Dentists and other small business owners are entering into an era where the majority of their new customers will come from the internet. As a result of this increased online competition is forcing many to develop and optimise their online marketing strategies in order to remain competitive.
I've put together a list of internet marketing tips that I feel would be useful for Dental Practices looking to gain a competitive advantage online. Enjoy!
Consider your online goals: Ultimately, it should be to drive more business, but how exactly will it do that? Is your online marketing strategy to drive brand awareness for an existing patient base, or are you looking for a more direct response by increasing patient numbers?
Evaluate your website’s content – Content is King. What does your website say? Is the content unique and useful? Will people learn anything when they visit your site? When was the last time you added new content? Does your website reflect your Dental Practice? Does it include 'call to action' to encourage users to call your practice or to send an online form? All important questions to consider.
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4. Call tracking and analytics. You can’t improve upon what you can’t measure. Analytics provide a tremendous amount of incredibly useful data, such as where your website visitors come from, how long they stay, and what they do on your site. Google analytics is free and a very useful tool to check how well your online marketing campaigns are performing. In addition installing Call tracking software will ensure you can fully measure you performance and the number of enquiries you are receiving.
5. Take advantage of free local business directories. There are a few great local business directories that are completely free. Start to get your Practice listed in local directories such and Yell, Google Places and Touch local amongst many others and you'll start to see your ranking improve and more traffic driven to your site.
6. Check out your competition. Visit your competitors’ websites. Do searches for keywords related to your business. Find out what others in your vertical are doing and saying. This is a great way to get ideas and take stock of your own company’s online marketing efforts.
7. Repeat after me – “I have an ugly baby.” A lot of business owners love their websites, but the first step to improving your website is to admit that it has some deficiencies. No website is perfect, and every website can use improvement. If you have a website, you have an ugly baby [sorry]. Just how ugly your website is, however, is open to discussion.
8. Start blogging. Every business, and we mean every business, has something to gain by blogging and absolutely nothing to lose. Unique, fresh and regularly updated content is fantastic for local SEO for example!
9. Post online video. Video is still a little cutting-edge for some, but the benefits can’t be understated. Online video again is great for SEO but it can also increase engagement rates on your website and provide a better user experience.
10. Contact us! Dental Design have over 10 years of experience in running online marketing campaigns, you can then concentrate on what you do best…dentistry!