6 Steps to Create a Website and Online Presence for Your New Veterinary Practice
With 85% of clients using the internet to find local businesses, having a well-designed and optimized website can attract new clients. It can also provide a convenient platform for existing clients to book appointments and access important information. However, creating a website and establishing an online presence can seem like a daunting task. So, this guide provides you with an easy-to-follow step-by-step process to creating a website for your veterinary practice and building an online presence!
Step #1: Define Your Goals and Audience
Before you start creating your website, it’s important to define your goals and target audience. This will help you make informed decisions about the design, content, and functionality of your website.
Defining your goals means identifying the objectives of your website. What do you want your website to achieve? For example, do you want to attract new clients, provide a platform for existing clients to book appointments, or simply provide information about your practice? Setting clear goals helps you create a website tailored to your needs and achieves your desired outcome.
To understand your target audience, you need to research and understand who the people you want to reach with your website are. What are their demographics, interests, and pain points? Understanding your target audience will help you create a website that is tailored to their needs and interests. You can use tools like Google Analytics, social media analytics, and surveys to gather data about your target audience.
By defining your goals and target audience, you can create a website that effectively represents your brand and helps you connect with your clients. This step may take some time, but it’s essential to take the time to get it right so that your website can achieve its intended purpose.
Step #2: Choose a Domain Name and Website Host
Your domain name is the address of your website, and it should be easy to remember and relevant to your veterinary practice. It’s a good idea to keep it short, simple, and include relevant keywords such as the town of your veterinary practice.
You can also check the UK Gov site on existing trademarks to ensure the name you choose is unique. But, be aware that there will be no spaces in the domain name you choose so check to see if it spells something else without spaces. You can register your domain name with NameCheap. All of the extras such as WHOIS privacy are unnecessary when starting a new practice. However, you definitely want to set your domain to auto-renew so you avoid losing access to your site and emails if you forget to renew.
When choosing a web hosting provider, you’ll have several options. Some providers offer shared hosting, while others provide dedicated or virtual private servers. Most veterinary practices only need shared hosting.
Step #3: Design and Develop Your Website
With your domain name and web hosting in place, the next step involves designing and developing your website.
First, choose a website builder or platform that best suits your needs. Most veterinary practices use a visual builder such as Squarespace or a visual theme in WordPress such as Elementor. Create a wireframe or layout for your website. Then, write engaging content for each page you created a wireframe for. This content should include local keywords relevant to the veterinary services you provide and your local area. Make sure to include any location-specific problems your clients oftentimes face in this content so your site shows up when others look for solutions.
Finally, design and develop the website based on the wireframes and content written. Include all the necessary information about your veterinary practice, such as location, hours of operation, services offered, and contact information. Optimize the website for search engines by including meta tags, alt tags, and header tags.
Step #4: Launch Your Website
Now that you’ve designed and developed your website, it’s time to launch it! But, before you launch the website, make sure to check it for any bugs or potential issues. Open a preview of your website and read through the content on every page. This helps you ensure you look through every aspect of your site so you can launch without any issues.
Step #5: Create a Google My Business Profile
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool offered by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including search and maps. Having a GMB page can significantly improve your local SEO and helps your veterinary practice get found by more clients searching for services in your area.
You can create a GMB page easily and for free. So, there’s no excuse not to create a GMB page for your new veterinary practice. All you need is a Google account and business verification. You can verify your business by phone, email, or postcard.
After you verify your business, you can add key information about your business such as your address, phone number, and website. Make sure to at the very least add a phone number so clients can easily contact you. You can also add an online booking solution to your website that connects to GMB so new clients can book a first meeting directly from your GMB page.
Optimize your GMB page by adding photos, business hours, and services offered. As a veterinary office, your entire practice makes it easy to add adorable pet photos every client can love.
Once you create a fully complete GMB page, start asking clients to leave reviews. You can offer small discounts or pet treats when your clients leave a review to encourage them! Positive reviews improve your visibility on Google Maps and local search results.
Step #6: Monitor and Update Your Website
After launching your site and driving traffic to it through your GMB page, make it a regular practice to monitor your site on at least a weekly basis. During this monitoring, check for any updates to programs you use on your site, assess your Google Analytics, and ensure your key contact forms still work.
You also need to regularly update your site to keep it up-to-date with the latest offerings at your veterinary practice. This allows you to showcase any new developments at your practice and deliver engaging content to your audience.
With a high-quality website and a complete GMB page, your new veterinary practice is ready to start bringing on new clients through your online presence.
