Visible Optometry Research Articles

Creating a website for your practice can be a daunting task, so we’ve assembled this list to help guide you through it.

If you’re working with a web designer who is unfamiliar with optometric websites, you should review the following design steps so you can make better-informed decisions. Mistakes made in planning can be difficult to correct later on.

1. Choose a Designer and Host

Web designers can be found in every city from Nanaimo to Charlottetown, and some will produce a basic site for as little as $1000. It’s important to find one who will take the time to learn about your business, how visitors find optometrist websites, and what website features are professional and appropriate.

Most designers will also host your site, meaning they keep the necessary files running on their computer (web server) for a monthly fee. You get what you pay for with hosting, and a lower fee usually translates to less technical support and assistance with maintaining your website.

2. Choose a Domain Name

The domain name is what people type to access your site, for example www.myoptometryclinic.ca. We could write several articles on this topic alone, but the important tips are:

• Choose carefully: you can’t easily change your domain name later.
• Most domains are already taken, so brainstorm several options.
• It’s preferable for Canadian Optometrists to use a .ca extension. Make sure the .com extension of the same domain isn’t already being used for something embarrassing should your patients visit it by mistake. If possible, register both the .ca and .com domains.
• Pick something easy to remember and easy to spell.
• Try to include either your name, your business name, or your city name. This will help it rank better in search engine results.
• Use only letters. Avoid using hyphens and numbers.
• Keep it short. No more than 20 letters.
• Registering a domain name costs no more than $20 per year. Most designers will charge more for helping you choose one and registering it.
• The domain name must be renewed periodically. This should be done by your host.

3. Plan Your Email

It’s important to have a flexible and reliable email system. Telephone is still the preferred method of contacting optometrists, but email continues to gain favour. A recent Visible Optometry survey found that Canadians prefer the following methods when contacting an Optometrist for general information:

• Telephone: 47.9% (percentage that prefer the telephone)
• A contact form on the Optometrist’s website: 23.3% *
• Visit in person: 17.8%
• Email: 11.0%

* Note that a contact form still requires the optometrist to use email to receive and respond to the message.

The domain name you choose will be part of your email address, and you can have as many addresses as you need: for example info@myoptometryclinic.ca and appointments@myoptometryclinic.ca.

4. Define Your Purpose

When preparing a presentation, it’s important to know exactly who your audience is. Your website is an important presentation so think carefully about who you expect to visit it. Will you have many online resources for current patients? Do you primarily want to attract new patients? Your answer will guide the rest of the design process.

5. Research Your Keywords

This is important if you intend to attract new patients using your website. The idea is simple: people search for optometrists online by typing keywords in a search engine, such as Google. The closer the match between those keywords and the text on your site, the higher your site will appear in the search results.

It’s difficult to properly write your website content if you don’t know what keywords and keyphrases people are using to search. Keyword research typically involves using online statistical tools and surveying people in your market. Often times the results are unexpected, for example our surveys have revealed:

• Only 19% of Canadians include the word “optometrist” when searching for optometrists.
• Only 67% of those spelled “optometrist” correctly.
• At least 10% of Canadians are confused between optometrists, ophthalmologists, and opticians.

Quality Keyword research can cost several thousand dollars, which is why small businesses typically don’t request it. If you are writing your own content without it, simply incorporate keywords and keyphrases that you believe are important.

If you’d like to be informed when Part 2 of this article is published, please subscribe to our email newsletter.