11Apr, 2016

What Google’s Latest Changes Mean For PPC Customers

April 11, 2016

Advertising Media, Search Engine Optimization

If you’ve done an online search using Google in the last month, you might have noticed the right-hand side of the page looks pretty empty. Google’s latest update significantly changed how ads are displayed on the search results page. Rather than a row of ads along the right-hand side, Google now displays three or four ads at the top of the search results and a couple at the bottom of the page. This may make navigating Google a bit easier on mobile devices, but this update means big changes for advertisers.

Mark John Hiemstra wrote an in depth analysis on the Acquisio blog about how this update impacts customers who pay for Google ads. Data was taken from roughly 90,000 campaigns running on the Acquisio platform from four weeks before the change to two weeks after the change (spanning January 21, 2016-March 3, 2016). The findings are as follows:

Cost Per Click (CPC) for ads in the top 4 has increased by up to 10.5%
Click Through Rate (CTR) for ads in the top 4 has increased by up to 4.5%
Links below the top 4 are seeing significantly less clicks and impressions
CPC has also increased for spots below the top 4

Since there are no more side ads ‘above the fold’ on the results page anymore, much more weight is being placed on the top 4 ads. They are receiving much more attention, but the cost to show up there has also noticeably increased. Conversely, spots below the top 4 are getting less views but the cost to appear there has still increased. As a result of these findings, managing budget for your various ad campaigns will be even more crucial to ensure your practice gets the best visibility in the search results. Trust our marketing managers at ProspectaMarketing to help you navigate this new change and please contact us with any questions.

24Feb, 2016

Do You Have A Five Star Practice?

February 24, 2016

ProspectaMarketing

five star, Google +, online reputation, Online Reviews, reviews Online Reviews

Think your practice’s online reviews don’t matter? Think again.

While you may think that having a fully optimized website is where to put your focus (and we agree!) don’t underestimate the power of online reviews. In the past couple of years, people have grown heavily reliant on online reviews for everything from hair salons to restaurants to mechanics. Searching for a dentist isn’t any different. As humans, we want to know we’re getting the best service possible. A recent Bright Local SEO survey showed that nearly 90% of online customers trust anonymous reviews almost as much as a personal recommendation. Your reviews matter.

We have a client who had an optimized profile but no reviews on Google+. We challenged them to ask some patients to leave reviews. Their front desk team rose to the challenge and were able to get a handful of patients to write reviews. In no time, the number of their prospective patients grew because, as residents of a smaller town, this practice was now the only 5-star practice in town.

We know you are offering excellent care and service to your patients. Make sure that is reflected in what people are saying about you online. If reviews aren’t something you’ve made an effort to curate, now is the time to start to ask the simple question “Would you be willing to share your experience today with other patients who haven’t visited our practice yet?” It’s a simple way to make sure that the service and care you’re providing in office is reflected online. Have questions on how to get started? Contact ProspectaMarketing and learn more.

5Feb, 2016

The Importance Of Mobile Responsive Sites

We’ve all seen the websites. The ones you open on your phone and need to scroll over to finish reading a block of text. Or you need to zoom in to see small details. Or where some pictures just won’t work. Is your website mobile responsive?

Google made a change in their mobile ranking algorithm in April 2015 that penalizes websites that are not mobile responsive. Google also reported in October of 2015 that mobile search has now surpassed desktop search worldwide. In dental searches that are not quite as extensive as the overall average, that total is still growing rapidly and is often in the 35 – 45% range of the total traffic. By ensuring that your website is mobile responsive, it makes a world of difference for mobile users who want to find information on your site. Larger, easier to navigate text and easy to find contact information on your website can make the difference in a prospective patient selecting your practice rather than one down the street.

Whatever condition your practice’s website is in, get in touch with us and learn what we can do to help you grow your business. In addition to making your website’s SEO rich and mobile friendly, we have a host of tools available to track, report and maximize your data to help you have the best returns. Don’t let your website go the way of the dinosaurs. Talk to us today.

17Apr, 2015

Thinking About Offering Rewards For Reviews? Think Again

April 17, 2015

ProspectaMarketing

Uncategorized

They seem innocent enough. Signs in local business windows offering a free drink or a few bucks off your purchase in exchange for a review. Customers get a little something extra and you help boost your visibility online. Reciprocity is a great thing, right? Not if we are talking about online reviews.

In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission published a set of guidelines regarding Truth in Advertising, which states that any company must disclose if they have compensated people giving online testimonials or endorsements in any way.

While Yelp and Google clearly state in their Terms of Service that giving coupons or incentives for reviews is a violation of those terms, many practices still think that this isn’t really an issue as long as the coupon is for a nominal amount or the reviews aren’t required to be positive in order to receive the incentive.

In recent years, multiple settlements involving the FTC have helped to clarify how this application works regarding online reviews and underlines the fact that incentivizing reviews is illegal.

For example, in 2013, the Attorney General fined 19 companies in New York for buying, faking or incentivizing reviews, ordering them to pay a collective $350,000 in fines. Blumenthal of localu.org mentions: “An under-reported aspect of the settlement was a $10,000 fine levied on a tooth-whitening company in New York City that had been offering a no-strings-attached $10 coupon off a future whitening in return for any review, good or bad. I spoke with the owner of the company and, while he thought what he was doing was OK, the cost of a defense was substantial AND the NY State Attorney General had targeted him so his chances of prevailing, even at great cost were small.”[1]

As recently as February 27, 2015, the FTC entered a settlement with a car shipment broker based in Georgia who was offering discounts and incentives for their online reviews. This company had over 500 reviews on Google+. There was no monetary settlement but company was forced to stop incentivizing reviews and must agree to follow that cease and desist order for the next 20 years.

If you or employees in your practice are offering anything at all in exchange for reviews, you are violating the law and run the risk of fines or litigation from the FTC. It’s not worth it.

Let your incentive be great customer service and excellent care. This will speak volumes and your patients will be happy to let you know about their experience with your practice.

[1] http://localu.org/blog/do-not-incentivize-reviews-not-even-a-little-bit/

25May, 2012

Can Consumers Tell Which Search Results are Paid Ads?

May 25, 2012

Lane Anderson

Advertising Media, internet dental marketing, Internet Marketing

In a recent study by recent study by SEOBook, 1,000 people were shown screenshots of Google search page results and asked whether or not the page featured ads. The surprising results? Although all the pages shown had ads, nearly half (45.5%) of the people surveyed said there were no ads.

Later when showed search results that had no ads, but included a Google Plus menu bar, 56% of participants incorrectly answered that the search results did have ads.

When asked where ads might appear on search results at top search engines like Bing & Google nearly 20% of people replied that search results do not carry ads.

Results were higher when people were shown search results with a sidebar ad, with 62.9% of people correctly answering that the page had an ad.

What does this mean for my business?

Organic listings and pay per click ads are both very important in directing traffic to your website. As illustrated by this study, people are often unaware of ads if there is no right column ad in the search results. Sometimes doctors will say that they are not inclined to click on ads but they would look at the organic listings. The fact is, users are not always clear which is which. Having both on the page helps improve click through to your website. We may be thinking about more of a distinction between the two than is warranted.

If you have questions about how to improve results with your internet dental marketing, please give us a call at 877-322-4440 ext. 101

3May, 2012

How To React To Negative Reviews Online

May 3, 2012

Lane Anderson

local listings, Online Reviews, ranking factors, social media Local Internet Marketing, Online Reviews, Social Media

The importance of having a strong online presence is increasing as reviews on local listing sites such as Google, Facebook, Bing Local, Healthgrades, and Yelp are becoming more of a factor for ranking your business. We all want our business to have five star reviews across the board, but what should you do if you receive a negative review? Step one: take a deep breath.

Negative reviews are an unfortunate reality of any customer service industry. But they don’t always mean the downfall of your company. Here are some ways to react if you receive a negative review:

Try to resolve the issue with the reviewer directly. If you recognize the patient from their comments and why they may have reacted this way, try to contact them to see if you can address their concerns and come to a resolution. If they are satisfied, ask them if they could remove the negative feedback.
If a resolution cannot be met, it’s a good idea to respond publicly to the review as the business owner on the site. The customer may not be happy, but you will still need to present yourself as professionally as possible. Give responsive feedback by addressing concerns and explaining how you will rectify the situation in the future. Responses to reviews should be a reflection of your own business. Is the reviewer’s complaint legitimate? Take a moment to see if you can enact a change in your office that will be an overall improvement in the service you provide for future patients.
Use the public reply as an opportunity spin the negative into a positive and explain something about the practice that wouldn’t be known otherwise. For instance, do you offer a 100% patient satisfaction guarantee or their money back? Mention this.
Finally, and most importantly, bury the negative with positive reviews. There are a number of ways to encourage your patients to leave reviews. Whether it is through an e-mail request with a link to your review page, a QR code poster that lets them leave a review from their cell phone or having a device in the practice office that lets them leave immediate feedback, reviews are a vital part of improving your local listing search rankings.

So next time you get a negative review- stay calm. This is a chance to improve your service and turn a person who had a negative experience into another satisfied customer.

28Sep, 2011

Choosing the Right Media for Your Message

September 28, 2011

Lane Anderson

dental advertising, dental marketing, local dental marketing Advertising Media, Dental Advertising

When evaluating media alternatives, there are a number of considerations. One question that arises from time to time is the effectiveness of TV advertising for a dental practice. Doctors we have worked with have had success and disappointment with TV. Having worked in a media department of an ad agency and as a marketing manager earlier in my career, there are three things worth considering when evaluating TV or any other media for advertising.

1. What is your objective and message: Depending on what you want to accomplish, TV may or may not be the best way to deliver the message. TV can be good practice name and positioning reinforcement. It can also be a great way to showcase the benefits of your work with the live video. However, will the ad format give you enough time to deliver the message you need to send?

2, Evaluate what you are really buying with the TV schedule: When are they running the spots and what is the expected audience for the ad schedule. The three common measures for a media buy are * Reach (percentage of audience reached during the schedule), Frequency (avg. number of times someone is likely to see the ad) and CPM (cost per thousand viewers reached). This should all be measured against the type of patient demographic you are trying to reach (ex. women and men ages 25-64). It is a good idea to also look at the geography of the TV coverage and determine how much of it is your market area (where patients will realistically drive from to reach your office). There is a level of waste in TV and any marketing. Consider then how much of that coverage will be helpful to you. If you are wasting 80% of the coverage on people too far away to drive to your practice or on viewers who are not your target demographic, there may be better options that are more targeted to your practice. Much of the effectiveness will also depend on how good the ad is. Then look at the cost per thousand, and you can more easily consider the cost against the costs of other marketing options such as internet marketing or direct mail.

3. Consider the value of the TV spot production: Just the production of a quality TV spot can often carry a large price tag. If you have access to the ad video (which you should be able to do) you could use it on your website (becoming increasingly important on websites now) and also post it on YouTube for additional visibility online. So, there may be some value in the production itself to consider.

If you are still unsure, conduct a test and track the results. Make sure you run it long enough to fairly evaluate the results but contain your commitment until you have a better idea how it will perform for your practice.

15Aug, 2011

Dental Practice Success in a Troubled Economy

August 15, 2011

Lane Anderson

dental practice marketing, dental success internet dental marketing

With the uncertainty in the markets, it is easy to get caught up in believing the news. Yet, some of the most successful practices take a different path from the rest of the crowd during times like this. Today, there was an excellent article posted by Roz Fulmerof ToPS on the CrownCouncil.org website outlining five things you can do to thrive in a troubled economy. It is well worth the read if you are a Crown Council member:

http://crowncouncil.org/profiles/blogs/troubled-economy-refuse-to-participate

Here is a brief overview. She suggests five keys to success during a down economy:

1. Refuse to participate in the recession – don’t become paralyzed, continue to move forward with your business

2. Increase marketing and advertising – build your brand while others are pulling back

3. Innovate – consider new approaches and possibilities; some of the great businesses today were born during recessions

4. Become a talent magnet – it is a great time to find and attract the best talent

5. Think big, take action. – create your vision and take action

Don’t participate in a troubled economy – choose to thrive in it!

Have a great day!

Lane

15Aug, 2011

Google Places 3rd Party Reviews Disappear

August 15, 2011

Lane Anderson

dental practice reviews, Google Places reviews, internet dental marketing, local reviews, online reputation, Online Reviews internet dental marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

The news from Google that they will not post 3rd party reviews (only links to them) has created concern for many dental practices that rely on local internet marketing. For some time now, we have always recommended having patient reviews directly in the search engines as well as using third party review sites. Now that these third party reviews have disappeared from Google Places (other than to have a link to them), it is important to have a strategy to get reviews posted directly in Google. During the past few weeks, we have discussed a variety of approaches with dental practices. Here are some strategies to consider.

• Some patient reminder systems for dental practices such as SmileReminder and DemandForce can automatically invite your patients to go into the search engines and write reviews after an office visit. This is a great way to keep a steady flow of reviews coming into the search engines, but there is a monthly cost.

• Send your own e-mails out to your patients with a link to your local listing. We can help you format an e-mail with links directly to your local listings where they can write a review. Give them some help with instructions. Contact us if you would like to some help formatting these e-mails.

• Use QR codes to help direct patients to your local listings using their smart phones. It will make it easy for them to find you, and they can use their smart phone to write a review and share their experience with others.

• Consider a simple reminder such as a business card with the address of your local listing on it that your patients can take home with them. Make is convenient.

Reviews are gaining more and more attention from consumers, and it is important to pay attention to this area of your marketing.

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