Do Dentists Need A Website?

Patients will migrate to dentists who 'seem' to be popular. You don't believe us? Well, image is everything nowadays. Even as a dentists. Conclusion: Dentists need to spend their Marketing budget more wisely, and get into more marketing activities at the same time. But which ones? More advertising in which magazines? More direct mail campaigns in which zip codes? Do I need a dental website or a relaunch of my old website? How do I convert the 'curious' patient into the 'visiting and paying' patient? etc.etc. So many questions, so many answers?

No, there are not that many answers. Just analyze the marketing activities that work: Direct mail campaigns are still very successful, ads in regional magazines are certainly no waste of money, too, and a 'good' website definitely drives new patients to your practice. But what is a 'good' website? !

Your website is a vitally important part of a comprehensive marketing plan. It is a great way to build and improve your image, find new patients, educate your patients and provide information for individuals who have received one of your printed marketing pieces. So, what is a 'successful' website? Not just a good ‘looking’ one! A 'successful' good website is the sum of many factors, including customer-friendly navigation, attractive design, the right keywords, interesting content, technical matters etc.

The Internet has changed the way people communicate and interact with each other. It has changed the way businesses communicate with current and potential clients, also for businesses like dental or medical practices. What amazes us most is that after 20 years of computers and 10 years of Internet, we still find dentists, who don’t even own a computer or have access to the Internet in their practice. If you want to build an image around you, attract sophisticated and paying patients, retain employees and obtain patient referrals, and you do not use the internet, you will have a very hard time to catch up with all the hungry, internet savyy dentists pushing into the market every day.

Did you know that 52% of people who see an online video ad go to a website, visit a physical location, or buy something." This amazing statistic is from the Frames of Reference Study in 2007 by the Online Publishers Association. How would you like to increase your patients by a whopping 52%?

There is so much new patient potential out there, but a nice looking website is just not enough. Keep in mind: No Traffic - No Demand - No Patients! As a dentist you not only need a website, you need an internet presence which converts the 'curious' into 'patients": Find it. Like it. Buy it!

Some quick advise about web design: Do not try to build your website yourself! Ask a professional web designer and content writer to build a high ranked website. In any case, they should offer not only an easy-to-use content management system (i.e. typo 3), but also affordable SEO services (i.e. reverse keyword searches). Avoid pay-per-click campaigns - your competitors love to push your budget to the limit by clicking on your ad - and/or other paid Google ads at the beginning. Instead, go for the right keywords and test your web site for at least 3 months. Implement a video and some other funky stuff (i.e. educational games for kids). Remember, the more often you change the content in your website, the higher you get ranked. When you see positive results, you can go with paid ad campaigns, but keep in mind: your patients do not look for ads, they look for advise!