Dental Practice Marketing - Presence

Dental Directories - Marketing on a Local Level

Many local communities, large and small, provide free directories for retailers, professional services, medical services and directories that focus on certain population groups such as children, mothers, senior citizens, teenagers, etc. Many of these local directories are probably free and can be worthwhile. Utilize them whenever possible.

The amount of information that can be displayed may be limited to location and contact information only. In large metropolitan areas there are websites and directory services that specifically focus on medical and dental communities. Los Angeles, CA for example has a directory service for local dentists. Find them and use them. In most instances they are free.

Dental Directories - Marketing on a Regional Level

These directories are similar to local directories but are more encompassing. Some may cover multiple counties and cities or perhaps a metropolitan area that can include suburbs. Depending on the size of the community they may be sub sectioned into medical, dental and/or professional services. These types of directories will also be found within major web portals including Yahoo!^TM, MSN^TM, About^TM, Excite^TM, AOL^TM, etc. Achieving a presence in these types of directories may require a fee. As a general rule standalone regional directories that will probably contain advertising of some kind do not charge a fee for listing medical and dental practices.

Dental Insurance/HMO companies often have regionalized directories. Examples of these include Delta^TM and Blue Cross^TM.

Dental Directories - Marketing on a National Level

On a national scale there are a variety of dental directories that provide listing opportunities for dental practices. Some are free, some require a subscription. A few of the directories provide "specialization opportunities" (cosmetic dentistry, pediatric, orthodontic, etc) and are designed to help prospective patients find your practice "specialty" within a given city or community area.

Various Yellow Page directories are available that provide opportunities for a Dental Practice to either link their existing website or subscribe with a one page "information page" for marketing purposes. Some of these directories are published by regional telecommunication companies such as Bell South^TM and Qwest Communications^TM. Other directories are provided through major webportals. Listing fees usually are required for these highly targeted directory services.

World Wide Web - Internet Wide Dental Marketing

Having a presence on the world wide web, i.e., www.mydentalpractice.com, provides anyone anywhere access to your website and practice. Getting your practice ON the web is not too difficult. Some Doctors develop their own website while others contract with a website developer to achieve this. Some resources are available that can produce a website within just a few hours.

The most frustrating aspect however of owning a website is being found. The use of the various dental directories as mentioned above that are linked to your site is one method of being discovered. Another technique is to have your website URL (address) printed on office stationary, business cards, signage and all forms of correspondence with existing patients.

Perhaps even more frustrating is having a website that is found, but does not generate the traffic and patient interest you are seeking. If this has been your experience, then your "content" and "communication style" probably needs to be modified. A website should be designed to educate and then entice the viewer to contact your office either by phone or email. If it doesn't, then something is wrong. If you need help, contact us.

Many prospective patients use Search engines to find information. These could include Yahoo!^TM, MSN^TM, Excite^TM, Google^TM, AOL^TM, AltaVista^TM and a myriad others. The search engines that are owned or leased by the popular portal sites employ highly specialized search algorithms that index the content of web pages. These specialized search routines essentially analyze the text content of each web page and apply a statistical ranking system to categorize results. Most search engines employ different algorithms and therefore display different results.

Unfortunately, most websites (including dental websites) that are designed to "appeal and deliver" a message are never found because little consideration is given to the technical aspects of a website design. As a general rule, most website development firms employ graphics designers and perhaps a specialist in a particular market sector such a Dentistry. This expertise however does not address the expertise required for understanding search engine behavior and what is referred to as Search Engine Marketing (SEM). There are numerous firms that purport to "get your site listed" or guarantee a "top ten ranking" but few actually deliver. Most of the SEO companies that do deliver however prefer long term relationships with clients that can cost several hundreds of dollars per month. Some guarantee results, most don't.

Three Elements for Successful Internet Dental Marketing

• A dental website should easily attract (via search engines) prospective patients from your community/marketing area who are looking for your talents and expertise
• The website content should be delivered in a format that is easily read and has visual appeal, to capture and retain viewer interest
• Lastly, your website must communicate both verbally and nonverbally that your practice has the dental solutions/services the potential patient is looking for, with a minimum of uncertainty