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dental practice website

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Online Marketing Tips for Dentists in 2015

by Naomi Cooper December 17, 2014

Online Marketing Tips for DentistsDental patients are modern, tech savvy consumers. They inevitably use the Internet when researching local dentists, and much of what they find online will determine whether or not they pick up the phone to make their first appointment.

Be sure that the information they find online about you and your dental practice is a true representation of who you are and how you and your team can help them. Focus on these 4 online elements that are crucial to building and maintaining a strong online presence:

  1. The dental practice website should be professionally designed and easy to use. The website also needs to be optimized for mobile devices, preferably using responsive design so that patients can easily access & read it whether they are on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
  2. Incorporating an on-site blog can benefit the practice in multiple ways. First, it helps with the website’s SEO, helping to make it more visible to patients. And a blog also helps maintain existing relationships with current patients in between visits.
  3. Social media profiles should be current and updated regularly.
  4. Patient review sites such as Yelp, Google My Business and Healthgrades should be claimed & completed with up-to-date practice contact information. And everyone in the practice should be asking patients to write online reviews on a daily basis.

Online marketing is just one component of a dentist’s marketing strategy – one that is guaranteed to continue growing in importance. Take action today to ensure that what patients see online is an accurate reflection of you and your practice in 2015.

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6 Questions to Analyze Your Dental Practice Website

by Naomi Cooper August 6, 2014

6 Questions to Analyze Your Dental Practice WebsiteAccording to Google, 97% of all consumers search for local businesses online. It’s important for dental practice owners to make sure their website is easily found when local patients are researching the practice online.

The dental practice website can be a powerful marketing tool; however it cannot be a static one. That is, the practice website needs to be constantly evolving along with the world of online marketing. Keeping up with the latest online marketing trends will ensure that the website keeps your practice at the top of the search engine listings.

I recently came across a very helpful article from the marketing experts at MarketingProfs, titled “Is Your Website Dead or Just Sleeping?”. In the article they outline 6 important elements to energize your website. Here is a quick summary:

1. Is it usable? – A website needs to be easy for users, and search engines, to navigate.

2. Is it responsive? – Traditional website design does not always function properly when viewed on smartphones and tablets. Make sure your website incorporates responsive design so that all patients see the best version of your website, regardless of the device they are using.

3. Is it focused? – Your website should be more about giving your patients the information they are looking for, and less about flashy design. Streamlining your website will actually make it more usable and can decrease load times.

4. Is it sociable? – A great dental practice website is engaging to patients. Pictures and video of the dentists and staff help welcome new patients into the practice. And linking the website to social media profiles and online review sites make it easy for patients to share your content and get a full, rounded picture of the practice.

5. Is it direct? – You should have a clear call to action all across your website, along with having your phone number and email address easy to find. Make it easy for patients to get in touch with you.

6. Is it fast? – People are impatient these days. In fact, 40% of people will abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Work with your website design team to streamline your website.

If it has been a few years since your website was designed, it may be well worth it to contact your web designer to see if any improvements could be made.  How important do you feel your website is to the success of your dental practice?

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Making the Case for a Modern Dental Marketing Strategy

by Naomi Cooper May 27, 2014

Making the Case for a Modern Dental Marketing StrategyHere on the blog and in conversations with my dentist clients, I talk frequently about the importance of a modern dental marketing plan and the role it can play in reaching new patients and building loyalty with patients of record.

A modern dental marketing strategy includes:

– updating the practice website

– utilizing SEO tactics and e-communication tools

– engaging in social media

– gathering online patient testimonials

Sesame Communications, a dental industry leader in digital marketing solutions, recently conducted a national survey of dental care providers to find out what digital marketing efforts they feel are critical to the success of their overall marketing strategy, and the results have just been released.  Click here to see the full report, but here are a few highlights:

  • 82% of dental care providers surveyed state their website is important to practice success
  • 85.5% believe automated patient reminders are important to practice success
  • 96.9% regard their rankings on Healthgrades.com as important to the practice
  • 65.7% consider SEO important to their practice success

These are strong statistics indicating the growing importance of updating a traditional marketing plan by adding in modern tools.

Do you agree with the findings? What have you done to modernize your dental marketing strategy? Share your experiences below!

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5 Steps to a Modern Dental Marketing Plan

by Naomi Cooper April 16, 2014

5 Steps to a Modern Dental Marketing PlanRecent data suggests that Americans are becoming increasingly reliant on the Internet when making purchasing decisions, and that includes finding a dentist.

There are countless ways of updating your dental marketing plan with modern tactics, and it can understandably be overwhelming when trying to figure out where to start. Don’t worry – you don’t have to do everything all at once. Incremental steps can make it easier to implement while keeping your budget in check.

Here are 5 ways to an increasingly modern dental marketing plan:

  1. Updating your practice website – Your website = the foundation of your online strategy.
  2. Playing the SEO game – Increase your online visibility by making sure your website appears at or near the top of search engine results.
  3. Building social media profiles – Connect with your patients online by engaging on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and/or YouTube.
  4. Gathering patient testimonials – Ensure that potential patients get a positive first impression when they are researching your practice online.
  5. Blogging – Share the latest practice news and address frequently asked questions in order to stay in touch with patients year-round.

Taking the initiative now to update your marketing will keep you ahead of your competition as well as saving you from playing catch up later on.

Don’t forget – you don’t have to do this all on your own. Dental industry experts like Sesame Communcations and My Social Practice can help guide you in the right direction. And especially when it comes to website design and SEO, outsourcing is often your best bet. Updates to the search engine algorithms are frequent and can be confusing. Leave it to the professionals and get back to focusing on your main responsibility – your patients!

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Is Your Dental Marketing Plan in Need of a Refresh?

by Naomi Cooper April 9, 2014

Is Your Dental Marketing Plan in Need of a Refresh?What is your plan for sparking new patient flow? If you are still relying on phone book advertising for your dental practice, you might want to refresh your marketing plan.

Sure, phone book advertising still has a place in the marketing plan for some dental practices. If you are targeting seniors, it may still make sense. Keep in mind that as the population ages, eventually you are going to need to shift your strategy to the online world.

Not yet convinced? Consider the following statistics:

With recent stats like these, it is hard to deny the importance of having an online marketing strategy. Updating your practice website, employing SEO tactics and joining social media can help to bring your practice marketing plan into the modern era. And there is certainly no time like the present to get started!

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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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