• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

3 website problems that turn off new veterinary clients ... and how to fix them

May 1, 2013
Dave Nicol, BVMS, Cert. Mgmt MRCVS

Dave Nicol sheds some light on what veterinary clients don't want to see on your hospital's website.

Most clinics have websites and a Facebook page, but few of them are likely to convert curious pet owners into new clients. Does your website exhibit the following three problems of an unsuccessful website?

Problem 1: Readerless content

Content is anything you put on your website that others read, use, or otherwise interact with. Unfortunately, most content on veterinary hospital websites is either boring, written for the wrong audience or worse: both.

Before you write that article on the flea lifecycle, please think about the reader. Does the world really need another dull article? The answer to that question is in your analytics. There you will find the truth—no one is reading it. The other clue is that your phone isn't ringing with clients startled into action by your awesome knowledge of big words and gross parasite images.

Advertisement

It's a far better idea to think and write about the things that keep pet owners awake at night or excite them—where they can take their pet on holiday locally, or a blog about dog-friendly walks in your area. Many of your new clients are likely to be expectant or new parents, so why not publish some tips for new parents with cats?

Problem 2: Purposeless content

Before you start to create content, think about your objective first. For example, if I want to top the Google search rankings for new puppies, then I think about what content is going to achieve this fastest. New puppies give their owners lots of cute moments but plenty of problems too, so any content you create that helps with things like toilet training is going to score highly with your audience. By focusing on purpose first, you'll see positive results faster. Please remember though that your purpose must match up with what matters to your target audience. If your content doesn't solve their problems or help them achieve their goals, it's likely to be ignored.

Problem 3: Hook-free content

I've read a lot of articles on veterinary hospital websites that just stop—and leave the reader with no idea what to do next. The end result is, they leave your website and you lose a potential client.

One way to use your website is as a data-capture tool on potential new clients. You can use that data to develop a relationship that turns a complete stranger into a paying consumer of your products and services. You can do this by including calls to action like, "Call us to book an appointment now."

You can also collect data by using online data capture forms. This is a more technical skill, but some content management systems will let you do it easily.

Dr. Dave Nicol is a veterinary surgeon, hospital owner, and veterinary business consultant in Sydney, Australia.

Related Content:

Client Relations & Marketing
Hiring employees in line with your brand
Hiring employees in line with your brand
How to discuss finances with clients
How to discuss finances with clients
Treating patients with spectrum of care in mind
Treating patients with spectrum of care in mind

Advertisement

Latest News

To refer or to not refer

Advice panel for women interested in the veterinary field

AVMA president set to testify before Congress

New Hawaii-based pet CBD brand launches

View More Latest News
Advertisement