North Texas Dentistry Volume 8 Issue 5 2018 ISSUE 5 DE | Page 25

involved with. Share a bit about your
family, hobbies, etc., so they can get to
“know” you.
Slow load time. According to Google’s
research, 53% of mobile visitors will
leave a website that takes longer than
three seconds to load. Utilize one of the
many website load speed tests you’ll find
with a Google search to see how your site
stacks up. Google has said that site load
speed is one of the key factors used to
rank pages.
Poorly optimized. I’m referring to the
technical coding of the website. Ninety
percent of the websites we evaluate are
not properly optimized or were opti-
mized using outdated techniques. Simple
changes like page title tags, adding
Schema markup and an active sitemap
make a huge difference in how search
engines view your site and the promi-
nence they give your site in search
results. This increased visibility trans-
lates into an increase in prospective
patients visiting your website.
2 Utilize video.
Cisco estimates that online video will
account for 82% of all internet traffic by
2021. Studies have shown that having
video on your website can increase con-
version rates by over 70%. Having an
office overview video, a meet the doctor
video, service page videos and patient
testimonial videos are a game changer.
The practices that are leveraging video
will have a major competitive advantage
over the next few years. Those practices
that aren’t will be playing catch-up.
4 Gather patient reviews.
Surveys show that 85% of consumers
trust online reviews as much as personal
recommendations. We have been condi-
tioned to seek out and read reviews prior
to making buying decisions. You need a
systematic process for gathering patient
reviews on the big three review sites:
Google, Yelp and Facebook.
NEXT STEPS
If you would like to learn how you stack
up in these areas and where you stand in
relation to other practices near you,
schedule a marketing x-ray with me. I’ll
utilize eight different research tools to
evaluate your website, reputation, com-
petition, and online directory listings.
We’ll then get on a 40-45 minute phone
call and screen sharing session to
walk through the results. Don’t worry, it
won’t be a sales pitch and I won’t bother
you afterward.
Visit DentalMarketingXray.com to
schedule your analysis.
5 Optimize your GMB listing.
We’re seeing more and more calls com-
ing into our clients via their Google My
Business (GMB) listings. Ensure that you
have filled in all possible sections,
uploaded some of those professional
photos I mentioned earlier (and don’t
forget the videos), have plenty of cita-
tions (listings of your practice in online
directories) and take advantage of
Google Posts. A 100% complete GMB
listing will receive priority placement
over one that is incomplete.
Implementing these steps will give you a
more professional brand image, improve
your online visibility and make a
stronger connection with prospective
patients. The result will be more of your
ideal patients walking through your door
in 2019.
Marc Fowler is the founder of Bullseye
Media in McKinney, Texas. Since 2006, the
team at Bullseye Media has provided web-
site design, video and online marketing for
dental practices across the U.S. and
Canada. Learn more at BullseyeDental.com.
3 Fix your online directories.
Consistency across the major online
directories plays a big role in being found
by prospective patients. There are 60-70
online directories that move the needle
for a dental practice. Do a Google search
for “most beneficial online directory list-
ing sites” and then visit each one to see
if your information is accurate and con-
sistent – or give me a call and I’ll run an
analysis for you.
www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY
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