As of writing this article on December 10th 2020, our members’ websites have had a total of over 529,000 visits this year. Each of our members runs a private practice of multiple sizes, spread throughout the US.
Based on having access to this data, we see trends that are emerging faster than almost anybody else.
This article is sharing some of the biggest changes to online traffic in the hearing care industry that you need to know about.
Mobile vs Desktop (It’s Finally Happened)
Many other industries have seen mobile traffic overtake desktop traffic over the past several years, yet the hearing care industry has been slightly behind the curve.
In 2018, the split between mobile/tablet/desktop looked like this:
However, in 2019 – we finally saw some movement towards mobile gaining momentum, with this:
Mobile traffic majorly spiked, sitting just behind desktop traffic.
But what has happened in 2020?
Well …
Mobile traffic has finally overtaken desktop … by some distance!
51.53% of traffic in 2020 to all of our members’ websites has come from a cell phone.
This is major.
Why?
Because many websites in the hearing care industry are still TERRIBLE on a cell phone – they’re built entirely for desktop.
This means that traffic is going to decrease, the bounce-rate (of people leaving upon landing on a website) is going to increase, and many people are going to scratch their head wondering what has changed.
Based on the trajectory of the past 3 years, you can only see this going in one direction.
E-commerce, for example, had 65% of all traffic via mobile at the start of this year … I can only imagine that it’s increased even further.
Make sure your website performs on mobile, ensure the first thing that patients see is positive, and make sure it’s easy to navigate.
Why Trying to Appear Number One on Google for ‘Hearing Aids’ is Stupid (How the SEO Game Has Completely Changed)
So many of us have been led to believe that appearing number one on Google for ‘Hearing Aids [Your Location]’ is the ultimate goal of marketing.
Yet they couldn’t be more wrong.
The truth is, appearing number one on Google for ‘Hearing Aids’ is not going to get you more leads.
Why?
Because hardly anybody is searching for hearing aids online.
Here’s some data for you.
Look how many searches there are per month for ‘Hearing Aids [Insert City]’
And we’ve gone with some biggest cities in the country.
New York has a population of 19.4 million people … yet there were only 20 searches for ‘hearing aids new york’ (and no doubt, most of them came from clinics looking to see where they rank!)
This is NOT the google search that anybody should care about.
Appearing number one on this would be like having a beautiful shop-front on a street that nobody walks down.
The question is, what are people actually looking for?
Well, here’s an insight.
See the difference?
- There are 320 searches for ‘improve hearing’
- There are 9,900 searches for ‘hearing loss’
- ‘Ringing in Ears’ has more traffic than all ‘hearing aid’ searches combined
Can you see how creating content to appear for these obscure searches is going to result in higher quality people who need help with a specific problem finding your website?
If you can then help people through your website and give them a relevant action to take if they need further help, then you’re going to drive more qualified, high-quality leads.
Here’s an example for one of our members.
Their traffic is only 437 people per month as of November 2020 … that is not a big number and probably less than you get to your website right now.
Yet they have generated 32 conversions.
That is 7% of everybody that visited their website converting to a lead.
To be clear, a conversion is classed as somebody that requests a call-back, requests an appointment or needs help to maximize their insurance benefits.
Final Thoughts
Things are changing so quickly. It’s why working with the right experts that are at the forefront of the industry is so important.
If you would like us to personally review your website, help you to clarify your unique value proposition, and share a list of recommendations to ensure that your website is future-proofed for 2021 and beyond, then you may be interested in receiving a comprehensive website critique.
This is where Phil M Jones and I will personally review your website and schedule a consultation call to share the exact steps that you can take to have a high-performing web presence.
To learn more, then please click here for all the information.
