. Google, so there is real value in writing a blog which answers their questions.
Create new shareable content for other forms of marketing
Your blog posts can be shared on social media platforms, driving traffic back to your website and increasing your online visibility. Blogs can be repurposed for newsletters, brochures, and other marketing materials, maximizing the value of the content you create.
Best practices for blogging
Here are some best practices for blogging!
Get clear on your marketing goals and priorities.
Do you want to simply increase the number of scheduled comprehensive eye exams? Do you want to position yourself as a local expert for dry eye? Your marketing priorities will help you set up a content calendar with the right topics which align with the goals you have for your practice.
Maintain a regular posting schedule to keep your content fresh and engaging and ensure that each post provides valuable and accurate information.
We post a new blog once a month on the websites we manage, and we tailor the blogs to the marketing priorities the practice has. If a practice wants to be known for the expertise in dry eye, most of the blogs we write and publish are related to questions, symptoms, and treatments for dry eye. Over time, the practice website stands out for their dry eye content!
Share your blog posts on social media, in email newsletters, and on other platforms.
When you share regular blog posts on your website, that gives you an opportunity to link to it in other forms of marketing, including social media and email. This will drive traffic to your website and new bookings!
The bottom line
By strategically using a blog, your optometry practice can effectively attract and retain local patients, enhance your online presence, and establish yourself as a trusted provider in your community. If you have a goal to grow or dominate your local market but don’t have the time to write blogs for your website, contact us! We specialize in helping optometrists with online marketing, including blogs.
