Potential patients may search for dental offices that are rated highly online, have a significant amount of positive reviews, or provide the services and type of environment they’re seeking when they’re looking for a new dental specialist to book with.
These expectations will vary based on the preferences of the potential patient, along with their current dental needs – this is where inbound marketing comes in, a marketing strategy that is statistically proven to be far more effective than traditional marketing and advertising. If your dental practice fits the needs the searcher is trying to have met, certain keywords they used within their search will bring you to the top of the search results, ultimately optimizing your business as the best, most accurately matched option. After all, the point of SEO is to provide the searcher with the best, most relevant results. Here are 8 ways this method of digital marketing can help you.
1. Solidifies Your Online Presence
If you have a concrete presence online, you will be viewed as an experienced, qualified professional in your industry. This will quickly create a level of trust between you and potential patients looking for quality dental care, not to mention the credibility that comes with being optimized by the search engine, with your name and your services at the top, your competitors below. A solid online presence has the potential to drastically improve your lead generation, and drive local clientele right to your website for simplified conversions.
An online presence isn’t narrowed down to just having a strong website and having it appear in the search results, though this is important, too; your presence online is comprised of your social media activity, blogs, testimonials, keywords, and the strength of it all. All of these factors into your ranking and a great SEO strategy will make sure you stay competitive.
2. Makes You and The Office More Accessible
If your prospects and existing clients are able to easily reach you through a clear, prominently displayed call to action on your home page that will direct them to an appointment booking form in one simple step, it prevents them from having to make a phone call and makes their lives easier in the process. Your potential clients will appreciate this simple step, along with not having to perform an exhaustive search for your contact information or take time out of their busy workday to book an appointment. This benefits your dental practice in a significant way, as well – with our lives being so busy, convenience and ease are huge perks, and if your practice can offer these, you’ll always stand out.
Accessibility also involves being prominent in the search results. A call to action is extremely effective in guiding new patients to you, but without SEO, your clients will have a hard time finding your website in a sea of other dental practices, all campaigning for similar clientele. This is where thorough keyword research comes in – the good news is, it’s easy to research the keywords your competitor uses, in order to keep your SEO campaign competitive!
If your competition uses their keywords more efficiently, chances are they’re going to beat you for best ranking in the search results. Your job is to thoroughly research your keywords so you’re optimized in the search, making you more accessible to all users looking for a dental clinic that fits their current needs – after all, most of the clicks go to the first three results in Google. With a great SEO strategy, you’ll be more accessible than ever to your patients!
3. Better Quality Leads and Improved Lead Generation
If someone is already looking for services and perks that you provide, the need to target and persuade into the conversion from web browser to the patient is lost entirely. Your only responsibility is to make sure the content you are providing is as clear and enticing as possible for your prospective clients that are already looking for someone just like you.
If your blog or website already outlines the needs they want to have met, the effective nature of inbound methodology will do the work for you and help to convert these already qualified leads into clients, with only a little, yet methodical, effort on your part.
4. More Traffic and Visibility
With being optimized and residing at the top of the results the search engine provides, you will receive more visibility, attention, and amount of clicks in any given time period. Thanks to the effective results of search engine optimization, higher volumes of internet traffic provide more potential for you to be exposed to endless new leads, increasing your chances of being able to convert, close, and delight your prospects. By getting more clicks and more views, it’s only a numbers game as to when the amount of people signing up is increased, and when the number of referrals and shares will begin to see a dramatic influx.
Having a local SEO strategy makes this even better – here are some statistics that show the effective nature of a local strategy.
If you want more information on local SEO, get ahold of our free eBook below!
5. Builds Brand Awareness
Even if your dental practice isn’t specific to the needs of some that happen to come across it, the information is still there, and referrals are a powerful thing.
Let’s imagine you’re considering switching dental practices – you have small children that are particularly sensitive to invasive procedures, and are looking for a pediatric office that can accommodate this. You find a great practice, but decide not to switch when you discover it is located on the other side of the city. You think it’s too far for you, but you do have a friend with similar needs that lives in the area. You know she is looking, so you share it on her Facebook page. Now your friend is privy to this information, and so are all of her Facebook friends! This is why it’s so important to not only have an SEO strategy but to have your social media clearly displayed on your website for simplified social sharing.
You do want to be in control of your brand awareness so you control your practice’s reputation, and how it’s perceived – it may seem impossible to control the way potential clients see you, but there is a way to do this effectively.
You can use analytics to assess the impact your current strategy has on your brand – do you receive lots of traffic, and due to this, lots of conversions? Do you find that most web visitors respond to your content, and are intrigued to learn more? If not, an evaluation, and maybe some restructuring is in order – if you have lots of positive engagement, this means you did thorough enough research on your patient’s personas for your brand to resonate with them the way you intended, and that your SEO strategy is paying off!
6. Turn a Browser Into a Lead
Normally when companies are attempting to target their audience more directly than with the utilization of a website or blog, they will turn to popular platforms and use social media marketing through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Having promotional materials consistently on these platforms can be expensive, especially when used on all channels, and don’t always guarantee conversions.
Here’s a great example of a CTA that converts:
Request a Consultation CTA
This is clear, concise, prominent – it even reflects our brand colours!
If you have conveniently placed call-to-actions on your page or blog, this will prompt qualified leads to sign up for your services, while encouraging those in the awareness stage to at least download more information as they work their way through the sales funnel. It’s a lot easier to get someone’s business through an accessible link than it is through an ad that asks more out of your prospect.
It’s one thing to have a CTA on your website that can simplify conversions, but it’s another to have an effective call to action. The characteristics of an impactful CTA are:
- A straightforward, helpful message
- Bright in colour
- Stands out against the page – don’t make it white, or leave it unlined
- Make it guide the customer to the next stage of the buyer’s journey
7. Helps Turn Leads Into Patients
Inbound marketing can easily provide all the conversion tools you need. When a lead expresses interest in becoming a patient by working their way through your links and CTA’s, this leaves a promising and welcome opportunity your dental office can take advantage of. A member of your marketing or sales team can then send an e-mail, make a phone call, or direct message them to make the now easy conversion from a browser to a lead, to a loyal patient!
We just talked about CTA’s in the previous section – now, let’s go over exactly what a CTA does for the conversion process, and how it takes your leads and converts them into patients over a period of time. (If managed correctly)
Once your potential patient clicks on the call to action, it will automatically direct them to a form. This form is created by your company, and can do essentially whatever you set it up to do for your practice – this form can send a request for a consult to your office, or let them sign themselves up for a newsletter in exchange for more of your content.
These are all good things! Now, all you have left to do is nurture your lead in order to pave the way for an easy conversion a little ways down the road. Regularly follow up with them, regularly send content, and make sure you communicate – if they put in a request for a consultation, you’ll want someone on your team to book them as soon as possible!
8. Team Recognition and Company Values
With your office and team on display, you will be naturally motivated to work harder and raise the standards of your office, work environment, technology, and industry knowledge. Your team will feel more motivated with positive reinforcement online, and an influx of new clients to prove it. Productivity will increase – procedures become more efficient, schedules are kept, patients are happy, and the entire team is eager to develop their skills to maintain their great reputation.
9. Increased ROI
This is hugely beneficial for your business. It costs a sizable amount of money to attract new clients, and less money to retain them. If you’re spending less on attracting new clients while online marketing shoulders a lot of this weight for you, you’ll see a dramatically increased return in your investments – and who doesn’t love seeing an increase in finances and business?
