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Key trends for dental internet marketing in 2013

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Which web marketing channels will yield the best returns?

With just a few weeks to the start of 2013 it’s timely to pull together a quick overview of the tools and channels progressive dental practices should be using for online promotion in 2013.

2012 has seen a huge shift in web marketing, driven by a couple of key factors a) Google severely clamping down on the ability of SEO companies to manipulate search results and b) the launch of many new social media channels providing excellent opportunities for business promotion. Some doors have closed but many new ones have opened.

So what changed in 2012 and how will this impact on the way agile marketers will position strategy for 2013?

Google and SEO

In 2011 and again in early 2012, Google made radical changes to the way its ranks websites. We covered this in detail in a recent blog which explained how Google has effectively closed down the ability of search engine optimisers to manipulate ranking results through placement of high-volume, low-value back-links. We predict that all but the most agile and competent SEO agencies will fall by the wayside as many will have no alternative to the link-building techniques that have previously been successful. However, SEO is certainly not dead and the few truly skilled SEO practitioners are already changing their strategies to suit – and reaping rewards.

Social media

Like it, loathe it or grudgingly accept it, social media is here to stay. Any web marketing initiative that fails to incorporate a significant social element will stagnate and fail. The primary function of social media is user engagement but it is also extremely powerful as a vehicle to assist SEO. By broadcasting relevant content via high quality social channels, you will expose your brand and services to a huge audience and also provide excellent opportunities to glean back-links to support your SEO strategy. This “link earning” strategy is the future of SEO.

So as the door closes on the “easy” methods of SEO, new doors open via social media.

How should a dental internet marketing strategy be structured for 2013?

Key elements:

  1. de-risk your web strategy by ensuring that your SEO provider understands the new Google landscape and has adapted to suit. Take advice on this if you are unsure. It is very important to note that high-cost does not necessarily equal high quality with SEO – many charge premium rates for shoddy work. If you don’t do anything else, please understand the basics of what your SEO partner is providing.
  2. Some traditional SEO elements are still extremely important – high-quality themed links are still the most important signal for Google ranking. Continue to seek these.
  3. Blogging – adding fresh content to your primary web domain is now more important than ever. This is also a great opportunity to seed “long-tail” keywords into your web property. Authoritative blogs can be ranked prominently, very quickly
  4. Content production and broadcasting – known as “content strategy“. Promoting your brand on-line is no longer just about a simple website and hoping that visitors find you. In support of this you need to create various types of interesting and useful content and broadcast this widely using social channels. This doesn’t just mean an occasional post on Twitter and Facebook but much broader exposure via other channels like Posterous, Tumblr etc. It’s not just about text content – you can now broadcast images to sites like Pinterest and of course video to YouTube, Vimeo etc.
  5. Social media – a progressive dental web marketing campaign should now incorporate a strong social component. Don’t just seek to connect with clients and potential clients – also seek out the influencers in your sector and start to build relationships there.
  6. Optimise for local search – Google is now giving prominence to local companies in its search ranking. When done correctly, it is still possible to make inroads relatively quickly
  7. Mobile – traffic from mobile devices continues to grow rapidly, now well in excess of 20%. Ensure your website is optimised for mobile and tablet – consider “responsive design” for any new dental website project.

This may look quite daunting, but not necessarily. At Dental Media, we have spent the last three months working hard to develop our new integrated dental web marketing tool-set that incorporates the key components for successful dental brand promotion on-line. Underlying this is a unique platform that allows content to be broadcast quickly and seamlessly to numerous channels to accelerate your brand exposure and help to earn those all-important back-links.

If you’d like to know more, please call us on 01332 672548 for a no-obligation discussion.