I’m prompted to write this after being asked to review a new website that appeared over the last weekend. I was quite shocked to see a potentially high profile site launched with so many errors; so-much-so that I thought it appropriate to quickly revisit some of the fundamental principles of good web design. I will quickly cover “usability” and how this influences the overall user experience.
This is a “top three” question which warrants a book full of answers but in this article I’ll try to give a quick overview of the key aspects to consider when embarking on web marketing for a dental practice. I will also provide guidelines on establishment costs e.g. for a website and ongoing costs for aspects like search engine optimisation (SEO).
This is a simple one and its been covered numerous times elsewhere but to reiterate, the web provides more new dental patient enquiries than any other marketing channel. So you need to be there and be there with a professional and effective web presence. The web is also surprisingly cost-effective when compared to other marketing methods.
When Dental Media launched their first mobile dental website back in early 2011, around 6% of website traffic originated from mobile devices. At that time, if budget dictated that your business couldn’t stretch to a mobile version of your website, it wasn’t going to kill you in terms of missed new patient enquiries. However, now it’s quite different….
There are simply no businesses or industries in the world today that can realistically get away with overlooking the power of the web – the dental profession being no exception. So, for those yet to get on board with all the web has to offer, here are three key reasons why your dental practice really does need an online presence…and quickly.
The competitive environment in dentistry is fierce with no sign of easing. More dentists are competing for fewer patients as the recession continues to bite. Even relatively inelastic demand items like dental treatment are under pressure. The industry is also adding to the natural economic pressures as GDPs enhance their skills to compete for the more lucrative “cosmetic” treatments like dental implants and rapid orthodontics.
So how can established dentists counter these challenges to avoid the “gappy” appointment book and what techniques can new dentists use to hit the ground running? The answer lies with effective and affordable dental marketing to help build your brand and reputation in the local community and to a broader audience on-line.
This isn’t an exhaustive list but it will identify the key areas which need to be covered….
There are a number of options available to dental professionals who are looking to improve their marketing by building their brand and presence on-line. Given that the large majority of new patient enquiries come via dental practice websites, the decision to develop a professional web presence is a wise one. However, many fall at the first hurdle by either selecting the wrong web marketing partner or selecting one of the many self-build website packages that are available. In this article we’ll take a quick look at why self-build DIY dental websites simply fail to represent a practice professionally……..
I was prompted to write this article following a conversation with a potential client about where SEO sits in the process of designing a new website at Dental Media. The initial question she asked was “how much extra is it to add SEO to the website build?” – at first I though that she was asking about the cost of ongoing monthly SEO support, but it soon became clear that she wasn’t. She was actually talking about on-site SEO i.e. setting up the website correctly to give it the best possible chance in Google on launch. To re-cap, this involves a keyword and competition analysis and then building the structure and content of the website accordingly. Several “on-page” factors need to be assessed and configured properly to make sure the website is set up optimally.
I was surprised by the question because for me, ignoring the on-site SEO during the website build is somewhat remiss and I assumed that any professional website marketing agency would incorporate this as a matter of course. So what prompted her question…..?
Here at Dental Media we love social media and fully appreciate its use within the sphere of dental marketing. However, it sometimes becomes a frustrating medium to maintain and optimise due to the continual changes made by the likes of Facebook and Google – these updates are not always useful! Here are a few changes which we’ve found quite frustrating and which you will need to be aware of with your own social channels.
Most dentists would probably state that their most important tools are the physical supplies they use to treat their patients every day, but that would be inaccurate.
After all, what good are all the tools in the world if you aren’t actually attracting said patients to the surgery in the first place?
With gappy dental appointment books increasingly evident, it is now more important than ever to focus greater efforts on marketing in order to stand out from the competition. And given the way in which the new generation is one that’s largely connected to the internet near constantly, the web represents the most important tool at a dentist’s disposal in terms of marketing and promotion.
As you may expect, the world of web design and web marketing is a crowded space. There is a huge variation in the quality of services on offer and it’s a potential minefield for those who are not web “savvy”. This is equally true in the dental marketing niche where mediocre offerings are consistently pushed out “production-line style” for over-inflated fees.
With the economic climate still tight and looking to stay that way for a fair while to come, its now more important than ever to find a dental marketing partner who offers high quality services at sensible prices in an open and transparent way.
So I thought it would be helpful to provide a list of “must ask” questions for anyone who is thinking of embarking on a new website marketing project. If your potential provider can provide clear answers to the following, then put them on your short-list:
