1.03 Potential clients

Let's consider the design of your practice web site from the point of view of your potential clients. Who is visiting and how do they find your site.

Are they looking online?
Yes! According to late 2003 figures from the Bureau of National Statistics 48 per cent of households in the UK can access the Internet from home. Two thirds of UK businesses are online. Sixty percent of the UK population has used the internet. At least half of potential clients are likely to be looking for details of your practice online.

How do potential clients find your web site?
All Internet users quickly become familiar with one or other of the main search engines, Yahoo, Google, MSN, AOL. Various flavours of search engine are built into the portal pages provided by the big Internet Service Providers and into web browsing software like Internet Explorer. "To Google" is in the process of entering various languages as a verb.

First choice
The majority of visitors arriving at your web site will either have found it as a result of a search or as a link from another web site - probably also found with a search engine. Very few people type in web addresses. Those that do type in web addresses tend to type them into a search engine. The web address for Hotmail, www.hotmail.com , is a very commonly used search term and provides a graphic example of the way that peoples first choice is to go to their preferred search engine.

Easy to find online
For your practice to be easily found by new clients it is important that your practice web site is easy to find in the major search engines. Potential clients won't be looking for your practice by name. They will be looking for the services you offer and for the areas you serve. Ensuring that they find your site requires an understanding of how the search engines work.

So, let's take a look at searching

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