Technology and the Internet change at lightning speed. With these advances come frequent changes in the way we build and design websites. Is your website up to par with the latest technology? Here are 5 reasons your practice might want to consider a website redesign:

1) Your website does not take advantage of new coding techniques.

Each year, web standards change drastically, and techniques to build websites become more advanced in order to comply those standards. New techniques available allow us to not only enhance the attractiveness of your website, but also enhance your site’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

2) Your website is not suitable for the current most popular screen size and resolution.

The rapid advancement of technology in recent years goes hand-in-hand with the evolution of your website. A few short years ago, most computer monitors were smaller and screen resolutions were much lower. Sites had to conform to those restrictions.

As screen resolutions of desktop and laptop computers keep growing, the options we have to design and create content for your website also grows. A bigger screen and higher resolutions allow us more room for content-rich information “above the fold.”

3) Your site isn’t mobile-friendly.

In addition to the growing screen size and resolution, another important advancement is the growth of the mobile web via smartphones and tablets over the past year. According to media research firm, Nielson, there are over 83 million mobile web users in the U.S., 25% of which are expected to access the web from their device at least once a day. Further, research firm, IDC, is predicting that more people will access the web from mobile devices than computers by the year 2015.

Modern coding techniques allow us to make web pages adaptable on every mobile device. Getting yourself a new website redesign might be a great idea if you want to increase the accessibility of your site to the millions of mobile viewers.

Based on data published by technology performance company, Compuware:
• 46% of mobile web users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone and 57% are unlikely to recommend the site.
• 34% said they’d likely visit a competitor’s mobile website instead.

4) The look and feel of your website is outdated.

Just as we feel the need to revamp our wardrobe or to drive the latest car, a similar attitude should also apply to our websites. Your website says a lot about you and your practice. As a medical professional, you want to be seen as cutting-edge and up-to-date with the latest technologies and treatments. If your website does not match up with the image you want to portray, a potential patient surfing the web may decide to contact a different practice with a more updated site.

5) Your site wasn’t built with a specific goal in mind.

When websites first became a necessary marketing tool for businesses, they served merely as an online brochure. Years ago, your typical website was strictly informative, with no set goal to accomplish. Now, the first question we ask our clients is what goal they want to accomplish by redesigning their website. Whether your goal is to generate leads, to increase blog subscribers or to provide downloadable new patient information forms, we now can design your website to accomplish your practice’s goals.

A website is one of the most important marketing tools for your practice. A new website can pay for itself!

As specialists in healthcare website development, we encourage you to contact us today and learn more about the services we offer. Together, we can work toward improving your site, with the ultimate goal of increasing your web presence and your visibility.

It’s no secret now that Google Places has changed the way it does business. In an attempt to provide their users a better experience, the service recently removed third-party reviews from all their listings, and a lot of businesses are facing a new dilemma: How do I increase my visibility? Read on and find out our tips for making your Google Places listing stand apart from your competitors’.

What’s involved?

With the removal of third-party reviews from all Google Places listings, many practices are feeling the negative effects of low review counts and missing star ratings. It all comes down to visibility. So, if you’re interested in increasing the visibility of your Google Places listing, your two best weapons are getting verified and gaining reviews.

Getting Verified

The first step toward enhancing your visibility is to verify your Google Places listing. Verifying your listing assures Google that the business exists and the information provided is accurate. Posting pictures and videos to your listing makes it more attractive and informative, which Google places value upon. While all these will influence the visibility of your Google Places listing, the most powerful factor continues to be the number of reviews on your listing, so having a strategy to gain reviews is very important.

Gaining More Reviews

You may be asking yourself, “Why are reviews so important?” The answer is simple. Businesses that accumulate reviews are typically placed higher within search results than those with only a few or no reviews. Listings with reviews provide more information to Google users, and, hence, they are placed higher in search results.

With third-party reviews gone, you will have to start encouraging your past patients to post directly to your Google Places listing. The best way is to promote your listing through all the channels you’re already using: email, social networking sites like Facebook, word-of-mouth, etc. Get in the habit of encouraging reviews as part of your message. Over time, you may see your review count climbing back up.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to visibility, the main goal is having your Google Places listing appear in search-engine results—preferably the first page of results. Start giving Google a reason to rank your listing higher than your competitors’. Taking a few steps to ensure your listing is verified and filled out as completely as possible will give you a good foundation to build upon. Taking the next step by soliciting satisfied patients to post reviews directly to your listing will take it to the next level and make your practice even more visible.

“Where is my 5 star rating?” “What happened to all my reviews?” These are only a couple of questions business owners are now asking themselves since Google removed all third-party reviews from their Google Places listing.

What changed?

In the past, a Google Places listing would show every review and rating posted to third-party websites, such as yelp.com and insiderpages.com, and would count these towards a business’ overall “star rating.” However, third-party reviews have recently been pushed towards the bottom of every Google Places listing, and are now referred to as “Reviews from around the web.” Not only have they replaced the reviews with a small link, they have also removed them from counting towards a business’ overall rating.

Why did this change?

Google’s main objective is to provide their users with relevant information quickly and conveniently. Avni Shah, director of product management at Google, explains that now “Rating and review counts reflect only those that’ve been written by fellow Google users,” and that they’re “continuing to provide links to other review sites so you can get a comprehensive view of locations across the globe.” Not to mention that some third-party review sites were not happy with Google “borrowing” their content.

How does this affect me?

As a result of the change, now the only visible reviews & ratings on your Google Places listing are those that have come from Google users. Users must sign into their account and post their review directly through your Google Places listing for it to appear. This forces business owners to encourage their customers to post reviews directly on Google rather than allow them to post on a review website of their choosing.

What do I do about it?

The best way to build up your review count—and increase your visibility—is to encourage past patients to post directly to your Google Places listing. You can promote your listing through any of the channels you already use to communicate with patients. Whether by mail, word-of-mouth, email or through social networking sites like Facebook, make a practice of encouraging reviews as part of your message. A steady focus will allow your total reviews to increase over time.

Like it or not, Google Places’ policies have changed, and a number of your reviews may have disappeared. Don’t let it throw you off. Take this time to build back your star rating and review count. Encourage your patients to post directly to your listing. It’s the best way—and now, perhaps the only way—to make an impression with Google Places.