by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

What information should they contain?

seo reportingI was recently asked to review the SEO performance of a dentist’s website where the owner was confused about the disparity in the results his monthly report was implying versus what he knew from the actual number of new patients coming through the door.

The web performance report seemed to indicate that all was rosy whereas his new patient numbers suggested otherwise. Not being experienced with dental marketing and solely reliant on his SEO company for guidance, he sensibly decided to seek a second opinion. So what was going on here and what lessons can be learned for your own marketing reporting?

In this short article we’ll take a quick look at monthly search engine optimisation reports and the types of information you should expect in there. Also, the tricks that some companies use to mask ineffectiveness.

Website traffic

This is a headline statistic which indicates how popular your website actually is. It’s extremely important but can also be rather confusing in that many people don’t realise that there are various forms of website traffic. I won’t go into detail here but it’s important to know what traffic originates from which source and how this links to the number of people actually making enquiries about your services. So a good report will differentiate between the different traffic types, paid, non-paid, organic, direct, referral etc and also explain the trends.

In the example at the start of this blog, the dentist’s web company was only reporting total traffic, much of which was being generated by ‘bots’. The true underlying trend of organic (search) traffic was actually flat when we investigated further.

Keywords

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by AdminPosted on Posted in social

What are social media signals and do they really help SEO?

social media signal‘Social signals’ is fairly loose terminology which has been coined in the SEO community to describe social media activity and in particular, interaction with social posts e.g. retweets, G +1’s, Facebook ‘likes’ etc which may contibute positively to a broader search engine optimisation campaign.

However, whilst there is some experimental evidence to suggest that these types of signals *may* be beneficial, there is no hard data or confirmation from Google directly, that they are used as a specific ranking factor within their search algorithms.

So we have to be a little bit careful about what we read and hear and try to understand what social signals can actually contribute and also what they probably don’t.

I was recently directed to a blog article written by a prominent dental marketing company where they spoke very authoritively about ‘social signals’ and how they directly influence your website’s ranking in Google and other search engines; albeit they have no evidence to actually suggest this is really the case. Unfortunately this was another example of a company trying to sell services, in this case managed social media, by making exaggerated claims which, to the unsuspecting and inexperienced, seem highly plausible.

At this particular time, there is very limited evidence to suggest that social signals are actually a direct ranking factor and just because you tweet, post on Facebook, G+ and the rest, doesn’t automatically mean that your practice website is going to the top of Google.

So is gaining social media credibility and seeking out likes, retweets etc worthless? Certainly not, but we have to understand why social signals are actually beneficial and not just believe those who may tell you that they are directly linked to your website’s Google ranking.

Social engagement, authority and influence

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by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

Will keywords in a www address give a Google advantage?

This is another very popular question asked by dentists who are just starting out on a new website project and considering a good domain name for their dental business online. It’s likely that they’ve heard comments which suggest that including one of more keywords in a domain name can give you a big boost in Google, but is this really the case?

First, let’s take a look at what Matt Cutts of Google has to say about the subject – as you’ll see in the video, the general recommendation is to opt for a “brand” based domain name rather than be tempted to stuff it with a bunch of keywords:

So some pretty clear guidance which weighs up the pros and cons and leans towards “brand” as being the way to go.

But surely a keyword rich domain will work better?

If you’d have asked this question back in 2012, I’d have said you were right. Back then, there were fairly clear indicators that a keyword rich domain name was a great starting place and would typically give you a ranking boost. But if you’ve watched the video all the way through, you’ll have noted that Google actually adjusted their ranking algorithm to minimise any advantage that may have existed historically.

In fact, a couple of years back, Google actually introduced an “exact match domain” (EMD) penalty where low quality websites published on EMDs had been used in an attempt to manipulate Google results. In this case, Google was able to recognise several low quality signals, including an EMD, and actual penalise the website concerned. So this is something to be aware of for new websites which will initially carry very little domain authority and could actually be disadvantaged by a keyword-stuffed domain name.

Can you ever profit from a keyword rich domain name?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Advice

A short introduction to an essential dental website data tool.

web data analysisGoogle offers a wide range of free tools to help website owners understand how their site is performing and how it might be optimised.

One of the key tools which all websites should use is called Google Analytics and is provided free of charge by Google.

What does Google Analytics do?

Analytics is essentially a suite of reports that sits on top of a huge amount of data which is accrued in a database when users visit a website. The data is accessed via a web based administration area which you log into from any internet connected PC. Analytics is an essential tool for any dental digital marketer as in provides a great deal of in-depth information. However, it also provides “at a glance” information which will be useful for any dental business owner too.

How do I get started with Google Analytics?

First off, you have to sign up for an account – this is easy enough to do and also easy to integrate into your main Google account alongside your GMail, Webmaster Tools, G+ etc. During the sign-up process, a short piece of unique scripting code will be made available to you which needs to be installed on your website. You may need your web designer to assist with this. Here at Dental Media we do this as standard for all of our digital marketing clients.

This piece of code actually tracks the visitors whilst they are on your website and feeds this data back to the database.

What sort of information does Analytics provide?

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Content Management

The unseen risks of template web designs.

WordPressThere is a growing trend in the dental web design business for suppliers to provide clients with websites based on pre-built templates. This is particularly prevalent with those companies who offer WordPress designs and who leverage on the vast array of templates which are available for £50 or less.

The advantages for a design company are quite apparent; firstly they can secure a professional looking site design for very little money and then sell it on with some relatively minor modifications, potentially for thousands of pounds. Secondly, there is an ever increasing source of new templates meaning that the hardest part of the process, the conceptual design, is done for them. Thirdly, there are numerous off-shore, cheap web contractors who will customise WordPress themes for relatively little money, so outsourcing is pretty straightforward.

So for a web design agency who wants to push out “production line” designs with limited effort, the WordPress route is quite attractive. However, does the client actually get something which is equally slick and convenient or are there downsides to consider?

Where WordPress templates go wrong….

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Tools

…but no-one uses it and I can’t see it in Google. Can you help?

We get quite a few ‘phone calls of this nature, where a dentist has tried a DIY dental website builder and subsequently failed to get any new patient enquiries from it.

You may have seen the TV adverts where you can pay £4.99 per month for such a tool, complete with “branding for your business” and “Google optimisation”. But as with all things which sound too good to be true, this offer is too.

All DIY building tools for dentists websites tend not to work very well for a variety of reasons which we’ll cover in this article in a little more detail. This doesn’t just apply to the really cheap versions you may see advertised on TV but also the versions which cost upwards of £100 + vat per month which you may see targeted specifically at dentists.

So why can’t a DIY website compete with a bespoke design?

1. They look poor. Without exception, I’ve never seen a website built using a DIY system which gets anywhere close to a design produced by an experienced web designer. The field of dental web design has become very competitive over the last few years and this has worked to push design standards to a high level; a level which DIY site builders fall way short of. With certain aspects of dentistry now unfortunately commoditised and most people searching for these services on line, you simply can’t afford to have a poor web presence. Ultimately it reflects on you and people’s perception of your services.

2. Most of them aren’t mobile friendly. With over 40% of all website visits now originating from hand-held devices, you *must* have a mobile-optimised site to take full advantage.

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by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

Be wary of SEO companies who promise ranking positions.

crossed out guarantee signI’m often asked whether our search engine services are provided with a guarantee; typically of the form that promises to achieve certain keyword ranking positions in a given time or money back. Indeed this question seems to be asked more frequently recently, probably encouraged by a couple of dental marketing companies who appear to be offering this guarantee. More about that later in this article.

First though, lets take a quick look at why it’s illogical to ever guarantee ranking positions and why you need to be wary of anyone who promises such.

Factors which cannot be controlled

Firstly, it’s very clear that page one of Google is a very competitive place, particularly as you progress upwards into the top 5 or so places. This competition increases markedly depending on the location, with larger towns and cities obviously harder than smaller outlying areas. Invariably, many of the websites on page one have some form of SEO underway and the sites at the top are often entrenched, having been working on it for a number of years. Overhauling these guys is possible but can take a long time, particularly now that Google is penalising aggressive digital marketing tactics.

Given this, would you entrust your website to someone who guarantees to place you in a top three position in a limited time? Chances are they are considering using aggressive tactics to force the issue, along with all of the risks that come with it. If you are willing to take the risk of a huge Google website penalty, then maybe this is a route you want to pursue. But I wouldn’t recommend it.

Secondly, and even where cautious and sustainable tactics have been used to progress a site onto page one, what usually happens is that the incumbent websites ramp up their own activity in response. Where this does happen, it’s reasonable for the scope of the SEO campaign to be reviewed.

Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, is with Google itself. Whilst we try to understand how Google ranks websites and use this experience to our clients’ benefit; we do not know exactly how Google works. Indeed understanding the ranking process becomes harder year on year as new parameters are frequently introduced. It’s important to understand that ranking techniques which used to be acceptable and within Google’s guidelines are now deemed unacceptable and can leave a website open to penalties. This is why a cautious approach to improving website ranking is the recommended route; particularly now that Google is punitive when it comes to any form of manipulative tactic.

If it sounds too good to be true, then it is

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by AdminPosted on Posted in seo

Don’t get penalised for a poor back-link profile.

Good quality back links are still considered to be the most powerful off-site ranking factor for your website and, according to official represetatives from Google, will continue to play a major role as a ranking signal for some time to come.

For those reading this who may be new to web marketing, a back-link is exactly as it sounds i.e. a link from another website to your own. If the link is of sufficiently good quality, Google (and other search engines such as Bing), will see it as a vote of confidence for your own website and give you a boost in the search rankings accordingly.

However, the quality of a link in Google’s eyes can vary enormously; so for example a link from a website which is popular and authoritative in your own subject area, will be much more valuable than a simple link from a local business directory. The real concern is that some links are actually detrimental for your website and if you have too many pointing to you, then you can be penalised very heavily and pushed way back in the Google search index. A very bad situation and one that is difficult to recover.

So given the degree of importance which Google places on links, it makes sense to keep an eye on them ourselves so that we can manage any which may cause us a problem. With this in mind, here are five reasons why you need to keep a close eye on your dental website back-link profile.

Links are an extremely important ranking factor

As we’ve just discussed, good quality back links to your dentist website are a key factor for Google ranking purposes. If you don’t have any, don’t expect to rank well; particularly if you are in a competitive business with lots of other well-established websites around you. Even where you have a great website which is optimised correctly, you may still struggle if you don’t have good links.

Bad back-links can get your site relegated or even banned

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Website

Members areas, protected content zones and more….

Sometimes a dental organisation needs more than just a website with standard functionality. Additional features such as password protected member areas, CPD information downloads and content libraries are required to meet the needs of a society or association.

At Dental Media we have become the ‘go-to’ dental design specialist for exactly this type of website; where the functionality requires more than just an “out-of the-box” implementation.

Examples websites

The American Dental Society of London.

This website was recently completed for a group of high-profile dentists based in and around the London area who have trained and studied in the USA or Canada. They needed a website which would provide a focal point for their society, provide information for members and also encourage new member sign-ups. The website has a full content management system (CMS), password protected members area and content library. As you’d expect, the site is optimised for mobile and tablet as well as desk-top PCs.

A website design for the American Dental Society of London

The society are busy populating the website with a varity of material via the intuitive CMS supported by the web team at Dental Media.

SRRDG and RD-UK

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by AdminPosted on Posted in Website

Capturing your business personality on-line.

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of speaking with a potential new client about their new website project. I have many such conversations but this one was quite different and particularly interesting.

Typically a new website customer ‘phones and is in a slight rush; either between surgery appointments or perhaps at a lunch break. They obviously know that a website is important for their dental business but quite a lot of them haven’t really had chance to think much further than that. So we begin the consultation process and bring our knowledge to bear to make sure that the client’s new site is as good as we can make it. Over the years we have gained a lot of experience and we know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to designing a website for a dentist; so even where the client has only had limited time to consider, we can still produce an excellent site for them.

However, in the case I noted above, this particular gentlemen really “got it” when determining what his practice website needed i.e. a very clear vehicle for showcasing the personality and ethos he had helped build at his practice over the last ten years. When I say “his” practice, it was actually his wife’s business but he played an active role in recruiting, training, motivating and managing the staff therein. His main job, however, was that of a business consultant and lecturer at one of the UK’s leading universities. So it was really useful to discuss his thoughts and how he saw the new practice website being developed.

The business advocates

The gentleman explained very clearly how his wife’s practice had developed and how they had nurtured all of the staff to become ambassadors for the business. This had been so successful that word-of-mouth referrals to the practice were extremely bouyant and with new patients travelling 10 miles or more to join up.

His key focus was on what many of us know as the “patient” journey and how the first and last interactions between the practice team and the patient were of paramount importance. We probably all know that if this is done well, then your are on the right road to patient satisfaction. But it actually went a lot deeper than this, in fact right through to analysing the demographic of the patient base and ensuring that the practice recruitment policy was appropriate to nurture it. So for example, his best business advocates and brand ambassadors are his 40 and 50 something reception staff who love to engage with the patients about the latest TV shows and current gossip in the town.

I genuinely came away from the conversation feeling that the patients at this particular practice actually do enjoy going there! His “training” policy goes way past bolting-on some telephone answering techniques and cheesy “how may I help you” one-liners – this guy actually knew how to engender a superb business culture all the way through his team. No 9-5 ‘ers there I suspect.

Given the above, it’s probably clear to see why the guy is so keen to cascade this “culture” and image across to his new website. So how can this be achieved? The key is “personalisation”.

In depth discussion and fact-finding

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