No matter the quality of your eye exams, you need to do a great job marketing your optometry practice to get patients into the door. In this day and age, digital marketing for optometrists is crucial. 

The field of optometry continues to expand, and people have more choices than ever for where to get vision care. Your digital marketing strategies — how you connect with potential patients online — can set you apart from the competition by highlighting all your clinic offers and making it easy for people to see you. 

Still, trying to figure out where to start? Below, find effective strategies in digital marketing for optometrists. 

Examples of digital marketing for optometrists

A well-built website

Your website is the first touchpoint clients have for your business. Make sure it’s easy to navigate. And have a designer curate it with high-quality visual content showcasing your practice, staff, and what you have to offer. You can also add certain elements to ensure it’s well-optimized to appear in search engines, but we’ll get more into that below. 

Online services

People are busy, and convenience plays a significant role in attracting patients to your practice. Make it easy for people to find you and book an appointment by signing up for an online booking service like Zocdoc. 

Dr. Angelica Delgado, an optometrist at Couture Optical of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn, likes that along with capturing new patients, Zocdoc offers digital intake forms to fill out before they step foot into her office.

 “Before I see someone, I review the intake forms they filled out on Zocdoc,” Delgado says. “That makes the patient feel like I care about them, which is an important step in growing your practice.”  

Using text messages and emails to keep in touch with patients are also a great way to keep up with patients. Zocdoc has features that even prompt patients for you. 

Online reviews

Like a recommendation from a trusted friend, online reviews can help establish your practice’s reputation. 

Zocdoc, for instance, offers an option for patients to review a practice after they book an appointment with the platform. These reviews are all then showcased on a provider’s booking page.

Of course, the more five-star reviews, the better — so do your best to encourage existing patients to review your clinic online after appointments. 

“If we know we did a good job, we ask them to leave us a review, which is a free and easy way to give us more recognition as a practice,” Delgado says. 

Email marketing

As long as you have someone’s email address, you can send updates on your practice and the services you provide. Email newsletters are great for advertising deals and promotions. No matter what you send, regular emails are a low-cost way to help keep you front of mind when a potential patient might need vision care.

General newsletters can familiarize people with your office and its offerings. But personalized email campaigns are a powerful way to pique people’s interest in services they’re more likely to invest in. Many email campaign tools allow you to organize patients into groups.

Pay attention to search engine optimization

Optimize your website

While you want to ensure your website is appealing to the eye, you also want it to be as findable as possible. You can confirm this by paying attention to search engine optimization (SEO). Consider incorporating keywords into your site’s copy. 

Buy Google Ads

Buying Google Ads is another great digital marketing strategy. They can allow you to rank highly on different search terms as a sponsored link. Like any digital marketing strategy, Google Ads are an investment, but they can go a long way in connecting you with patients who may be a good fit for your practice.

Use content marketing

Rather than advertising your clinic directly, content marketing establishes you and your staff as experts in the field, which can attract potential patients.

If you’re using your website as a content marketing tool, you can start a blog to address common questions patients might be searching for on the internet. Take advantage of SEO keywords to help people find your posts!

Implement a long-term social media plan

Invest in social media platforms

Another effective way to land new patients is: Advertise your practice on social media. It’s free to start a business page on Facebook, where people can “like” your clinic. 

To go the extra mile, purchase ads on sites where you want to attract patients, whether Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok. 

You can choose the demographic you want to reach, such as people of a particular age from a specific location. 

While there’s no substitute for quality care and excellent customer service, investing in digital marketing for optometrists can set you apart from the competition. How you market your practice online can make it much easier for people to take advantage of everything you offer, a win-win for your training and your patient’s well-being.

Dr. Angelica Delgado’s inclusion in this article is part of a paid Zocdoc promotional program.