Top Content Mistakes That Hurt Medical Practice Websites
Photo courtesy of Christin Hume
In our fast-paced digital world, every medical and dental practice needs a well-written website. A site with unclear, unfocused, or poorly planned content can turn away potential patients, harm your credibility, and affect your long-term success.
Your website is the main public face of your practice and your most effective marketing tool. However, if your site isn't performing well or isn't engaging your target audience as you'd like, there are likely content issues holding you back. Here are the most common content mistakes I see on healthcare websites:
Not Enough Focus on the Patient
Potential patients, clients, and individuals seeking medical information visit your page because they have needs. However, if your site lacks enough details on how your services address their pain points or answer their questions, potential clients are likely to keep shopping around.
Suppose a family dentist’s website provides detailed information about preventive services, cavity fillings, tooth extractions, dental implants, and root canals. If they don’t explain how they manage pain or make even the most anxious patients comfortable and relaxed, they’re not addressing the most significant fears that prevent many people from seeking the dental care they need.
Most quality providers recognize what’s most important to their patients. Addressing those concerns—even on the “About Us” and services pages—can make your target audience feel seen, understood, and valued.
Pro tip: Visit this patient-centered webpage to see how this dental practice meets patients’ needs and concerns.
Few or No Content Updates
If you haven’t updated your blog in two years or your topic pages have outdated information, potential clients might form a negative impression. Some may also assume you’ve discontinued certain services, are no longer in business, or don’t care much about your image.
Pro tip: Set aside time each quarter, month, week, or whenever possible to regularly review and update your content. Working with a professional medical writer can help you stay consistent and keep your website current.
Incomplete Website or Broken Links
No updated webpage should have broken links or incomplete pages. For potential patients seeking important health information, it can be frustrating to visit a topic page that’s “under construction” or states that content is coming soon. Additionally, you’ll recognize a broken link when you see the message, “HTTP 404 Not Found.”
Pro tip: Conduct regular reviews of all your webpages to ensure they all have complete content. Check all hyperlinks to make sure they’re devoid of any broken links.
Limited Information on Providers
Your website should include detailed information about your providers and staff, from physicians to office managers. A typical patient or client wants to know who they’ll be working with.
A single paragraph for a high- or mid-level provider usually isn’t sufficient to start building trust. Make the effort to develop a complete professional story, including educational background and specialty areas. Consider adding personal details, such as your hometown or whether you have a family. These insights help you come across as more human and approachable.
Pro tip: For excellent examples of provider profiles, take a look at the ones at Happy Hormone Cottage.
Not Describing Services Fully
Many website visitors are searching for specific services or procedures. The “Services” pages of your website will fall short if they don’t clearly explain what you do and offer.
For example, a visitor to a medical spa website who’s interested in microneedling will want to know what the treatment involves, how long it lasts, how much recovery time they will need, and how much pain they might experience. If they aren't reassured or satisfied with the description you provide, they’ll likely keep searching.
Pro tip: Anticipate the questions patients may have about your services. Being transparent and detailed will increase the chances that a prospective patient will book an appointment or at least stay on your website. Check out Everglow Medical Spa’s detailed page about microneedling with microinfusion.
Too Much Information on Topic Pages
Even though details are important, too much information can overwhelm your page and be counterproductive. If visitors feel bombarded by a wall of text, you might scare them off.
Pro tip: Start your topic page with a brief introduction, highlight the main points, and use short paragraphs and bullet points to break up large blocks of text. Follow with a strong call to action (CTA) that encourages readers to take action, such as signing up for your newsletter or booking an appointment.
Here’s an excellent example from Blatman Health and Wellness Center.
Blogging That Lacks Consistency or Strategy
I recommend that all medical practices keep a blog on their websites. It’s a great way to build thought leadership, express your business personality, and give patients the information they need. When used strategically, a blog can boost website traffic and grow your patient base.
Increasing traffic to your website can be tough if your practice doesn’t blog at all or does it infrequently and inconsistently. The best time to blog isn’t when you have free time, but at a steady pace, whether that’s daily, weekly, or monthly. A content calendar can help your communications team or medical writer post blogs regularly. Such a schedule gives your readers predictability and keeps your website top of mind.
Successful blogging also requires a strategy to help you reach your target audience and deliver exactly what they’re searching for online. When considering your audience, it’s helpful to write with that “ideal” patient in mind. This involves creating a reader persona and crafting content that connects with your target audience.
Pro tip: There’s much written about how to create a reader or user persona. In brief, remember these tips when developing your persona:
Who is this person? Use demographics, life stage, job, personality, and other characteristics to visualize the client or patient you want to reach.
Determine their challenges and pain points, and anticipate the questions they would ask.
What keywords would they use to search for the answers to their questions?
Develop targeted blog articles that answer those questions.
A clear understanding of your typical users and the information they seek makes it easier to write blog posts that meet their needs. Your goal is to have your blog posts repeatedly appear in your target audience’s online searches.
Check out the blog at Beckham Square Family Dental, which posts regularly and writes content strategically for local individuals and families.
No Unique Value Proposition
If your medical website is struggling, it might be because your unique value proposition (UVP) isn’t clear. A UVP explains what makes your practice or clinic different from others. It also helps position you as a thought leader in your medical field, someone others can rely on for expertise and experience.
You likely have specialties, providers, and treatments that have established you in your field. Your clinic may be the only one in your area offering a specific service, or you have physicians published in top medical journals. Presenting a clear UVP on your website makes your core strengths obvious to prospective patients. It also helps position you as an industry leader and someone your patients can trust.
Pro tip: You can find a strong UVP at the Southern California Reproductive Center. This clinic isn’t afraid to highlight its nationally recognized providers and their contributions to medicine.
Unclear Calls to Action (CTAs)
Along with providing clear, actionable information, your website should also tell visitors what to do next. You can do this by prominently placing a call to action (CTA). Without a clear CTA, visitors might get confused or lost on your site, clicking links as they search for a way to contact you.
Pro tip: Your CTA can be as straightforward as “Contact us today for more information” or “Complete our online contact form to schedule an appointment.” If you’re accepting new patients, make that clear. Also, ensure your CTA is easy to find with a link that directs users straight to your contact page. Check out a compelling CTA at Blatman Health and Wellness Center.
Bad Writing
Spelling mistakes, sloppy punctuation, and other writing problems on medical websites are more common than you might think. The writing on your website can use some improvement if it
Contains grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes
Uses technical jargon or abbreviations that you don’t explain in clear terms
Writes for medical experts, not patients
Has long paragraphs that lack a unifying idea
Creates a sense of urgency that borders on fear-mongering
Lacks a consistent tone or voice
Doesn’t use keywords naturally or engages in keyword-stuffing
Pro tip: Check out this blog post from Dermatology Partners. Note the clear topical focus, readable content, patient-centered tone, and the use of subheadings to break up the text.
Polished, well-crafted, and authoritative content doesn’t happen by chance. It takes a considerable time investment. If creating high-quality web content distracts you from focusing on your patients, I can assist!
If you’re interested in boosting your content or need advice on increasing traffic, contact me today for a free consultation. I look forward to working with you on a content strategy that attracts more engaged readers and grows your practice.