Practitioners see the benefits of the web

Increasing numbers of optical practices have invested or have plans to invest in a website, an Optician poll of practitioners has revealed.

Feedback from the majority of practitioners has suggested that the increasing popularity of internet searches for local or specialist services has meant a website is increasingly important to their business.

While it was difficult for those with sites to gauge accurately what impact it has had on the business, many practitioners reported that patients said they had come in after finding out about the practice on the internet.

The marketing power of the internet was highlighted by the record number of entries for the category of Independent Website of the Year at the 2008 Optician Awards.