Dental Marketing

Did you know that most dentists need at least 20 new patients each month to achieve practice growth?  

Let’s keep it real. You can’t reach that goal with just traditional dental marketing strategies alone – especially now that we’re living in the digital age.

People are becoming more and more reliant on the internet when looking for a health care provider. As a matter of fact, 77% of users say that a search engine is the first thing they would visit when looking for answers to medical inquiries.

More than three-quarters use online reviews to help them decide whether to schedule an appointment or move on to another practitioner. Long gone are the days when dental practitioners use newspaper ads, flyers, and billboards to promote themselves. Nowadays, smartphone and internet usage are at an all-time high.

Digital marketing for dentists is more than just driving revenue - it can build stronger relationships with your patients, open up new avenues for your practice to grow, and bring in more awareness for your brand and practice.

So, where do you start? Social media? Your own website? Yes, and yes!

Once you have them all set up (or if you have them already), take note of these dental marketing strategies:

1. Optimize Your Website

Whereas traditional dentist marketing focuses on brick-and-mortar dental offices, its digital counterpart needs a strong online presence. This is where website optimization comes in.

Most dentists usually have their first interaction with their potential patients through their website, which is why you’d want to make yours look as professional as possible.

Your website will affect how people view your dental practice. Think of it as a first impression. Except, while you have an average of seven seconds to make an impression in-person, you have less than three seconds when it comes to your site!

Visitors will judge your practice based on your site’s appearance and performance.  If they like what they’re seeing, then you’ve just got yourself a new face coming in to your office.

What makes an impressive dental website, you ask?

Valuable Information

Your website should contain all the important information about you and the services you offer. Be sure to include these:

• Who you are
• Your credentials and experiences
• Your services and specialties
• Your hours of operation
• Various methods of contact

As for its key features, your website should have the following:

• Content that helps patients practice good oral hygiene habits
• Informative multimedia
• Testimonials
• FAQ section
• Live chat

Fast Page Load Speed

To put it simply: People are impatient! These days, they want webpages to load within three seconds or less.

In fact, one-in-four visitors will leave a site that takes more than four seconds to load. Below are some tips to speed up your website:

• Optimize the size of your images
• Move your site to a more reputable host
• Use website caching
• Minimize the number of JavaScript and CSS files
• Detect 404 errors
• Reduce the use of web fonts
• Reduce the number of plugins

Easy to Navigate

No one likes a website that feels like a maze.

A messy navigation can steer your patients from pressing your “Contact” button to another dental website.

To prevent this from happening, use an intuitive navigation bar or a visible drop-down menu to sort your content, as shown in the example here:

Optimized for Relevant Keywords

Your content should have specific keywords to make it easier for search engines to find, crawl, index, and rank its pages.

Be sure to use keywords that not only best describe your practice, but those that are relevant to dental consumers.

For example, a parent may search “pediatric dentist in South Florida”. If your content contains the exact keyword, as well as variants, you increase your chances of ranking high in search results.

2. Set Up a Google My Business (GMB) Page

Not many dentists are aware of how impactful this dental expert marketing strategy is yet, so you better strike while the iron’s hot.

Creating and optimizing your GMB profile is hands down one of the easiest and quickest ways to attract new patients, generate more calls, and stand above your competition.

What is a Google My Business profile?

Think of when you search your favorite restaurant. The restaurant’s information, including contact buttons, reviews, and pictures show up on the side of your search results.

This is a GMB profile in its most visible form! Think of it as Google verifying that your location is legitimate.

Once you’re done setting up your business page, you may start optimizing it by filling out each section. You’ll be asked to provide the following details:

• Practice category
• Practice description
• Contact number
• Address
• Hours of operation
• Reviews
• FAQs

It’s important to build strong content, add more images, respond to testimonials, and keep your posts up-to-date.

With GMB’s 100% foolproof optimization, you’ll find your dental business ranking at the top in no time.

3. Use Content Marketing

If you’re having trouble getting found online, content marketing is the way to go.

What makes this dental marketing modality stand out from the rest is that it focuses on offering valuable info to online users based on their needs. It will help you rank in search engines just as much as it helps you build a relationship with your audience.

For instance, if your current focus is on dental implant marketing, your content should also be focusing on topics related to dental implants. Here’s how you can get started:

High-Quality Blog Posts

A dental blog is always a good idea to help your site rank on the search engine results page. From oral health tips and dental procedures to common dental problems, there are so many interesting topics you can talk about.

By structuring content in a hierarchal manner with headers, as well as implementing keywords and images, you can provide easy-to-read value to potential patients.

How-To Videos on YouTube

Where do people go when they need help in things such as setting up a desk, or let’s say, baking a pumpkin pie? YouTube’s where it’s at.

Everyone’s becoming reliant on tutorial videos nowadays, so why not start a series on dental health?

Additionally, you can showcase practice culture with a brand highlight video. From there, “Meet the Dentist” videos are also a great way to introduce yourself to patients before they sit in your chair.

Newsletters

Newsletters are great for delivering relevant information and tips about your dental practice straight to patients’ inboxes. Rather than having prospects come to you, you’re the one who’s reaching out to them, making them feel more valued.

An effective newsletter contains snippets of information that your audience will want to see. You can even segment your audience by important demographics to ensure you’re delivering the information they truly want to see!

4. Utilize Geo-Targeted Google Ads

Another dental marketing strategy to help you attract more qualified leads to your site is by using Google Ads. These involve a pay-per-click structure.

This means, you only play whenever someone clicks on your ad. Pretty self-explanatory, right?

Dental practitioners love this strategy because it gives them the freedom to control what and where an advertising message is seen by their target audience. You can define your audience by radius, meaning how near or far from your office they’re located!

Search ads are displayed above organic results. They are text-based and thrive on intent-based queries. So, you’re able to target keywords that potential patients search for. The concept is similar to how you’d use keywords in organic content, however, you actually bid for ad spots in the search network.

Display ads are another type of pay-per-click advertising. They’re great for brand awareness as they target patients early in their journey rather than answering an immediate need.

These design-centric ads allow you to display more of your practice’s visual identity to attract potential patients.

Say you’re a cosmetic dentist looking to advertise smile design! This is a voluntary treatment that involves a lengthy decision from the patient. With display ads, you could appeal to them early on and elevate their awareness of you.

Let’s take a step back though. Before even making your ads, ask yourself: What makes me unique from my competitors?

Once you have your answer, keep that in mind as you’ll be needing that as you go along. Other than that, here’s a few things you can do to make the most of Google Ads:

Identify Dental Keywords

In PPC search advertising, users need to type in specific keywords to discover ads, so be sure to use the most common ones related to dental practice.

Use Clear Calls-to-Action

Define what a conversion looks like for your practice. Is it a call? How about a contact form submission? One you figure that out, you can create a conversion-driven campaign.

Optimize Your Landing Pages

Your PPC ads are there to get clicks, whereas your landing pages are there to encourage your audience to take action. Optimize these pages with keywords and powerful CTAs to bring you more leads and appointments.

Optimize Ad Scheduling

Google Ads gives advertisers an advanced option to specify the time they want their ads to appear in search results. In your case, it’s best to display your ads only when your office is open.

5. Focus on Local SEO

While SEO for all essential dental terms can help your business, it doesn’t really bring you new clients unless it’s local SEO.

Sure, it sounds really nice that many New Yorkers know about your dental business, but what’s the point if they’re like, a thousand miles away from you? Who really wants to make a day trip out of going to the dentist?

This is where you take advantage of local SEO. By using local SEO, you make it easier to reach potential patients in your geographic area. It’s your chance to get found by local consumers who are looking for a dental practitioner nearby.

So, what are some of the things you can do to improve your local SEO? Find out below!

Get Your Dental Office on Google Maps

This is the best way to ensure that anyone in your area can find you as soon as they type “dental office near me” on the search engine. Getting your Google My Business profile set up is the first step!

Add a Map to Your Website

Why end at Google Maps when you can also put a map on your own site for all of your visitors to see?

Create Local Content

Every time you write a blog be sure to include local city and neighborhood names, as well as common vernacular expressions. You might also want to mention local news or events.

6. Ask Patients for Reviews

Online reviews have become a deciding factor for many people who are looking for a health care provider. Potential patients will read them first before actually contacting your office.

That’s why asking your existing patients for reviews or testimonials can be an excellent dental marketing strategy. The more positive reviews you have, the more patients you gain. For your reference, here are the top 10 consumer and business review websites, according to Alexa:

• Google My Business
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Yelp
• Trip Advisor
• BBB (Better Business Bureau)
• Yellowpages
• Manta
• Angie’s List
• Foursquare

Ready to Grow Your Dental Business with These Strategies?

So, there you have it! By using any of the dental marketing tips we just discussed, you’ll definitely be on your way to success. Your competitors will be strides behind!

Need help creating a PPC ad campaign? Not sure how to optimize your dental page? The Digital Resource team has the expertise, experience, and enthusiasm to assist you!

Give us a ring today and we’ll do our best to serve you. Our dental marketing services are unlike any other!