Randall Wong, MD

The ability for a reader to leave a comment is the biggest difference between a blog and an old, static Web site. Comments allow the reader to ask questions, make suggestions, or remark about their own experiences. Comments are powerful tools on the Internet. They can be used in several ways.

The almighty doctor’s referral is losing steam. Most patients now view the doctor's referral as a mere suggestion of another physician they can see. As a retina specialist, most of my patients are sent by referral. Because of my Web site, I am getting more and more referrals.

Can you describe what you do in just three words? Most doctors can’t, for fear of omitting something. This is a great exercise to help define what you do. Using this technique, you’ll be able to better focus yourself when starting a Web site, writing great content, or just starting a social media account.

Overall, physicians are becoming receptive to the use of the Internet. There is some acceptance to the use of the Web as a marketing tool and a potential method to grow patient volume, yet the actual way in which to implement this is quite fuzzy.

The “About” page can be found on just about every Web page or blog. It is an important part of every site, yet is often neglected by the owner. It is the one place that may either capture your reader - or turn them off.

There are lots of companies vying for your Internet marketing dollars. Without a doubt, the only way to establish and maintain a meaningful Web presence and to promote your Web site is via search engine optimization (SEO), but the companies starting to call on you won’t be able to deliver. The companies lack the “authority,” and therefore the knowledge about your craft ,to make SEO successful.

The digital generation isn’t looking anywhere but the Internet for health information and new doctors. In fact, both of my patients simply stated that if doctors don’t bother to have a Web page, then why bother with them?

Earlier this year, Facebook beat out Google as the most visited site on the Internet. This was the first time Google lost the No. 1 spot it had achieved in 2007. Facebook also beat out Yahoo! in July. What does this mean to you?

"60 Minutes" aired an episode this past weekend exposing con men who preyed on the helplessness and desperation of dying patients ("21st Century Snake Oil"). The show used hidden cameras to expose a con man promising a cure for multiple sclerosis and ALS using stem cell therapy. We know better, but the average Joe doesn’t. The "salesman" wasn’t even a doctor.

I hate when I have to “unteach” a patient. It’s very difficult to get a patient to unlearn something that is wrong. Whether they heard it from a friend, family member, or on the Internet, if it doesn’t jibe with your message, your job as an educator just gets harder.

I started my blog on retinal diseases about 18 months ago. My wife brought us to an Internet marketing seminar as an anniversary gift. Yes, you read that correctly. Admittedly, I don’t like using the word “marketing.” It makes me cringe, but it has shown me many ways to do my job better.

Whether you are educating your patient in the office or writing an article for a Web site, here are a few tips to make sure that your patient/viewers get your message.

The value and power of Twitter is unappreciated by most people, especially doctors. There are several reasons why Twitter isn’t for docs. I am not saying that Twitter has no value for doctors, it just doesn’t appeal to us. Twitter is simply too hard for us to enjoy.

My son and I went to his college orientation yesterday. I graduated from Haverford College in 1982. Things have changed. In my plea for doctors to embrace the Internet, I’d like to share some of my observations to underscore where this generation spends most of their time.

If you are going to be successful on the Internet, you must take it personally. The key to establishing a meaningful and sustained Web presence will be your unique ability to communicate with your patients, or, in this case, your readers.

Guest blogging is a win for everyone: the author, the owner, and the reader. Guest blogging can be an excellent way to improve your own page ranking (via SEO) and improve your exposure on the Web.

Obtaining a URL or domain name can be tricky. No one ever "owns" the URL forever, but instead, it's basically rented for a year or longer.

Facebook is a manageable social media platform for docs. It is easy to use, and allows our social and professional lives to be linked - if we so choose.

Establish a presence on LinkedIn. Tell the professional world about your practice. Remember your practice is a business, and you are want to attract real people to work with you.

I now prefer Google Documents over Microsoft Word. For most of us, we need a very simple text editor or word processor. Google "docs" is not as fancy as MS Word, but Word is too fancy for the Web.

Developing and maintaining your presence on the Web takes focus. There is always something to do. There's nothing worse than trying to get something done, yet getting thwarted because you can't get help.

One crucial aspect of knowing your audience is writing at a level your reader can understand. When I write for my blog, I am constantly reminding myself that I am not writing for my colleagues or even old, seasoned, patients.

If you read this blog, you most likely use e-mail. The "signature" is all the stuff associated with your name at the close of an e-mail or other document.

Branding is the way in which you create your identity on the Internet. Really not too different than creating a brand name in marketing, Web branding gets you quickly recognized.

You have some great killer content and you need to make it as easy as possible for your article to be noticed and read.

If your site cant' be found, indexed, and ranked by Google, your site will basically not exist. Webmaster Tools is a great resource for tuning up or creating a new site.

Last week, I introduced the concept of SEO (search engine optimization) and how it can be used for marketing. Good SEO is matching the content of your web page with the keywords used for an organic search (i.e., the words you type into "Google" or another search engine).

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a type of marketing strategy used to maximize the placement of your Web site on a search list. It is based upon the relevance of your site, and its content, to the keywords used to generate a search. It is the basis upon which search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) rank your web page on a search list.

The Internet saved the sight in my patient's only eye! Using my blog about retinal disease as a tool for patient education and communication via e-mail, we saved his vision.

The success of any Web site is the content of that site. No matter what the nature of the content (i.e. health information, practice information, etc.), good content will increase the popularity of the site. Here are a few tips about writing good content to keep your readers happy and to maximize your SEO (search engine optimization).