For UK private medical consultants
Patients and GPs searching for you online are finding almost nothing
Clinical excellence rarely shows up online. In a world where patients research before they book and GPs check before they refer, that gap is costing you new patients every week.
Cost of Inaction
Enter your monthly website visitors, your current and achievable enquiry rate, and average patient value. The calculator shows the annual value of the enquiries your digital invisibility is costing you.
How it breaks down
- Current annual patient value£13,548
- Target annual patient value£31,611
Two minutes, no typing, and I read every one myself.
From Paul
Tell me where that £18,063 is coming from, and I'll come back with the three things to fix first.
A few quick questions, about two minutes, and no typing. I read every one myself and reply with the three things costing you most and where I'd start. If it's useful, we talk. If not, you've still got a clear picture.
No obligation, no sales call unless you ask for one, and nothing automated lands in your inbox.
Paul, Solvable
- A consultant with 15 years of experience and no website loses an enquiry to a newly registered colleague with a basic but well-optimised Doctify profile.
- A dental practice offering same-week implants is invisible in local search because its Google Business Profile has no reviews, incorrect hours, and no photos.
- A private clinic runs paid social ads but has no landing page optimised for conversion, traffic arrives and leaves without enquiring.
- A hospital invests in a new service line but publishes no condition-specific content, meaning patients searching for that treatment find a competitor's blog instead.
- A social care provider loses a referral from a GP who Googled two providers, found one easily with clear service information, and simply went with that one.
- Patients who cannot find you choose a competitor who ranks higher even if that competitor offers lower quality care.
- Referrers default to the providers they can easily look up, cross-reference, and share with patients.
- Self-pay pipeline remains thin and unpredictable, increasing reliance on NHS contracts or insurer volumes at lower margins.
- Brand reputation built over years remains invisible to the fastest-growing patient segment 67% of UK adults say they would consider private healthcare, and 44% of those aged 25–34 expect to use it within the next year, almost all of whom will search online first.
- New entrants with better digital presence capture disproportionate market share simply by being findable
UK Google searches for private healthcare rose from 194,750 per month in January 2021 to 363,430 in December 2024 an 87% increase with Scotland seeing a 300% spike over the same period. Healthcare-management As of April 2024, around 70% of UK internet users accessed healthcare services via apps or websites, rising to 78% among those aged 35–44. statista Online visibility now ranks higher than location convenience in provider selection, according to Press Ganey's 2024 consumer research. Net One Click 84% of patients checked online reviews before booking care (December 2024), and by mid-2025, 61% said they trusted online reviews more than personal recommendations from friends or family. rater8 IHPN's Going Private 2024 report found 67% of UK adults would consider private healthcare, with 34% intending to pay for treatment within the next 12 months. Ihpn
Source: IHPN Going Private Report 2024 · Ofcom / Statista 2024 · EMS Lifts / Healthcare Management UK Feb 2025 · Press Ganey Consumer Report 2024 · Rater8 Patient Choice Report 2025 · ClickThrough Marketing UK Private Healthcare Digital Benchmark Q1–Q4 2025
Frequently asked questions
Why does this problem persist?
Most private providers built their reputation through word of mouth, NHS referrals, or established consultant networks, digital was never part of the original growth model and still feels unfamiliar or low-priority. Even among the largest private healthcare groups, domain authority scores vary significantly with some of the biggest names scoring as low as 35 meaning smaller independent providers are often invisible in organic search by default. Only 25.8% of UK clinic owners know their cost to acquire a new patient without that baseline, there is no commercial case being made internally to invest in digital visibility.
What is the cost of leaving it unaddressed?
A provider receiving 1,000 website visitors per month with a 1% enquiry rate generates 10 enquiries monthly. At a modest average patient value of £1,500 and a 40% conversion from enquiry to appointment, that is £6,000 per month in revenue from digital. Raising the enquiry rate to 3%, achievable with basic CRO and local SEO, triples that to £18,000 per month, a £144,000 annual uplift from the same traffic.
This is exactly what I do with UK private practices. Answer the few questions above and I'll come back personally with where to start. Paul.