Digital Marketing for LASIK Practices

Improve your patient experience. Increase new patient acquisitions. Deploy new technology. Reduce operating costs. No matter the size of your LASIK practice, your goals likely fit in one of those buckets.

Despite COVID-related disruptions, the refractive surgery market will grow during the 2020s. Laser vision correction surgery reported growth in volume for three straight years in the United States. Plus, the global market valuation for LASIK eye surgery devices is projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2025.

This growth is attributed to several factors, including:

• A growing population of those with vision problems
• Rapid technology advancements
• Increased demand for minimally invasive surgical procedures
• High healthcare spending
• Government support for research and development
• Increased partnerships with insurance providers

These numbers are encouraging for LASIK practices and ophthalmologists. However, this growth also means that LASIK competition has never been higher. So, how do you position yourself in a crowded market? Through data-driven digital marketing.

Great LASIK marketing is online and customer-centric.

Consumers have more power than ever to learn about and research their vision health options. These days, your patients are interested in how your services fit in their life picture, not how they fit within yours.

Because of this, the patient buying process has also expanded—and the healthcare marketing funnel is bigger than ever before. LASIK is in the middle of this major transformation. So, how does a growing practice compete with other practices, large ophthalmology networks, hospitals, and emerging non-traditional competitors?

The digital space creates an opportunity for patients to ask questions, research, and compare providers and alternatives—all before they make their first move. Here are a couple of ways for LASIK companies to boost new patient acquisition.

Introduce new LASIK technology with PPC.

Medical devices are quick to change. For example, Alcon announced the commercial launch of the AcrySof IQ PanOptix trifocal with intraocular lens (IOL) in August 2019—making it the first trifocal IOL for cataract surgery approved by the FDA.

The advancement provides your patients with clear advantages, and using these new tools positions your practice as an industry leader. But how do you communicate that advantage into something patients value?

Part of marketing LASIK technology means translating technical advantages into easy-to-understand language. Paid campaigns can do that by first targeting customers based on the terms they're searching for—opening the door to showcase your technology after capturing their attention.

To take another example, the most common type of cataract surgery is phacoemulsification cataract surgery with IOL implantation. Few, if any, patients search at that level of specificity. Many may seek out general vision care information.

A thoughtful paid campaign allows you to target prospects in any part of the funnel—helping you increase awareness or go directly after ready-to-act patients. PPC advertising helps your team deliver the right message to the right people.

Build eye-care trust with SEO.

LASIK has one of the highest patient satisfaction rates of any surgical procedure—above 96 percent. Even as technology has continued to improve, patients hesitations still linger. That’s why you need to build patient trust—as early in the process as possible.

If you can consistently deliver to patients and prospects relevant content that caters to their needs, you increase brand confidence (while also expanding your reach). SEO helps you identify the content that your potential patients need and ensures that search engines can process that content efficiently.

Maintaining a medical blog can help you improve your organic search rankings. Targeted content marketing efforts that discuss LASIK procedures and tell patient success stories can help engage prospects.

For example, you can blend anecdotes of quality-of-life improvements from happy patients into informational articles. Or, you can address common questions regarding LASIK surgery. These efforts help communicate medical procedures in relatable terms.

How do you market yourself as an ophthalmologist?

How people interact with healthcare practices varies based on their needs. Unlike more reactive searches—like patients needing an urgent-care facility in an emergency—many people proactively research an ophthalmology practice. The patient journey begins long before they step foot in your facility.

First impressions mean a lot in ophthalmology marketing. Many prospects first engage with you through a Google search. By optimizing local listings and organizing your website content, SEO delivers that critical early visibility.

Paid search also ensures that ophthalmologists reach their patients when they’re ready to take the next step, ensuring that your practice’s ads and landing pages are seen by the right eyes. Ultimately, marketing for ophthalmologists helps local users find your practice, no matter where they are in their healthcare journey.

Which digital marketing services make the most sense for your ophthalmology marketing efforts? Contact us to learn how SEO and paid digital marketing can grow your practice.