Dental Practice Marketing - Methods

Free Dental Directories

A good way to get started looking for free directory services is to use the popular search engines and simply search for "dental directory" or, if you are looking for a specialty directory, "cosmetic dental directory." Try including variations of your city and/or state. Some of the major web portals have dentist directory sections where dentist directories are listed.

The opportunity to list details of your practice or your favorite procedures will probably be limited.

Subscription based Dental Directories

If you are interested in providing more details of your practice then the subscription based directories may be the perfect choice. Some directories offer website development services or the opportunity to have a mini-website at nominal cost. If obtaining a website is a major goal and you choose to work with a directory service, avoid the directories that tend to be deep linked or operate off of a database.

Some of the directory services specialize in maintaining a high ranking position in search engines which can be helpful in promoting your practice listing and your website, if you have it linked. Dental directory services usually manage the headache of maintaining top ranking positions.

Free Submissions to Search Engines

Promoting a website: If you visit most of the major search engines you should be able to locate free submission services. They are fairly limited and usually provide an offer for a "deluxe service" that costs a few dollars. There is an inherent danger in using these services frequently. Some search engines will penalize a website that gets submitted too often and will either remove the site from it's index or "bury" the ranking. Some search engines are now adopting procedures to bar automatic submissions.

Paid Submissions to Search Engines

Promoting a website: Many firms exist that promote what appears to be "bargain basement" pricing for "guaranteed traffic." Most of these services use automated software and can be risky to use, as explained above. If the service involves manual submissions, it is probably worth considering. Beware of the "1500 search engines for $XX.XX!!" deals. Most of those are "link" sites that will start sending you junk mail. The more exacting and comprehensive the submission service, the higher the fee. You get what you pay for. As the old saying goes... if it sounds too good to be true.. it probably is.

Sponsored Links in Search Engines

Promoting a website: Most of the major "portals" (MSN^TM, Yahoo!^TM, AOL^TM, Alta Vista^TM, Google^TM and others) have "sponsored link" programs that enable you to have a special link pop up when certain dental terms are contained in the search phrase (e.g., "los angeles dentist"). The fee charged is based on how many times your link appears. Still others have programs where you "pay per click" which can be cost effective in some cases.

Banners

Promoting a website: Banner advertising is no longer what it was once touted to be. Response rates are dismal. In some cases it can be effective as in the case where you have a banner linked with a special combination of search terms in a major search engine. Costs for deployment in a major search engine portal however can be quite pricey. When is the last time you clicked on a banner ad?