When it comes to veterinary website design and online marketing, there are two main things to consider: general website best practices and industry-specific marketing standards. Here’s what you should understand about both:
Site Design and Website Promotion Tips
Mobile Internet usage is skyrocketing — to where it makes up almost as much web traffic as desktop usage — which is why you need a responsive website to be your top priority. These sites recognize what kind of device is accessing them and then configure appropriately for a desktop, tablet or smartphone. Other mobile usability requirements include larger text and images and an ability to reach the majority of content by simply scrolling up and down (instead of clicking or swiping side to side).
On the marketing side, it’s important that you focus on creating unique, quality content. This benefits your business on two levels: First, it means that the visitors who come to your site see you as a true expert they should trust; second, this kind of content is important for search engine optimization. And since the higher a site is in search rankings, the more traffic it gets, SEO is one of the most important online marketing tactics around.
Veterinary Website Designs and Marketing
There’s an advantage in working with a web development and marketing company who has worked with other vets. That’s because of something called prototypical design, a theory that holds that staying within a certain set of guidelines determined by what’s most common in any given industry increases the likelihood that a user will find the site appealing. In other words, people like to see what they expect (within reason), since it makes them more confident and allows them to process and navigate a site more quickly.
Industry standards also cross over to the inbound marketing side, as people tend to search for veterinary websites in the same way regardless of their location within the country. A marketing agency that has worked with other vets will understand how to boost local search engine rankings, in particular, so that you’ll come out ahead of your competing vets. About 80% of 18- to 34-year-olds find vets using a search engine, so online marketing efforts are key in bringing in young customers who could stay with your business for life.
Do you have more specific questions about marketing your vet business? Ask in the comments.