The dos and don’ts of marketing a dental practice online

By marketing a dental practice online, you can get more customers that are looking for a clinic like yours ... photo by CC user United States Navy (public domain) on wikimedia commons

Looking to improve the web presence of your dental clinic? There are a number of things you should and shouldn’t do when marketing a dental practice online, the most important of which we discuss below…

DO: Direct website visitors toward your office’s phone number as much as possible

Unlike most standard e-commerce websites, your dental clinic site needs to direct prospects to your telephone number, rather than to a shopping cart or an e-mail list.

Getting these customers on the phone is by far the most efficient way of booking appointments, as it can be done in minutes instead of via an e-mail exchange that can take place over hours or days.

DO: Be vigilant of your online reputation

Think that your involvement with the online world ends with putting up your site? Think again. There are numerous review sites out there like Yelp where people can inform the world on their impression of your practice.

While some are nice enough to pen flowery reviews for you, most are motivated to post one based on a negative experience.

When this happens, you need to address the negative reviewer, and set the record straight to minimize damage to your businesses’ reputation.

DO: Make it easy for customers on a budget to choose your practice

While many customers of dental clinics are regulars due to accumulated affluence from years of diligent saving, or due to insurance through their workplace’s benefit package, the financial landscape these days is markedly different.

Benefits packages that offer full dental are getting harder to find in jobs offered in the present day, and wages are stagnant.

This has left large segments of the population up for grabs to clinics that make it easier for these financially stretched individuals to afford their services.

For example, if someone needs work done on their mouth but they can’t afford to pay for what it would cost them out of pocket, SimplePay dental patient financing company would be a great business to cross promote.

These dental financing plans are an ideal solution for the working class, as money has become tight for them in recent years.

DON’T: Ignore social media

The web is mostly social in 2015, with sites like Facebook and Twitter accounting for large portions of on-site time for most casual internet users.

To not have a Facebook or Twitter account is to pass up a glorious opportunity to promote your practice and to build a brand. Also, you will be able to deal with queries and problems in an efficient manner, allowing you to take customer service to the next level.

DON’T: Neglect mobile users when designing/updating your website

The web in 2015 is also becoming a place where mobile users are becoming more commonplace. As such, many websites out there are at an instant disadvantage, as they are not built to accommodate the smaller screens on tablets and smartphones.

By designing a mobile-friendly version of your site, you will keep users from abandoning your page out of frustration, which may lead to more conversions in the long run.

DON’T: Hire a mediocre SEO to build your site’s presence on Google and other search engines

In order to land at the top of Google search results, you’ll need to hire an SEO that knows what they are doing.

You simply can’t spam keywords like its 2005 and expect it to work in 2015. Make sure they are aware of paid search (which vaults you to the top of the page in return for a modest cash investment), and local search.

Doing the latter right will serve your page to users in your geographic area, and not to users thousands of kilometers away.

Looking for more tips? Check out the infographic below:

gam_denmarinfgra