How to Win with Online Photo Galleries

For physicians in the aesthetic industry, such as plastic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, the gallery is often the inspiring factor that motivates patients to make contact.

Publishing pictures of your work helps establish trust with patients online.

The Internet can be a visually impactful and dynamic medium. Photos serve as evidence that you know what you’re doing. They display the quality of your work and the expertise of your unique skill. Afterall — seeing is believing!

The before and after gallery is one of the most searched aspects of a practice’s website. In fact, while content on any site is scrutinized by Google for relevance and value, studies show that content with related and relevant photography receives up to 94% more views than pages without it. According to Dr. Michael Decherd, a plastic surgeon in San Antonio, “The DoctorLogic Gallery Tool sets the standard that allows physicians to display their work like never before.”

Winning In Google = Winning New Patients

Patients researching a specific procedure want to see visible results. They want to find people just like them, with similar conditions or concerns, and see their outcome. Just like other data-driven websites, keyword-rich sites, such as car manufacturers or Amazon, prospective patients want to hone in on specific tags that will generate a result they can connect with.

“Many individuals that enter our cosmetic surgery practice, have done so based on the research from our photo gallery alone, which is why my team adds photos and content on a regular basis,” says Dr. Decherd.

Not only do patients love in-depth gallery information, but Google does too. According to Ryan Metcalf, Director of Search for DoctorLogic, “When Google sees an image tied to relevant content and useful keyword tags, they know the information is applicable to the searcher, which puts power behind the search result.”

Organizing your case work in consumer friendly layout is easy with DoctorLogic.

Getting Started

While most surgeons understand the importance of having a quality gallery on their website, the majority admit they don’t know where to start. Busy schedules, HIPAA regulations, and having access to the right tools and resources, leave surgeons feeling overwhelmed. In 2014, when DoctorLogic visited the Aesthetic Meeting in San Francisco, more than 80% of our conversations with surgeons focused on how to build easier, better galleries.

So where to start? We have some useful tips that can quickly get you going and winning online.

1. Get the Right Tool

It’s hard to find a software that is not only easy to use, but also compatible with your current website. The DoctorLogic Photo Gallery Tool works on any website, regardless of your current web vendor or platform. The tool was designed to provide a seamless user experience, making it simple to upload photos, size them automatically, add keyword tags and content, then publish.

In 5 simple steps, you can upload before and after photos to your website.

2. Ensure Compliancy

First and foremost, get permission. Talk with your patients and ask if they would mind being a part of your before and after gallery. Ensure them that their demographic information will be used in an appropriate and professional manner, and then get their written consent. Photos should not contain any patient information, but simply show and tell the results, while respecting HIPAA regulations and patient privacy laws.

3. Take Quality Shots

High-quality photos on your website can keep a consumer connected much longer than fuzzy, dark, and dated images. Take quality photos with consistent angles and views, and use a professional background for all cases. High resolution, clear photos, with a standard format, will ensure your gallery looks professional and polished.

4. Create a Nice Variety

While it is important to show your best outcomes, variety matters too. This includes photos that show different procedures and a variety of patients. The more examples you include, the more diversified your gallery becomes.

5. Treat it Like a Blog

If you are like most surgeons, you want to talk about your outstanding outcomes. But in truth, you probably spend more time conducting consults and performing surgery, so maintaining an online blog seems impossible. Use your gallery photos like an online blog to not only showcase your patient’s results, but also tell a story. To create a case study, use clear titles and descriptions, and a few relatable sentences to describe your patient’s condition and/or concern, and then explain the procedure and outcome, creates a case study all on its own. A traditional blog is no longer needed.

6. Keep it Going

Once you start your gallery, don’t stop. Make it a priority to add photos and content to it on a regular basis. This adds pages to your website that are invaluable. Post after post, these pages continue to tell Google you know what you are doing, and you have the data to back it up, giving you online authority and better rankings.

Patients in the research phase will spend a great deal of time online, weighting all factors of a prospective procedure, as well as the physician who will perform it. You can help patients make these very important decisions easer, by providing them with a stunning and meaningful photo gallery.

To learn more about the DoctorLogic Photo Gallery Tool, click here.