Introduction
- Your website can and should be your #1 source of new patients.
- A conversion-optimized website is focused on user experience and follows online marketing best practices
- Good conversion rates top out at about 10%. The average is 3-5%. If your website conversion rate is below 3%, you need to fix it immediately.
- Learn the strategies for improving your website conversion rate and booking more new patients
What is a website conversion rate?
- Your website conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action on your site. This “desired action” converts someone from a website visitor to a booked patient.
- For dentists, the most common desired action (conversion) is to book an appointment. Other desired actions may include calling, getting directions, or contacting through a chat widget.
- To calculate your conversion rate, simply divide the number of conversions (desired actions), but your total number of website sessions.
Why is it important to improve your conversion rate?
- Every person who visits your site is an opportunity to get new patients through your door and keep your schedule booked
- How many people are visiting your site every day? How much are you spending on online advertising? Optimizing for conversions will give you the most value out of your time, money, and efforts
- By optimizing your conversion rate, you can increase your revenue per visitor, acquire more new patients, and grow your practice.
How to improve your conversion rate (and get more new patients)
Mobile-first design
- Over 50% of web browsing happens on mobile devices. If your website doesn’t accommodate mobile users, you are losing new patients.
- A mobile-first website meets these basic requirements:
- Responsive design that adapts to the device it’s viewed on — phone, tablet, or computer
- Most important information first (like phone numbers, contact buttons, and info about your practice)
- Limiting clutter, visual noise, or confusion — keep it simple
Modern, easy-to-navigate website design
- Your site should be attractive, easy to read, and simple to navigate
- Ensure your site loads in 3 seconds or less on both desktop and mobile
- The average webpage takes 87% longer to load on mobile vs. desktop.
- 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load a page
- The best dental websites are built with WordPress. WordPress sites are flexible, scaleable, and look and perform just as perfectly on mobile as they do on a desktop.
Patient testimonials and reviews
- Reviews matter to potential patients!
- 90% of dental patients consult online reviews before booking an appointment
- 70% of patients say online reviews are as important as a dentist’s credentials
- 42% of people won’t go to a dentist with less than a three-star rating
- Source: https://www.revlocal.com/resources/library/blog
- Build trust and confidence by featuring patient reviews throughout your website
- Video testimonials are especially compelling
- Video has a 95% retention rate, while people only remember 12% of textual information
- Video testimonials also provide SEO value and drive more traffic to your site, giving you even more conversion opportunities
- Make sure you’re not only featuring patient reviews on your website, but taking steps to actively build your total number of reviews
Original content
- Make sure your website copy answers common patient questions
- The questions a potential patient has when browsing your website:
- Does the dentist accept my insurance?
- How much will an appointment cost?
- Does this dentist offer a new patient special?
- What are the dentist’s hours, location, and contact info?
- Can this practice handle my particular dental health concern?
- What is it like to be a patient at this office?
- Is this a good dentist?
- How do I schedule an appointment?
- Focus on answering these patient questions to build trust and compel a visitor to book an appointment
Online booking options
- Over 50% of people are still making appointments over the phone, but 31% would seriously consider switching dentists if that provider offered online appointment booking.
- Online appointment scheduling offers instant gratification.
- Makes it easy for patients to get started right away without any unnecessary waiting.
Compelling calls-to-action (CTAs)
- Your CTA should outline exactly what action to take and how to take it.
- Examples: Contact us, book online, call us, message us
- Sweeten the deal by providing an offer that a potential patient can’t resist. Examples:
- Free consultation
- Complimentary teeth whitening
- $99 new patient special
- Save $200 on your first visit
Don’t go at it alone
- Contact the experts at Delmain: On average, our experienced team of web designers and digital marketing professionals have helped dental specialists increase new patient appointments by nearly 23%.
- Contact us to schedule a free personalized website evaluation. Or ask us to tell you more about our process and how we can get results for you — we’re happy to answer all your questions.
