One of the keys to effective website marketing is to make it EASY for visitors to find what they are looking for. If your other marketing and search engine results direct them only to your home page, then they will have to "drill down" through your menus to find what they're looking for. That increases the chances of visitors just hitting the "back" button.
Take them RIGHT to the information they seek. If you're advertising implants in the newspaper (radio, tv, direct mail, etc.) and you simply list your website's address, they'll end up on the home page. Now what? Now they've got to find (usually on another page, deep within your site) where the implant information is. You're making them WORK for it. Bad idea. Web searchers are lazy and impatient. If they can't find what they are looking for in THREE seconds, they're GONE and off to the next website. Make your site "sticky."
The "take home message" is this: Consider registering additional domains specific to what you may be advertising and use them in your traditional marketing. Then forward those domains directly to the relevant webpage deep within your website. Take them RIGHT TO IT. This is called "deep linking." An example of this that I've used is www.BoyntonBeachDentalImplants.com. This is simply a domain that is forwarded / deep-linked to the Dental Implants page on my primary website, www.PalmBeachSmiles.com. So, if I had a newspaper or radio ad about implants I'd use "BoyntonBeachDentalImplants.com" in the ad (instead of PalmBeachSmiles.com) so those prospects would be taken directly to the relevant information. Make sense?
If you want to DOMINATE the web in your area, check out The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists! Be sure to read the testimonials from dentists just like yourself. :-)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Traditional Media Is Dead!
Do you blog? Tweet? Youtube? Facebook? In addition to your website?
Traditional media is all but dead. People are actually starting to disconnect their cable TV subscriptions! Newspapers are going out of business... even the big ones. Magazine sales are down. And, have you noticed that the even the stories on the evening news of the major networks are already "old news?" I watch the news on TV and say, "I already knew that." How? The web!
The internet is immediate! We get our news seconds from when it occurs. We get the latest information about anything at any moment we choose. Why wait? I've been spoiled by the immediacy of the internet and have grown impatient. So, has everyone else.
Does this mean we shouldn't use traditional media at all anymore? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I believe it's all the more important to measure your marketing results carefully. Don't throw good money after bad on traditional media for the sake of... dare I say it? Tradition!
I believe the writing is on the wall about the impending demise of traditional media. What's interesting is that the purveyors of traditional marketing media have not adjusted the costs or seemingly made any effort to save their livelihoods. They're going down with the ship.
A website is the centerpiece of your online marketing. But, social media cannot / should not be ignored. Consumers want the latest news about YOU. A blog or social media page is a great way to stay in touch and on their minds. Today's consumers want to be able to reach out and touch you. They also like authenticity.
Authenticity. I think this is a KEY concept. Most dentists simply don't want to be bothered with making the effort to blog, tweet, or Youtube. And, there are plenty of companies that will do it for you for a fee. I think that's a mistake. I think to be AUTHENTIC, you have to create your own online social content. If it's canned, it won't resonate with your visitors, friends, or fans.
As you may already know, I feel the same about the content of your dental practice website. I understand most dentists won't want to create their own website. But, I DO believe they should write the majority of the CONTENT, if not all of it. Authenticity. Credibility. Congruence. Your online presence needs to ring true. It needs to be congruent with your "real life" presence when patients come through the door and meet you and your team. I don't believe that can be achieved by entirely delegating your online presence to someone else.
"So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Get Busy!" - Rush
Traditional media is all but dead. People are actually starting to disconnect their cable TV subscriptions! Newspapers are going out of business... even the big ones. Magazine sales are down. And, have you noticed that the even the stories on the evening news of the major networks are already "old news?" I watch the news on TV and say, "I already knew that." How? The web!
The internet is immediate! We get our news seconds from when it occurs. We get the latest information about anything at any moment we choose. Why wait? I've been spoiled by the immediacy of the internet and have grown impatient. So, has everyone else.
Does this mean we shouldn't use traditional media at all anymore? Maybe. Maybe not. But, I believe it's all the more important to measure your marketing results carefully. Don't throw good money after bad on traditional media for the sake of... dare I say it? Tradition!
I believe the writing is on the wall about the impending demise of traditional media. What's interesting is that the purveyors of traditional marketing media have not adjusted the costs or seemingly made any effort to save their livelihoods. They're going down with the ship.
A website is the centerpiece of your online marketing. But, social media cannot / should not be ignored. Consumers want the latest news about YOU. A blog or social media page is a great way to stay in touch and on their minds. Today's consumers want to be able to reach out and touch you. They also like authenticity.
Authenticity. I think this is a KEY concept. Most dentists simply don't want to be bothered with making the effort to blog, tweet, or Youtube. And, there are plenty of companies that will do it for you for a fee. I think that's a mistake. I think to be AUTHENTIC, you have to create your own online social content. If it's canned, it won't resonate with your visitors, friends, or fans.
As you may already know, I feel the same about the content of your dental practice website. I understand most dentists won't want to create their own website. But, I DO believe they should write the majority of the CONTENT, if not all of it. Authenticity. Credibility. Congruence. Your online presence needs to ring true. It needs to be congruent with your "real life" presence when patients come through the door and meet you and your team. I don't believe that can be achieved by entirely delegating your online presence to someone else.
"So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Get Busy!" - Rush
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