Are you a dentist looking to reach more patients without breaking the bank? Affordable digital marketing services can be the solution that propels your practice into the digital age, attracting new clients and boosting patient retention. In today’s online-driven world, patients often start their search for dental care through search engines and social media. By investing in strategic digital marketing, dentists can ensure they rank higher in search results, create engaging content that resonates with potential patients, and utilize social media to build a loyal community. Digital marketing also allows for targeted advertising, so you can reach specific demographics in your area. This approach not only saves time and resources but also makes your practice accessible and visible to the right audience, driving growth while keeping costs manageable.
With approximately 200,000 dental businesses in the United States, according to IBISWorld, the dental industry offers patients a vast array of options for care. In such a competitive landscape, effective marketing and outstanding patient service are essential for dentists to stand out. According to Sixth City Marketing, 71% of people search online when looking for a dentist, while Ruler Analytics reports that over 70% of consumers rely on search engines to research treatments and read reviews before choosing a provider. Yet, despite the increasing demand for convenience, only 26% of dental practices offer online booking options, as noted by NexHealth. All of these figures signify the importance of having effective digital marketing strategies for dentists and dental practices.
Importance of Digital Marketing for Dentists
Digital marketing can spread the word about your dental business in your community. It involves doing search engine optimization (SEO), learning about local potential clients’ demands and needs, and quickly and effectively contacting them. As most people use the internet to find new dental services, having a strong digital advertising strategy is critical for growing your practice.
In order to maintain your dental practice’s competitiveness in the modern digital era, you must execute an efficient digital marketing strategy. Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing for dentists is more affordable and effective. While both methods have benefits, focusing on digital marketing can help you increase patient retention and boost your practice’s long-term growth and success.
Key Digital Marketing Strategies That You Should Consider
- Have a clear knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO): This is key for prospective patients to locate you. The goal of SEO is to enhance your online visibility and improve the traffic to your website. With all the competition out there, making sure your dental business stands out online is essential for bringing in new clients and expanding your dental practice. You can boost the number of patients visiting your website and your patient base by putting an SEO strategy into place. To run the practice, you don’t need to be an SEO expert, but having a general grasp of the topic is the first step in implementing digital marketing.
- Use the keywords that patients use: Including pertinent, high-intent keywords is a key aspect of SEO. These are the search terms that your patients enter into Google or another search engine while looking for a new practice. Those keywords can reveal a lot about the interests of your potential patients. The appropriate keywords can increase website visitors. Concentrate on keywords that contain the word “dentist” and any of its conceivable permutations, including those with the name of your dental office, the services you offer, and your location. Learn as much as you can about keywords, from their search volume to their click-through rate, with the use of keyword research tools like SEMrush, Google Trends, and Google Search Console.
- Develop useful and informative content: Your website’s content can set you apart from competing clinics, especially if it responds to queries or search terms that your clients enter into Google. It can increase website traffic, raise your rankings, and foster patient trust. Content options include articles, blogs, how-to manuals, frequently asked questions, newsletters, videos, and more. It may seem daunting to create content, but the key is to begin small and progress from there. These three actions will help you get started.
- Consider the information you want to provide: Is it about the services you provide, what patients may expect at an appointment, or general oral information for all patients?
- You can determine the format once you’ve determined the topics. Start with blog posts or FAQs on your site.
- Establish a timetable that works for you. Write a lengthy blog post every other month or issue a newsletter once a month. Quantity is secondary to quality and consistency.
- Make the most of your Google Business Profile: A Google Business Profile is a powerful tool for increasing patient awareness about your practice. Keep your profile active, including updating it with important details like office hours, holiday hours, reviews and your comments to them, images of your clinic, and helpful connections like a scheduling link. Updating your profile when required will convey that you are concerned about giving people the knowledge they need to choose a healthcare provider.
- Make sure the website is mobile-friendly: Make sure your dental practice’s website appears nicely on mobile devices because Google considers mobile-friendliness a ranking factor. Almost everyone now uses a mobile device. Your website shouldn’t appear clumsy on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices because consumers don’t have the patience to read content or click on links that they can hardly see without enlarging their browser window. They’ll simply switch to a different, more mobile-friendly rival website and contact them. So, your dental office website should be more responsive if you want to attract more patients from the steadily expanding mobile user base.
- Pay attention to local SEO: Location convenience is important to customers. When your practice has a local focus, local SEO aids in its visibility in search engines. List your dental office on local citation sites, internet directories (Yellow Pages, Yelp, and ZocDoc), and dental associations. When looking for a healthcare provider nearby, some patients look in these places. If you are already listed, make sure the data is accurate across the board. Set a reminder to confirm everything every few months or so.
- Optimize your website for speed, accessibility, and navigation for a simple user experience: Although having a clear keyword strategy is important, SEO doesn’t just focus on keywords. Search engine rankings can be affected by usability. More patients will visit your website if it is quick to load, simple to use, and accessible since you are reducing obstacles to inclusion.
Consider the following ideas while assessing the status of your website: - Make sure information is logically structured
- Visitors shouldn’t have much trouble locating the information they need
- Comply with ADA criteria and web content accessibility standards
- Provide headings and subheadings that are Google algorithm-friendly
- Have a sitemap on your mobile-friendly website
- Ensure quick website loading
- Obtain more patient reviews (and respond to them): It is reported that customers trust online reviews 79% of the time. You’ve completed half the effort if your practice already provides a way to gather feedback. For greater exposure, make sure that reviews display on your website, your Google Business profile, Yelp, and social media platforms. It’s vital to keep your patients informed because they’re looking for recommendations in all of these locations. In addition, set aside 30 to 60 minutes to develop a strategy for managing patient reviews if you don’t have a mechanism to collect reviews. Reviews are an effective way to show prospective clients that your practice provides top-notch care.
- Utilize social media platforms: Setting up and maintaining active social media profiles should be a part of any digital dental marketing strategy. Social media enables your practice to maintain constant communication with both existing and prospective patients in your neighborhood. This tactic employs sponsored advertisements rather than organic social media marketing to advertise your practice to prospective customers on their social media feeds. Compared to organic social media marketing, paid social media ads reach more people. These advertisements will be visible to people who do not follow your social media accounts, allowing those who have never heard of your practice to learn about it on social media. Additionally, social media advertising enables you to focus your marketing efforts on a particular target market, such as those who have already searched for a dentist online or local residents.
- Utilize influencer marketing: The most effective Instagram marketing for dentists is producing a wide range of interesting content for your platform, and using influencers is a great way to add something new. Select a local person to serve as a dental influencer for your office in order to reach your target audience. This individual might even be a current patient who has a following in the community, such as a blogger, musician, personal trainer, or photographer. Ask if they would be interested in tagging your dental office in a video describing their most recent dental appointment, or if you could collaborate with them on a giveaway. You can give them discounts on goods, free dental care, or other rewards in exchange. To know more about Instagram marketing for dentists, read our blog: How to Grow Your Dental Office with Instagram Marketing
- Use Email marketing: One tried-and-true digital advertising strategy is email marketing. Emails are still an excellent technique for digital marketing for dental clinics, despite the availability of sophisticated analytics software and all the fancy internet advertising platforms. Prior to sending a patient an email, always obtain their consent. Once they’ve made an appointment, ask them to subscribe to your newsletter. Provide inexpensive incentives, such as exclusive offers or a complimentary PDF. Ultimately, the trust that patients have in a dental clinic determines its success. People are less likely to trust you if your email marketing is overly aggressive or annoying. Second, try to make your emails as unique as you can. Keep them brief and attention-grabbing. Third, stay away from cliches like “free,” “save,” or “incredible deals!” These frequently end up in spam folders, and even if they don’t, most consumers find commercial emails of this nature offensive.
- Use live chat to increase website visitor conversion: Including a live chat feature on your dentistry website is a marketing tactic that is often disregarded. Both present and potential patients desire a quick, simple, and dependable means of contact. Live chat is the ideal option to provide an approachable communication tool in addition to a practice phone number, email, and text messaging. An AI-generated or pre-selected dental chatbot functionality can be integrated into your practice’s website, offering patients the opportunity to speak with a live chat agent if their issues aren’t addressed. This will save your staff time, eliminate pointless phone calls, and increase your practice’s lead generation.
- Show your expertise through blogging: Blogging is a great approach to increase your website’s search engine position and establish authority in the dental industry. You can address common dental issues, debunk myths, and provide advice on preventive care by regularly posting educational and researched blog pieces. A post about “How to Ease Dental Anxiety,” for example, can draw in prospective clients who might otherwise be reluctant to schedule an appointment. Writing posts on particular procedures, like root canals or teeth whitening, can also make prospective patients feel more at ease with your office by letting them know what to expect. Blogs that are optimized with pertinent keywords such as “dental care tips” or “dentist in Chicago” can improve your SEO and make it simpler for people to find your business online.
- Share educational videos on social media and websites: Videos give patients an engaging visual communication experience and an interactive look inside your clinic. For instance, you may make brief videos that introduce your employees, show off the practice space, or demystify standard operating procedures. Before their first appointment, new patients might feel more at ease by watching videos on subjects like “What to Expect During a Dental Check-Up” or “Tips for Maintaining Oral Health.” You may also increase your reach and boost website traffic by sharing these videos on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Your information will reach a wider audience because patients are more inclined to watch and share a video than to read an article.
Digital marketing for dentists is all about increasing a dental practice’s online presence, building patient trust, and attracting more patients with effective digital marketing strategies. However, for many dental practices, budgeting for marketing can be a concern. Working with a provider of affordable digital marketing services ensures you receive high-quality support without overspending. By leveraging cost-effective strategies like SEO, content marketing, and social media, you can boost your practice’s online presence and attract new patients. Incorporating these digital marketing strategies can transform your dental practice by enhancing visibility, building patient trust, and fostering long-term relationships.
