Working out what our users have been doing this month has been quite difficult, but for the best of reasons. Thanks to sterling work by our engineering and design teams we have managed to improve the performance of our site dramatically, and consequently the percentage of people visiting our site who end up contacting a clinic has increased dramatically too.
By way of example, our April traffic increased by a modest 8.60% versus March, but the number of enquiries we processed increased by 47.81% in the same period.
RevaHealth.com Traffic and Enquiries Increases - April 2009
Traffic from Ireland increased by 26.82%, traffic from the UK increased by 9.70%, but traffic from the US fell by 12.63%. Unsurprisingly, the fall in US traffic was most notable during the Swine Flu panic, which centred largely around Mexico, our number one destination for our US visitors. We expect traffic from the US to return to normal this month as the panic fades. We expect it increase dramatically in the coming months now that we have started to list local clinics in the US also.
Irish Visitor Analysis – April 2009
An interesting metric that we look at every month is the proportion of enquiries for clinics at home versus abroad. In April the split was 64.89% in favour of local clinics, versus 35.11% for clinics abroad. This is a significant shift towards people contacting clinics at home, as last month’s figure was 58.83%.
Irish Enquiries - Home vs Abroad Split
Digging deeper, while the number of visitors from Ireland who contacted clinics abroad actually increased by 65.10%, the number who contacted clinics at home increased by a far greater amount, 74.83%.
Interest in dental treatment in Northern Ireland continues to be the talking point for Irish visitors. Following on from roughly doubling for each of the last two months, this month there was a staggering 256% increase in the number of enquiries for clinics in the North. The media coverage of “everything is cheaper across the border” seems to be having an even greater effect on people as the economic situation continues to deteriorate. Clinics along the border and on the main traffic routes to Belfast in particular are benefiting from people already travelling for groceries, alcohol and Ikea.
Clinics in Northern Ireland now account for 19.73% of all enquiries made by people in the Republic, up from just 9.96% in March.
The other most popular destinations abroad were Poland (7.91%), Hungary (4.51%), Turkey (3.40%), Poland (2.22%), and Spain (1.18%).
Top 5 Destinations (from Ireland) - April 2009
Back to the overall picture of visitors from Ireland, dentistry is still the number one thing on their mind, with dental clinics taking 70.81% of all enquiries, followed by cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics, with 21.80%.
The top 5 most commonly requested dental treatments are Teeth Whitening (17.12%), Braces (10.75%), Veneers / Lumineers (9.08%), Implants (7.62%), and Root Canal Treatment (3.24%).
Top 5 Dental Treatments (Ireland) - April 2009
The top 5 most commonly requested cosmetic or plastic surgery treatments are Botox (16.92%), Tatoo Removal (9.77%), Liposuction (8.27%), Mole Removal (6.39%), and Breast Reduction (5.26%).
Top 5 Cosmetic Treatments (Ireland) - April 2009
UK Visitor Analysis – April 2009
As with Ireland, the breakdown of whether UK visitors are looking for treatment at home or abroad is one of the most interesting to look at. This month there is a continued swing in favour of contacting clinics at home, with the April figures showing that 63.60% of enquiries are for local clinics, versus 36.40% for clinics abroad. This is an increase from last month’s figure of just 43.89% of enquiries being for clinics in the UK.
UK Enquiries - Home vs Abroad Split - April 2009
While there was a modest increase of 37.62% in the number of people from the UK contacting clinics abroad in April, the number who contacted clinics at home increased by 112.36%.
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are responsible for their fair share of enquiries from the UK, at 3.91% and 4.52% respectively. Outside of these countries, the most popular destinations for visitors from the UK were Poland (7.91%), Hungary (4.17%), Bulgaria (3.21%), Turkey (2.43%) and Thailand (2.09%).
Top 5 Destinations (from the UK) - April 2009
While dental clinics are still the most contacted by visitors from the UK, with 60.82% of all enquiries, cosmetic and plastic surgery clinics have increased their share from 22.72% in March to 31.45% in April.
The most popular dental treatments requested were Veneers / Lumineers (14%), Braces (12.43%), Implants (9.86%), Teeth Whitening (9.86%), and Dentures (2.14%).
Top 5 Dental Treatments (UK) - April 2009
The most requested cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures were Botox (9.67%), Facelift (8.89%), Tatoo Removal (8.29%), Mole Removal (5.25%) and Trachea Shave (4.14%).
Top 5 Cosmetic Treatments (UK) - April 2009
Dentistry in Poland seems to be getting popular even in the US. More patients are traveling to Poland for dental care. Medical tourism companies are also starting to cater patients who seek for dental care in Poland.