Plastic surgeons, more so than anyone else, will often have a very specific client base. And reaching that base can seem more challenging than in other industries where targeting customers are readily within reach. Having a website is the first step. And creating a vibrant site with beautiful visuals and valuable information is a solid start.
But just having a website isn’t enough. What good is a website if nobody can find it? Therefore, it’s critical to build a strong, healthy online presence to reach your target audience, those people who are most interested in your services. The key is to know what to invest in and what to avoid so that you make sure every dollar spent counts. There are numerous digital marketing strategies and each provides a different approach to attracting more high-value prospective clients. Creating a marketing plan for your practice means utilizing the specific tactics best suited for your industry and client base.
To help you learn how plastic surgeons can increase website traffic, consider the following tips and strategies.
#1: Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is a free service. Optimizing it means you’ll place vital, clear information that helps people looking for a plastic surgeon in your area to find you. Google Business Profiles make up a big directory on the search engine that holds your company’s information. It tells your potential clients exactly how to reach you.
Optimizing it means taking a few specific steps to make it the most attractive and effective profile present. Here are some ways to do that:
- Include photos. Let people see your waiting area, exam rooms, and building. Photos capture attention and draw people in.
- Ensure your profile has reviews – and lots of good ones – to encourage people to click to learn more.
- Your basic profile may include just your address and direction buttons. However, an optimized profile includes a link to your website and so much more.
- Be sure your hours of operation are listed and accurate, as well as your practice’s phone number.
- Provide some questions and answers, too, incorporating the information people are often seeking about your business.
There are other steps you may wish to take as well. The key here is to make it easy to learn who you are, where you are located, and what your website is for anyone that is Googling plastic surgeons in your area.
#2: Claim and Manage Your Local Business Directories
Business listing directories, sometimes called local listings, are what help prospective clients find you. Your Google Business Profile we already mentioned is one of these. There are others. You should choose those that are most applicable to your business. As a plastic surgeon, that may include Yelp and Facebook. You may also want to be sure you are listed on sites related to your industry as well, including those you are a member of, such as The Aesthetic Society or any hospital directory associated with your practice. Many of these have a strong domain authority on Google. That means that if your business website is listed there, it may help boost your rankings in the search engine while also providing you with a different stream of potential traffic.
#3: Get More Reviews on the Top Platforms Like Google and Facebook
Getting reviews is one of the best ways to boost traffic to websites. While people respond to ads, they expect reviews to be more of an honest opinion and more valuable to them than just the content in an ad. Reviews are powerful, but they can often seem hard to get. Here are some tips:
- Ask your clients for them. When your client has a fabulous experience, ask them to leave a review for you.
- Use your social media sites to ask people what they like best about your practice.
- Make sure to provide easy access to reviews – such as links on your website directly to your Facebook, Google Business Profile, and other review sites.
- Send an email to request a review of clients as part of your customer journey workflow.
When you get reviews coming in, respond to them. If they are not all positive, be sure to respond with an apology and offer to make it right. Ask the person to contact you so you can take the next step. The key here is to ensure that both good and bad reviews get your engagement. Your next customer wants to see how you’re responding to someone else.
#4: Be Active and Engaging on Social Media
Your schedule is busy, but engagement on social media is a very important part of getting clients in the door. Consumers want to see who you are, what you do, and how you can solve their problems. Long before they contact you for an appointment, they are looking at your social media for answers to their questions.
There are two components to this:
#1: You have to create content that’s interesting and valuable to the reader
To do this, you may need to invest in a variety of types of content, such as storytelling in which you showcase the success of a client’s procedure or tell the story of your business development. You may want to create content that provides insight into each of the types of procedures you offer and who they can help. Provide visual content, too, such as before and after photos or product infographics.
#2: Engage with your audience on the site
To do this, you need to respond to their questions and answer their inquiries when they send a direct message. You may just want to say “thank you” when a client leaves a review about your services. Ask questions of your audience, too, as a way to get their opinions or gauge their interest in a new service.
#5: Ensure Your Website Has High-Value Content
The next step is to create content for your website that is so valuable that the person reading it understands that you’re the expert in the field and they want (and need) to work with you. That may include content such as:
- Procedure descriptions
- Photos that show the differences in services
- Information about various conditions you treat
- Bios on each of the surgeons in the practice
- Step-by-step content that’s helps them know what to expect during a procedure
- Information on insurance acceptance for non-cosmetic procedures
This can be done in various formats, such as blog articles (which are great for sharing on social media) as well as website copy, photos, and even videos.
#6: Leverage Email Marketing to Engage Prospects and Send Them to Your Website
If you have your clients’ email, such as from when they filled out a request for more information or on their intake forms, use that to help you bring them back in as a client again. While you need permission to do this (a check box is often all that’s needed), your email list is a great way to get people back to your website to learn more.
Be sure to use a relevant call-to-action to do this. For example, you may be emailing to let them know about a new service that you are offering. Use a CTA that grabs their attention quickly, like be among the first ten people and receive a special discounted price.
#7: Set Local Targeting Parameters for Digital Ads
Thus far, we’ve talked about all of the organic steps you can take to get traffic to your website. Paid marketing is a viable and often essential tool for digital marketers as well. When you are using digital ads, you only want these to be presented to people who are most likely to buy from you. That means you need to outline demographics that could bring them in.
Creating a very locally targeted digital ad is the best way to do this. You may know what your target audience is based on where your current clients are coming from, or you can choose a metro area you wish to target. Using good local SEO tools, you can bring in people in that area that are already looking for the services you offer.
#8: Establish Hyperlocal Signals Across Your Online Presence Through Check-Ins
Hyperlocal content helps to bring more people to your website on a consistent basis. This is done through the use of check-ins along with reviews and photos we’ve already mentioned. GeoJuice by Surefire Local is one of the ways to do this. It improves your online visibility easily.
For example, after you complete a client’s service and wow them with the experience you provide, you can then post a check-in with your general location and the keywords associated with your marketing efforts. Then, you can send the customer a text message with a link that allows them to instantly review you. That becomes visible right on Google.
Simplify Online Marketing with an All-In-One Marketing Intelligence Platform
There are dozens of tools available to you. Contact us today to learn how plastic surgeons can increase website traffic and get a very personalized step-by-step process. Request a demo to see how easy it can be.
