Got this from a friend or colleague? Why not subscribe

Hey again — it's Steve with Healthcare Marketing Vitals!

Last week, we covered the essential pages every practice website needs. This week, I’m diving deeper into 3 types of pages that can make or break your patient conversion:

• About

• Provider

• Testimonials/Reviews

These aren't just "nice-to-have" pages—they're strategic conversion tools that address specific patient needs and search behaviors while tackling Healthcare Marketing Roadblock #1 (No Visibility), Roadblock #2 (Inefficient Acquisition), and Roadblock #3 (No Market Differentiators).

In This Week’s Email:

• [1 min] Thoughts for the Week: Your Core

• [4 min] Spotlight: The 3 Pages That Convert Patients

• [30 sec] By the Numbers: The Power of Trust-Building Content

• [30 sec] In the Know: Mental Wellness Market, 3 Misses in Healthcare Marketing, and Traditional Marketing is DOA

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HUBSPOT

Use AI as Your Personal Assistant’

Ready to save precious time and let AI do the heavy lifting?

Save time and simplify your unique workflow with HubSpot’s highly anticipated AI Playbook—your guide to smarter processes and effortless productivity.

Download the free guide today.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Your Core

Most of you got into healthcare to help people. You had to work hard for years and sometimes decades to get where you are.

There was some spark that got you not only into the field, but kept you in through hours of study, rotations, and stress.

To get more patients you need to think back to that original purpose—the thing that is unique to you and drove you.

Your priorities may have shifted and (maybe) you feel somewhat jaded now, but you need to collect that part of you that dove headlong into healthcare because it’s going to be critical for what we’re focused on today.

***

As someone who examines dozens of practices (or more) per week, trust me: Most practice websites—whether dental, orthopedic, primary care, mental health, or optometry—are sterile.

They look and feel the same.

Their messaging is clunky, imprecise, and identical to 99% of their competition.

There are innumerable factors you can’t control when it comes to patient acquisition, but messaging is not one.

It sounds simple, but I have yet to have a client who didn’t need help clarifying their message.

It doesn’t have to be some complex strategy though.

Just think back to why you’re in healthcare and use that to speak to your very core ideal patient persona.

Speaking to them doesn’t exclude others. It simply gives you a place to start—a foundation, focus, and core.

A MESSAGE FROM MASTERS IN MARKETING

How 15 Small Brands Achieved Remarkable Marketing Results

Stop believing you need a big budget to make an impact. Our latest collection highlights 15 small brands that transformed limited resources into significant market disruption through innovative thinking.

• Case studies revealing ingenious approaches to common marketing challenges

• Practical tactics that delivered 900%+ ROI with minimal investment

• Strategic frameworks for amplifying your brand without amplifying your budget

These actionable insights can be implemented immediately, regardless of your team or budget size. See how small brands are making big waves in today's market.

Get the case studies for free here.

SPOTLIGHT

Your 3 Trust-Building Pages

4 min. read

Your website's deeper pages are where the magic happens.

While your homepage captures attention, once someone is on your site it's the About, Provider, and Testimonials pages that actually converts them into a patient.

These three pages work in concert to build trust, demonstrate expertise, and provide the social proof patients need to book appointments.

Here’s how to optimize each one for maximum patient conversion.

About Page: Building Trust Through Storytelling

Most practices treat the About page as an afterthought.

This is a massive missed opportunity.

Why It Matters: Your About page humanizes your practice and creates the emotional connection that transforms website visitors into loyal patients. It explains your deeper commitment to the care you provide.

Essential Elements for Maximum Impact

Your Origin Story: Don't just state when you opened—tell the story of why:

• What drove you to start this practice?

• What problem were you solving?

• How does your story make your practice uniquely positioned to best serve patients?

Maybe you started your therapy practice after recognizing the lack of trauma-informed care in your community, or perhaps you opened your family clinic because you wanted to provide comprehensive care from birth to senior years.

Patients connect with purpose, not just credentials.

Mission and Values: Be specific about your approach to patient care.

Instead of generic statements like "patient-centered care," explain exactly what that means in your practice.

• Do you offer extended therapy sessions for complex cases?

• Do you use minimally invasive techniques whenever possible?

• Do you provide same-day sick visits for families with young children?

Team Introduction: Include professional photos and 2-3 sentence bios of key team members, not just providers.

Patients want to know about the people they'll interact with—from the therapy intake coordinator who'll handle their first call, to the dental hygienist they'll see for cleanings, to the medical assistant who'll take their vitals.

Community Connection: Showcase your involvement in the local community.

• Sponsor mental health awareness events?

• Participate in community health fairs?

This establishes you as a trusted local partner, not just another medical practice.

(Plus, including them can be great for local SEO!)

Visual Storytelling: Include photos of your actual office, not stock images.

Show your calming therapy space, your modern dental equipment, or your comfortable family medicine exam rooms.

Consider adding a brief video where you walk through the practice and introduce yourself personally.

Provider Pages: The Decision-Making Hub

Here's what many practices miss: 65% of patients want to research their specific provider before booking.

You should have a separate page for each provider with the URL for Dr. Janet Smith, one of your PCPs as: https://yoursite.com/dr-janet-smith-primary-care

Your provider pages can determine whether someone calls your office or clicks back to Google to find someone else.

Patient Experience Focus: These pages help patients choose the right provider for their needs and build confidence in their choice before they even walk through your door.

SEO Strategy: Provider pages capture searches for specific doctor names, specialties, and conditions.

What Makes Provider Pages Convert

Professional Photography: Invest in high-quality, professional photos.

Patients judge competence by appearance, and a good photo builds immediate trust.

Show providers in appropriate professional settings—therapists in their consultation space, dentists in their practice coat, physicians in their white coats—but also include approachable, smiling headshots.

Comprehensive Yet Readable Bios: Structure biographies with scannable sections.

• Education and training (2-4 sentences)

• Board certifications and specialties (list them)

• Professional experience (3-5 sentences)

• Areas of special interest (1-2 sentences)

• Personal interests: All the better if these relate to your practice, but they can be completely unrelated hobbies as well (1-2 sentences)

Specific Expertise: Don't just list broad categories.

Specify what you treat most often or what techniques you use.

• If Dr. Johnson specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders, say so.

• If Dr. Martinez focuses on cosmetic dentistry and Invisalign, highlight that.

Patient-Facing Language: Translate professional jargon into terms patients understand.

• Replace "endodontic procedures" with "root canal treatment to save damaged teeth."

• Use "chronic disease management" rather than complex medical terminology.

Personal Connection Points: Include 1-2 personal details that help patients connect.

• Maybe Dr. Anderson understands work-related stress because they're also a working parent.

• Dr. Williams might mention their multilingual abilities to connect with diverse patient populations.

Provider-Specific Call-to-Actions: Include buttons like "Schedule with Dr. [Name]" or "Request Consultation" that link directly to booking systems filtered for that specific provider.

Booking should never be more than 1 click away!

Testimonials Page: Your Social Proof Engine

80% of patients look for clinicians with five or more reviews before trusting a healthcare provider, so your testimonials page is essential for conversion.

Patient Trust Building: Testimonials provide the social proof that bridges the gap between interest and action. Patients want to know others have had positive experiences before they commit to care.

SEO Benefits: Testimonials pages rank for review-related searches and provide fresh, keyword-rich content (especially if you’re incorporating the Review schema markup). They also help establish topical authority for the conditions and services you treat.

Creating High-Converting Testimonials

Organization Strategy: Structure your testimonials intelligently and include sections showcasing testimonials focused on each of the below.

• Service type (counseling, preventive care, surgical procedures)

• Specific conditions treated (anxiety, sleep disorders, chronic pain)

• Patient demographics (teens, geriatric patients, women, men, if relevant)

• Provider-specific testimonials

Specificity Over Generic Praise: Instead of "Dr. Smith is great," share testimonials that include specific outcomes:

• "Dr. Smith's therapy approach helped me manage my panic attacks—I went from having daily episodes to maybe one per month."

• Or "Dr. Lee's comprehensive approach caught my early symptoms and prevented a serious condition."

Visual Elements:

• Include patient photos (with permission)

• Add star ratings visually

• Use video testimonials when possible—88% of people trust them as much as personal recommendations

• Create before/after comparison graphics (stay HIPAA-compliant)

Strategic Placement: Don't just collect testimonials—place them strategically throughout your site:

• 1-3 powerful testimonials on your homepage

• Condition-specific testimonials on service pages (anxiety treatment, pediatric care, implant procedures)

• Provider-specific testimonials on individual provider pages

• The comprehensive collection on your dedicated testimonials page

Integration with Review Platforms: Connect your testimonials page to Google Reviews, Psychology Today (for therapists), Healthgrades, and other platforms.

Show your Google rating prominently and include a "Write a Review" call-to-action.

HIPAA Compliance: Always obtain written permission before using patient testimonials.

• Consider using first names only or initials

• When asking for reviews, prompt the reviewer to focus on the experience and outcome rather than specific medical details (this will also often make them more comfortable with leaving a review, and therefore more likely to do so)

Pro Tips for Maximum Impact

Update Regularly: Add new testimonials monthly to keep content fresh and show ongoing patient satisfaction.

Address Common Concerns: Include testimonials that specifically address common patient fears—like anxiety about therapy stigma, dental procedure pain, or complex medical diagnoses.

Diverse Representation: Ensure your testimonials represent your diverse patient population in terms of age, demographics, and conditions treated.

Action Items

Choose one page to optimize completely this week. Update the content, refresh photos, and add one new testimonial. Monitor your analytics for engagement improvements over the next two weeks.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Power of Trust-Building Content

1. 80% of patients read five or more reviews before trusting a healthcare provider, making testimonials pages crucial for conversion

2. 75% of visitors judge a company's credibility based on website design, with About and Provider pages being key trust-builders

3. 72% of patients will only choose a doctor with 4+ star reviews, emphasizing the importance of showcasing positive patient experiences

IN THE KNOW

Key Articles this Week

1. Mental Wellness Market Hits $174 Billion with No Dominant Player - And it’s expected to grow to $413.13 billion by 2034. The market remains highly fragmented with key trends including AI-powered innovations for personalized support and growing focus on employee wellness programs. Read more

2. Healthcare Marketing Missing the Mark in Three Critical Areas - Additionally, they are underutilizing their potential beyond patient acquisition. The three missed opportunities include failing to nurture patients through their healthcare journey, not leveraging marketing for patient education, and inadequately educating referring physicians about their services. Read more

3. Traditional Marketing Campaigns Declared Dead - Always-on, triggered messaging is replacing traditional batch-and-blast campaigns. Triggered email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates, allowing brands to send personalized messages in real-time based on customer actions. Read more

When you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help

I help brand new, small, and medium practices fill their appointment slots through digital marketing using blended search marketing campaigns.

1. Hit "reply” to any email and drop me a line. Tell your story, share your marketing struggles, or just say hi. I read every email.

2.  Get in front of our audience of healthcare leaders & professionals.

3. Join my waitlist for new clients by replying to this email with “waitlist” and you’ll be the first to know next time I have openings. I may have a slot opening up in the next week—email me to get more info!

*Some links in this email may be affiliate links. They support this free email at no cost to you. Your support of our sponsors means a great deal to me and goes a long way.

That’s All for Now

Have a great week—and remember, every page tells part of your story!

See You Next Week,

Steve