Rejuvenating Your Practice’s Online Presence

Sometimes, all a patient needs is a subtle adjustment. Others may benefit from more transformative treatments. Your website is no different. In some cases, a simple refresh can significantly boost online performance. However, if it has been years—or perhaps never—since your last update, a full overhaul may be more fitting.

WEBSITE REFRESH

The longer you go without auditing your website, the more extensive the changes required. Your website is a vital extension of your practice—treat it accordingly. Just as you routinely evaluate other business functions, apply that same discipline to your digital presence. Additionally, revisit your content in response to major changes in your practice or the broader dermatology field. This demonstrates your commitment to staying current and engaged.

KNOW THE WARNING SIGNS

Your website might look fine on the surface, but analytics can tell a different story. If you’re not reviewing performance data such as traffic and visitor engagement, you’re missing critical insights. Tracking these metrics allows you to adjust your strategy to effectively attract and retain patients.

Key performance indicators include:

• Bounce rate – This measures how many users leave after viewing just one page. High bounce rates often indicate a failure to engage users. For medical practices, the homepage should guide visitors deeper into your site—to pages about your services, providers, and treatment options.

• New visitors – Total traffic can be misleading. Growth depends on a steady influx of new visitors—especially for practices seeking to attract new patients. A stagnation in this area may point to low search visibility or outdated keywords that fail to match what prospective patients are actually searching for.

HOW TO EXECUTE A REFRESH

If you’ve been maintaining your website periodically, a refresh shouldn’t be overly time-intensive. Small, strategic updates can improve your site’s appearance, performance, and user experience.

Ideas include:

• Removing outdated blog posts or references
• Replacing time-sensitive content with evergreen material
• Updating descriptions of technologies and treatments
• Swapping stock photos for real images of your team and patients
• Enhancing multimedia for improved usability and SEO

WEBSITE OVERHAUL

A complete redesign is more involved but can reinvigorate your online identity and strengthen your reputation. Before starting, clarify your motivation. “It’s been a while” isn’t reason enough. Understand the strategic purpose behind the overhaul—whether it’s to realign with your brand, reach new demographics, or elevate your professional standing.

WHEN TO CONSIDER AN OVERHAUL

Certain issues go beyond the numbers and suggest deeper misalignment between your digital presence and your practice’s current identity.

Consider an overhaul if:

• The overall design, tone, or content no longer reflects your brand, values, or service offerings. Ask yourself: Does our website support our current goals and positioning?

• Your practice has undergone a strategic shift—perhaps toward more educational content, thought leadership, or service diversification. These changes often require broader design and content realignment.

• Your growth strategy now prioritizes existing patients rather than new ones. This shift may require new KPIs such as return visitor rates, patient engagement metrics, and satisfaction surveys. Use these data to inform and shape future content.

ACTIONABLE NEXT STEPS

Leverage insights from your team and patients. Everyone—from front desk staff to aestheticians—interacts with patients and hears valuable feedback. What do they think should be featured more prominently? What questions do patients ask most?

By gathering diverse perspectives, you can strengthen your content strategy, support SEO efforts, and foster a sense of community. Engaging both patients and staff in this process boosts morale and reinforces your shared mission—making this process a win for your website and your practice.

NAREN ARULRAJAH

• President and CEO, Ekwa Marketing