My name is Kris Hogan and I am a local Web Designer located in Tinley Park, Illinois. I have worked in Chiropractic in the past and quite frankly, I love the field almost as much as I love the field of Web Design. I owe my previous employer a debt of thanks for the awesome education I received while working for him. I wanted to introduce myself for several reasons, one being that I want your business! Another reason for contacting you is that I want to return the favor I received from my past employer and now educate you on the reasons why your practice NEEDS a website.
First I’d like to say that going local is best when hiring a web designer. I have lived in this community for 35 years and I have a good understanding of the area. Going local is nice because you get to meet the person you’re working with. I can come to your office and meet you face to face. This is something that’s often overlooked but it can be a critical factor for the chiropractic office hoping to capture the local search market. I believe that a local web designer is going to be more familiar with local zip codes, major area landmarks, neighboring cities, realistic driving directions, and will generally have a better feel for the geographic area your chiropractic office serves.
Second, I want to create a website for you that you can be proud of. Not one that is a template sold to you and many other Chiropractors. A unique website design is important in search engine optimization. I have yet to find a mass-produced chiropractic website that does not suffer from a duplicate content penalty. This is one of the things that affect a web site’s ability to rank high in search engines. Along these lines I’d like to point out that when you don’t have a website and are only on the web via websites like locateadoc.com, localchiros.com, chirodirectory.com and many others like those, you are advertising alongside your competition! You want to stand out, not just be listed among all of the other local Chiropractors!
Next I’d like to point out that I will want to show off what a great job we did on your chiropractic website. You’ll potentially be the small-business owner that people will desire to visit when the topic of referrals comes up. In my experience it never hurts to get face-to-face with more local business people, even if it is to discuss websites and marketing. Think outside the box for a moment here and imagine the possibilities if you and some of your local business buddies (real estate agents, attorneys, local bakery, favorite locally owned small business restaurants) linked to each other’s websites. This is one of the most pertinent ways to move up in search engine listings. The more links you have to your website, the higher you will rank in the search engines.
I have my own website (and I have inbound links like I will to your website) and I’ll want to display a screenshot of your web site along with a link to show examples for future clients. This is where your chiropractor website will receive some “link juice”, and that’s a good thing. This also aids in search engine optimization which is higher ranking in the search engines.
I’d also like to challenge you not to waste money monthly on companies providing cookie-cutter chiropractic template type sites but to support a local, talented, artistic and independent web designer. I can tell you right now the outsourced project is not likely to provide you with any links and worse, the company giving you a template will likely suck your link juice right out of search engine rankings by keyword linking back to their main web site (without telling you they’re doing so).
And lastly, I’d like to remind you that the money you save by not making the mistake of paying monthly fees for a template driven website, can be invested in proper search engine optimization practices. I can provide basic Search Engine Optimization services for your chiropractor website. This is where your monthly ongoing expenses should be invested.
The last bit of information I want to leave you with is not specialized to you the Chiropractor, but to all businesses in general.
·
· A website can be a worthwhile investment even if it’s just an electronic version of the Yellow Pages: street address, phone number, business hours, forms of payment accepted, contact information.
Except…what happens if you move, or your area code changes, or your hours, or anything else that’s printed in the Yellow Pages? You know the answer to that one.
But a website is dynamic — information can be updated at any time, plus you’re not limited to 2 or 3 lines worth of information. Plus there are so many ways to interact with your customer, which is a lot more interesting for them and potentially very valuable to you.
· Discount Coupons – What better incentive for someone to visit your website than to save money? Customers love getting a bargain, and the great thing about coupons is the customer usually has to buy something to get whatever goodies the coupon offers.
· Did you know that 40-48 million adults went online last year looking for local content? The average local user is college educated, makes good money, and likes shopping online. They are more likely to make purchases than non-users of local content, either online or offline.
This demographic market is every business owner’s dream. As more local information becomes available online, people are starting to look at the Internet as something useful instead of a passing fad. Consumers are getting online in record numbers, resulting in a critical mass of local users in top markets, and spreading across communities of all sizes. Chances are a number of your local prospects and customers are part of this desirable demographic – and that number will only increase.
· Maybe you think nobody in your industry is using the Internet. But I guarantee, whatever your business, one of your competitors is successfully using the Internet to promote their business. If your competitors have web sites, people will be visiting them! These people are your potential customers!
· It’s the best advertising medium available today. A professional website provides exposure of your business for a small initial investment, when compared to other forms of advertising.
·
· When you have a website, you can reduce costs and show your services/products over the web instead of printing brochures.
In closing, I’d like to say thank you for your time in reading this and if you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to call or email me! I wish you a very profitable year helping people heal.
