ECPs often ask us what they should add to their website to make it more interesting or helpful for visitors. That’s a great question! Of course, there are the basics like a little bit about your staff with some staff bios and a section about your doctor(s). You need up-to-date business information like hours, a contact number, email, and address. You should have some photos of the office and pictures of real people to make your site inviting and to portray your friendliness. Also, we suggest adding information about the products you carry, and here’s why.
Having a products page helps your website in a few ways.
It’s more content.
More content isn’t necessarily better, but you want some things that people can poke around and look at. Plus, the more that you can add varied kinds of content, the more interesting your site will be. You don’t want 100% educational information, or nothing but photos, but having a good mix is your best content strategy.
It’s more opportunities for SEO.
Again, you don’t need a ton, but if you have a few purposeful pages on your website, these are areas where you can write a good introduction and include a summary of each line of products you carry. If you also give links to outside websites (like a few links to the brands of eyewear you carry), this is one of many things that can help your search engine rank.
It lets people know more about your office.
The fact that you carry a certain style of frames or various colors of lenses is probably not enough to convince a website visitor to come to your practice. The products page might be one of several things that can portray your values and personality to visitors, however. You want people to get a feel for what you’re like and who you serve. Adding a products page can do this.
Pictures! Everyone loves pictures.
Any good reason to include photos is a big benefit. Again, you don’t want a site that is 100% photos, but people tend to just scan writing and read headlines, whereas pictures can be a different kind of hook. Photos help your writing have more impact!
Regular website updates are good.
If you update your site often, it is a reason for people to come back. The relatively small announcement that you’ve got a new product in stock may not seem like big news, but you can use it as a reason to post to social media. Have your website provider add the information to your products page, then take a photo, and write a post about it for social media. This means that instead of having to come up with something witty to post for the day or week, you’ve done it simply by snapping a quick shot of someone wearing cool new eyewear and writing a couple sentences about the product. It’s that easy. It’s a reason to give people a reminder to visit the website and schedule an appointment, and it helps your SEO. When you add new content to your website, it signals to search engines that your content is fresh. This is very good!
So if you’re working on a content plan for your website, think about adding a products page and putting some highlights there. Even if you only have time to update that content every month or two, it’s a great way to get more on your website and a way to help your social media posting.
Brand Development, Content Development, Website