Today's guest post is from our friends at iMatrix. Read the original post here.
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Appearing at the top of Google’s search engine results page (SERPs) can drastically change the amount of traffic that your optometry website receives and in turn increase the number of opportunities you get to convert those visitors to booked appointments at your practice.
In order to gain this type of online visibility and work your way up the ranks on the results page, your optometry website must appeal to Google’s algorithm. And there’s no better way to accomplish this than to optimize your site.
There is more than one way to optimize your website for search engine optimization (SEO) and we’re here to discuss 5 necessary steps you need to take to improve your site’s performance.
When businesses create their website, what is their objective? To appeal to their target audience and generate interest in their site content, including their products or services.
The process of keyword research involves selecting specific words that are relevant to your business and can drive organic traffic to your website by appearing for users that are searching for services like yours.
Head over to Google and find out what your ideal patients are searching for when it comes to optometry. The autofill feature on Google will bring up suggestions, which are common phrases that people look up depending on the topic.
A few relevant keyword phrases that you can include on your list for your industry that potential patients would be looking for are:
The targeted keywords you choose to focus on, are what search engines look at when it evaluates the content on your web pages. The keywords you select should be mentioned throughout your entire website.
That includes:
Doing keyword research can give you a better understanding of what your audience is searching for and what words they are using most often. To make the process easier, there are useful keywords research tools you can utilize like Moz, SEMrush, and Ahrefs.
Think of your optometry website’s design as the first time a patient is meeting you. This is their first encounter with your practice and you obviously want to make a good impression during your first meeting.
75 percent of people base the credibility of a business on how their website looks.
If visitors are not presented with a website that is well-designed, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to navigate, this will ultimately affect their user experience and prompt them to leave your website. Poor web design and organization will be reflected in your bounce rate as users continue to click out of your site as quickly as they entered.
Your design can be something stylish, simple, and clean that appeals to visitors and gets them to stay on the site long enough to book an appointment with your office.
Update the look and feel of your optometry website by choosing a simple color palette and sticking to, adding visual elements throughout your site, and creating web pages (homepage, appointment page, FAQ, services page, contact, and about us page) that are easily accessible and easy to navigate.
Learn more about SEO and iMatrix SEO services for optical practices here.
Like we discussed earlier with overall website SEO, your content should be optimized as well so search engines will direct users to it when they search for that subject matter.
What type of information are patients in your industry interested in learning more about? As you formulate your content strategy, you should always have your audience in mind. Update the content on your website as often as you can with educational or entertaining resources for your patients.
You can create your optimized content in the form of blog posts, ebooks, infographics, videos, content downloads, case studies, or white papers.
Here are some content ideas that you can use for your next creation:
If someone is looking for “eye care services near me” and they click through to your website, there is a high chance that they are viewing it from a mobile device. With such a large number of potential patients visiting your website through their phone, it is absolutely necessary that your site is optimized for mobile.
The design of your website on desktop is important, but it should also adapt to and look just as professional on smartphones and tablets. The information displayed on your website must properly adjust to whatever screen it is being viewed on in order to streamline the user experience.
How long do you wait for a website to load before you decide to exit? The average user only allows 3 seconds before they decide to abandon a website.
A slow-to-load website can cost you web traffic, conversions, and a high ranking position on the result pages. If users are entering and quickly exiting your page, search engines like Google will take notice that your bounce rate is high and assume that there is an issue with your site.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to let website speed affect your conversions any longer. This can easily be fixed by changes a few aspects of your website.
To increase the loading time on your page you can:
If you would like to know how long it takes your website to load and why loading time may be so slow, use this free Google tool to find out.
You don't have to go it alone. Learn more about SEO services here.
Tackling SEO may seem daunting, but the reward far outweighs the risk. Avoiding common mistakes with your website can help you to dominate the eye care industry in your local area and get more patients through your front door.
If you are not well-versed on the intricacies of search engine optimization for your optometry website, that’s not a problem.
Let one of iMatrix's eye care marketing experts help to improve your website performance, discover the best ways to attract more potential patients, and convert them to loyal patients. Call iMatrix at 888.792.8384 to get a free website analysis or click here.
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Interested in adding a virtual eyewear gallery to your website? Learn more about My Frame Gallery here.