Dental marketing is an important part of any dental practice. The goal of good marketing is to attract potential patients and capture their information. While there are many components to good marketing strategies for your dental practice, your website is central to your marketing efforts. Your website is the place where potential patients will decide whether or not to book an appointment. It is also the place where all other marketing efforts funnel prospective patients. In short, your website is the primary place where lead conversion occurs.
Developing an attractive and purposeful website serves your entire marketing strategy. Your website should make it easy for patients to know what they need to do and easy to do it. To guarantee that your website can help you reach these goals, it should consist of essential design features and specialty-specific content that attracts, retains, and converts web visitors to active patients.
Here are five key elements that every good dental website needs to reach its marketing potential:
1. High-quality and Relevant Content
The content on your website tells the story of your practice and what you have to offer. A user-friendly site with trustworthy content creates a perception of professionalism and care, reinforcing the credibility of your practice in the eyes of potential patients.
Make content digestible by using headers to break up text and keep sentences short.
When possible, present information in list form, as this is more readable than a large block of text.
Make sure your site is easy for first-time visitors to navigate. Patients are more likely to trust a dental practice with a website that is easy to understand and uses credible content. Make sure to cite information from trusted sources such as the American Dental Association.
2. Focus on SEO and Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for getting potential patients from search engines to your dental website. Implementing SEO best practices in your website design can optimize your site for Google's algorithms, improving your chances of moving past competitors in search rankings.
Designing a website with SEO in mind involves including strategic components that are crucial to impact your search engine rankings, such as:
streamlined URLs
specific meta tags
enhanced security
mobile optimization
Keywords
Alongside diligent technical SEO, content optimization is critical for every page of your dental website. Concentrate on incorporating location-specific keywords and those targeting your specialties. Opt for high-value keywords in your content to enhance visibility. For instance, an oral surgeon could optimize their website with keywords like:
Oral surgeon near me
Oral surgeon in [city]
Wisdom teeth removal
Creating strategic on-page content and technical SEO optimizes your dental website, enhancing its authority in the eyes of Google's algorithm. This approach boosts your site's ranking in search engine results for relevant keywords, increasing visibility and attracting more potential patients.
3. Opt for a Predesigned Template but Keep it Fresh and Custom
Exceptional dental web design doesn't necessarily mean building from the ground up. Opting for a predesigned dental website is time-saving and allows ample customization to suit your aesthetic preferences. By prioritizing dental SEO within these sites, you can achieve a balance of low maintenance and high performance for your website.
At Edify Dental Marketing, we can help you select between a pre-designed template or a custom-designed site. Our templates allow for customization, including your practice's brand colors and fonts and the addition of unique features. When you partner with us for your website needs, you get ongoing collaboration and support, enabling you to make updates and adjustments as necessary.
4. Maintain a Regular Blog
Incorporating a dental blog on your website greatly increases your on-page SEO. Regular blogging is one of the most effective tactics for boosting your website's search ranking.
Publishing engaging and informative content signals to Google's algorithm that your site is a credible source. Blogging also presents opportunities to further optimize your site by creating more content to embed important keywords.
Consistency is the key to blogging success. Many dentists underutilize their blogs, missing out on a prime opportunity f to differentiate their practice from the competition. Despite the benefits of having a custom dental blog, many dentists forgo having one due to time constraints and limited resources that pose challenges for dentists eager to start a blog.
If you're facing these hurdles, consider contacting Edify Dental Marketing. We specialize in SEO-friendly custom copywriting. Partnering with professionals who understand the nuances of dental marketing can be one of the most effective investments you can make, helping you maximize your online presence and attract more patients.
5. Invest in Custom Photography
Elevate your dental web design using high-quality, custom photographs rather than the typical stock images many sites use. Hiring a local photographer specializing in healthcare can add a personal touch, capturing both professional staff portraits and relaxed, candid shots within your office. This approach personalizes your site and sets it apart in the crowded field of dental websites.
A personalized site can significantly enhance your practice's trustworthiness and appeal to potential patients. Using custom photography in various aspects of your site, such as staff bios, office tours, and the homepage, adds a genuine and inviting touch.
To discover how Edify Dental Marketing can help you grow your dental practice and create a customized website for your practice, reach out to our team for a free marketing assessment with a marketing specialist.
Jared Allen, co-founder of Edify Dental Marketing, offers clients years of experience in practice consulting and business growth. He is dedicated to assisting dental practices in improving their efficiency, achieving greater success, and drawing in new patients.