Internet Marketing For Cosmetic Surgeons: Design Matters

Recent studies about Internet users and how they rate and form impressions of websites shows that design does matter. This is true for any website, but particularly when it comes to Internet marketing for cosmetic surgeons. After all, as a cosmetic surgeon, you and your practice represent some ideal of beauty. If your website design isn't aesthetically pleasing or attractive, visitors may not feel all that confident in your abilities.

In these studies, Internet users were asked to evaluate the credibility of and quality of information from a variety of websites. Participants sited things like good content, a good privacy policy, and business affiliations as factors in determining a site's credibility and level of trust. However, it was found that despite what visitors said, the design of a site was actually the most influential factor.

In essence, the studies concluded that visitors to a site first evaluate the overall design and aesthetics, including multimedia effects. Different design aspects that were important included color, font, layout, and images and multimedia. A good color choice is one that involves coordinating colors and reflects your targeted audience, and the best font is a safe font that provides for easy readability. Important aspects of layout included a clear navigation structure, easy-to-read page elements, and the use of bulleted lists, color, and sections headers to highlight important information. When it comes to images and multimedia, these must be used wisely to avoid irritating users or contributing to long download times.

Though design is very important, that doesn't, however, mean that a flashy site is all that matters. Instead, it simply means that the design is the first indicator of quality. The studies found that once a site's design had convinced a visitor to stay, other factors then come into the equation, like good site organization, easy usability, and valuable content.