MOBILE
IN MIND
practice marketing
How Google’s Latest Announcement is About to
Change Online Dental Marketing in a Big Way
by Marc Fowler
The elusive Google is elusive no more. Well, at least
they aren’t on one topic.
The notoriously secretive search giant has finally taken a stance
on one element of online marketing that will significantly affect
dentists and how potential patients find you online. Typically,
our dental marketing team spends countless research hours
determining which online marketing tactics Google prefers and
which will get your site into proverbial hot water – because
Google rarely ever gives a definitive answer on the subject.
As of April 21st, 2015 we can speculate no more. Back in
February, Google announced that your website’s mobile
“friendliness” (i.e., if your site can be viewed appropriately on
mobile devices like an iPhone or Android device), will now be a
definite ranking factor when their algorithms decide which
websites to show in top spots in a mobile search query. It will
have a significant impact in search results and this algorithm
change is meant to serve better results to the growing number
of people using their mobile devices to search for what they
want online. Here is what Collin Colburn of Forrester Research
had to say:
“Google does change its algorithm quite frequently, but this is
a bit of a larger change... Websites that are not designed [with
mobile in mind] will take a hit and websites that are responsively designed will begin to rise in search results.”
If you can’t tell, this is a huge announcement for online dental
marketing and what dentists should consider important when
building a practice website. Our team has always considered a
mobile friendly site to be important to Google and has always
26 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
built dental sites with mobile in mind, but not until now has it
been absolutely validated by the Google team. There is no more
guessing – no more speculating – the importance of building a
mobile-friendly dental website is now fact.
So what does this mean for you and your online dental marketing efforts? Honestly, it really only means one thing. Your practice website must be built to be mobile-friendly. If it’s not, it’s
highly likely Google won’t display your site anywhere near the
top of the page when potential patients search for dental services in your area.
If you’re scratching your head right now, thinking, “Wait a
minute, my site is mobile friendly. I can pull it up on my iPhone
just fine. I mean, I have to pinch, zoom and swipe the page to
be able to read anything, but that’s okay. Right?” Nope. It’s not
okay. While yes, technically every site is “viewable” on an
iPhone or Android device, that’s not the same as being “mobile
friendly.” Here is what Google says are the top three key points
to know when building a mobile friendly site that will “please”
its algorithm:
1
Make it easy for customers. Each algorithm change
that Google announces has one thing and one thing only
in mind – to make it easier for their users (or customers)
to find what they want in their searches. That is their end
goal every time. We advise that when you envision what you
want your site to look like, think about what your patients and
potential patients want to see and do when they visit your website – particularly from their mobile device. Chances are, they
want to book an appointment, verify your address or ensure you
offer specific dental procedures.