Half of your patients search “chiropodist near me” and the other half search “podiatrist Dublin”, and the two halves are different people. The first is often older, wants nail care or a corn seen to, prefers to ring, and needs to know there are no stairs. The second is a runner with heel pain, a parent with a child’s verruca, or someone who has been putting off an ingrown toenail, and wants to book online tonight. Websites for podiatrists in Dublin have to be found under both names and then speak to both people without talking down to either.
We build and run that site, with the diary, the Google listing and the phone button all doing their share.
Chiropodist or podiatrist: use both words
The page should say early and plainly that a podiatrist and a chiropodist are the same profession, and it should use both words naturally throughout, because the person who has said “chiropodist” for fifty years is not going to change for your website. The Google Business Profile needs the same treatment, with the categories and the description covering both, so the map result appears whichever word is typed.
Then your services, each in a sentence or two of plain description: routine nail care, corns and callus, ingrown toenails and nail surgery, verrucae, heel and arch pain, orthotics and gait assessment, diabetic foot checks, children’s feet, and home visits. No promises about results, just what the appointment involves, how long it takes, and what it costs.
The patient who rings and the one who books
Older patients ring, and the site should make that easy: a large call button at the top on a phone, the number written out, and the hours beside it. The practical details they care about go right under it. Ground floor or lift, step-free access, parking at the door or on the street, the nearest bus stop, and whether a family member can come in. A photo of the entrance from the street tells them more than a paragraph.
The runner and the parent book online. They pick the appointment type, which sets the length, see a time this week and get a text reminder the day before. Both kinds of patient end up in the same diary, so you never double book a phone appointment against a web one. How the pieces fit is in how to take online bookings.
Return visits every six weeks
A podiatry book is built on people who come back: nail care every six to eight weeks, orthotics reviews, a verruca course over several visits. The problem is drift. A patient means to rebook and does not, and three months later they ring in a hurry. Booking the next visit before they leave, with a reminder text when it comes round, keeps the pattern steady without you chasing anyone. For the longer appointments, nail surgery say, a deposit by card at booking is your choice and the system does it if you want it.
Home visits by area
If you do home visits, the page needs the areas and the days, written the way you plan them: north county on Tuesdays, Dublin 5 and 13 on Thursdays, whatever your round is. A line on who home visits are for, how to request one, and the fee, and a form that takes the address and a note about access. Those requests arrive on your email and WhatsApp between patients. Google can show your clinic address and your service area at the same time, and we set that up so the map result is right for both. If the clinic has ever been hard to find, how to get your business on Google Maps covers the usual causes.
Summer feet, winter feet
The first warm week brings sandals and a sudden interest in feet. The end of the school swimming term brings verrucae. October is marathon month and the fortnight after is heels and arches. January is new runners in new shoes. Winter means thicker socks and boots and the nail care patients who found the walk harder in the dark. An announcement line at the top of the page, which you change yourself, lets you say “nail care appointments available this week” or “closed for the bank holiday” without ringing anyone.
If you are CORU registered, say so on the page in plain words with your registration, and leave it at that.
To get started
Your services with prices and appointment lengths. Hours, access details and parking. Home visit areas, days and fee if you do them. Four to six photos: the entrance from the street, the treatment room, you and anyone who works with you. Your registration details. Your current booking system if you have one. Twenty minutes at the clinic and we can start.
Picking a plan
Complete is €1,499 to set up and €100 a month and includes the site, the .ie domain in your name, hosting, the Google listing, the diary with reminders and deposits, review growth and business email. Essentials, at €499 and €50 a month, covers the site and the listing for a clinic that is full from repeat patients. The comparison is on the pricing page, and a wider checklist of what belongs on a clinic page is in what a small business website should include.