Telehealth use has increased significantly in recent years, with the number of sessions in 2024 nearly doubling those logged before the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, companies providing telehealth services have a much broader market to engage.
However, more interest in telehealth won’t necessarily translate to more telehealth business. With the growth of the market has come a growth in competition. To attract and retain new patients, telehealth companies must focus on developing and deploying effective marketing tactics that set them apart.
The following are some key marketing strategies that can be leveraged to reach more patients, educate them on your services, and encourage them to use your telehealth services.
Develop a strong web presence
Your website is a portal that all potential telehealth patients must pass through. It’s where they get their first impression of your company. To ensure a good first impression, make sure your website is professional, organized, and informational.
“If you want to know how to market telemedicine services or telehealth services, start by investing in your website,” says Josh Thompson, CEO of Impact Health USA and Impact Health University. “Your website is the heart of every digital marketing method you invest in for your practice. Whether it’s a paid advertising campaign or an email campaign, a professional website is at the center of it all.”
Thompson is a visionary in the telehealth space who has revolutionized access to medical services through a national telehealth platform that offers primary care, obesity medications, and mental health support. Under his leadership, Impact Health USA has expanded its services to all 50 states, transforming healthcare accessibility and empowering entrepreneurs to own their own telehealth businesses serviced by Impact Health USA. Recognizing the potential for broader impact, Thompson founded Impact Health University to educate and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs and clinic owners on building successful healthcare businesses.
Thompson advises companies to adopt a modern design utilizing intuitive navigation to make their website functional for all browsers and easy for users to navigate. He also recommends a style guide, which improves professionalism and readability by supporting a consistent look across all pages.
“Site visitors need to know they can trust your practice to deliver proper care, and if you have an outdated or disorganized website, your audience won’t feel comfortable using your services,” Thompson warns.
Provide authoritative online content
Gaining trust is a crucial step in gaining new telehealth patients. By providing relevant and helpful information on your website through blog posts, podcasts, infographics, and videos, you show prospective patients that you have the expertise required to provide excellent care. Popular topics explored on telehealth sites include how telehealth improves patient experiences, the technology needed to engage in telehealth, and how providers keep patient data secure.
“One way to think of content topics is to consider common questions people ask regarding telehealth,” Thompson shares. “You want to stick to industry-relevant topics to ensure you drive the right traffic to your page.”
Leverage SEO to enhance your site’s impact
When Google’s search results push potential patients to your website, it creates an invaluable opportunity for growing your telehealth business. To achieve that, you’ll need to incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) into your marketing strategy, which improves the likelihood of Google recommending your site as a helpful resource for those seeking information.
Incorporating SEO into your content development strategies is one of the best ways to improve your search rankings. By identifying keywords and incorporating them into your content, you signal to Google that you have the proper information to help its users.
“Keywords trigger your website to appear in search results, so you need to conduct keyword research to find relevant terms,” Thompson advises. “Long-tail keywords, which contain three or more words, work best because they drive more qualified traffic.”
A number of technical SEO factors also contribute to success, such as optimizing sites for use on mobile devices and ensuring internal links are operable. If your site is slow to load, it will frustrate both Google and prospective patients.
“Users hate to wait for slow-loading pages, so if your site takes too long to load, you’re missing out on potential patients for your practice,” says Thompson. “Using a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights or investing in page speed services lets you optimize your pages so they can load faster.”
Create paid ads to connect with patients
Paid ads can be a solid marketing investment for patients who have already decided on telehealth and are simply looking for the right provider.
“One of the most important strategies for digital marketing for telehealth is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising,” Thompson says. “PPC ads appear at the top of the search results, above organic listings, and help drive more qualified traffic to your website. With 46 percent of page clicks going to the top three PPC ads, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to drive valuable traffic to your page.”
PPC ads are tied to a keyword, which means your ad strategy should start with identifying the keywords that are most relevant to your current marketing initiatives. You can also identify factors such as geographic locations, age, or other demographics you’d like to target.
Once you identify your targets, develop an ad with clear, concise copy and a strong call to action. When clicked, PPC ads should take patients to a tailored landing page that connects them quickly to the services or offers you are advertising.
Although telehealth allows healthcare providers to grow their business by offering patients more convenience and accessibility, connecting with those patients requires an investment. A sound marketing strategy is the key to gaining the competitive advantage that will set your telehealth company apart from the competition.
Published By: Aize Perez
