Learn how to attract new patients with proven Internet marketing strategies, including: social media marketing, mobile website optimization, and local search engine optimization.
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Reaching the Local-Social-Mobile Audience for Dental Practices
1. Internet Marketing for Dental Practices
Reaching the Local-Social-Mobile Audience
Lance V. McCollough
Founder & CEO
ProSites, Inc.
2. 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.
6. 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…
9. • Not just your current “desktop website” loading on a
smartphone
• Different Medium. Different Approach.
Mobile Websites
10. 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…
11. Elements of Effective Mobile Websites
Conversion Features
Click to Call
Appointment Request
Contact Form
Click for Map
Bookmarking Feature
13. Elements of Effective Mobile Websites
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
16. Complete the Steps
• Use a professional image of you or your practice.
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
17. Complete Steps
• Description: Short overview about your practice
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
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
18. Complete the Steps
• Facebook Web Address: Make it easy to remember.
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
20. Add Cover Photo
• Convey a professional image of your practice
• Pricing and promotions not allowed on cover photo
• Tip: Create a unified brand
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
21. Add a Cover Photo
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
22. Posts and Status Updates
• Post Frequently
• Images/Videos Attract
More Attention
• Post Between 3pm-11pm
• Include Location
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
23. IDEAS: What should you post about?
Your Patients are Social: Facebook
Awards and Achievements
Before and After Photos
Promotions and Special Offers
Industry News
Educational Topics
Images of Products You Recommend
New Staff Photos
29. Posting on Twitter
• 140 Character Limitation
• Use #Hashtags
− Users can search by topic (#CDApresents)
• Use @Handles
− When mentioning other users (@JohnDigirati)
Your Patients are Social: Twitter
30. 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
Your Patients are Social: Twitter
31. Other Tips & Tricks
• Post Between 1pm – 11pm
• Shorten Links at www.bitly.com
• Encourage “Retweets” by
Keeping Posts <120 Characters
Your Patients are Social: Twitter
33. 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
39. 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
Your Patients are Social: Instagram
40. Tips to Insta-success on Instagram
• Give an inside look at your practice
• Pictures at tradeshows
• Use external editors like Phonto to add text
Your Patients are Social: Instagram
42. 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
44. Claim Your Business Listing
Search for Your Business
Your Patients are Social: Foursquare
45. Claim Your Business Listing
Visit Foursquare.com/search from desktop.
Find your practice and click “Claim here”.
Your Patients are Social: Foursquare
46. Claim Your Business Listing
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
Your Patients are Social: Foursquare
47. 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
Your Patients are Social: Foursquare
50. 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
Your Patients are Social: Google+
51. Create Google+ Local Page
www.Google.com/+/business/
Your Patients are Social: Google+
53. Create Google+ Local Page
Input Your Practice Phone Number
Your Patients are Social: Google+
54. Create Google+ Local Page
Select Your Practice or Click “Not Found?”
Your Patients are Social: Google+
55. Create Google+ Local Page
Input Address and Categories
Your Patients are Social: Google+
56. Create Google+ Local Page
Add Link to Your Website
Your Patients are Social: Google+
57. Create Google+ Local Page
Click “Pages” on the left side. Select “Switch to this page.”
Your Patients are Social: Google+
58. Create Google+ Local Page
Edit Your Cover Photo and Profile Image
Your Patients are Social: Google+
59. Your Patients are Social: Google+
Create Google+ Local Page
Edit Your Cover Photo and Profile Image
60. Create Google+ Local Page
Optimize “About” Section
Your Patients are Social: Google+
61. Create Google+ Local Page
Input Categories
Your Patients are Social: Google+
Tip: Use
Google’s
Pre-defined
Categories
62. Create Google+ Local Page
Optimize “About” Section
Your Patients are Social: Google+
63. Create Google+ Local Page
Write Description
Your Patients are Social: Google+
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.
64. Create Google+ Local Page
Get Involved!
• Share: Updates, Videos, Images
• Join Communities and Groups
• Reply to Comments You Receive
• Use #Hashtags
Your Patients are Social: Google+
65. 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
Your Patients are Social: Google+
66. 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
Your Patients are Social: Google+
68. 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
70% Trust online reviews as much as personal
recommendations
Managing Your Online Reputation
71. 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
Managing Your Online Reputation
72. 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
Managing Your Online Reputation
73. How to Generate More
Reviews
• Promote awareness in your
office
• Include links to review sites
within your website and
social media sites
Managing Your Online Reputation
83. Respond quickly (before others pile on)11
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
Managing Your Online Reputation
How to Respond to Negative Reviews
84. Think before you file a lawsuit!
CA Dentist pays $80,000 in attorney fees in Yelp case
Managing Your Online Reputation
85.
86. 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
Managing Your Online Reputation
87. 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.
88. 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
The Power of Video Marketing
89. 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?
The Power of Video Marketing
90. Where Can You Promote Your Video?
The Power of Video Marketing
102. Getting Started on YouTube
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!
103. Getting Started on YouTube
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
109. 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
Improve Your Online Visibility
110. 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
Improve Your Online Visibility
111.
112.
113. 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
Improve Your Online Visibility
115. 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)
Improve Your Online Visibility
116.
117. 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”
Improve Your Online Visibility
118. Rule #4
Use a Good Description Meta Tag
• Use relevant keywords
• Include city and profession (e.g. San Marcos Dentist)
Improve Your Online Visibility
119. Tip: Repeat description meta tag at bottom of website
Makes description meta tag 100% relevant
120.
121. 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
Improve Your Online Visibility
122.
123. • No Guarantees!
– Google Webmaster Guidelines:
• Buyer Beware!
− Google Webmaster Guidelines:
Improve Your Online Visibility
124. 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
Improve Your Online Visibility
Questions to Ask When Hiring an SEO Firm
125. Only Website Provider Endorsed by the CDA
“The CDA Council on Endorsed Programs reviewed many
website design firms, and we believe ProSites offers the
best service and value for our members.”
Evet Dickinson
Manager
Endorsed Programs