Optometry Websites
Today, you can order almost anything online. Did you know that you can order new patients too?
Pay-per-click is a paid advertising service to get new patients to your front door.
One of the largest is Google Adwords, which provides an ‘introduction service’ to your practice.
As patients type a question into Google, it presents three paid Adwords results (with a faint yellow background) and the non-paid or organic results underneath.
Through my experience consulting with one ecommerce company, I learned that some patients click on Ads, while some click on organic search results. The biggest difference came from someone who wanted a quick answer (through our Ad) versus someone doing extended research (organic search results).
So, what are the benefits of Google Adwords?
- Instant, prominent search ranking (great for new services offered by your practice, that you currently don’t rank well for. For example, “Childrens Vision Bendigo”)
- Find out what patients are really searching for– for example, you can test whether “contact lenses Caulfield” is more popular than “glasses Caulfield”. If it is, then you know that more patients are searching for contact lenses than glasses in your area. This can help boost your confidence in writing more articles for your blog or Facebook Page about contacts or Ortho-K.
- Track phone calls– Next to your ad, you can insert a phone number, known as a Call Extension. Mobile viewers will see the phone icon within your ad. When they tap your number, Google provides statistics about how many people called. From this, you can judge your Return On Investment.
- Instantly measure results– Adwords online panel shows constantly updated results, including how many people have seen your ad, and how many have clicked on it
- Attract previous website visitors– some people visit your website but may have forgotten to make an appointment. With Adwords, you can remind these people with an ad. This can be very cost-effective, since these people have been to your website and know what you do.
Why do Corporates love Adwords?
Lets say that you have over four hundred stores across the country. Rather than having to try and rank each store organically on Google, you could just set up Adwords to target the whole country.
For example, whenever a patient typed in any keywords like optometrist, glasses, sunglasses or contacts, corporates can trigger an ad to be shown. You’ll probably see an Adword for “OPSM” or “Specsavers” along with the keyword that you used. (NB: they may not even be located nearby to your area. )
When I Googled “Optometrist Melbourne” Interestingly, I saw Independent Optometrist and Provision Member, Family Eyecare in Bentleigh, Victoria, pop up right next to OPSM and Specsavers.
Why you should use Adwords too:
Using Adwords allows you to compete on a level playing field. TV ads are expensive. For local Radio ads, you could spend $500/month. With Adwords, you pay a few dollars per click. You can set your duration and total spend. You can compete with the big guys. Plus, your Ad may show higher on the list of search results than theirs. This protects your local visibility.
Before you create your first Ad, consider:
- Your target audience- (e.g. 35 year old male cyclists)
- Your target area- (e.g. 30km from your practice)
- Your ad presentation time- (e.g. 5- 9pm weekdays)
- Your keywords and approximate costs (e.g. “prescription cycling glasses” at approx $1.57 per click)
- What you want your ad to link to (e.g. your website page about cycling glasses)
- What you want visitors to do- (phone call to make an enquiry, visit to your website, send an email enquiry)
What to say in your Ad
Here are some of the things that Goggleman used in their ad:
- Prescription Cycling Glasses
- Private Health Rebates
- Free Shipping
- Call to Action: Buy Now. (Or Call Now)
Conclusion
Put $5/day on it. Try out Adwords for a week. You can also call Google for free phone help (Ph: 1800 988 571) Then watch and see how many appointments, phone calls or enquiries it produces. As an ‘introductions service’, Adwords is great!
