Think like a consumer to drive traffic to your Web site!
By Michael Haley, DC.

Health topics dominate the Internet. People want information to keep them healthy. And the Internet affords us an expansive opportunity to spread the message about chiropractic.

But what does it take to attract people to your Web site — streaming audio and video? A lot of graphics and flash presentations?

No! People will go to Web sites that give them the information they want. The key, then, to attracting people to your Web site is to:

• Think like they think.

• Design Web-page content around that thinking.

• Include key words.

Most people do not go to the Web and enter “subluxation” into a search engine such as Google or Lycos. People who do search for information on subluxation have already been to a chiropractor! They already know what a subluxation is and just want additional information. You may provide them additional information on subluxation — but they most likely will not become your patient.

Individuals use the Internet to search for solutions to their health problems. When they search the Web, they enter words that describe their symptoms into a search engine — words such as “headache,” “backache,” “carpal tunnel,” “whiplash,” “arthritis” and “muscle strain.” To get people to come to your Web page (and eventually your office), create Web pages devoted to these problems.

The most successful Web page I have is one devoted to Erb’s Palsy (www.AgapeChiropractic.com/ erbspalsy.html). The page is actually not about Erb’s Palsy; it’s a story about a patient who had Erb’s Palsy. Soon after I put the story on the Web, I began to get e-mail and phone calls from around the country from parents who had babies diagnosed with this condition. One family became my patients and I referred other callers to chiropractors in their area of the country. Every person who contacted me went to a chiropractor.

Another of my Web pages tells the story of a man who had impotency and constipation problems. It is the second-most popular page on my site. (Be sure to get written permission from patients before publishing testimonials.)

As you create your Web pages, include key words (words that are likely to be searched on) throughout the content. Search engines look for these key words when they pull up pages in a search. The more you use key words, the more likely your page will be found in a search. (See a related article, “A primer to paid-inclusion advertising,” on page 82.)

So there you have it. The Internet can help you educate the public about chiropractic — and it can drive new patients to your office. But only if you think like a healthcare consumer.

Dr. Michael Haley practices in Pompano Beach, Fla., and can be reached at Michael@AgapeChiropractic.com. His Web site is www.AgapeChiropractic.com