According to research, around 71% of small businesses (including dentists) currently have a website. But it isn’t simply enough owning one in this day and age. It also needs to be promoted. This is where dental website marketing comes in.
Dental marketing is essential if you are looking to bring in more patients. The average new patient is worth twice the value of an existing patient. For dental practices to continue growth (even smaller solo clinics), they must bring between 24-50 new patients every single month.
Dental websites, or rather, their marketing, play a crucial role in getting new patients through the door. With this in mind, here are four proven ways to leverage your website for effective dental marketing.
#1 – Optimising existing content
It’s fair to say that dental websites and SEO go hand in hand. After all, it’s no good having the best website in the world with outstanding dental content if nobody is seeing it. SEO is a crucial part of any dental marketing strategy. Key points for optimising your existing pages are as follows:
Analyse your existing data – Use Google Analytics or something similar to analyse your existing content. Take a look at where your traffic is coming from and what people are searching for to find it. Then take a look at your competitors’ sites and analyse their keywords. See what’s working for them and include the same.
Conduct further keyword research – Dental website marketing typically starts with keyword research. Even if you haven’t done it with your existing content, it’s never too late to include new keywords into your existing content – see above! If you’re writing new content, make sure you include ‘searched for’ keywords.
On-page SEO – Don’t forget to optimise H1 titles, H2 subheadings, meta descriptions, meta titles, and alt tags.
Backlinking – The key to an excellent backlinking strategy (and dental websites are no exception) is quality over quantity. One backlink from an authoritative and reputable source is better than ten or twenty less credible sites. So reach out to other dental websites or email influencers in your industry and share your article or page with them. Alternatively, point them to a place where you’ve recently shared your content.
#2 Start blogging or take it up a notch
A crucial part of dental marketing is blogging. According to Buffer.com, the ideal length for a blog post is around 1600 words, but that’s only the start. Like backlinking, the key to effective dental blogging is quality over quantity. As a top tip, let’s say you want to write a post on effective ways to keep gum disease at bay. You should be looking at the top posts in this area and trying to better them, either with more information or coming at it from a different perspective. If you churn out ‘so-so’ content, you’ll end up with so-so results. So make your blog posts count.
In terms of dental website marketing frequency, experts suggest that blogging should be carried out around 3-4 times a week.
But let’s be honest, unless you have a dedicated blogging team, you’re going to run out of steam pretty quickly, not to mention time.
Instead, it’s better to stick to a dental marketing strategy that’s achievable. Set the bar too high, and you’re setting yourself up for failure. Therefore, aim for one great post as often as you can manage, and take it from there.
#3 – Include patient reviews
Did you know that 81% of people research online before investing in a service or buying a product? This ultimately means that people are looking at your dental practice website. So while it’s good that your site contains a lot of helpful information on the various treatments and services provided, It’s perhaps even better if you have genuine patient reviews.
Here’s why:
People are genuinely interested in the experiences of others. A 2020 consumer survey suggested that people read seven reviews on average before trusting a business. Because the success or failure of a dental practice is built on trust, it makes sense to garner reviews. But how do you get people to leave a review?
Easy – Politely ask every patient if they wouldn’t mind leaving feedback after treatment. Research suggests that 70% of patients will gladly leave a review if asked. So, for the sake of dental marketing, it’s well worth training your team to ask the question.
Dental websites containing reviews are great, but the trick is to obtain new reviews. Why? Because you’ll be better rewarded.
For example, did you know that new reviews can help improve your Google search engine rankings? It’s true! Research suggests that once you reach ten positive reviews, your localised listing is likely to move up the rankings in Google.
Want to improve your dental website marketing? Accumulate a raft of positive reviews!
#4 – Upgrade your dental website design
Successful dental websites are the ones that look fresh and appealing. It’s hard to show this aspect when your last website revamp was a decade ago. So what’s a new website to do with dental marketing?
Technology moves so fast – so what was once yesterday’s next best thing is now today’s old hat. Unfortunately, dental websites are no exception. Old websites are likely to be slow and cumbersome and are not conducive to today’s visitor expectations. Nowadays, visitors expect a website to load in three seconds or less. Anything more, and they’ll be clicking off quicker than you can say, ‘osseointegration.’ Successful dental marketing is all about the user experience, and that starts with your website.
If you haven’t had a website revamp in some time, perhaps now is the time to invest in change.
So there you have it, 4 key strategies for effective dental website marketing.
If you are struggling to get new patients through your door and would like a helping hand, talk to Mediboost. We’re among Australia’s top healthcare marketing agencies for patient growth and have helped dozens of dental businesses like yours improve their dental marketing strategies and increase patient footfall.
Call us today, and let’s talk about how we can help you. Phone on 1300 163 058 or book a strategy consultation online
References:
PR Newswire – 28% Of Businesses Don’t Have A Website according To New Survey Data
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/28-of-small-businesses-dont-have-a-website-according-to-new-survey-data-301226897.html
Oral Health Group – Know Your Numbers For Dental Practice Growth
https://www.oralhealthgroup.com-features/know-your-numbers-for-dental-practice-growth-top-5-metrics-to-help-you-prevail-through-turbulent-times
Buffer.com – The Optimal Lengthy Of Every Social Media Update and More
https://buffer.com/library/optimal-length-social-media
Hubspot.com – Blogging frequency Benchmarks
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/blogging-frequency-benchmarks
Transaction Agency – Statistical Info For Online Retail Habits
https://transaction.agency/ecommerce-statistics/81-of-shoppers-research-their-product-online-before-purchasing/
Local Consumer Review Survey 2020
https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey
Search Engine Land – 70% Of Customers Will Leave A Review If Asked
https://searchengineland.com/70-consumers-will-leave-review-business-asked-262802
