Visits to www.mylocaloptician.co.uk broke all previous records by receiving 14,300 visits from the public during October. Now reaching the visit levels achieved by www.primaryhealthnet.com, the professional site, it is expected to continue growing by 15% per month. From statistical data produced externally for Primary Health Net Ltd the visits are roughly split between those looking for opticians in their PCTs (47.5%) and those researching the information on eyecare and eyewear as well as news and charity links (52.5%).

Most visited pages were:

Eye Wear
VDU Legislation
Offers and Vouchers
Advanced Retinal Examination
Silhouette Frames
Products
Home Visits for Eye Tests
Lady Gaga Wears Jeremy Scott Sunglasses
Virtual Mirror
Search My Local Optician
Eye Care in the UK

Out of all the knowledge searches the overwhelming majority were looking for information on eyewear products and services (81%) the remainder were researching eye care. There are over 145 knowledge and news pages on the site.

Top Eyewear pages were:

Eye Wear
VDU Legislation
Offers and Vouchers
Silhouette Frames
Products
Lady Gaga Wears Jeremy Scott Sunglasses
Virtual Mirror
Search My Local Optician
Frame Tips for Face Shapes
My Local Optician Voucher

And Top Eyecare pages were:

Advanced Retinal Examination
Home Visits for Eye Tests
Eye Care in the UK
How Often Should I Visit the Optician?
Enhanced Eye Examinations
New Role of the Optometrist
Simple Eye Conditions
NHS Entitlements
Private Charges & Payment Plans
Types of Optician
General Healthcare and Nutrition

Almost 7000 people searched for an Optician in their PCT area involving 167 PCT defined areas: Top ten PCTs being:

Find My Local Optician in Liverpool Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Leeds Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Bournemouth and Poole Opticians
Find My Local Optician in South Birmingham Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Hampshire Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Manchester Opticians
Find My Local Optician in West Kent Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Eastern (Northern Ireland)
Find My Local Optician in Northamptonshire Opticians
Find My Local Optician in Trafford Opticians

“The public site is growing month on month, “ said Bob Hutchinson Director,“ and we are now seeing active signs that as well as a valued knowledge tool the public is actively encouraged to select and buy product and services. This is seen by a marked increase in those booking appointments on line with optical providers linking through by affiliation to the site. It is our intention to offer this service to PMS providers so that the Independents have a chance to gain a share of the market.”

The public are also providing feedback on how they rate their last visit to an optician as well as over 1200 postings voting on the reasons why they choose a particular practice.

Top reasons for choosing your practice were:

Perceived quality eye testing
Location
Up to date equipment
Family’s always been there
Car parking easy
Friendly staff

93% of responders rate their last visit to the optician as Excellent and only 1.77% as less than satisfactory or poor

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