Dental News - 3 reasons your website should be optimized for mobile users

Diana P. Friedman, USA

Thu. 8 May 2014

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As of January 2014, 58 percent of adults Americans owned a smartphone.[1] With the continued advancements in cellular networks and expanded device accessibility, a rapidly increasing number of existing and prospective patients are using mobile devices rather than a desktop browser to browse your practice website.

A strong mobile presence helps you get in front of prospective patients at the moment they’re looking for your practice. If your site doesn’t look good or function properly on a smartphone, it won’t take long for prospective patients to move on to one that does. Here are three reasons you want to ensure your practice website is mobile optimized.

1. Mobile is taking over — When you consider 87 percent of smartphone users access the Internet using their phones,[2] it’s a safe bet that the vast majority of prospective patients are looking at your site on one of these devices. Without a mobile optimized website, you damage your brand and encourage them to seek out competitive providers.

2. Mobile users take action — Today 92 percent of smartphone users seek local information on their device and 89 percent take action after looking up local content.[3] You want that action to be to contact your office for an appointment. If your site is hard to read on the mobile device or does not provide a “click-to-call” phone number, that action will likely take place with another dental care provider.

3. Mobile users will quickly move on — 61 percent of consumers who visit a website that isn’t mobile-friendly will leave to visit a competitor.[4] This fact alone should sound an alert that your practice website needs to be optimized for mobile devices.

The bottom line is that not having a mobile-optimized site can hurt your relationships with current patients, and drive away prospective ones.

Taking the next step

Refraining from optimizing your website for mobile is not an option if you are concerned about sustained practice growth and profitability. The preferred design methodology and the one Google recommends, for a mobile optimized website is called responsive design. A responsive designed practice website will adapt automatically to whatever screen size a patient is using to view it — whether that be a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone. When choosing a company to help market your practice and create a web presence to attract and retain patients, make sure the company has experts in responsive design who work only with the dental industry. With that first step, your efforts to create a mobile-friendly practice will pay off.

(Note: This article was published in Dental Tribune U.S. Edition, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 2014 issue. A complete list of references is available from the publisher.)

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