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In this day and age businesses that invest in their marketing are thirteen times more likely to see a positive return on investment. In recent years, internet marketing has become a key task for many businesses.
Smartphones are very influential and almost every business is moving towards an Internet Marketing strategy.
Nowadays, people almost search for anything they want to learn about or they are looking for. So you need to be visible in the search results, as well as social media and email inboxes.
But how can you use this idea in dentist internet marketing? In this article, we would like to discuss that.
What is Online Marketing and How Does it Help a Dentist?
Online Marketing, also known as internet marketing, is the process of promoting a brand, business, and the services or products it offers on the internet to reach out to more people and ultimately increase the number of sales.
Internet marketing is broad. However, it includes marketing strategies such as email marketing, content marketing, and advertising.
But how can a dentist benefit from the internet and get more patients? And why should a dentist rely on dentist online marketing?
Well, as a dentist, you need new patients to stay in the business and enjoy the positive return on investment of your business. 46% of millennials trust social media and the internet to make their decisions and in the near future, they will be the ones making all health decisions for the family.
Thus, internet marketing is very important. All of them have smartphones and use them on a daily basis to interact with each other and the world they live in. This, of course, includes searching for healthcare providers like dentists. Whether they want to find the nearest dentist, read reviews on them or schedule an appointment, the internet is the main tool being utilized.
That’s why you need to have a deep understanding of the internet and how it can help bring in new patients. So, how can you utilize dentist internet marketing?
1. SEO Marketing for Dentists
Having a website is the gateway to internet marketing. More than 80% of non-referral based leads in the industry begin with a simple online search. Today yellow pages have been replaced by Google and this has opened up a whole new world for marketing.
Whether you are planning to hire a marketing company or not, knowing the basics of dentist internet marketing is a great start. Below, we have selected 3 important steps to have a successful dentist online marketing.
Start a SEO Optimized Website
As mentioned above, the dentist internet marketing has to start with your website. As a dental care provider, your website must be SEO optimized to drive in new patients from search engines such as Google.
For example, if you are based in Toronto when someone searches for “dentists in Toronto” your website should pop-up in the list so that they can click on your website and book an appointment.
If you don’t have a website, start a website now. You can create a website with WordPress at a very small cost.
If you already have a WordPress website, try getting the site structure right. Start with using themes such as Publihser that are as SEO optimized as possible.
Also, pay attention to your content. We discuss that further below.
Content Marketing
As you probably know, your website should provide visitors with the basic information they need to know. For example, your address, contact information and the services you provide. But that’s just the basics, how can you turn your website into a hub of resources?
Well, you can start publishing useful information about dental hygiene in blog posts. Many people have questions about dental care and as an expert, you can answer their questions in the blog posts.
You may ask how can this lead to new patients? When visitors read your blog posts and trust in your knowledge and see that you are providing them with useful information, they will know that you are the right dentist for them.
Besides, content marketing can also help with the SEO of your website.
Local SEO
In another article, we have explained what is local SEO in depth. As mentioned in the example above, whenever someone searches for “dentists in Toronto” your website and location will only show up if you have invested time and money into configuring the local SEO of your clinic.
With local SEO, your physical address will be pinned on Google Maps and potential patients could easily click on it to get directions.
But how can you make the most use out of local SEO?
You need to sign up to Google My Business, manage Google reviews and ratings, put keywords in your business title and most importantly check your registered information on Google and make sure it’s correct.
2. Email Marketing
Not every single person who visits your website is guaranteed to be the next patient. In order to make that happen, you need to encourage them to sign up for the email newsletter so that you have a channel to keep them in contact. Maybe one day, they turn to customers.
By sending weekly or monthly newsletters you can ensure that people who have signed up on your newsletter don’t forget about you and when the time comes, they will book an appointment with you.
3. Social Media Marketing for Dentists
You shouldn’t forget about social media. According to Statista, in 2019 alone 79% of Americans are on social media. Thus, you need to be where most of your potential patients are.
However, not all social media platforms have been created equal. You should only target those that are easy to work with and most individuals spend their time on. For example, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great places for sharing dental health tips and articles.
Furthermore, setting up your social media accounts alone isn’t enough. There are simply too many possibilities in each of the mentioned social media. You need to communicate effectively and regularly with potential patients. Answer their questions, stream a few of your sessions on Facebook and Instagram, etc, and use a WordPress social proof plugin to show them on your site.
You need to stay as connected as possible to people who follow you. If it’s necessary you may hire people who are experts in this field and would take care of your social media accounts for a monthly fee.
4.PPC Advertising for Dentists
Pay-per-click or PPC for short is a great and appealing method of advertising in any genre. Especially for dentists.
You could use Google Adwords PPC to reach new patients. The way Google Adwords works is almost genius. It shows your ad only to those who have searched for the keyword and phrase you are running ads for.
PPC advertising is very effective and works in an interesting way. You will only be charged whenever someone clicks on your ads. Plus, it allows you to set a daily budget. Not only you can run ads on Google, but you can create campaigns on Facebook and Instagram and target your audience and get charged every time they click on the ad.