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dental practice marketing

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Maximizing the Potential of Local Search for Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper January 13, 2014

Maximizing the Potential of Local Search for Your Dental PracticeLast week we talked about the importance of incorporating modern SEO strategies in order to most effectively reach prospective patients searching online. This week we will narrow down the scope of SEO and discuss the strategy that matters most for dental practice owners.

There are two types of SEO (search engine optimization): traditional and local. Traditional SEO refers to optimizing a website so that it ranks high in all search engine results for a specific keyword.

Local SEO, on the other hand, is about optimizing a website so that it ranks high in search engine results based on that business’ location. And as local business owners, for dentists, local SEO is what counts.

A recent article from SEO expert Kris Jones highlights 7 areas of focus affecting your local SEO ranking.

If you are working with an SEO expert for your dental practice website, it is worth verifying that they are focusing on local SEO rather than traditional. It is much more cost effective to market to those most in need of your services: patients in and around your local community who are looking for a dentist!

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Dental Practice Websites: Committing to SEO in 2014

by Naomi Cooper January 5, 2014

Dental Practice Websites: Committing to SEO in 2014Online marketing has indelibly changed the way dentists market their practices. If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest strategies, 2014 is the perfect time to jump on board.

Take your dental practice website, for example. If it has been a few years since it was last updated, it is very likely that modern SEO (search engine optimization) tactics are not in play, making it more difficult for prospective patients to find your website.

As it has been said, the only constant in the world is change, and Google is no exception. There have been several significant updates to its search algorithms in just the past 12 months, and unless you are a full-time SEO specialist, it can be difficult to stay on top of.

For more details on these updates, you can read this article from Yahoo Business outlining the latest regarding Google’s updates, specifically named Hummingbird, Panda  & Penguin.

At the end if the day, when Google makes changes to the way the search engine ranks results, it affects not just big corporations, but all businesses trying to reach new customers. With the changes that have been implemented, you could be wasting money on ineffective and outdated SEO strategies.

For example, do you have a local SEO strategy? Are you prioritizing producing video for your website and YouTube channel? Do you have an on site blog that you contribute original content to on a regular basis? And if you’re still depending on a backlink strategy, you should know that Google is now more focused on social media engagement than links.

If you’re not sure what tactics your website relies on for SEO, don’t fret. Dentists should not feel as though they are responsible for executing SEO tactics themselves — as always, I strongly recommend outsourcing! Work with trusted professionals like Sesame Communications or WPromote and keep your online strategies — including SEO — functioning most effectively!

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Online Patient Reviews: A Yelp Lawsuit and What it Means to Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper December 10, 2013

Online Patient Reviews: A Yelp Lawsuit and What it Means to Your Dental PracticeAccording to a recent report, consumer review site Yelp has been named in a lawsuit for allegedly controlling reviews based on whether a business has paid for advertising. In the report, a southern California dentist says that he was only able to remove negative reviews posted about him when he paid Yelp for advertising. Once he decided to quit the advertising, the negative reviews reappeared. Read more of the story here.

If true, this is particularly troubling for all small business owners with profiles on Yelp. However, at this point, it is still a pending matter and seems to be the exception, not the norm.

What many of my clients do not realize is that Yelp creates profiles for all businesses, even if the business owner does not create it. It is up to the business to claim their profile, updating it with the correct contact information, business hours, photos and description, and to monitor and respond to reviews as necessary.

A Yelp profile should be just one component of your online marketing strategy. Google+ Local is another consumer review site for patients to post reviews, along with Healthgrades, ZocDoc, or Angie’s List.

Yelp can be a powerful tool for building a strong online presence for your dental practice, and I often recommend my clients encourage their patients to post positive feedback on the site. This latest report is a good reminder to vary your online strategy so that you are not dependent on any one single site, and potential patients will have an easier time finding your practice website.

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Enhancing Your Dental Practice Facebook Page

by Naomi Cooper November 12, 2013

Enhancing Your Dental Practice Facebook PageEvery dentist knows the importance of getting more likes on Facebook. And because of Facebook’s Graph Search, which enables people to search Facebook’s database for information that lives there only, your patients’ interactions, such as likes and check-ins, have actually become more important than the posts published by your practice.

Check-ins are exceedingly important in terms of increasing the visibility of the practice’s Facebook page. Here’s why: when a user likes something on Facebook, while it may be shared with the user’s friends in their news feed, it does not project the same level of personal commitment that a check-in indicates. When someone actually interacts with your business via social media while they are physically in the practice, it demonstrates how connected they feel to your practice.

For more insight into the power of Check-Ins, as well as 4 fresh strategies for enhancing your dental practice Facebook page, check out my recent blog at Sesame Communications Insider Insights.

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Google+ Shared Endorsements: The Latest Update and What You Need to Know

by Naomi Cooper October 28, 2013

Google+ Shared Endorsements: The Latest Update and What You Need to KnowEarlier this month, Google announced they are rolling out what are called “Shared Endorsements” on the Google+ site. If you haven’t yet read about this new feature, or if you don’t understand how this will impact your dental practice Google+ page, keep reading.

Anytime a user +1’s a page, this activity is stored within Google which they, in turn, will be using in advertising. For example say you +1, or endorse, a new local restaurant on Google+, your name and photo can now be used in an online ad for that restaurant whether or not you are aware.

The new Shared Endorsements feature (slated to start November 11th) allows users to control whether or not their activity is used in Google’s advertising. If you are not comfortable with your name and photo being used to endorse another business, you can easily “opt-out”.

For more information on Shared Endorsements, and what this latest Google update means for your dental practice profile, check out this informative Hubspot blog.

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Catch up with Minoa Marketing on Pinfex.com!

by Naomi Cooper September 22, 2013

Catch up with Minoa Marketing on Pinfex.com!Thanks to Pinfex for the mention on their latest blog “Most Compelling Dental Articles of Summer 2013 – Did You Miss Them?“. One of my recent Inside Dentistry articles was included in the Pinfex list, where I touch on the importance of creating and maintaining a dental practice marketing budget. The blog is a terrific resource for dentists, compiling informative articles on all facets of dental practice management. It is an honor to be included amongst other renowned dental industry professionals.

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