Private Practice Strategies to Get More Patients in 2020

As we near the end of 2019, it's a great idea to start planning for success in 2020. Many private practices struggle with choosing the right marketing mix that actually work. There is so much noise out there when it comes to choosing the right private practice marketing strategies.

Before we jump in, let's talk about what "success" looks like for your private practice. While there are certainly many different motivations my medical clients have, success in any business comes down to revenue. For medical practices, your goal should be to help people to heal and not need your services anymore. So getting enough new clients is vital to your private practice's success. In this post, I am going to outline 2 things your private practice should start doing or improve upon in 2020.

Build a Strong Website

Your potential patients care about how your website looks. According to Stanford University, 75% of people judge the credibility of a company based on their website design. Having a strong website is of the utmost importance for being successful online. Here is a self evaluation - if you say "NO" to any of these below, it's time for a new website:

1. Is my website mobile friendly?
2. Is my website ranking for important terms my clients search for?
3. Does my website generate new leads for my business?
4. Is my website as good or better than my competitors?
5. Does my website load quickly for visitors?
6. Am I proud to send my website link to my patients or potential patients?

How did you do? Did you answer "NO" to any of the above? If you did, you should strongly consider adding web design services to the top of your 2020 list.

Invest in SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of ranking highly for search terms that are important to your potential patients. For example, if you're a psychologist who offers bulimia services, you may want to rank for keywords like "bulimia recovery" and "bulimia treatment".

But how can you perform SEO at a high level? A high enough level to surpass what your competitors are doing? You can either spend A LOT of time learning modern SEO strategies, or you can hire a SEO company like mine. If you're going to be building a SEO strategy for 2020, here are the main points you should focus on:

Map Rankings

As a local business, your private practice absolutely needs to be ranked highly for the most important keywords in your area. For example, if you're a Dentist in Coral Gables, you need to be ranking for "Dentist Coral Gables" and "Coral Gables Dentist". Here's a general plan you can follow throughout 2020:

1. Build 20-30 citations each month - Adding your business' information on the most important citation sites is crucial to ranking on Google Maps
2. Repair 5-10 citations each month - Many times, your business' information shows up differently on different websites. It's important to make them all consistent
3. Have individual pages on your website for service keywords you're trying to rank on Google Maps
4. Get lots of positive reviews from your patients (if possible)
5. Completely and correctly fill out your Google My Business page
6. Get Schema markup on your website for your NAP information

Search Rankings

In addition to map rankings, your local search rankings are critical to your business' success. You need to beat out your competition for local keywords that your potential patients are searching for. To put it simply, you need to be ranked in the top 10 for keyword variations your patients are searching for on Google. Here are some things you should focus on throughout the year:

1. Build separate service pages on your website
2. Follow proper on-page SEO best practices
3. Make sure your website is fast
4. Write blogs that are pertinent to the services you offer
5. Write blogs for other websites that send valuable "link juice" back to your website

Final Thoughts on Your 2020 Marketing Strategy

If you follow the above two strategies, you are going to see major benefits to your local private practice in 2020. The important thing to remember is to invest in your website foundation, and then to be extremely consistent throughout 2020, following the above points each and every month. If you need help with your private practice's website or marketing strategy, contact BartX Digital and we'd be more than happy to discuss how we can propel your private practice forward in 2020.

Anthony Bart is the President and Founder of BartX Digital, TherapistX, and TherapyByPro, a mental health professionals directory.