A thriving dental practice relies on a steady influx of new patients to maintain profitability. However, simply establishing your clinic and listing it in an online directory is rarely enough in today’s competitive landscape.
For one, the dental industry is saturated with options, so practitioners must actively engage potential clients. Without investing adequate effort and resources in marketing, you may risk losing prospective patients to more visible competitors.
Don’t let your practice fall behind. Consider implementing the following dental marketing ideas to boost brand awareness, stand out, and attract new patients.
Build an Effective Dental Website
Nowadays, it’s almost compulsory to have a website. Studies show that 76% of consumers consider a business’s online presence before physically visiting their premises. That said, having a dental website isn’t much of an option. (1)
Here are some fundamental considerations to take into account when building your dental website:
When patients visit your website, they want quick responses and easy navigation. Getting information from your website shouldn’t feel like rocket science.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization for Dental Clinics is Essential
Search engine optimization helps improve your ranking on search engine results pages, increasing the chances of dental patients visiting your clinic. On-page dental SEO strategies include incorporating keywords in the content, maximizing internal and external linking, and creating easy-to-understand URLs. Meanwhile, off-page SEO strategies include enhancing your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), building quality backlinks, guest blogging, and content marketing.
Use our FREE dental marketing blog to stay updated on the latest trends. This will help ensure the success of your dental marketing campaigns.
Mobile Responsiveness
In the first quarter of 2024, 93.7% of people worldwide accessed the internet via smartphones, highlighting that mobile responsiveness is crucial. So, if your website doesn’t display well on mobile devices, it may not attract users’ attention. (2)
Fast Loading Speeds
It’s a fast-paced world; most web users won’t wait more than three seconds for your pages to load. So, ensure your website is fast-loading to avoid losing potential leads.
A well-designed dental website is crucial to your marketing strategy and significantly enhances your practice’s credibility. However, creating one may be time-consuming and require some level of expertise. In that case, partnering with a reputable agency such as Best Results Dental Marketing, which specializes in marketing for dentists, can help you develop a website that effectively generates leads and new patients.
You’re missing out on ranking potential if you haven’t done so
Set Up Your Google My Business Profile
About 56% of local businesses haven’t claimed their Google My Business listing. You’re missing out on ranking potential if you haven’t done so. GMB drives over 50% of the traffic for local businesses. (3)
By optimizing your GMB profile, you can increase your practice’s visibility in Google search results, amplifying your dental marketing efforts. When potential patients search for dental services in your area, your GMB listing will display crucial information such as your phone number, website, address, hours of operation, and review ratings directly on the search engine results pages (SERPs). Your business will also show up in Google Maps searches, which could lead to increased patient inquiries and appointments.
Consider these tips to create a highly effective GMB profile:
Complete Every Section
A complete GMB profile improves your rank and increases conversions. So, ensure you provide all the required details, including name, address, phone, website, hours of operation, products and services, category and attributes from the business, questions and answers, posts, and reviews.
Add Relevant Photos
Businesses with photos on their GMB profile receive 42% more requests for driving directions on Google Maps and get 35% more clicks to their websites. So, add high-quality photos showcasing your dental practice; it could be images of your clinic, your staff offering dental services, or before-and-after photos of patients. (4)
Add Correct Contact Information
Ensure consistency in your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all online platforms.
Choose a Category
Selecting a category lets you add category-specific features that make your GMB profile more attractive and effective. For example, selecting “Dentist” or “Dental Clinic” allows you to showcase specific attributes like “Accepts new patients.”
Get Google Reviews
Online reviews can greatly influence potential patient perceptions. If the majority found your practice worth it, it boosts their confidence in visiting your dental office for treatment.
Post regularly
You must post frequently on your GMB profile, like on social media platforms or your blog. The posts could be about events, offers, new products, or announcements.
These strategies can help you rank highly on local search results. You can even appear on the coveted Google’s 3-pack. And you’re likely to expand your patient base your way.
Social Media Marketing
Dental social media marketing has become essential for dentists looking to expand their practice and engage with prospective and current patients. With social media profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you can easily showcase your services and share success stories, which can help build trust and authority in your field. You can also create educational content that addresses common dental issues and treatment; this can help demystify dental procedures and reduce patient anxieties.
Remember, engagement is key. So, actively respond to comments and messages to create a friendly and accessible image. Additionally, leverage user-generated content, such as patient testimonials and reviews, to enhance credibility and attract new patients.
Finally, depending on the nature of your practice, consider paid social media ads to target specific demographics, such as families or older adults. This targeted approach to digital dental marketing ensures the right people see your content, which is key to building a successful dental practice.
Conclusion
Marketing for dentists shouldn’t feel like rocket science; it’s all about knowing your audience and crafting messages that resonate with their needs and concerns. While implementing these dental marketing strategies for patient acquisition, focus on creating genuine connections rather than adopting an overly sales-driven approach. Your goal should demonstrate how your practice can address patients’ dental problems and improve their oral health. Remember, people are more likely to choose—and remain loyal to—a dental practice they trust and understand their needs.
References:
- “76% of Consumers Look at Online Presence Before Physically Visiting a Business”, Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/It’sf-consumers-look-at-online-presence-before-physically-visiting-a-business-30127it’s.html#:~:text=Visual%20Objects%20found%20that%2076%25%20of%20consumers%20search,in-person%20after%20finding%20them%20through%20a%20local%20search.
- “Share of users worldwide accessing the internet in 1st quarter 2024, by device”, Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1289755/internet-access-by-device-worldwide/patients’As%20of%20the%20first%20quarter%20of%202024%2C%20around,while%2093.7%20percent%20reported%20doing%20so%20via%20smartphones.
- “Key Google My Business statistics: Boost Your Local Business Success”, Source: https://worldmetrics.org/google-my-business-statistics/
- “Google Business Profile: How to Completely Optimi“e Your GBP Listing”, Source: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/local-seo/opt”mize-google-my-business/