Each month, over one MILLION searches are done on Google alone for the search term “acupuncture”.
If you have an acupuncture website then you have a CHANCE at capturing the attention of these people – people who are searching for acupuncture!!! (Need I remind you that if you don’t have a website for your acupuncture practice that you don’t stand a chance of getting any of those people as patients?)
It’s one thing to have an acupuncture website – but you want to have an acupuncture website that works as hard as you do at creating more business for your practice. With that in mind, here are 7 things that every acupuncture website should do…
7 Things Your Acupuncture Website Should Do
1. Provide basic information about your practice. Visit a dozen acupuncture websites and see how long it takes you to locate the acupuncture practice’s name, address, and phone number. Now see if the office hours are easy to find. When people are searching for an acupuncturist, this is essential information. Make sure to include the basics and make sure that basic information is easy to find.
2. Use photographs and images. No where is the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” more true that on the web. The photographs should include an exterior shot of your office so visitors can recognize it when they try to find you. In addition to photos of the building, also include photographs of your staff. Show your staff interacting (sporting friendly faces) with patients. Use your staff and your patients – not stock photography!
3. Tell your acupuncture practice’s story. Your website should tell your acupuncture practice’s story. Your acupuncture practice’s story is not a chronological “graduated from X in 19XX – studies in Y from 19XX -19-XX.” Instead, your acupuncture practice’s story is who you are, what you do, and most importantly WHY you do it.
4. Educate visitors on acupuncture. Don’t assume that because someone has arrived at your website that they are already “pre-sold” on the benefits of acupuncture. This is your chance to “strut your stuff” and really sing the praises of acupuncture.
5. Give clear directions to your office. This is too obvious to mention, but I have seen acupuncture practice websites that do not even list the city where the practice is located. Provide a Google Maps or Mapquest link so visitors can map a course to your office.
6. Make sure the email address you provide is “manned”. Just as you wouldn’t think of not answering your phone – be sure to promptly return email messages. Prospective patients who find your website are as likely to email you for an appointment as they are to call for an appointment. Be sure to answer every email within 24 hours – NO EXCEPTIONS! Check your office email from your home computer – and make sure your spam filters aren’t too aggressive to keep prospective patients from contacting you!
7. Feature patient testimonials on your website. Written testimonials are ok – but video testimonials pack real power and “punch”. While you may be able to “forge” a written testimonial, there’s no doubt that video testimonials are the “real thing”. Pick up a video camera and shoot patient testimonials as they enter your office. Get patient’s permission and post these to your website.
Your acupuncture website can be the most powerful marketing tool in your marketing arsenal. If you don’t have a website yet for your acupuncture practice – what’s stopping you from launching one?
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