So your website maintenance package includes SEO?
What are you really getting for your monthly fee?
In our last article we looked at the elements which make up a balanced digital marketing strategy and why you need a multi-channel approach to make headway in Google these days.
We reviewed why content generation, blogging and the use of social media are all important elements to complement “traditional” methods like gaining back-links, and why cherry-picking just one or two methods will dilute the overall effect.
We also discussed why it need not cost a king’s ransom to implement such a strategy and how the practice can work alongside the dental marketing specialist to get the job done.
Moving on from this, and with a good understanding of the tool-kit required, in this article we’ll take a look at why some of the monthly ‘SEO’ packages offered by UK dental marketing companies are extremely limited and won’t bring you the success they might suggest.
The typical monthly SEO package – why you need to question the value….
You may see these offered under the typical structure – “bronze, silver, gold” etc which sell tiered services depending on how much you are willing to spend. However, if you read the detail carefully, you will find that unless you go for the top tier package, you don’t actually get much at all, in fact virtually nothing which will help your website to improve in the Google search results.
In fact, one popular dental company does not offer link-building of any sort unless you go for their top package and even then, there is no blogging or use of social media included. Their base package does nothing other than send you an automated report each month and their middle package is not much better. However, all of the packages are still branded as “SEO” but offer very little. You are then encouraged to by expensive add-ons to access additional services such as blogging and social media which are needed if you really want to make progress.
In my opinion this is rather misleading and I suspect it’s done for two main reasons a) to up-sell a few months later when nothing works and b) because they know that a lot of dentists/managers will go for “SEO” without really understanding what it’s all about. Of course it all becomes evident several months down the track, but by then they’re stuck in the up-sell cycle desperately trying to find something which works.
What’s the alternative?
Like most things, when you are seeking services, you need to do some research to find out what actually works and where you can get good value. In this case, don’t just fall for products which are badged as “SEO” without really understanding what you are paying for. It genuinely will be a waste of money and frankly is designed to generate a guaranteed income for the supplier without them having to do much.
The educated route is to work with a dental marketing expert who offers a bespoke service rather than a generic, watered-down offering. So someone who will look at your exact business needs, evaluate the level of competition in your area and then configure a bespoke digital marketing plan for you. This will typically include most if not all of the techniques discussed in our last blog post and, depending on who you work with, probably much more cost-effectively and successfully too.
Summary
When you are seeking out dental marketing services to help build your ranking in Google and other search engines, it really does pay to do your homework. Generic bolt-on services offered by some companies are simply designed to take your money whilst incurring minimal effort for the supplier. Just because the service is badged as “SEO” really doesn’t mean that it is, so please be careful before you sign up.
At Dental Media, we provide bespoke SEO services to the dental profession which are proven to work. If you’ve struggled to get a decent return from your current partner or just thinking about getting moving with your own campaign, we’d be very pleased to help.
We provide free audits including a review of your current website, Google positions and the quality of your current SEO campaign versus the return you are receiving. Please call us on 01332 672548 for a no-obligation discussion, advice and to book your free review.