If you’re an optometrist or a marketing professional working for your client, you’re likely seeking cost effective ways to increase patient visits. When planning for a marketing campaign you’ll realize that the competition for patients may be fierce.  Many cities are saturated with optometric practices.  It is not unusual for city blocks to have several optometry practices and stores with dispensing opticians.  The big-name outfits such as Wal-Mart and Sears also add to the competition.  What you need is proven methods.  The goal is to provide value to your patients and to make it easy for them to interact with your practice.

     A website, blog, or social page that does not convert visitors into patients is not an effective tool for increasing the success of your practice.  Implement strategies to transform visitors to patients.  Your goal is to convert at least 5% of new visitors to your site into new patients.  Your return on investment can easily translate into thousands of dollars.

     Here are several key strategies that you need to implement if you are serious about getting more optometry patients to your practice.  Some of these practices may involve direct mail, ads, and print media, but almost all of the most cost-effective strategies that are described in this article may be implemented through the internet.

1.   Maximizing your website, blog, or social page

     Many optometrists spend a fortune on their website.  Elaborate graphics, seamless flow from page to page, and descriptions of your background and office can be impressive, but are now expected by the discerning public.  The key question to ask: what is the number of visitors who actually become patients?  You will be able to answer this important question if you ask new patients how they were referred to your practice on patient registration forms.

2.   Appointment Requests

     Marketing studies show that appointment requests do not work.  Appointments by request often lead to a form of email tag that wastes time for your staff and the patient.  A recent study also shows that there is a very high rate of no-shows for appointments that are made by request.  Many patients demand a website that offers online appointment scheduling with appointments that can be immediately booked and confirmed.

3.   Confirmed appointments

     A Book Now button on your website or, even better, a choice for visitors to select from a menu of services may be highly successful.  Potential patients usually have a need in mind when visiting your website.  Recognizing a service that satisfies their need and booking that service on the spot gives a patient the assurance that their need will be met.  New and existing patients are able to book their appointments through DayClips 24 hours a day without the interaction of your telephone and office staff.

4.   Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

     There are many different methods for search engine optimization.  Some involve constant manipulation of your website and monitoring by a third party.  That can get very expensive.  Placement of ads in Google searches may be helpful in attracting new patients, but can also get very expensive.  Consider limiting your Google ads to local SEO.  This is particularly important because Google gives higher priority on mobile devices to local ads.  Optometric practices listed with DayClips often have enhanced visibility and high ranking with search engines on the internet.

5)   Social Media platform

     This can be a great way of maximizing contact with existing patients so that they maintain awareness of your practice and think of you whenever they need a dental service.  DayClips provides your links to Facebook , Twitter and Google +.  Visitors who see these links on DayClips are encouraged to visit your social media pages and maintain a steady relationship with your practice.

     Keep all of these basic time-tested strategies in mind if you are serious about getting more optometry patients into your practice.  Take the time and effort it takes to build on these strategies and you are bound to reap many rewards as a busy optometrist.