There are certain big-name players in the web marketing world, but this month, we saw an appearance from someone that we never expected to turn to for marketing inspiration. As a partially government-funded entity and the unpopular alternative to airplane travel, Amtrak has never been the most glamorous institution on the block. They decided to combat this by focusing on what is appealing about their services: the long-held romantic tradition of train travel.
Amtrak found its opportunity to strike by paying close attention to social media. When writer Alexander Chee mentioned in an interview that there should be an Amtrak residency for writers, fellow writer Jessica Gross tweeted at Amtrak, asking them to make it a reality. Amtrak responded in the affirmative, sending Gross on the maiden residency. Their writer’s residency program is now underway, and this wallflower company has a young, creative, tastemaking audience listening, creating, and buzzing.
There’s a lesson to be learned here. No matter how uncool a business may seem, it can always find an angle. Amtrak showed off its connections with its users, jumping on a tweet to create a new kind of camaraderie with train travelers and writers alike. Draw inspiration from this to do the same with your dental practice. While dental offices may not seem like the most exciting places, you can find a way to connect with patients and show them that your practice values them.
Another great aspect of Amtrak’s interactions is the way the institution made their marketing entertaining – and even fun. Those behind the creation of the residency and those reaping its rewards enjoy the process. Your marketing doesn’t have to be all humdrum. Find and seize opportunities to make it more lively, and your current and prospective patients will appreciate your efforts. The simplest, most effective way to do so is to follow Amtrak’s example, and embrace social media.
Social media isn’t just the life of the party – is IS the party. It’s where everyone is hanging out online. If you want to break into a new group of patients, or build connections among existing ones, social media is the right route. Sharing content on social media is simple – it doesn’t even have to be something you created yourself. Posting a fun fact, dental graphic, blog post, cartoon, or educational tidbit will give your patients a moment of humor or reflection. They’ll appreciate that you put that content in their paths, and they will remember you for your online presence. Better yet, they could share that content with others.
You’ve provided superb dentistry – your patients will be happy to return the favor. Not by doing dental work (could get a bit messy), but by giving back to your practice. This is as simple as clicking “Share” on one of your Facebook posts, or pinning one of your photos on Pinterest. When your patients respect you and appreciate what you’ve done for them, they’re likely to blatantly and inadvertently help improve your web presence. Tapping into patients’ social groups offers you an entirely new group of prospective patients, and helps your practice continue to grow.
Whether you’re marketing long-distance train travel or dental crowns and root canals, the basic principles are the same. Find a way to connect with your audience, and you could be next month’s Amtrak.
Web design is the darling of the Internet. No matter how great a site’s content is (whether it’s text, photographs, or videos), the site’s design facilitates and effects viewing. Unless they’re already invested in what that specific site has to offer, many first-time visitors will navigate away if they don’t gel with the site’s design. Design dictates a website’s appeal. Is yours convincing new patients to follow through and make a call? It may be time for an update.
Refreshing your website’s design is simple and a wise investment. With the constantly evolving face of the Internet, regular updates are necessary to stay in touch with what looks current. Redesigns also help you stay abreast of Google updates and keep your site search engine-friendly. If you struggle to look objectively at your website and decide what it needs, Doctor Web Solution can help. It’s always tough to mentally separate from something you’ve spent time building. We can offer that outsider’s perspective, aided by design expertise.
A website’s design speaks to visitors the moment they land on the page. This is more than can be said for the site’s content – depending on its format and on-page location, most visitors will never see its majority. Design stands out instantly, and determines the way patients view your entire site. Is the layout user-friendly? Is it clean and appealing? Is it action-oriented, providing patients with a clear route to contacting the practice? Your design should accomplish all these tasks, and more.
Unsure whether your website is in need of some work? Consider a few of the following criteria to decide whether it’s time for an upgrade.
Submit your website for a free design and SEO evaluation to get an idea of where you’re at. We’ll comment on what should be working well, potential changes you could make, and what the redesign process would entail. There’s no obligation involved, simply some professional advice. If you’re unsure about your design or your on-site SEO, we’d love to take a look.
As a medical professional, marketing just isn’t within your purview. And it shouldn’t be! You have other things to focus on. Your patients’ well-being is your natural top priority.
The catch-22 is that without practice marketing, you won’t have patients to treat. For this reason, many dentists and doctors choose to hire outside forces to take care of their marketing. Even if you have hired a marketing firm, it’s important that you be a part of the process. No one can ever hope to understand your practice the way you and your office manager do, or decide how your practice should be presented to the world. So how do you place a few toes in the web marketing waters?
This blog post acts as a promotion primer to help you consider the basic factors of dental marketing as they apply to your office. Consider the factors detailed below to get a better idea of how to proceed, and what to emphasize in your marketing efforts. If you have any questions, Doctor Web Solution could offer some pointers. Just get in touch.
These tips scratch the surface of your introduction to web marketing. Interested in learning more? Get in touch with Doctor Web Solution for dental marketing expertise.
Keeping up with good search engine optimization practices can be a dizzying endeavor. With near-constant changes to Google’s algorithm, conflicting ideas from the experts as to what marketers should be doing, and the ever-evolving face of the Internet all at play, things get complicated pretty quickly. Avoid confusion by keeping your SEO simple. It’s possible to distill your SEO efforts to just a few areas of concentration.
Those new to the SEO world likely paused at that heading. How can an internet marketing practice have an alignment? The story of good vs. evil (at least in the search engine optimization realm) began long ago, when search engines first began crawling the burgeoning Internet. Those hoping to get their sites noticed took to practices that were eventually deemed obnoxious. At the time, this wasn’t “bad,” it was just what was done, and it showed results. Today, we call those practices black hat SEO, and our site rankings are ultimately penalized if we choose to employ them.
Part of the reason search engines continue to evolve is to kick those practices to the curb. As search engines become more sophisticated, they’re able to punish webmasters/marketers that choose to keyword stuff, link farm, or hide content. Suspect sites’ PageRanks lower, and they fall in search engine listings. Those using good SEO (aka “white hat” SEO) avoid these flash-in-the-pan practices and take more substantial courses of action.
Quality content has become more and more important as search engines have become more discerning. High-octane content is recognized and handled differently by web users, and search engines pick up on these signs. Writing quality content is as simple as taking the time to put it together. Ensure that you’re writing for someone, rather than just writing for your own marketing purposes. Consider your patients and their needs to determine what they would like to gain from your website and its blog. Oh, did we mention blogging? It’s absolutely necessary. Creating new content and producing it consistently will help your site rise in the rankings.
Search engines monitor the way other websites interact with your own. When another site contains a link to your site, this improves your PageRank and authority. If that website is topically similar your own, even better – establishing relevancy with your keywords and links is a must. Gradually, carefully build these links to ensure that you’re rewarded.
This is the newest tenet of basic SEO. Social media marketing continues to boom, with each new platform changing the way users perceive and are exposed to marketing efforts. While only some social media links are “follow” (i.e. they count in building PageRank), all social media efforts help you connect with patients and prospective visitors. Your dental practice should take advantage of this – most of your patients are likely already on at least one of these platforms, and ready to engage.
That’s SEO in 2014, in a nutshell. Need a hand with your web marketing? Contact us for some ideas.
Every dental practice is unique. But how exactly does one translate what is special about their practice into a web presence? Determining how to market your dental practice takes time and thought. Evaluate your services to decide on the best areas of focus. Below, we’ve listed a few things to take into consideration when setting up your website. Incorporate them into your web marketing to see a site that both speaks volumes and draws in patients.
Looking for help setting up your web marketing campaign? Get in touch with Doctor Web Solution.
One of the trickiest aspects of web marketing is staying current. The Internet is constantly changing, and we have to doggy paddle to stay above its waters. How can you keep your dental website up-to-date in every possible way? While adding to your site’s service pages, Before and After gallery, and news section will show patients that you’re paying attention, there’s an even simpler way to maintain your site: by writing a regular blog. Better yet, blogging appeals not only to patients but also to search engines. A practice that pleases both people and robots? We think it must be a winner.
Your CMS (content management service, like WordPress) should make it simple for you to blog. Most have a blogging system in place on your site as soon as it’s created. From there, it’s easy to log on and get blogging.
…Or is it? Stumped as to what you should be blogging about? Read on for some ideas.
We’re happy to provide your practice with weekly posts. Learn more by contacting Dr. Web Solution online!
With the new year comes a heady mix of resolutions – some more realistic than others. If you’re already struggling to follow through on your latest goals, consider making some that tackle a different realm: your web marketing efforts. Realistic marketing resolutions aren’t too difficult to make, but it can be tough to decide which direction to go with your marketing. Below, we’ve gathered 5 very different resolutions that focus on different areas of web marketing.
Some of these don’t require any more action from you than a careful consideration of your current web presence. Once you start thinking about what your website or web marketing is lacking, you’ll gain insight and be prepared to make changes.
Seeking more personalized marketing advice? Contact Dr. Web Solution for a complimentary website evaluation. We’ll help you decide on the right place to start.
The world of online marketing is a fluid one, but there are some truths that hold over year to year. In 2013, we saw search engines continue to get pickier and pickier; a social media marketing boom; and countless new tools and innovations to make web marketing simpler and more effective. Below, we’ve rounded up a few of our top posts of the past year to provide a quick rundown of contemporary marketing for dentists. Read on to pick up a few tips!
Your website is no good without words. While design is incredibly important and serves to pull prospective patients in, the text needs to be keep them there. This post elaborates on methods you should use to build your content, and exactly what it should say about your practice.
Social media marketing is a friendly, fun way to connect with existing patients and draw in new ones. But it can be a little tough to decipher at first. Check out this post to learn about different social platforms and ways to get started.
A bit more specific than the “Social Media Primer” post, this one tackles a site that is fast becoming one of the most effective marketing tools. Pinterest is built to be user-friendly, but it’s always good to have basic instructions to help you ensure you’re going about pinning the right way.
No matter how gorgeous your website is, it’s not going to garner results unless it’s visible. This post tackles the question of whether new patients are seeing your site, and how to make sure they do.
SEO may seem complicated, and sometimes it truly is. With the ever-changing landscape of search engine preferences, making sure that your practice’s website is robot-friendly can be a little bit of a headache. This post tackles the basics of dental SEO.
Interested in some dental marketing aid? Get in touch with Dr. Web Solution for a free website evaluation.
A website is a powerful tool – and, in our era, an indispensable one. But while it’s simple for anyone to get a website and begin engaging in self-promotion, it’s tricky to decide exactly what that website should contain. The possibilities are limitless. There’s an open-ended quality to your website that can actually become stifling in its potential. How do you decide what to include and what to avoid? Dr. Web Solution is here to help with a list of factors that you simply must include in your practice’s website. Some may seem obvious, but are surprisingly easy to overlook.
Looking for a helping hand? Our dental marketing company is up to the task. Get in touch online or at (630) 209-8195.
No matter how perfect your dental practice’s website is, it has to be seen in order for you to garner new patients. So, how do you get your site seen? It’s a simple- (and even silly-) sounding question, but one that actually requires serious SEO know-how to answer. While there are things we put in place on our websites that appeal to prospective patients, getting your site to rank high in listings (and get clicks) depends on how you appeal to the search engines. As these search engines are essentially robots with constantly-changing preferences, they can be fickle creatures. That’s where search engine optimization should step in and takes control.
“Rankings” are the places a website holds in different search engine listings for different keywords. Sound convoluted? To put it plainly, we’ll use an example. When you search for “local dentist,” there will be a certain practice that comes up in the number one position. This is the position you strive to claim for your practice.
But what about every other dentist in your area working toward that #1 spot? Rankings can be a bit of a battle, and staying current is key. Keeping up with the ever-evolving search algorithms (which aren’t always well-documented, and can take some time to puzzle out) is a must. Act in ways the search engines prefer in order to see your dental website rise to the top of the heap.
It’s also important to discover which keywords are ranking well for your website. That way, you can emphasize the right services to appeal to your target audience. Understanding and working closely with Google Analytics and Google Adwords are great places to start this keyword research.
Looking for a helping hand? Doctor Web Solution is prepared to come to your aid. Get in touch with us online!