Lure Creative is a full-service marketing company in Kansas City. We help healthcare companies Get Found & Be Known. In our adventures, we’ve found that many doctors and healthcare practice owners have questions about marketing, marketing budgets, and just what it takes to grow their business in this digital/online world. We have answers! So we decided to try to answer some of those questions in an ongoing series of blog posts. Part 9 of our Healthcare Marketing Questions Answered series focuses on a common question:
How Often Should You Update Your Website?
A website is definitely not a “set it and forget it” kind of marketing tool. It is the lifeblood of your healthcare business. So how often should you update your website and what should you be looking to tweak?
According to a recent study, 7 % of Google’s daily searches are health-related. With smartphones being everywhere, simply having an online presence isn’t enough. Prospective patients are searching online every day for healthcare products and services. There are three main areas to pay attention to if you want your business to grow. Your website must:
- be found by search engines
- be designed for mobile
- convert visitors to patients
Let’s look at all of these individually to understand the importance of each.
1. Search Engine Optimization Is Key to Being Found
Google currently holds 92.27% of the total search engine market share. Google also changes its algorithm constantly, making them a moving target. To make sure your website is found, your site must be optimized for Google. This is an ongoing process that requires people who understand SEO. Search is where the biggest opportunity for growth lies.
2. A Mobile Friendly Website Is Critical
Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. In the first quarter of 2021, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 54.8% of global website traffic. Smartphones are now the most popular device used to access the web. No wonder that in July of 2019, Google enabled mobile-first indexing by default for all new websites. That means that Google is prioritizing mobile content over the desktop version for any websites built. Bottom line – if your website is not designed with a mobile-first approach, it’s not ranking as high in Google search results.
3. Your Website Must Convert Visitors to Patients
Being found is only half the battle. If you want to grow your business, you need more patients. That means your site must be able to convert visitors. There are many things that help a website convert. From design, to download speed, to content, to user experience, your website must function at a high level to convert those visitors into patients. This, whoever builds your website builds your business.
You may think that it’s okay to update your website every five years or so. That used to be true, but today, if your website is over two years old, it’s time to consider updating it. Does that mean you have to throw the whole thing out and start over? No. But you definitely need to update the above aspects to be found online and to convert visitors once they find you.
