Control your own web properties and accounts
Don’t let your marketer control your Google “My Business”, analytics or social media accounts
Here at Dental Media we regularly manage transfers of websites into our care from other marketing and web companies. This is typically where the client moved on due to poor service, high fees or a combination of the two.
One of the most frustrating aspects of transfers is when we realise that control of important web properties such as Google accounts and social media channels, rest with the original dental marketing company and not with the dentist themselves. This can be quite problematic and should never occur in the first place.
Your web assets – your ownership
As well as your website, there are a number of very important web “assets” which, as the business owner, you also need to control. This doesn’t mean that you need to manage them, but you do need to have the fundamental access control for the accounts in question. This means that should you move marketing or website agency, then your associated accounts are completely portable too and not potentially stuck with your former provider.
Some properties such as Google “My Business”, Analytics, AdWords (if relevant) and key social media channels must be set up in the name of the practice and with the practice in primary control. Management of the accounts can be assigned to a marketer as you choose – but ultimately these properties are yours and extremely important components of your digital dental marketing.
Not your accounts?
Understandably you may well want your marketer to handle setting up your various web accounts as this will save you time and a steep learning curve. In fact, it’s actually no problem at all for a marketer to set accounts up in the name of the practice and in their direct control. What shouldn’t be done is setting up in the name of the agency or in pre-existing accounts. This is similar to when a marketing company registers a dentist’s domain name as their own, rather than in the name of the dentist or their business. It simply shouldn’t happen, albeit we see it all the time unfortunately.
If you don’t control you own accounts, the worst that can happen is that you’ll never get access again once you move on. There are official recovery processes via Google and the like, but they are unwieldy and often fail. For something like Google “My Business” this is bad news as this is a key source of your business information on the web and needs to be checked and updated regularly. If you can’t get access to your account, then you can’t maintain it. With something like Google Analytics, it is possible to start again, but if you do, then you lose all of your historical data when new tracking code is implemented on your website. For your social media accounts, the thought of losing control there and potentially suffering from malicious activity, is unthinkable.
Summary
When setting up your digital marketing infrastructure you need to make sure you as the dental business owner are in ultimate control of the various online accounts involved. If you ever wish to change supplier, you will have peace-of-mind that those accounts are under your control and fully portable. It’s no problem at all to have your marketing or website team help you set up the accounts, but please make sure that it’s done in your name – not theirs. By all means give them access to manage where appropriate, but also be sure you can lock them out when/if you move on.
If you need help with moving your website, Google or social media accounts, please call the Dental Media team on 01332672548 for clear, no-obligation advice.