We’ve talked about the importance of content marketing for medical practice websites and what types of content that patients are looking for.
So, now you know what you should do and why you should do it but, where do you get content ideas from?
The answer is surprisingly simple – your patients.
Your content is supposed to be patient-centered anyways so listen to them and take note of the questions they ask you when they’re in your office, sending you emails, or filling out a form on your website.
In fact your receptionists and office staff can probably rattle off a long list of frequently asked questions that patients ask them over the phone or at the front desk when they’re setting up appointments.
You, as the doctor, have a lot of experience in what you’re treating so what may seem mundane or obvious to you may be perceived very differently by the people that you’re helping.
How to Get Patient FAQs
Here are some ideas to get you started compiling a list of what your patients would like most to know more about:
- Ask your staff: Your staff is inundated with questions all day long, ask them what topics/questions come up most often.
- Email a survey: If you contact patients via email, setup a simple online survey with a free service like SurveyMonkey and ask some multiple choice and open-ended questions.
- Tablet at the front desk: Collect survey responses on an Apple or Android tablet at your front desk. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and you can catch your patients when they’re at the peak of their interest – when they’re in your waiting room or setting up their next appointment.
Why Patient Feedback Improves Your Businesses and Website Ranking
Your patients are giving you valuable information to improve your website.
If they’re asking questions in the office that means that many more people are searching for the same answers online. In a sense, they’re already doing the keyword research for you.
Optimizing the blog posts and content pages on your website with the keywords that your patients are searching for is one step to helping your site rank better.’
Once they land on your site, providing quality information will keep them there and will make it more likely that they’ll share your site with others, helping to generate more traffic, exposure, and higher rankings.
If you can remember a time before websites, think about how many times people would call your office just to find out what your office hours were. Now they can simply go online to see when and how late you’re open.
The same principal applies to health topics. If you can provide detailed answers to some of your most frequently asked health questions, you’re likely to save some time when they’re in the office visiting you. They’ll have some of the basics covered before their visit, leaving more time for you to explain the nuances and variables of their unique case.
Your patients look to you for help with their medical needs. You can do the same to them to improve the level of care you offer them which will lead to a more successful practice in the long run.
