by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

What are doorway pages and why are they bad news?

I never thought I’d have to write a blog explaining what doorway pages are in the context of search engine optimisation and why they are a very poor idea these days. However, I’m prompted to raise awareness again after a client was recently poached by another company offering the ‘moon on a stick’ for his Google rankings.

Why did the client move?

The backdrop is quite disappointing for our SEO team particularly as the website is quite new. In a few short months we had elevated the client’s ranking positions so that he was in the top three for many important searches in his competitive location in London. Several key search terms were actually top. His website traffic had also increased markedly but unfortunately he still elected to move on the back of promises made by another company and incorrect interpretation of data.

In terms of his website enquiries, these had also ramped up very quickly as the Google positions improved, however he had noted a small reduction as the summer holiday period approached. This is not atypical and there will always be blips, some of them outside of a marketing company’s direct control. For example, general cost of living rises alongside non-competitive treatment fees can be difficult to counter.

As part of our closing discussions we advised that step changes in Google traffic were now not possible, simply because he was already very well placed in the search rankings. Incremental improvement would be possible but not at the rate of the first five or six months.

It seems that the new company advised that his website could also rank top for locations outside of his area, but of course, this is not really possible due to Google’s localisation policies. All of this was duly explained but it appears the promises made elsewhere were irresistible.

The effect of Google Consent Mode

Over the last 6 months or so we have been implementing new cookie and general tracking control features on our client’s websites. This is effectively mandatory and you can read more about it in our recent blogs. The upshot of this implementation is that website users can easily opt out of being tracked as soon as they land on a website which then knocks through to analytics data etc.

Step changes in “apparent” website usage can result as you might expect and even though this is easy enough to explain, it still causes unease for some website owners. It appears that this also happened here, so even through it was simple to demonstrate that website traffic had not decreased by looking at raw server data, the client was still fixated on changes in his Google Analytics data which of course was reflecting the new tracking controls.

The result of all of this was the client elected to move unfortunately, but what is worse is the techniques he revealed that his new supplier proposes to use – and this bring me on to “doorway pages”.

Doorway pages and why you should not use them

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by AdminPosted on Posted in TikTok

Is it worth it or just another fad being pushed by dental marketing companies?

Over the last few months I’ve seen an increasing number of enquiries from dentists, both existing clients and others, who want to know more about TikTok and if it’s worthwhile for marketing purposes.

Their interest has been piqued by a couple of dental marketers who are bombarding the community with messages trying to sell TikTok services and understandably, dentists want to know what it’s all about.

Unfortunately some marketing companies will seize the opportunity to sell a new service to an unsuspecting dentist irrespective of whether it’s actually worthwhile or not, so today I thought I’d dig into the pros and cons of TikTok so you can make an informed decision about whether it’s likely to work for you or not.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is TikTok?

TikTok has actually been around for a while, first appearing back in late 2016 from where it slowly gained traction to become quite popular, particularly with younger people. In essence, it’s a Chinese developed social media platform dedicated to sharing and viewing short video clips, typically comedy, singing, dancing and the like.

So it’s a very visual channel and with the usual messaging and sharing facilities that you may well be familiar with from other social platforms.

Usage is slowing down a little now but the platform is still projected to reach around 950 million world-wide users in 2025.

Is it sensible for dentists to run a TikTok account?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Google

Expect these changes in your dental Analytics and Ads accounts

Over the last couple of months the Dental Media team has been actively engaged in work to ensure that clients’ websites are compliant with the latest requirements for Cookie management and data acquisition. This is broadly known as Google Consent Mode and its latest evolution is Version 2 – please see our recent blogs about the topic and why it’s essential if you use Google Analytics and/or Ads.

In a nutshell you now need to give users of your website the choice of whether they accept cookies universally, selectively or not at all. This requires updating of simplistic, old-style cookie banners to dynamic versions which vary the type of data being sent back to Google based on the user’s preference, actually quite a complex implementation.

As noted in an earlier blog, if you are a digital marketing client of Dental Media, we have already completed this work for you. However, if you are not a marketing client but still use Google Analytics and/or Ads, you need to get in touch to discuss making your website compliant. Failure to do this will very likely result in Google suspending your Analytics and Ads account at some point later this year.

I’m compliant but what should I expect the effect to be on my Ads and Analytics accounts?

That’s a really good question and one we’re still evaluating as implementation of the new standard is still in its infancy. However, initial observations suggest the following.

Ads personalisation

With the enhanced user privacy controls introduced by Consent Mode V2, it has become harder to personalise ads to audiences – this is understandable where a user opts out of cookies. Consequently we should expect ad targeting to suffer as a result of this; however all is not lost as Google is developing methods to model missing data to “fill in the gaps”. We have to see how this evolves.

Apparent reduction in website traffic

We are already seeing apparent falls in traffic across websites where the new cookie control is implemented and it’s fair to say this has caused alarm for some clients who also monitor these trends. However, what we have been able to illustrate is that actual website traffic, search positions and activity at the practice is not down, simply the recording of such due to folk opting out of tracking. Effectively a new baseline is being set.

Apparent reduction in conversions (goals)

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by AdminPosted on Posted in pay per click

Understanding the level of input required for effective PPC ads.

Here at Dental Media our PPC team looks after hundreds of Google Ads campaigns for dentists across the UK. Quite a lot of the approaches we get for this service arise when dentists try to run DIY campaigns but find them overwhelming and loss-making. They know that PPC (Google Ads) can deliver good returns but eventually realise that it isn’t really sensible to do it ‘DIY’ and it’s at this point that they seek help.

So why is it difficult to run DIY Google Ads successfully?

To try to understand this better, I thought it would be useful to show the main elements of dental PPC campaigns our team maintains and how frequently they do this.

How often do we maintain dental Google Ads campaigns?

There is no precise answer for this as it depends on the scope and maturity of the campaign. However, to give an idea, for new PPC campaigns for dentists we will make updates daily for the first couple of weeks and then typically twice a week once the campaign settles in. This can range from 30 minutes per intervention to an hour or more depending on the work required.

It should also be noted that campaigns may undergo quite significant changes even when mature and then the intervention will increase until those changes have settled and been validated.

Why aren’t Google Ads “fire and forget”?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Advice

Is your dental website now compliant with Google Consent Mode V2?

In a recent blog we updated our readers about the relatively new Google Consent Mode V2 requirements and what it means for your dental website, Analytics and Ads. In a nutshell, if you haven’t implemented granular cookie control on your site i.e. where a user can accept, reject or choose which types of cookies they will accept, then Google will likely suspend your analytics and ads account in the near future.

You can read more about the requirements and the penalties resulting from failure to comply at this link – Google Consent Mode For Dentists.

Having gained an understanding of these new and important requirements, how then can you check to make sure that your dental website designer or digital marketer has implemented the correct controls on your behalf? We know of a few examples where dentists have been told that their websites are compliant because they “have a cookie banner”, however the old style banners which were essentially just advisory and didn’t selectively block cookies, are now completely insufficient. What’s more, if you try to rely on that, expect to have your Google Ads and Analytics accounts suspended, assuming you use them.

There are three main things to check as follows.

Has the cookies banner on your website changed?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Advice

If you use Google Ads and/or Analytics, please read this and act now. Website changes are required!

Below is an extract from a recent email we sent to our marketing clients about important changes introduced by Google regarding data privacy and how this impacts websites and cookie control. Bottom line is that if you want to continue using Google Analytics and/or Ads and don’t want to risk account suspension, you need to act now if you haven’t done so already. So if you simpy host a website with us and use analytics and/or ads, we recommend reading on as important changes are required.

The background to Consent Mode V2 and what you need to do

Google is making significant changes to ads and analytics services which are being mandated in line with national and international privacy polices. This is known as Google Consent Mode V2.

You can read more at the link at the base of this update, but in summary, all services which Google provides such as Analytics and Ads must now offer a facility where users can opt out of tracking when they visit your website. Essentially this is a significant update to the old “cookies” policies which have been in place for some years. These were primarily informational and in most cases did not allow automatic opt out from tracking for website users; however the new systems default to “no tracking” and users have to opt-in.

When are the changes needed?

Google actually mandated this work from March of this year, however many providers in the UK held off to see if our independent status ex the EU would allow us to remain as-is. However, this is not the case and UK compliance has been confirmed.

When happens if I don’t update my website?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Google

5 key things to know when setting up dental PPC ads

Whilst dental ads on Facebook and Instagram can still work very well if done properly, we are seeing a lot of new clients coming to us with requests to set up and manage Google Ads. This is typically where their existing agency has tried Facebook ads but not delivered the success the client hoped for.

More often than not, the lack of success was due to the incumbent agency using the ‘same-old’ generic ads that are so common these days, lacking any finesse and using stock images and phrases rather than carefully crafted video ads with compelling value propositions. So doomed to fail and understandable why the client would seek an alternative.

It’s well-understood that even the best social media ads tend to deliver quite a lot of highly-speculative enquiries which need rigorous filtering and this plus the need to generate the compelling content mentioned above, are the main reasons why some dentists are switching their advertising focus away from social media ads to Google Ads.

So whilst social media ads can reach a lot of people very quickly and are relatively cheap, they do need quite a lot more effort than Google Ads to deliver results. Google Ads are typically quite a lot more expensive to run but they tend to deliver higher-quality enquiries and hence they are still the technique of choice for a lot of dentists.

Basically social ads and Google Ads can be very effective and have their own pros and cons, but if you want more qualified enquiries and can afford it, dental focussed Google Ads may well be your best bet.

Let’s take a look at some key thing you need to consider before commencing your own dental practice Google Ads campaign in 2024.

Don’t do it yourself

Whilst Google has gone a long way to make the Google Ads set-up and admin interface easier to use, it’s still not for the faint-hearted and needs a lot of experience to do well. There are way more set-up and optimisation parameters than with Facebook ads and getting it wrong will cost you an awful lot of wasted ad spend.

You really do need to know how to set up and run an effective campaign(s) – from account structure and bid strategy to keyword selection and more. Given that you can waste a lot more money with a poorly constructed DIY campaign than you would paying an ads professional, it really makes sense to seek out someone who knows what they’re doing. Remember also that it’s not just about the cost of the campaign but the number and quality of leads it delivers as well.

Make sure your campaigns are granular

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Website

Can you afford the negative effects of an underperforming website?

If you take a close look at the current dental website landscape you will see that it is quite diverse, from very modern, high-functioning sites through to those which are 10 years old or more. Dentists hanging on with stale websites never fail to surprise me, particularly given that an excellent practice website with good Google search rankings delivers more new patient enquiries than any other method except word-of-mouth referral.

It’s easy to demonstrate that the return on a new practice website is usually very good indeed and we can also show that the disadvantages from an old, stale website are considerable.

Why then do some dentists persist with a dodgy old website which is clearly doing them a major disservice?

Lack of knowledge

Despite the number of marketers advising them about the benefits of a great website, it’s still very clear that many dentists still don’t realise the full implications and as such persevere with what they have; often for far too long.

Other priorities

Clearly priorities change in any business and dentistry is no exception. So we see projects being delayed whilst practices are refurbished, sold etc.  That’s completely understandable.

Budget

There are numerous challenges for all business’s budget these days and so it’s unsurprising that projects get shelved from time-to-time. However, what I would say here is that it’s very important to understand the relative return-on-investment of projects and prioritise accordingly. Too often we see websites relegated in importance despite delivering exceptional returns.

Apathy

Unfortunately this also plays a part. Sometimes a dentist will completely understand the benefits that a new website can bring, have no other apparent reasons for failing to proceed, but still not progress with the project. When we check a year or so down the track, the old website is still in place. That’s probably the hardest one to explain.

Measuring the performance of a website

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by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

Is your practice website at risk?

Google recently announced a new round of ranking algorithm updates which are widely accepted to bring some significant changes to where websites rank in the search index. These types of updates are fairly frequent and have varying effects; some introduce quite large changes, others are quite niche and are targeted at certain types of websites. As a reminder, Google does this to improve how their search engine performs and to bring the best experience for users. Whether this always works as Google intended however, is debatable!

What’s so special about the latest changes and should you be worried?

The bottom line here is that unless you or your SEO team has been doing something outside of Google’s quality guidelines, then you shouldn’t really have too many concerns that you website will suffer too much in the search results. Many of Google’s updates are targeted at those websites which have used egregious methods to artificially promote websites e.g. artificial link-building, hidden pages etc.

It’s fair to say that in the competitive world of dentistry, lots of dentists’ websites have been penalised historically, primarily where the dentist trusted an SEO partner who subsequently operated outside of the Google quality guidelines and got caught. But if you or your SEO company has done the right things, then this shouldn’t apply to you.

However, some updates are not targeted at ‘dodgy’ SEO and instead look to promote websites which are technically excellent and provide good user experience. Where websites are old, perhaps with stale content and hence a poor user experience, then it is possible for such a site to fall away in the search results. So whilst it’s the websites which have been subject to egregious SEO which will receive the heavy penalties, old, poor-quality sites can also fall away over time too. Given that a great website with prominent Google positions is so important for new patient enquiries, this is an important thing to note when planning how to keep your website fresh and performing well.

The important thing to note about the latest changes, which started around March 5th and could take a month or so to complete, is that they incorporate a lot of what has been discussed above i.e. anti-spam (dodgy SEO) updates and additional updates that assess website quality and user-experience. Let’s take a quick look.

Updates targeting manipulative SEO

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Facial Aesthetics

Should you showcase facial aesthetics services on your dental website or separately?

More and more dentists are now providing facial aesthetics services and it’s understandable why. Not only are dentists skilled medical professionals used to the dexterity and types of instruments needed, they also work in a clean, clinical environment from which to provide the service. So a “win win” for the dentist and the client, particularly when compared to some of the “dodgy” high street services which unfortunately still exist.

Of course there is also the financial aspect too, with these types of services providing excellent revenue potential.

So as a dentist providing facial aesthetics services, how best do you showcase what you do to ensure you reach the maximum number of potential clients?

Using your dental website

The first and very popular option is to create a separate section on an existing dental practice website to leverage the Google traffic which already exists. Of course the new facial aesthetics content will need to be created and added to the website before this can happen, but you can start to get meaningful traffic and enquiries quite quickly by leveraging in this way. Although there used to be some concern that the GDC would frown on mixing dissimilar treatments like this, it has not proved to be a problem.

There are a lot of similarities between showcasing dental treatments and aesthetics treatments on a website and your current web provider should be able to assist. Here at Dental Media we do this for lots of our website clients and we can always help if you have any difficulties.

As with dental treatments, there are some key things to consider when publishing new content:

  • Be concise but informative. Remember that Google also needs to find meaningful, useful information if your new content is to stand a chance of ranking well – so don’t go minimalist
  • Personalise your content to ensure it’s very readable, interesting and engaging
  • Use compelling before/after case studies and images
  • Intersperse your content with patient testimonials and reviews
  • Avoid anything “gory”
  • Separate your key treatments so that each of them has a dedicated web page. This is important for optimisation and search engine ranking. For example, if Botox and fillers are your main treatments, ensure they have a page each on your website – less important treatments can be consolidated, particularly if you have a limited design budget.

Building a dedicated facial aesthetics website

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