Three Non-Negotiable Things Your DIY Homepage Needs
There are more than three things that every homepage needs to get clients; however, if I decided to list them all we would be here all week! So I have decided to narrow it down to my top three items that are a non-negotiable for every homepage, no matter how many pages you have, if you are a one man band or a team of 25, or only offer ‘just osteopathy’. So, let’s get into it!
First: What do you do?
Your homepage is a snapshot of your business, it’s a page that a majority of people are going to land on first – not all the time, but majority of the time, therefore it needs to have a couple of paragraphs about each of the services you provide, and also about you. About you is so important to have on your homepage and to have a dedicated page for. Yes, potential patients want to know you can help them with their particular problem and the price for doing so, but they also want to know about the practitioner behind the hands… and on a deeper level than ‘Bob studied for 3 years at university and then he did X, and then he did Y… they want to know what you do beyond work, what makes you passionate about Osteopathy.
And of course, you do need to have a couple of paragraphs about what services you offer, even if it’s ‘just osteopathy’ then can you break it down into children, for all, cranial or older? Do you offer Shockwave Therapy or Dry Needling alongside it? This all needs to be crystal clear on your homepage, so when a potential patient who is in pain stumbles across your website, they’ll know immediately who you are, what you can do and how you can help them.
Second: Social Proof (AKA customer reviews!)
Secondly, in a land of digital and not knowing who Jack is from Bob, it is so important to make sure you stand out, one of the ways you can do this is to make sure you have social proof (reviews) on your website… and not just on the homepage but on every page! The easiest way to do this is to screenshot a Google or Facebook review a patient has given you and stick it up on your website… This not only shows how good you are (because of course you are) but also that it’s true (and although there has been a shift in the law about false testimonials, there are still scoundrels out there!).
I recommend having three or four on a page, this means you’re not bombarding potential patients with millions of reviews in order to get to the next section of your website (think mobile, if someone has to endlessly scroll to find information… they are going to give up), but it gives enough reviews to prove you know your shit!
Third: Calls to Action (AKA: Booking links!)
Call to action buttons (or CTAs) are always the one thing that business owners forget about, or don’t put enough in. Yes, you have links or information on how a potential patient can book in, but the power of a button is ALWAYS overlooked. When someone looks at a website for a specific reason (in your case, booking an appointment) it is imperative you tell them exactly what it is you want them to do… and in most cases, you want them to either book online (and if you don’t offer this, we need to talk), or to read more about a particular service. In any case, you want to make sure you have a button after every section… especially on mobile.
No one is going to scroll halfway down a page, want to make a booking and either go looking for a button, or scroll back up to get to the only button at the top of the page. They want everything laid out for them, and also to remind them to take action. No one is going to complain about seeing a button every few scrolls (and most of the time, they aren’t going to realise how many buttons there are). They want someone else to tell them what they need to do, so your buttons need to be direct and no fluff… think ‘book now’, ‘book an appointment today’, ‘call now’, or ‘contact us today’. And when you do, you’ll be amazed at how many will actually click.
Does YOUR homepage have what it takes?
So, in short, it is imperative that you have a snapshot of you and your services, social proof, and CTAs on your homepage… When was the last time you looked at your website to update it or even check everything is there? If you’re currently shaking your head, or shrugging your shoulders, this is your reminder to go check, and if you don’t, we should talk! I would be thrilled to help you work toward having a homepage that not only looks amazing, but does what it’s supposed to for your business – helping you grow!
