Dental Practice Website | Minoa Marketing

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3 Ways Tech-Savvy Dentists Stay Connected with Patients In Between Appointments

by Naomi Cooper July 3, 2019

As a dentist you have a unique relationship with your patients in that you may only see them a couple of times a year. It’s hard to forge a relationship when you only see the other person every six months.

Luckily for dentists, there are some really innovative tools on the market to help streamline your communication to stay connected with your valuable patients all year long.

Make sure your website is optimized for patients today. Contact information needs to be easily accessible, online appointing is preferred and above all, make sure it’s user friendly.
Don’t just rely on the patient communication features that came standard with your practice management system. Enhanced communication solutions offer features like real-time text messaging straight from the front desk computer and software that can automatically fill the holes in the daily schedule.
Always follow up with a survey. Post-appointment surveys not only demonstrate your commitment to patient satisfaction, but help you gain valuable insights about the overall patient experience and allow you to correct any weaknesses that may exist.

For more tech-centered strategies for dental patient communication, check out my Dental Products Report article here.

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3 Must-Haves that Your Dental Practice Website Might Be Lacking

by Naomi Cooper September 10, 2018

You likely invested a hefty sum into building your dental practice website, and for good reason. Your website is the cornerstone of all your marketing efforts. However, in today’s fast-paced digital world, simply launching a website won’t cut it.

Your website should be updated periodically to ensure that it is continues to function as it should. What updates are important for dentists today?

Prioritizing Mobile: Users are 5 times more likely to leave a website that isn’t mobile-friendly, and search engines are increasingly showing preference to mobile sites as well. If you haven’t yet converted to a mobile-friendly website design, now is the time to consider making the switch.
Online Chat: While it’s becoming increasingly common for dentists to use text messaging for appointment reminders and recall, the idea of online chat is quickly gaining momentum. Patients can get questions answered and schedule appointments, even when your front desk isn’t available.
Visual Content: As more and more patients use smartphones to browse your website, large blocks of text can be cumbersome to read through, especially for older patients. This makes video a terrific and engaging way to present information to patients.

Check out my recent article published in Inside Dentistry to learn more about these key website design trends. Nearly every dentist today has a website, but far fewer choose to maintain the website to current standards. Dominate your online competition by staying up to date on the current online trends and keep your website firing on all cylinders.

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What a Dentist’s Website Needs to Have in 2018

by Naomi Cooper December 6, 2017

Have you ever tried to access a website that is slow to load? Or have you ever been on your smartphone and pulled up a web page that’s hard to read because half the text is shifted off the screen? Chances are, you quickly clicked off that site. This is a prime example of a website that hasn’t been updated recently.

You likely invested a decent sum of money when initially building your dental website. Don’t let that money go to waste! A website needs to be regularly updated to ensure that it is reaching the right patients and functioning correctly. After all, this site is your digital representation online.

Here are 5 key components your website needs to have in 2018 in order for it to be as effective as it should be:

Responsive Design/Mobile First

The site needs to be designed to function across all devices, which is especially important as smartphones recently surpassed traditional desktop computers in terms of users accessing the Internet.

Branding

If you’re still using a tooth in your logo, it’s definitely time for a branding update. And even if you’ve worked with a graphic designer on a more modern and professional strategy, double check that the branding, logo, tagline and practice name are consistent across all online profiles: the website, social media and third party directories.

Contact Information

Make it as simple as possible for patients to get in touch with the office. Keep the phone number and address in the header and footer on every page. Having a click-to-call or online appointing features go even further in helping patients contact the office.

Links to Social Media and Third Party Sites

Offering links to sites like Facebook, Instagram, Yelp and Healthgrades helps establish social proof for prospective patients. While having positive testimonials on your website is a good idea, patients also give credibility to reviews left on third party sites like Google, Yelp and Healthgrades. And social media sites help to personalize the dental office and keep patients engaged with the practice in between appointments.

Visual Appeal

There’s no doubt that patients are still fearful of the dentist, so having a visually appealing website help to give a more friendly vibe. Pictures of the dental team and videos of the dentist addressing common patient concerns, for example, can go a long way in helping to build trust in the practice. And designing the website with aesthetics in mind – having enough white space and even adding a textured background to the theme – can help provide a modern, clean and welcoming impression to all patients.

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What Does Your Dental Website Say About You?

by Naomi Cooper January 5, 2017

Did you know? 97% of patients prefer to visit a dentist’s website than to call the office for information.

This means your practice website is often a prospective patient’s first impression, so you need to make sure it’s a great one. However, if it has been awhile (read: 18 months or more) since you last updated your website, that first interaction could be saying you are slow, frustrating and out of touch…not exactly the impression you want to be giving.

To ensure your website is providing an accurate reflection of your practice, make it sure it incorporates these critical components:

Keep the site updated with mobile-friendly design so that anyone can easily navigate the site regardless of the device they may be using (desktop, mobile or tablet)
Make it easy for patients to get in touch with the office by having the contact information prominently displayed on all pages
Feature links to social media and online review sites to showcase everything your practice has to offer
Utilize blogs and video to make the site more engaging and informative

The most important thing is to remember that your website should be designed with the user in mind. For more ideas on what you can do to optimize your website – and 5 tricks to absolutely avoid – check out my article in Dental Economics.

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5 Online Marketing Hacks for Dentists

by Naomi Cooper September 7, 2016

You went to dental school, not business school. You specialize in exams and extractions, not marketing and social media. So how do you even begin to build a savvy online presence for your dental practice?

Here are 5 tips to demystify online marketing for every dentist:

Perform an online audit – Google your name and then your practice name. What comes up? Take note of where in the search results your website appears, as well as bookmark any sites with incomplete or inaccurate information to go back and fix sooner rather than later.
Claim online profiles – Business listings may already exist for the practice on sites like Google and Yelp without your knowledge. Be sure every online profile has up-to-date practice and contact information.
Update the practice website – If you haven’t touched your practice website within the past 18 months or more, schedule an appointment with your web designer to talk about updating the site for modern convenience (responsive design, SEO functionality, user-friendliness).
Actively ask for patient testimonials – It NEVER hurts to ask! In fact, asking patients to post online reviews actually helps spark word of mouth for the office.
Don’t forget about social media – Build your presence on sites and apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram…and encourage patients to check in and tag the office.

To dive deeper into these strategies, and discover 5 more simple yet effective methods of improving your online marketing, check out my recent article in Dental Products Report to ensure you stay in the driver’s seat of your online reputation.

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3 Secrets for a Modern Dental Practice Website

by Naomi Cooper May 2, 2016

The practice website is the most important component of any dentist’s online strategy. But with so many self-proclaimed experts in web design, it’s difficult to figure out what you must have, what to avoid and what technology needs to be incorporated.

Here are the 3 most important features every modern dental website should have to ensure it’s attractive to patients while working to build your online presence in the most effective way possible.

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