Use Local SEO To Your Advantage!

January 17, 2022
Dental marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Gorgeous,Male,Doctor,At,The,OfficeDental practices with a strong local SEO strategy are well-positioned to bring new patients into their offices. How is that, you may ask? With local SEO you become more visible to people in your town who are looking for the services that you provide.

SEO stands for search engine optimization. If the term is new to you, it’s a way of designing your website to attract search engines, and thus rank high in Internet search results. Local SEO refines the strategy by targeting the people in your geographic area who are probably already searching for nearby dental services.

Indispensable

Even if you don’t know much about local SEO, you have probably seen what it can do. It’s how local businesses, like dental offices, show up on the first page of Google search results. Their listing includes essential information, like the name of the practice, its phone number and business hours, and its location – usually pinpointed on a map.

This is the power of local SEO. We don’t just search for services like dentists. More and more, search terms are localized with words like dentist near me, or dentist in my town.

  • Nearly half of all Google’s 3.5 billion daily searches are local.
  • 36.4% of websites at the top of search page results are visited by the searcher.
  • 90% of consumers use the Internet to find services in their area.

Even the devices people use for searches matter. 57% of people under thirty-five, and 53% between thirty-five and fifty-four, say they use a mobile device for at least half of all their searches. (For more on this, see our recent post on the growing importance of smartphones.)

If you have a good local SEO strategy, then the people who need what you have to offer can find you, quickly and easily. ProspectaMarketing can help you take full advantage of local SEO. We are an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Picture This: Your GMB Listing

May 15, 2020
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing

shutterstock_284500400Google My Business is an essential marketing tool for any small business, whether it’s a pizza place, a plumber, or a dental practice. It’s a free service that makes it easy to put relevant information in front of local Internet users. For dentists, it’s where future patients are likely to first encounter you and what you have to offer.

With Google My Business (GMB) you’re able to set up a profile with information like the services you provide, how new patients can reach you, and your location and office hours. This data shows up in search results, and it’s very effective: studies show that about fifty-three percent of people who do local searches on Google visit the places they find within a couple of days.

Trust the Pictures

A famous photographer once said he doesn’t trust words, he trusts pictures. Pictures are an important part of your GMB listing, and the higher the quality of your pictures, the more effective they’ll be.

If you or a staff member is a dedicated shutterbug, take advantage of that. Otherwise, consider hiring a professional to shoot well-framed, well-lit, high resolution pictures. The Google algorithm is more likely to prefer and choose these over amateur photographs.

The photos you upload to GMB should include the following:

  • Exterior photos. Exterior shots make it easier for people to find your office. Use several of these, taken from different directions and at different times of day.
  • Interior photos. You see your office every day. Get pictures that show it from a patient’s point of view, with an accent on atmosphere.
  • Team photos. Have plenty of shots of your staff, from those at the front end to the hygienists and dental assistants in examination rooms. A group shot is also recommended. Let everyone’s personality shine through, and remember to say cheese!

As a best practice, your GMB photos should be optimized with keywords in the filename and tagged in  the right category. For example, don’t upload a picture called IMG_001.JPG. Instead, rename it checkup.JPG.

High-quality GMB pictures are important to marketing your practice, but you don’t have to go it alone. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm; we understand how to most effectively use Google My Business. We specialize in dental practices and use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Let’s Watch A Video!

February 3, 2020
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing

For your dental practice to remain competitive in today’s market, it’s essential to stay on top of current marketing trends. Doing so will help you draw in new patients, and thrive.

shutterstock_327361349_resizedOne of the most important is a video strategy: that is, high quality video content on your practice website. That does not mean you’ll need to hire an expensive video crew, or buy a lot of fancy equipment. All you really need is a smartphone and some video editing software.

You may be wondering: Why? It’s a fair question. The short answer is also rather jarring: a whopping eighty percent of the content consumed by Internet users is video. There is no better way to reach potential patients.

And what sort of videos? It can range from basic to informative.  Really basic stuff is useful: employees in your office and scenes of various procdures are a good start. Patient testimonials are extremely effecitve, too. You’ll need the permission of any patients who might appear, of course. Chances are that some will be flattered, and happy to help.

For informative videos, draw on your professional expertise. You can answer common questions about different procedures, tools, and techniques, and offer dental health tips. Ask a hygienist to describe what goes on during a cleaning.

The finished video doesn’t need to look like something you might see on television: just string together a series of interesting shots, add some music, and you’ve got something special. Video editing software is simple to use, and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to help get you started.

ProspectaMarketing can get you started. We are an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Microsites: Your Showcase

November 1, 2019
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization

Your dental practice website offers a lot: everything from a detailed list of your available procedures to patient forms to biographical information on you and your dedicated staff. And let’s not forget the smile gallery, and contact information!

Happy senior citizen having a casual small talk with the friendly doctor

It is, in short, packed with content. You don’t want anything to get overlooked, especially your most important services. What to do? You can attach a microsite to your main site, and prominently feature those services.

A microsite is a sub-site to your main website, and it focuses on a single topic. The entire microsite is built around it – dental implants, for example. The microsite has its own URL, its own content, and its own interfaces.

Benefits

You might think: why would I want something like that?

A microsite showcases one of your specialties – the aforementioned dental implants, or maybe teeth whitening. These two examples are among the most in-demand cosmetic dentistry procedures. It might also feature a specialty, such as endodontics.

By focusing on one service or specialty, you are able to improve your search engine optimization results. People search for these terms, so they’ll find you faster and easier.

With a more focused presentation, your practice will rank higher in search results. Your would-be patients will get a clear and concise of what you have to offer.

Marketing your practice is not easy, but there is professional help. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Benefits to Bad Online Reviews?

October 14, 2019
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

The vast majority of people use online review sites when they’re looking for a new dentist, so it follows that the reviews they find carry a lot of weight. You might think  that positive reviews and five-star ratings are critical, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But you wouldn’te be entirely right, either.

Happy senior citizen having a casual small talk with the friendly doctor

Yes, when people go to Yelp, Google My Business, and similar review sites, they read the positive things your patients have to say. But they’re probably looking for negative reviews, too. Believe it or not, there are benefits to bad reviews.

Don’t Freak Out

If someone is checking you out online but doesn’t find any bad reviews in your profiles, it can be a real red flag. They are likely to wonder if all those good reviews genuine. We all know you can’t please everybody, and seeing a few bad reviews among the good ones presents a realistic overview.

It should be needless to say that you want good reviews to outweigh the bad ones. But a few bad reviews among the mostly favorable present a realistic, well-rounded image.

To put it another way: don’t freak out if you get a few negative online reviews!

Responding

It’s always tempting to respond to a negative review by telling the writer just how wrong he or she is. Do your best to avoid a shoot-from-the-hip response.

People actually like it when they see a reasoned response to a bad review: one that acknowledges the feedback and shows a desire to improve. A calm and thoughtful reply not only shows respect for the writer, it demonstrates your integrity.

None of this is easy, but you don’t have to go it alone. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Still A Force: Your Dental Blog

July 15, 2019
Blogs, Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Social Media

Commercial websites, like those for dental practices, have used blogs as a marketing tool for years: raising their profiles and getting online visibility. But some trend-watchers say the days of the blog are numbered, as people’s love of social media keeps growing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

First, though, a sobering thought: there are more blogs out there than anyone could possibly count. Of course, they’ve tried. By one estimate there are 500 million blogs spread out over 1.6 billion (with a B) websites. Every day there are about two million new posts. (Glad you found this one!)

That’s a lot of stuff to read.

Your Corner of the Web

The majority of these millions of blogs, of course, are niche – like dental blogs. There is a ready market for them, too, because the number of people online is steadily growing.

Studies show that blogging as effective as ever. But you have to be smart about it; you have to offer your readers something of value. You should use your blog to answer their questions.

For dentists, a good example of this is dental implants. The market for dental implants in the United States is expected to reach $6.5 billion (again with a B!) over the next five years. You can bet there will be a lot of patients, and potential patients, asking questions about them. Take your answers to your dental website blog.

Other things to keep in mind:

  • smartphone_01Make your site mobile-ready! Your audience is everywhere. As we’ve reported elsewhere on this blog, the move toward mobile devices is probably unstoppable.
  • Blog content can co-exist with social media. If there’s a hot issue on social media, your blog is the place to really expand on it. Likewise, blog content can be itemized on different social channels.
  • Offer unique blog content. Share your dental expertise; answer your patients’ questions.
  • Try short-form content. Be concise. No need for exhaustive detail on every subject. (And yes, we’re trying to keep this post short!) Long-form posts, though, still have their place.
  • Plenty of visual content. Not just pictures, but  video and infographics. They’re all attention-grabbing.

Does any of this sound overwhelming? It doesn’t need to be.

ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use all of the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Stand Out from the Crowd: Market Your Practice

June 17, 2019
Dental marketing

There are more than 200,000 dentists currently practicing in the United States, which averages out to about sixty dentists for every 100,000 people. Not only that, more dentists open new practices each year than retire.

Happy senior citizen having a casual small talk with the friendly doctor

So there is no shortage of dentists in the U.S., and that’s good for patients. But how does your dental practice stand out in the crowd?

The answer, in a word, is marketing. Marketing your dental practice is the most effective way for you to bring new patients into your office, especially if it’s a new practice, and it has never been more important.

How do you know the best way to get your name, and your practice name, before the public? It’s a huge task. Some of the issues you’ll need to consider are:

  • Branding
  • Website development
  • Advertising
  • Digital v. print
  • Referral techniques

As you begin to figure out how to market your practice there are some things you need to consider, such as the strengths and weaknesses of your practice.

  • Strengths. What is it that sets you apart from other practices? Is it particualr services you offer, or areas of specialty? Your background and experience? Your office hours?
  • Weaknesses. No practice is perfect, and it’s important to recognize any obstacles that may stand in your way. Have you had a lot of bad online reviews from disgruntled patients?

It’s also important to identify your target audience. Researchers tell us that women make, by far, most of a household’s dental decisions – more than ninety percent. Furthermore, they don’t make these decisions hastily. There is a lot of research involved, and plenty of dental practices to choose from.

With that in mind, you’ll need to give some thought to how you present yourself: everything from your logo to the appearance of your website. Things things and more combine to produce the image of your practice.

If it seems overwhelming, rest assured you don’t need to go it alone. ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm that specializes in dental practices. We use all of the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Market Your Dental Practice

June 3, 2019
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing

For your dental practice to thrive, you need to get its name out there where the public can see it. That is how new patients find you. In the digital age, marketing your practice means using the Internet.

How do you go about doing that? There is no one right way; in fact, there are a number of strategies available to you. Combining several of them is likely to be the most effective approach.

Have a strong and well-designed website. In this day and age, a website is a given. But is it a good one? A good website does more than list your services and contact information.

  • It must be well-organized for easy navigation.
  • It must be thorough, so visitors find what they’re looking for.
  • It should offer value, like an informative blog.

Use social media. This is a highly effective way of reaching potential patient, and current patients.

  • Your practice name is out there, year-round.
  • You can provide updated information.
  • You’re able to collect al-important patient reviews.

Concentrate on Local SEO. SEO is search engine optimization, and localizing it is effective in drawing in new patients.

  • Local search terms target your audience.
  • It works in voice search (i.e. Siri or Alexa)

Rest assured, these ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. Not sure where, or even how, to begin?

ProspectaMarketing is an Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices. We use all of the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Your Dental Practice and Local Listings

May 15, 2019
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

When you visit any online review site you’ll find reviews for every type of business, from plumbers to dry cleaners.

You’ll find lots of dentists and doctors, too. Health care providers are among the most-reviewed businesses on the Internet.

Online reviews relate directly to the success of a practice, because most patients or would-be patients decide whether to try one based on the reviews they find. A practice with lots of good reviews will always be the first choice. Studies have shown, time and again, that most people give as much weight to online reviews as they do to personal recommendations.

The reviews your practice gets, and that includes any star ratings, affect your website’s click-through rate (CTR). Click-through-rate is a measure of how many people click on the link to your website when it comes up in search results. More people visiting your site  means more of them becoming your patients.

Good reviews and multiple stars equal high CTRs. Research has shown that businesses that improve their star ratings get a big boost in clicks – up to twenty-five percent more when they go from three-star to five-star ratings.

Another study compared the reviews and star ratings for dental practices during periods when they were not using reputation management, against periods when they were. Positive reviews and overall star ratings increased significantly during the time that practices used reputation management.

Manage Your Reputation

A critical step in managing your practice’s online reputation is establishing an account on online review sites and local online directories. This is known as a local business listing.

A local business listing is how potential patients in your area find you. Among other things it includes the physical address of your practice, a phone number, and its location on a map.

There are certain healthcare-specific review sites where your practice must be listed, such as Vitals and HealthGrades. Other important sites include Google My Business and Yelp.

Professional guidance will always get you the best results. ProspectaMarketing is an Internet marketing firm that specializes in helping dental practices reach their audience. We use all of the tools of Internet search marketing to help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Texting: An Ideal Communication

March 15, 2019
Dental marketing, internet dental marketing

We still call them smart phones, but they have become much more than a mobile telephone. In fact, text messaging has emerged as the most popular form of communications – not just among teenagers, but all Americans. If your dental practice isn’t using text messaging to communicate with your patients, you’re not taking advantage of cost-effective technology.

Texting is a highly efficient way to communicate with your patients. At your end, there are texting apps that run from a laptop or desktop computer. It’s a simple way to make things a little easier on everyone involved.

One of the best uses of texting in dentistry is an appointment reminder. It’s an uncomplicated strategy: send a patient a brief text reminding him or her of an upcoming appointment – when it’s, say, one week away. Request a reply: the letter Y for Yes, confirming the appointment, or N for No, indicating a need to reschedule.

Simple and effective, right?

Alternately, you might text a patient to say you have an earlier slot on the same day of a scheduled appointment. “Would you like to move your appointment to 2:30?” you might ask. Once again, request a Y or N reply.

When it comes to text messages and your practice, though, there is one catch: be sure to get the consent of your patients before adding them to your text list. Legally speaking you don’t need permission to text something like an appointment reminder, but you do need it before texting marketing or billing messages.

It’s a good idea to keep texting etiquette in mind, too. End any exchanges with a polite thank-you. And send your text messages during normal business hours. Who wants to get a reminder of a dentist appointment at 10pm?

ProspectaMarketing is an Internet marketing firm that specializes in helping dental practices reach their audience. We use the tools of Internet search marketing to reach key prospects looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

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