Happy holidays everyone!
Recently, I wrote on my dental practice blog about the celebrity TV doctor, Dr. Oz. He is a well-known "Oprah-fied" health expert who is very popular. Recently, he blogged about how people can whiten their teeth with home remedies without seeing a dentist. Frankly the advice he gave was DANGEROUS. The Hippocratic oath (do no harm) be damned. Saving a few hundred dollars justifies the advice that will result in tooth damage.
The title of my blog entry is "Don't listen to Dr. Oz about teeth whitening!" If you're interested in Dr. Oz's crazy ideas about teeth whitening, click on the link in this sentence.
The purpose of this blog post is to demonstrate how you can take advantage of a marketing opportunity. By staying current with what is at the forefront of healthcare in the media, you can ride the coattails, so to speak. Even better, you establish yourself as the "expert." Think about it... I'm REFUTING the venerable Dr. Oz! Demonstrating your own expertise in your own words, is powerful. You can leverage hot topics in the media to make yourself THE dentist in your community.
I've had some requests to copy my blog for their own use. Besides being a copyright issue, it is a matter of credibility. Establishing your OWN credibility is CRUCIAL. Don't outsource your expertise. BE the expert!
I’ve long contended that your website, blog, social media posts, etc… should be written by you – in your own words – just like you talk. If someone else writes your content, and then your visitors (prospective patients) actually meet you, there’s a disparity in style, vocabulary, tone, etc. Or, it could be your existing patients (who already know you) reading your content thinking, “This doesn’t sound like Dr. Smith.” It undermines your credibility.
I believe people respond better to content written in a familiar or conversational style (rather than artificially formal or verbose). Be yourself! Write like YOU talk. That way your web presence and in-person style and personality are congruent. Incongruity = no credibility!
Go get'em!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Everyone's Talking About Social Media
There's good reason the marketing world is abuzz with Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Digg, Flickr, Stumbleupon, and others offer a dizzying array of sites. And, the dental community is rather fickle. We tend to embrace the latest thing, until the next latest thing comes along. Now, it's fair to say at this point that social media is here to stay. Personally, I've been involved with some form of online social media since around 1992.
Dentists are always looking for the next greatest way to build our practices. And, that's a good thing. My concern is that in some circles, social media is promoted as the ONLY thing you need. My position is that it is part of the puzzle. But, it's not the whole online puzzle.
I contend that a GOOD website is the central player in an online marketing strategy. Social media, by itself, will fall short in my opinion. In fact, I believe that the primary purpose of social media for a dentist should be to drive traffic to your website.
Your website offers the opportunity to write your "sales letter." Most dentists recoil at the mere mention of "sales." But, we are simply talking about business here. We ARE in business. And, our goal in marketing is to help prospects understand why they should choose our practices over all the others. Our websites give us an opportunity to let visitors see why we are a good match. Why should they choose our practices? They have MANY choices. Why should they choose YOUR practice?
Social media can be a very effective way to get people's attention and offer them some insight about your personality and philosophy. But, social media is typically limited to short bits of communication. It's "short attention-span theater." And, that's OK! If you can master the art of saying a lot in a short piece, you will have their attention. That's when you direct them to your website where you can lead them down the path to choosing your practice as an informed consumer.
You should also realize that to truly maximize your results from social media, it will take a LOT of your TIME. It takes a fair bit of commitment. And, it takes time to see results.
In conclusion, I say jump in! Test the waters. Remember that your goal should be to drive traffic to your website. So, don't neglect your website. Social media is NOT a replacement for a good website. But, it can enhance your dental website success.
Next time, I'll talk about my experience with social media advertising (such as Facebook ads).ti
Dentists are always looking for the next greatest way to build our practices. And, that's a good thing. My concern is that in some circles, social media is promoted as the ONLY thing you need. My position is that it is part of the puzzle. But, it's not the whole online puzzle.
I contend that a GOOD website is the central player in an online marketing strategy. Social media, by itself, will fall short in my opinion. In fact, I believe that the primary purpose of social media for a dentist should be to drive traffic to your website.
Your website offers the opportunity to write your "sales letter." Most dentists recoil at the mere mention of "sales." But, we are simply talking about business here. We ARE in business. And, our goal in marketing is to help prospects understand why they should choose our practices over all the others. Our websites give us an opportunity to let visitors see why we are a good match. Why should they choose our practices? They have MANY choices. Why should they choose YOUR practice?
Social media can be a very effective way to get people's attention and offer them some insight about your personality and philosophy. But, social media is typically limited to short bits of communication. It's "short attention-span theater." And, that's OK! If you can master the art of saying a lot in a short piece, you will have their attention. That's when you direct them to your website where you can lead them down the path to choosing your practice as an informed consumer.
You should also realize that to truly maximize your results from social media, it will take a LOT of your TIME. It takes a fair bit of commitment. And, it takes time to see results.
In conclusion, I say jump in! Test the waters. Remember that your goal should be to drive traffic to your website. So, don't neglect your website. Social media is NOT a replacement for a good website. But, it can enhance your dental website success.
Next time, I'll talk about my experience with social media advertising (such as Facebook ads).ti
Monday, June 28, 2010
You Need 'Mad Phone Skillz' to Convert Callers
New patient today moved up from Miami to Boynton Beach. He was referred by another dentist down in the Miami area. The name was vaguely familiar to me, but I can’t say I know who he is, exactly. I suspect it’s a Dentaltown dentist who knows me from my online presence there. This happens fairly frequently.
Anyway, after today’s initial examination, the patient says to me in a bit of a hushed voice, “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”
Mmm-kay.
“I just wanted to tell you that when I called last Friday, nobody was here.”
Yes, we’re closed on Fridays.
“Well, I admit I was impatient, so I called another office and made an appointment. But, after that, I called your office the next Monday anyway. And, that’s when I spoke to Jo-Ann. And, she was such a joy on the phone… I made an appointment here and canceled the other one.”
My FD / OM is a jewel. Everyone should have a Jo-Ann. She DOES “smile through the phone.” She loves her job, and she loves people. This can't be faked, but people can certainly pick it up over the phone. And, it's contagious.
Marketing, such as a great website or a great direct mail piece can convert prospects into callers. But, the deal is closed on the phone. Who answers, and how she answers, can make or break you. It’s a lesson that merits repetition even to those of us who think we have it all figured out. :-)
Is your website converting visitors into callers? Learn more: www.RevUpMyMarketing.com
Anyway, after today’s initial examination, the patient says to me in a bit of a hushed voice, “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”
Mmm-kay.
“I just wanted to tell you that when I called last Friday, nobody was here.”
Yes, we’re closed on Fridays.
“Well, I admit I was impatient, so I called another office and made an appointment. But, after that, I called your office the next Monday anyway. And, that’s when I spoke to Jo-Ann. And, she was such a joy on the phone… I made an appointment here and canceled the other one.”
My FD / OM is a jewel. Everyone should have a Jo-Ann. She DOES “smile through the phone.” She loves her job, and she loves people. This can't be faked, but people can certainly pick it up over the phone. And, it's contagious.
Marketing, such as a great website or a great direct mail piece can convert prospects into callers. But, the deal is closed on the phone. Who answers, and how she answers, can make or break you. It’s a lesson that merits repetition even to those of us who think we have it all figured out. :-)
Is your website converting visitors into callers? Learn more: www.RevUpMyMarketing.com
Sunday, May 23, 2010
What is the purpose of the Description Meta Tag?
I got this great question on DentalTown.com and thought it was worth reposting here.
Quote: (dentmom)
Mike, we use WordPress for our site and they added an SEO feature for our template where I can do my own tags so I'm starting down that road. In your book (p52) you give instructions on how to do a description tag. You use your own site as an example and on one line it says "See before & after pictures of actual cases". I wouldn't have thought patients would search on "Before and Afters" so have you pinpointed that they are (which is why those words are in your description) or is it just part of the overall summary you are trying to create? I'm finding it harder than I thought to do descriptions for each page.
Great question, Sandi!
The description tag serves two purposes, actually. The first is an SEO function, which is to provide another place for key words that match up with the web surfer's search terms. And, yes... visitors to my website used "before and after" in their search several hundred times in the last year.
But, there is a second purpose for the description tag. It's not a place to just stuff keywords. It's something searchers will READ when choosing which link to click on when perusing a page of search results. It is definitely worth the effort to create unique tags for EACH page.
So, you want to have some good keywords in it, but you ALSO want it to be readable by searchers and to be MEANINGFUL. It should compel the searcher to choose your link over the others on the search results page. Make sense? Let me see if I can come up with some examples.
OK... searched for "porcelain veneers boynton beach." Of the 10 results on the first page, I've got #'s 1 - 4. OK... here's one of my listings. Notice that in both the title and descriptions, the keywords are bolded.
Now... think like a consumer as you read my listing above. Then compare it to another listing on the same page of results. (I've blurred the names to protect the guilty!):
As you read this (again as a consumer), is it as compelling? Which are you more likely to click on? This is where it doesn't matter so much if you're #1 or #5 on the first page. Even if the 2nd example was listed higher than mine, I believe mine would get more clicks.
OK... Let's search for a more mundane service like "root canals boynton beach." In this search, I got #1 and #2 in the search results page. Let's look at my #1 listing:
What?? Root canals feel GOOD?? That's crazy talk! But, it's definitely an attention-getter, right? The third sentence is also a very succinct summary of the BENEFITS of root canal treatment. Who wouldn't want to click on this one, eh? Again... notice that the keywords are bolded. So, my description tag has good keyword density AND is readable by humans as a coherent marketing message.
Now... here's a listing by a local endodontist. Again, names blurred to protect the guilty.
What is compelling about this listing? As a consumer... between the two listings.... which would you click on first?
Hopefully, this will help explain how meta tag strategies can be a BIG part of your website effectiveness. And, that can translate to significant revenues.
Thanks for the great question! This is the kind of stuff you MUST know about when you hire someone to create your website. If they don't do it for you, and you don't know about it... You are flying blindly and LOSING MONEY. Educate yourself with The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
Mike
Quote: (dentmom)
Mike, we use WordPress for our site and they added an SEO feature for our template where I can do my own tags so I'm starting down that road. In your book (p52) you give instructions on how to do a description tag. You use your own site as an example and on one line it says "See before & after pictures of actual cases". I wouldn't have thought patients would search on "Before and Afters" so have you pinpointed that they are (which is why those words are in your description) or is it just part of the overall summary you are trying to create? I'm finding it harder than I thought to do descriptions for each page.
Great question, Sandi!
The description tag serves two purposes, actually. The first is an SEO function, which is to provide another place for key words that match up with the web surfer's search terms. And, yes... visitors to my website used "before and after" in their search several hundred times in the last year.
But, there is a second purpose for the description tag. It's not a place to just stuff keywords. It's something searchers will READ when choosing which link to click on when perusing a page of search results. It is definitely worth the effort to create unique tags for EACH page.
So, you want to have some good keywords in it, but you ALSO want it to be readable by searchers and to be MEANINGFUL. It should compel the searcher to choose your link over the others on the search results page. Make sense? Let me see if I can come up with some examples.
OK... searched for "porcelain veneers boynton beach." Of the 10 results on the first page, I've got #'s 1 - 4. OK... here's one of my listings. Notice that in both the title and descriptions, the keywords are bolded.
As you read this (again as a consumer), is it as compelling? Which are you more likely to click on? This is where it doesn't matter so much if you're #1 or #5 on the first page. Even if the 2nd example was listed higher than mine, I believe mine would get more clicks.
OK... Let's search for a more mundane service like "root canals boynton beach." In this search, I got #1 and #2 in the search results page. Let's look at my #1 listing:
What?? Root canals feel GOOD?? That's crazy talk! But, it's definitely an attention-getter, right? The third sentence is also a very succinct summary of the BENEFITS of root canal treatment. Who wouldn't want to click on this one, eh? Again... notice that the keywords are bolded. So, my description tag has good keyword density AND is readable by humans as a coherent marketing message.
Now... here's a listing by a local endodontist. Again, names blurred to protect the guilty.
What is compelling about this listing? As a consumer... between the two listings.... which would you click on first?
Hopefully, this will help explain how meta tag strategies can be a BIG part of your website effectiveness. And, that can translate to significant revenues.
Thanks for the great question! This is the kind of stuff you MUST know about when you hire someone to create your website. If they don't do it for you, and you don't know about it... You are flying blindly and LOSING MONEY. Educate yourself with The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
Mike
Monday, May 10, 2010
Compelling Content.... matters more than a pretty website
Sometimes, dentists will look at my practice website and snicker over the home-spun appearance and content. Dentists, generally, like websites that have cool special effects and fancy flash animated graphics. We dentists like shiny things and cool gizmos. So, we tend to think like dentists when it comes to marketing. Most dentists create or pay for marketing that appeals to dentists rather than consumers.
Dentists ooh and ah over websites that have "splash intros." Those are the landing pages that will have an animated movie of sorts. It could be an animated artist's brush painting the dentist's name or dancing teeth, for example. Sometimes you'll see one of those little "loading" progress bars with the percentage going up over many seconds, or even minutes.
Here's a clue about those "splash pages." NOBODY likes them! (except dentists) So, unless you're marketing to have dentists as patients, dispense with the fancy moving graphic intro pages!! Believe me when I say that they serve ONLY to ANNOY the typical consumer searching for a dentist. As soon as they see they have to WAIT to get to the INFORMATION they seek, they will hit the back button and find it elsewhere.
Yes, I know there's a little tiny "skip intro" or "enter now" link they can click on. Problem is... THEY DON'T CARE! They won't click on the "skip intro" link. You're making them jump through hoops to get to the information they're looking for.
Content is KING. And, yes, I'm repeating myself. But, a new patient I saw today confirms this and makes repetition of the concept worthwhile. This new patient hasn't seen a dentist in about 10 years. He realizes that he really needs to see a dentist. So, he goes to Google and starts to do his homework.
Even though my website came up #1 on the Google search results page, he visited FIFTEEN other dentist's websites. He didn't want to overlook anything. He picked mine as the winner. WHY? The content in my site was more compelling. He said he felt like he knew me already. And, THAT is the key!
The problem with most commercially created dental websites is that they are simply generic boiler-plate content. They've got no emotion behind the content. They're just dental encyclopedias. The dentist typically didn't contribute anything other than his / her name to fill in the blanks.
Today's new patient told me that after visiting my website, he felt like he knew me. He knew I was "the right dentist." I don't know which other (fifteen) sites he visited, but I suspect they were of the generic variety. When he walked into my office for the first time, it was already familiar, since my website represents it very well and TRUTHFULLY. Nothing fancy. No flashy animated graphics or special effects. It's homespun and believable.
My website has some video of me speaking, which I'm sure helps project my personality and philosophy. Click here for more info on putting this type of video on your website. All the photos on my site are of actual patients representing my actual work. There are testimonials from real people with real names (rather than anonymous initials that could represent a phony testimonial). All of these things build tremendous credibility.
The "take home message" here is that you MUST contribute to creating the content of your website. Sure... hire a website designer to build the structure of your site. But, you need to be involved in writing the content. Don't get hung up on the appearance. Sure, make it nice. But, in the end, the CONTENT is what will compel the visitor to TAKE ACTION, which is to call for an appointment (or make an email appointment request).
The reason to have a website is to drive new patients to your practice. In order to be successful, there are three necessary steps:
1. Get visitors TO your website.
2. KEEP visitors ON your website with compelling content. And, that's today's sermon.
3. CONVERT visitors into patients by getting those visitors to take action.
That's all for now! To learn more check out The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
Dentists ooh and ah over websites that have "splash intros." Those are the landing pages that will have an animated movie of sorts. It could be an animated artist's brush painting the dentist's name or dancing teeth, for example. Sometimes you'll see one of those little "loading" progress bars with the percentage going up over many seconds, or even minutes.
Here's a clue about those "splash pages." NOBODY likes them! (except dentists) So, unless you're marketing to have dentists as patients, dispense with the fancy moving graphic intro pages!! Believe me when I say that they serve ONLY to ANNOY the typical consumer searching for a dentist. As soon as they see they have to WAIT to get to the INFORMATION they seek, they will hit the back button and find it elsewhere.
Yes, I know there's a little tiny "skip intro" or "enter now" link they can click on. Problem is... THEY DON'T CARE! They won't click on the "skip intro" link. You're making them jump through hoops to get to the information they're looking for.
Content is KING. And, yes, I'm repeating myself. But, a new patient I saw today confirms this and makes repetition of the concept worthwhile. This new patient hasn't seen a dentist in about 10 years. He realizes that he really needs to see a dentist. So, he goes to Google and starts to do his homework.
Even though my website came up #1 on the Google search results page, he visited FIFTEEN other dentist's websites. He didn't want to overlook anything. He picked mine as the winner. WHY? The content in my site was more compelling. He said he felt like he knew me already. And, THAT is the key!
The problem with most commercially created dental websites is that they are simply generic boiler-plate content. They've got no emotion behind the content. They're just dental encyclopedias. The dentist typically didn't contribute anything other than his / her name to fill in the blanks.
Today's new patient told me that after visiting my website, he felt like he knew me. He knew I was "the right dentist." I don't know which other (fifteen) sites he visited, but I suspect they were of the generic variety. When he walked into my office for the first time, it was already familiar, since my website represents it very well and TRUTHFULLY. Nothing fancy. No flashy animated graphics or special effects. It's homespun and believable.
My website has some video of me speaking, which I'm sure helps project my personality and philosophy. Click here for more info on putting this type of video on your website. All the photos on my site are of actual patients representing my actual work. There are testimonials from real people with real names (rather than anonymous initials that could represent a phony testimonial). All of these things build tremendous credibility.
The "take home message" here is that you MUST contribute to creating the content of your website. Sure... hire a website designer to build the structure of your site. But, you need to be involved in writing the content. Don't get hung up on the appearance. Sure, make it nice. But, in the end, the CONTENT is what will compel the visitor to TAKE ACTION, which is to call for an appointment (or make an email appointment request).
The reason to have a website is to drive new patients to your practice. In order to be successful, there are three necessary steps:
1. Get visitors TO your website.
2. KEEP visitors ON your website with compelling content. And, that's today's sermon.
3. CONVERT visitors into patients by getting those visitors to take action.
That's all for now! To learn more check out The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
Friday, February 12, 2010
SEO - What do they do every month?
With this post, I will surely piss off some people... probably a lot of people that take advantage of dentists' lack of knowledge about Search Engine Optimization and website marketing.
I'll get right to the point: There's no need for dentists to pay a monthly fee or sign a long-term contract for SEO services. Optimizing a website is essentially a one-time job. There is nothing that needs to be done on a monthly basis. Allow me to rephrase that: If anyone tells you they will be doing things every month to optimize your site, you should consider them suspect. You should ask them to tell you EXACTLY what they will be doing every month for that fee.
Here are some things to look out for:
"We'll submit your site to search engines." - TOTALLY BOGUS!
"We'll build thousands of links to your site." - Beware of having your website being put on "link farms." Very bad juju for Google!
Once your site is optimized, it's optimized... UNLESS you add new pages to your site. So, SEO costs should be on a job basis. The only reason to do additional on-site optimization is because you forgot to do it the first time (or learned something new).
That said, you will be hard-pressed to find an SEO firm to agree. In a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, Peter Kent (internet marketing strategist) said, "The SEO business is 80 percent scam." Finding an SEO firm that falls in the 20 percent will take some effort.
What do you do?
Ask for references.
Ask about benchmarks or goals to be met.
Ask about experience in the DENTAL industry.
Ask them HOW they will achieve your goals. And ask them to be specific.
Finally, I strongly believe an educated dentist will be the in a position to smartly choose an SEO firm. The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists (clicky) will give you the CRITICAL knowledge to intelligently work with an SEO firm. You'll know what they're talking about. You'll know if your getting what you paid for. You'll also know how to determine if you're getting the results you set out to achieve.
Visit www.RevUpMyMarketing.com to learn more!
I'll get right to the point: There's no need for dentists to pay a monthly fee or sign a long-term contract for SEO services. Optimizing a website is essentially a one-time job. There is nothing that needs to be done on a monthly basis. Allow me to rephrase that: If anyone tells you they will be doing things every month to optimize your site, you should consider them suspect. You should ask them to tell you EXACTLY what they will be doing every month for that fee.
Here are some things to look out for:
"We'll submit your site to search engines." - TOTALLY BOGUS!
"We'll build thousands of links to your site." - Beware of having your website being put on "link farms." Very bad juju for Google!
Once your site is optimized, it's optimized... UNLESS you add new pages to your site. So, SEO costs should be on a job basis. The only reason to do additional on-site optimization is because you forgot to do it the first time (or learned something new).
That said, you will be hard-pressed to find an SEO firm to agree. In a recent article in Entrepreneur Magazine, Peter Kent (internet marketing strategist) said, "The SEO business is 80 percent scam." Finding an SEO firm that falls in the 20 percent will take some effort.
What do you do?
Ask for references.
Ask about benchmarks or goals to be met.
Ask about experience in the DENTAL industry.
Ask them HOW they will achieve your goals. And ask them to be specific.
Finally, I strongly believe an educated dentist will be the in a position to smartly choose an SEO firm. The Complete Website Owner's Manual for Dentists (clicky) will give you the CRITICAL knowledge to intelligently work with an SEO firm. You'll know what they're talking about. You'll know if your getting what you paid for. You'll also know how to determine if you're getting the results you set out to achieve.
Visit www.RevUpMyMarketing.com to learn more!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Make it easy for them - Part 2
Sometimes the obvious escapes us. And, I can't tell you how many dental practice websites I've seen that make visitors WORK to make an appointment. Here's the thing: Website visitors are lazy and have very short attention spans.
At the top of EVERY page on your website, at the very LEAST, you should have your office phone number and address / location. Ideally, you should also have a button or link that lets visitors make an appointment request by email or an online form.
Don't make your website visitors work to find your phone number. If it's difficult or takes too many clicks, they will move on! Make it EASY for them to make that call!
Learn more by clicking on The Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
At the top of EVERY page on your website, at the very LEAST, you should have your office phone number and address / location. Ideally, you should also have a button or link that lets visitors make an appointment request by email or an online form.
Don't make your website visitors work to find your phone number. If it's difficult or takes too many clicks, they will move on! Make it EASY for them to make that call!
Learn more by clicking on The Website Owner's Manual for Dentists.
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