Internet Marketing for Dental Practices

Internet Marketing for Dental Practices
Reaching the Local-Social-Mobile Audience
Lance V. McCollough
Founder & CEO
ProSites, Inc.

Patients Are
Searching For
You Online
Over100
Million
Americans Search
Internet for Health
Info
123,500
Searches for
“Texas Dentist” in
the Past Month
70%
of Information
Influences Their
Treatment
Decisions
More than
60%
Would Switch to a
Doctor with a
Website

What’s the most important thing you
NEED to market your practice online?
Q:

What’s the most important thing you
NEED to market your practice online?

Be Found on Search Engines11
Patient Education Tool22
Streamline Patient Communication33
24/7 Patient Resource44
Referral Tool55
Enhances Your Professional Image66
Competitive Advantage77
88 Augments Offline Marketing Efforts
99 Dentists Who Have a Website Get More…
Marketing Your Practice Online
Top 10 Reasons to Have a Website

Be Found on Search Engines11
Patient Education Tool22
Streamline Patient Communication33
24/7 Patient Resource44
Referral Tool55
Enhances Your Professional Image66
Competitive Advantage77
88 Augments Offline Marketing Efforts
99 Dentists Who Have a Website Get More (Patients)
Target High-value Patients1010
Marketing Your Practice Online
Top 10 Reasons to Have a Website

Essential Elements of Effective Websites

• It must look good!
You have 3 Seconds to capture a visitors
attention and keep them on your website.

• It MUST Look Good!
• Excellent Content
− Include Search Keywords
 Patient Education
 Services and Treatment Options
 FAQ’s
• Text Formatting & Layout
 Use white space
 Bullet points
 Bold headings
 “Skim & Scan”

• Make it Personal
− Background
(Doctor and Staff
Bios)
− Before and After
Photos

− Background
(Doctor and Staff
Bios)
− Before and After
Photos
− Contact
Information
 Office hours
(optional)

• Consistent
Navigation
− Max. 2 Rows of
Navigation
− Nest Pages
• Educational
Videos

• It must look good!
• Excellent Content
• Text Formatting/Layout
• Consistent Navigation
• Complete Contact Information
• Patient Education Videos
• Avoid Copyright Infrigement!

Reaching the Local-Social-Mobile Audience
By 2014, more people will use
mobile phones to go online than
PCs.
85% of consumers are searching
for local businesses online.
Social media accounts for 18%
of all time spent online.

The Mobile Revolution is Here!

Mobile Web is Growing Exponentially

Mobile Revolution
500%+ Growth in
Mobile Search in the
Past 2 Years
Over 50% of Mobile
Searches Result in a
Purchase or Call to a
Business
57% Won’t
Recommend a
Business with a Poorly
Designed Mobile Site
79% of Mobile
Searchers Will Leave if
Not a Mobile-friendly
Site
There Will Be One
Mobile Device for Every
Person on Earth By
2015
Mobile According to Google…

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile Website
“At Google, we believe that mobile represents a sociological
shift with how users relate with both the digital and physical
world. Businesses that understand this will win.”
Join the Mobile Revolution!

• Not just your current “desktop website” loading on a
smartphone
• Different Medium. Different Approach.
Mobile Websites

Elements of Effective Mobile Websites
Quick Load Times
Simple Navigation
Thumb-Friendly
Good Color Contrast
Easy-To-Read Text
Mobile Compatible Images
HTML 5 Videos
And…

Conversion Features
Click to Call
Appointment Request
Contact Form
Click for Map
Bookmarking Feature

Tap for App

552 Million Daily
Active Users
1 Million New
Accounts Created
Daily
+1 Button Used 5
Billion Times Daily
1 Billion+ Photos
Uploaded
Your Patients are Social
25 Million+ Users

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteYour Patients are Social: Facebook
Each Day Users Spend
10.5 Billion Minutes
(almost 20,000 years)
on Facebook
-Facebook S-1 Filing, March 27, 2012

Create a Business Page
Your Patients are Social: Facebook

Complete the Steps
• Use a professional image of you or your practice.

Complete Steps
• Description: Short overview about your practice
Dr. Digirati provides general and cosmetic dentistry to patients in Anaheim and surrounding areas.
Their entire staff is dedicated to providing you excellent care!
• Drive traffic: Include your website address
www.beverlyhillssmileinstitute.com
Dental Office
• Category: Dental Office or Specialty

Complete the Steps
• Facebook Web Address: Make it easy to remember.

Optimize Your Page

Add Cover Photo
• Convey a professional image of your practice
• Pricing and promotions not allowed on cover photo
• Tip: Create a unified brand

Add a Cover Photo

Posts and Status Updates
• Post Frequently
• Images/Videos Attract
More Attention
• Post Between 3pm-11pm
• Include Location

IDEAS: What should you post about?
Awards and Achievements
Before and After Photos
Promotions and Special Offers
Industry News
Educational Topics
Images of Products You Recommend
New Staff Photos

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteYour Patients are Social: Twitter
33% of Twitter Followers
Share Information About
Companies They Follow

Create Your Account
Your Patients are Social: Twitter
digiratidds@gmail.com
digiratidds@gmail.com

Create Your Account
Dr. Digirati is a general and cosmetic
dentist.

Create Your Account

Setup Complete!

Posting on Twitter
• 140 Character Limitation
• Use #Hashtags
− Users can search by topic (#TexasMeeting)
• Use @Handles
− When mentioning other users (@JohnDigirati)

Do’s & Don’ts
• Post regularly
• Check grammar
• Be conversational
• Respond to mentions
• Share images and
video
• Use #hashtags and
@handles
• Overly promote yourself
• “Beg” people to follow you
• Post more than 3x a day
• Post personal opinions
(e.g. politics, religion)
• Get involved in Twitter
wars

Other Tips & Tricks
• Post Between 1pm – 11pm
• Shorten Links at www.bitly.com
• Encourage “Retweets” by
Keeping Posts <120 Characters

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteYour Patients are Social: Instagram
Images have a 50%
higher rate of interaction
than plain text posts.

What is Instagram?
• Free mobile app for sharing photos
• Edit photos with artistic effects
• Easily upload photos to social media sites
• Purchased by Facebook for $1 Billion
Your Patients are Social: Instagram

Create Your Account

Update Profile

Upload Images
Take a new
photo Choose
photo from
your gallery

Choose a Filter

Add Caption, #Hashtags, Location, and Link Social Media

Tips to Insta-success on Instagram
• Take the ordinary and make it extraordinary
• Before and after photos with #Hashtags in captions
• Images from local events

Tips to Insta-success on Instagram
• Give an inside look at your practice
• Pictures at tradeshows
• Use external editors like Phonto to add text

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteYour Patients are Social: Foursquare
Over 30 Million Users
and
1 Million Businesses

What is Foursquare?
• Location based social network
• Users “Check-in”
• More than 2 billion check-ins
Claim Your Business Listing!
• Manage your listing
• Post updates and events
• Offer specials
• Monitor foot traffic (free analytics)
Your Patients are Social: Foursquare

Create an Account

Claim Your Business Listing
Search for Your Business

Visit Foursquare.com/search from desktop.
Find your practice and click “Claim here”.

Follow the steps to verify
your listing.
• Accept Terms of Use
• Confirm Phone Number
• Final Mail Verification
– Expedited: $20
– Snail mail: Free, 3-4
weeks

Benefits of Foursquare
• Check-ins Spread the Word
• Links to Facebook and Twitter
• Users can Share Photos
• Users can Leave Tips/Reviews
• SEO Backlink to Your Website

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteYour Patients are Social: Google+
625,000 People Join
Google+ Every Day

Google Maps
+
Google Places
+
Google+
=
Google+ Local
(Confusion)
Your Patients are Social: Google+

Why Google+ Local is Important
• Powerful Social Network
− Create Circles (friends, patients, family, etc.)
• Online Patient Reviews
• Local Listings Included Within Search Results
• Google+1 Button Drives Website Traffic
• Good for SEO

Create Google+ Local Page
www.Google.com/+/business/

Pick the Category

Input Your Practice Phone Number

Select Your Practice or Click “Not Found?”

Input Address and Categories

Add Link to Your Website

Click “Pages” on the left side. Select “Switch to this page.”

Edit Your Cover Photo and Profile Image

Optimize “About” Section

Input Categories
Tip: Use
Google’s
Pre-defined
Categories

Write Description
Digirati Dental is dedicated to providing quality, up-to-date care.
We offer a wide range of procedures and services. Some
include: dental implants, root canals, teeth whitening, and more.

Get Involved!
• Share: Updates, Videos, Images
• Join Communities and Groups
• Reply to Comments You Receive
• Use #Hashtags

Google+ Words to Know
• Communities
− Groups that share interests, hobbies, or occupations
• +1 Button
− Similar to a Facebook “Like”
• Circles
− Categorize users (friends, patients, colleagues)
− Share posts with specific circles

Google+ Local Reviews
• Recently acquired Zagat
− Used to “grade” a business
• Users can log-in to their Google account to leave
reviews on your page
− Helps reduce false reviews

Managing Your Online Reputation

• 16,000,000 searches per month for dentists
• Average doctor’s name is searched 76 times per
month
• Patients read an avg. of 4 online doctor
reviews before choosing a provider

86%
Of consumers search for local businesses
online
76%
Consider online reviews when choosing
a local business
85%
More likely to purchase if they see online
recommendations
72% Trust online reviews as much as personal
recommendations

Doctors/Dentists 2nd most recommend type of local
business.
Local Consumer Review Survey 2011

Where are patients
talking about your practice?

Why Claim Your Listings?
• It’s free!
• Personalize and edit your profile
• Create a link to your website
• Be found online
• Showcase your services
• Appear in local/social apps
− Foursquare, Yelp, Google Maps, etc.
• Respond to feedback
• Improves SEO

https://signup.citygrid.com/enroll
https://biz.yelp.com
http://www.google.com/places
http://listings.local.yahoo.com
http://www.bing.com/businessportal
Where to Claim Your Listings:

Monitor “What’s Being Said”
SocialMention (www.socialmention.com)

Twitalyzer (www.twitalyzer.com)

Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com)

Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts)

You Got a Negative Review…
Now What?

Removing Negative Reviews
Violates Guidelines:
• Inappropriate content
• Advertising and spam
• Off topic reviews
• Conflicts of interest
• Violation of privacy

Contact the Site Administrator
www.yelp.com/contact

Flag as Inappropriate

Respond quickly (before others pile on)11
How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Personalize the response (give your name)22
Be firm, but polite33

Personalize the response (give your name)22
Be firm, but polite33
Keep responses on target44
Try to resolve any issues55
Thank them for their feedback66
Do not respond in the heat of the moment77
88 Do not attack the reviewer
99 Reach out to the patient offline
Do not ignore the negative review and hope it will just go away1010

Think before you file a lawsuit!
CA Dentist pays $80,000 in attorney fees in Yelp case

Diminishing the Effect of Negative Reviews:
• Get more positive reviews (pushes down bad reviews)
• Like school grades (5 A’s + 1 D = A-)
• Reputation.com

How to Generate More Reviews
• Ask immediately after their visit
• Send a personalized email with links to review sites
• Handout an online review card
• Provide URLS to review sites
• Include instructions on how to leave a review

How to Generate More
Reviews
• Include links to review
sites within your website
and social media sites
• Promote awareness in
your office

How QR Codes Benefit Your PracticeQR Codes and Your Practice

How QR Codes Benefit Your PracticeQR Codes and Your Practice
2011
2012

How QR Codes Benefit Your Practice

Step 1 – Find your local listing
Step 2 – Copy the URL from the address box

Step 3 – Paste the code into MyPatientReviews.com
Google Places section

Print your custom QR Code and display it in your office

The Power of Video Marketing
100
Million
Number of
users who
watch videos
online each
day.
1.8
Million
Words
The value of
a 1 minute
video.
53x
More likely to
get a page
one ranking
with video.

Benefits of Video Marketing
• Engage patients on your website
• Stand out from the competition
• Stay cutting-edge
• Be remembered
• Drive website traffic
• Show the personality behind your practice
• Educates patients
• Increases demand for services

Promote products, services, and brands.Sell
Provide information about procedures
and services.Educate
Real Patients. Real Results.
Builds Credibility.
Showcase
How Can You Use Video?

Where Can You Promote Your Video?

Top Elements of an Effective Mobile WebsiteGetting Started on YouTube
Over 4 Billion Hours
of Video are Watched
Each Month

Getting Started on YouTube
Create an Account

Add Photo and Practice Name

Add Photo

Create a Username that Represents Your Practice

Edit Your “About” Section

Edit Your Channel Description

Add Links to Your Website and Social Networks

Uploading a Video

YouTube Best Practices
• Video Titles:
− Important factor for ranking
− Include keywords/search phrases
− Include location and/or practice name
− 5-7 Words/45 Characters
− Be Catchy!

YouTube Best Practices
• Description
− Make it compelling
− Include some keywords
− Add a clickable URL
• Duration
− As required, but…
− 3 to 4 minutes max.
• Tags
− Use 5-10 tags for each video
− Examples: Practice Name, City, Product Name, Benefits

Improve Your Website’s SEO
How Can Your Website Stand Out in the Crowd?
Improve Your Online Visibility

The process of improving website visibility based on
targeted keywords within search engine results pages.

Increased Visibility
More Web Traffic
More New Patients

Rule #1
Content is King!
Use relevant keywords and
phrases in your content.
"Think about the words users
would type to find your pages,
and make sure that your site
actually includes those words
within it.”
- Google Webmaster Guidelines

Rule #2
Use Good Page Titles
• Include relevant keywords
• Approx. 5-10 words
• List keywords in order of importance (left to right)
• Use same keywords within the content of the page

Rule #3
Get Incoming Links
• Quality incoming links
− Must be relevant
− The higher the page rank, the better the link
− The more “top level” the referring page, the better the link
How to Determine Page Rank:
Google Toolbar: http://www.google.com/toolbar

Rule #3
Get Incoming Links
• Possible Link Sources:
− Associations
− Study Clubs
− Peers/Referral Partners
− Vendors
− Dental Insurance Directories
− Educational Institutions (.edu domains are powerful!)
− Social Media Sites
− Community Forums (Yahoo! Answers)

Rule #3
Get Incoming Links
• Possible Link Sources:
− Associations
− Study Clubs
− Peers/Referral Partners
− Vendors
− Dental Insurance Directories
− Educational Institutions (.edu domains are powerful!)
− Social Media Sites
− Community Forums (Yahoo! Answers)
Check Your Incoming Links:
Search “link: www.yourdomain.com”

Rule #4
Use a Good Description Meta Tag
• Use relevant keywords
• Include city and profession (e.g. San Marcos Dentist)

Tip: Repeat description meta tag at bottom of website
Makes description meta tag 100% relevant

Rule #5
Use Sitemaps Protocol
• Introduced by Google in June 2005
• Contributed to Search Community
• Adopted by ALL major search engines
• Spoon feeds search engines using XML code
Check Your Website:
www.yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml

• No Guarantees!
– Google Webmaster Guidelines:
• Buyer Beware!
− Google Webmaster Guidelines:

Do you follow the Google Webmaster Guidelines?11
What are your most important SEO techniques?22
How do you measure results and success?33
What is the process and what do you intend to do?44
Can you show examples of client success stories?55
Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Firm

“After careful review of several website design
firms, TDA Perks Program believes that
ProSites is the right choice for our members.”
– David Baker
General Manager, TDA Perks Program
Only Website Provider Endorsed by TDA Perks Program

Thank You!
Lance’s Lecture Slides Available at:
www.ProSites.com/MYPO
Booth 5021

Internet Marketing for Dental Practices

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