Top ophthalmology marketing and advertising strategies

Modern marketing 101: A guide for ophthalmologists

In 2019, the average person in the U.S. reported spending nearly four hours per day on their mobile devices¹. And they’re not just idly scrolling. Prospective patients are making important decisions about their healthcare online. They’re researching providers, conditions, and treatments before they book appointments. Ophthalmology practices that are maximizing digital marketing opportunities are growing and succeeding in this competitive landscape.

Referrals and word-of-mouth are no longer sufficient to sustain your ophthalmology practice. You need a robust set of digital-first strategies for prospective patients to find your practice and get to know you online. The good news is that the rise of digital solutions is not just better for patients, but it offers huge advantages to ophthalmologists as well.

While traditional marketing and advertising tactics remain useful, they can be costly and don’t offer as much control, flexibility, or data to track their effectiveness. On the other hand, digital marketing and advertising put ophthalmology practice owners in the driver’s seat. It allows them to maximize their return on investment with data and use advanced targeting to reach the right people at the right time.

Here are a few of digital marketing’s many benefits:

• You set the budget and scope. Even with a modest budget, digital marketing can deliver a strong return on investment (ROI). And you, as the practice operator, have total control over how much you spend and who you want to reach. Proven digital-first marketing strategies allow you to set your targeting preferences and desired outcomes. Choose your audience by age, location, demographics, and interests or attributes, and then choose how many impressions, clicks, or conversions you want to pay for. It’s highly customizable to your needs, and with so much digital ad space available, you have nearly limitless options.
• You know what’s working (and what’s not). Once your digital marketing campaigns are up and running, you have access to real-time analytics to measure how well they’re performing. That level of insight is simply not available with more traditional marketing and advertising methods. Performance data also helps drive decision-making, so you don’t waste time and money on tactics that aren’t working.
• You adjust as you go. Digital advertising lets you refine your strategies as you go. You can swap out the headline, text, or image on low-performing posts or ads, or adjust the budget to scale up content that’s delivering great results. This allows you to get creative and try new things, since nothing is set in stone (or print).

Digital marketing can also help grow your ophthalmology brand, building recognition for the world-class eye care you provide. Strong branding starts with an attractive visual identity, which includes a well-designed logo, pleasing color palette, and simple typeface.

Best practices for ophthalmology advertising

If your budget allows, advertising for your ophthalmology practice can amplify your marketing efforts exponentially. Advertising tactics such as pay-per-click, sponsored social media posts, digital ad campaigns, and online banner ads can be more budget-friendly than traditional advertising options, such as print ads, broadcast spots, or billboards.

Paid online advertising is scalable based on your budget and ROI and gives you the flexibility to tweak as you go. Here are some digital advertising tactics to consider for attracting new patients to your ophthalmology practice:

• Sponsored content: Social media is a great place to reach new patients through boosted posts and/or full-scale ad campaigns. For example, you can invest in a promotional campaign to increase patient conversion or boost a link to a blog post about eye health to increase website traffic.
• Display advertising: Online banner ads allow you to promote your ophthalmology practice almost anywhere on the web. An eye-catching image with simple text can grab attention while prospective patients visit their favorite web pages.
• Paid search advertising: Also known as pay-per-click (PPC) or cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, these ads appear as “sponsored” at the top of a search query. You only pay for ads that result in clicks, so you can be sure that every dollar you spend is driving a prospective patient straight to your website. Google AdWords is the market leader for paid search and is a cost-effective option for ophthalmologists.

Patient acquisition basics for ophthalmologists

Meeting your practice growth goals begins with attracting new patients. Sixty percent of people look online regularly when seeking a new doctor, dentist, or medical provider, according to a 2021 survey by PatientPop. Even before patients begin searching for a provider, they’re looking online for answers to common health-related questions. That’s why attracting new patients often depends on how visible your ophthalmology practice is online.

That’s why maximizing your online presence is important to your patient acquisition strategy. First, an attractive, modern, and high-performing website is a must. Thriving ophthalmology practices also claim their listings on online provider directories, such as Google My Business and Yelp. Making sure your practice is well represented everywhere online that a prospective patient might spend time not only drives patient conversion, but it can also boost your search engine ranking.

Managing your online reputation also has a real impact on patient acquisition. Most healthcare consumers (69 percent) will only consider a provider with an average 4.0 rating (out of 5) or higher, according to PatientPop. Google calculates your overall star rating by averaging the star ratings from your patient reviews. Soliciting patient feedback with automated surveys after every appointment shows patients you care about their experience, and also increases the likelihood that they will proactively write a review on sites, including Google or Yelp.

Improve your search ranking with SEO and local search marketing

Fully maximizing your online performance means investing in search engine optimization (SEO) and local search marketing strategies. Getting your ophthalmology practice on the first page of search engine results takes more than a well-designed website. Consider the full suite of factors search engines use in determining where you rank. Algorithms are tricky, and they’re changing all the time, but certain SEO best practices hold true.

Here are five factors for using SEO to improve your local search performance:

• Website and blog content: Content is king for SEO. Your website should contain unique pages with detailed information for each service your ophthalmology practice offers, the eye diseases you treat, or special technology you use to address patients’ needs. A blog also offers a wealth of relevant content to search engines, which makes you much more likely to show up on the first page of a search query.
• Your online profiles: Good SEO is influenced by domain authority, relevancy, and credibility. Claim your profiles in online directories to expand your web presence and take advantage of those websites’ domain authority. By making sure your name and address is accurate on these websites, you also signal to Google that your information is credible.
• The use of relevant keywords: Keywords are the words prospective patients use when searching for an ophthalmologist online. Make sure you’re using them on your website and your online provider directory profiles to ensure you appear in those online searches. When updating your online profiles, choose “business categories” that provide an extra layer of detail about your specialties. “Pediatric ophthalmologist” or “Ophthalmic surgeon” are better categories than just “ophthalmologist.”
• Social media: The extent of social media’s influence on SEO is a point of contention among digital marketing experts, but it can play a role in connecting your practice with relevant searches. Search engines are looking for indicators of a robust online presence, and your social media activity gives them one more sign of your credibility. Plus, social media helps drive website traffic, which improves your search engine performance as well.
• Online reputation: Your star rating can dictate where you show up in Google’s Local Pack. More reviews increase your relevancy score with search engines, and landing a score over 4.0 means you’ll show up in a search of “best ophthalmologists near me.”

More on SEO and local search marketing
Page 1 potential: 5 tactics to get your healthcare practice toward the top of search results
Helping healthcare practices get found online: Search ranking factors and trends from SEO experts
Why your healthcare practice may not show up in the Google Local Pack

A roadmap to ophthalmology reputation management and patient retention

Thriving ophthalmology practices take patient satisfaction seriously. They know that a strong patient-provider relationship increases patient retention and an excellent online reputation helps drive patient acquisition.

Prioritizing patient satisfaction leads to more word-of-mouth recommendations, better online reviews, and even more engagement on social media, which can all help bring in more patients to your practice. Patients who feel you care about their experience and are responsive to their needs feel a stronger sense of connection to your ophthalmology practice.

Even ophthalmology practices that get most of their new patients from direct referrals need to have reputation management strategies in place. Even with a referral in hand, most people who need ophthalmological care will first go online to research your practice by browsing patient reviews, visiting your website, and perusing your social media content.

Here are some top tips for increasing patient satisfaction and maintaining a top-notch reputation:

• Offer convenience. Digital tools for appointment scheduling and intake paperwork, options for telehealth care, text message appointment reminders, and automated patient surveys are becoming the norm for modern ophthalmology practices. Consumers have come to expect a greater level of convenience and ease in today’s digital world, and healthcare is no exception. Ophthalmologists who use preferred patient communication methods — for example, nearly 67 percent of patients want text message appointment reminders — will differentiate their practice in the competitive digital marketplace.
• Request reviews and feedback. It’s important to regularly solicit patient reviews. Qualitative feedback about the patient experience can also give you valuable insights you wouldn’t otherwise get that can drive practice improvements. Again, the best way to get feedback is to make it easy and convenient for patients to share their experiences with you. By automating patient surveys after every appointment, patients can respond in real time with just the click of a button.
• Respond to concerns. Even the best ophthalmology practices will get some negative feedback from time to time. Responding to a negative review shows prospective patients that you genuinely care about the patient experience and are committed to patient satisfaction. In fact, in a 2021 survey by PatientPop, patients listed a “good listener” as what they want most from a healthcare provider.
• Reduce wait times. Moving intake paperwork and registration online means patients can spend less time in the waiting room. Lengthy waits and negative interactions with staff are common causes of patient attrition and bad online reviews. A streamlined intake and registration process helps alleviate those problems and improve the patient experience.
• Engage regularly. Reaching out to patients on an ongoing basis keeps them connected to your ophthalmology practice and may increase return visits, word-of-mouth recommendations, and patient loyalty. Content marketing tactics such as email campaigns, blogging, and social media are a great way to keep in touch with existing patients and stay top-of-mind for them when they think about eye care. Providing timely and relevant information about new treatment options, common eye conditions, and reminders for comprehensive eye exams and vision testing are all excellent ways to stay in touch.

More on online reputation management
Creating and maintaining a 5-star reputation for your healthcare practice
The risks and potential rewards of negative patient reviews
How to respond to patient reviews and other online feedback

An ophthalmologist’s toolbox for smart practice growth

Digital marketing and advertising can bring in a wealth of new patients, but long-term, sustainable ophthalmology practice growth requires an intentional focus on balancing patient acquisition with patient retention and loyalty. Strengthening the patient-provider relationship means adapting to the changing digital landscape and offering patients greater convenience as well as top-quality ophthalmology care.

First, ophthalmologists have to get clear about what their goals are. Goals should not be stagnant. Revisit them from time to time (quarterly is a good start) to measure progress and tweak strategies if needed.

Next, practice operators need to determine how they plan to measure their goals. These key performance indicators (KPIs) provide valuable insight into your practice growth strategies – what’s working well and what might need refining. Key performance indicators may differ depending on your goals, but here are some basics to consider:

• Volume of new appointments: Increasing the number of new appointments at your practice indicates your digital marketing and advertising efforts are paying off, especially if you are attracting new patients at a higher rate than before.
• Website statistics: Ophthalmologists need to know how many people are visiting their website. They also need to know whether they came from a search engine or social media and which website pages are most popular. An information page or blog post about a particular eye condition may be driving huge traffic to your site, so you’ll want to leverage that expertise in future content marketing or SEO tactics.
• No-show rate: A high no-show rate means something is going wrong between the time new patients make an appointment and when they actually step foot in your office. Maybe you need to implement text message appointment reminders.
• Search results ranking: Climbing to the top of search engine results is a great sign that you’re on track for meaningful practice growth. You can influence your search result rankings by implementing an SEO and local search strategy, improving your online reputation, and tuning your overall web presence to what search engines like best.
• Lifetime value (LTV): Each patient has an LTV – the potential revenue for all visits throughout their lifetime – that can be optimized to support long-term practice growth. Focusing on patient retention can help maintain a positive growth trajectory.

A comprehensive practice growth platform can help ophthalmology practice owners manage patient acquisition and retention in one place, increasing efficiency and amplifying practice growth efforts. An all-in-one platform also gives you high-level insights into your KPIs, so you can monitor your performance on an ongoing basis, lean into successes, and make decisions about areas that may need improvement.

¹“Average US Time Spent with Mobile in 2019 Has Increased,” eMarketer