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Practice made Perfect.BeyondWordofMouth
The New Era of Healthcare Marketing
Why the way patients find and choose you has fundamentally changed.
Ryan Ellinas
MBA (Strategy)
CEO, myMED Marketing · 20+ years in healthcare
- MBA (Strategy) — Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt
- PG Diploma & Certificate, Business Administration — EBS
- BCom Marketing Management — University of Johannesburg
- HND Business Analysis (IT) — Faculty Training Institute
Presented by Ryan Ellinas
45 minutes + 10 minutes Q&A
Source: rater8 Patient Choice Report, BrightLocal — industry research
This is happening right now, whether you are in the room or not.
of patients now begin their healthcare search on Google
check online reviews before choosing a new provider
have walked away from a doctor because of what they read online — up 15 points in a year
refuse to book with a provider rated below 4 stars
How referrals used to work
One channel. One trust source. A straight line from question to booking.
Patient asks
A friend, a family member, or their GP.
Referral given
One trusted voice, one recommendation.
Patient books
Phone call. Done.
Source: Searchlab Healthcare Marketing Statistics, Zocdoc — industry research
What's cracked open
providers compared, on average, before booking — though 84% return to the one that fits
growth in “doctor near me” searches since 2020
One referral, now surrounded by twenty other signals the patient checks before they call you.
Mapping the modern path to care
Something's wrong
A symptom, a need, a nudge from a check-up.
Search
Google — and increasingly, AI assistants.
Read reviews
The average patient reads 10+. Almost a quarter read 20+.
Check the website
Do you look real, current and credible?
Booking decision
Easy to book, or back to the search results.
Every step above happens before a patient ever speaks to your practice.
Source: Software Advice, BrightLocal — industry research
Reviews are not optional anymore
consider a provider with 5+ reviews trustworthy
would leave a review if their doctor simply asked
say reviews are part of their healthcare decision-making
Reviews are the only part of your reputation that keeps talking when the room is empty — and they are searchable forever.
Source: rater8 Patient Choice Report; GEO research (Contextbolt, Omnibound)
The AI wildcard
Patients aren't only Googling you. They're asking an assistant who to see — and getting one answer back.
say AI tools directly influenced their choice of provider
of searches now show AI Overviews — highest on long, question-style health queries
In some contexts, patients report trusting AI answers more than Google results or a physician referral.
Get Found. Get Trusted. Get Booked.
Three simple stages — not two months of SEO theory.
Get Found
SEO and GEO — showing up in search and inside AI answers.
Get Trusted
Reviews and social presence — proof you are real and credible.
Get Booked
Conversion and paid advertising — turning interest into appointments.
Search has split in two
Ranking in blue links and being quoted inside an AI answer are now two separate disciplines.
Ranking in the blue links
Keywords, local listings, site speed, Google Business Profile. Still essential.
Being cited inside the answer
Clear, well-structured, credible content about what you actually treat.
Source: Promodo, Contextbolt, Omnibound — industry research
The numbers behind Get Found
Patients using search engines to find providers
0%Extra click probability when cited in an AI answer
0%Visibility lift in AI answers from GEO-optimised content
0%Healthcare queries trigger AI Overviews at some of the highest rates of any category — and the work that wins one increasingly wins the other.
Source: rater8, Software Advice, BrightLocal — industry research
Reviews are word of mouth now
Same conversation as always — just written down, public, and searchable forever.
Spoken once
Heard by one person, then gone.
Written once, read forever
Working for you at 11pm on a Sunday.
of patients factor reviews into provider choice (73–84% across 2025–26 studies)
Patients who rarely or never leave reviews dropped from 56% to 42% year-on-year. More patients are reviewing — and asking works.
Source: Medical Economics, Social Media in Healthcare Statistics — industry research
Social media's growing role
have chosen a physician based on social media presence
use social media to seek health information
list social platforms among their top influences on physician choice
You don't need to be an influencer. You need enough presence that when a patient checks, there's a real, human, credible practice looking back at them.
Source: Promodo Healthcare Digital Marketing Benchmarks — industry research
The booking gap
Patients are ready. Most practices simply don't let them finish.
72% are ready to book an appointment online.
Only around 10% actually do.
That gap is not a lack of interest. It's where most practices quietly lose patients.
Ready to book online
Actually do
Source: Google advertising guidance; healthcare Google Ads benchmarks — industry research
Paid ads as the accelerant
typical conversion rate for healthcare search ads — well above the cross-industry average
return on ad spend cited by Google as a reasonable baseline for well-run campaigns
Get Found
Visibility in search and AI answers.
Get Trusted
Reviews and a credible presence.
Then paid ads
Attention, faster — on a foundation that holds.
Paid advertising doesn't fix a trust problem or a visibility problem — it accelerates a practice that is already found and already trusted.
Five low-effort actions
Nothing here needs an agency, a budget, or a spare afternoon every week.
Claim your Google Business Profile
Complete it properly this month — hours, services, photos, location.
Ask for reviews at the point of care
Verbally, to every satisfied patient. 68% say they would if asked.
Answer the real questions on your site
Write what patients actually ask. This feeds GEO at the same time.
Add simple online booking
Close part of the gap between 72% who would and 10% who do.
Post something human monthly
Not a campaign. Just proof of life from a real practice.
Free 2-minute marketing assessment.
Before you change anything, see where your practice actually stands across Get Found, Get Trusted and Get Booked.
Two minutes, no cost
A short set of questions about how your practice shows up online today.
A practical read-out
Where you're findable, where trust signals are thin, and what to fix first.
Scan or type it in
mymedmarketing.co.za/dx — works on any phone, right now.
mymedmarketing.co.za/dx
No obligation. Your answers are used only to generate your assessment.
This is good news
For a good, ethical clinician, this shift is an opportunity, not a threat. Patients are looking harder than ever for providers they can trust.
Show up honestly
Accurate, factual information about what you treat.
Respond to reviews
Professionally and consistently — patients read the replies.
Make booking easy
Remove every step between deciding and being in your chair.
The practices that do these three things win the trust that's already being looked for.
Word of mouth built your reputation for years.
Today it just has a much bigger microphone — and for the first time, you get to hold it.
Practice made Perfect.Practice made Perfect.Thank you.
Questions — the floor is open for the next 10 minutes.
Ryan Ellinas
myMED Marketing
vCard — Ryan Ellinas
mymedmarketing.co.za/dx
Free marketing assessment — no cost, no obligation, 2 minutes.
myMED Marketing (Pty) Ltd · Beyond Word of Mouth · Healthcare Marketing Webinar
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