Reach potential patients online —whether or not they’re actually looking for a dentist

You’ll need different strategies to reach people looking for a dentist and people who aren't looking for a dentist – but you will get the most out of every advertising dollar you spend. Let me explain …

Looking for a dentist?

The vast majority of Internet marketing – and the majority of most practices’ marketing budget – is spent on people who are actively looking for a dentist. A person might be looking for a dentist if they have just moved to the area, if they are unhappy with their current dentist, or if their former dentist has retired or moved away. The strategies for reaching these potential patients through Internet marketing are fairly well-known:

Step 1 - Start with a fantastic website that speaks to potential patients.

Step 2 - Hire an SEO company to get your website to the first page of the search engine results page when people are searching for a dentist in your area.

Step 3 - Invest in paid search advertising for search terms where you’re not ranking well.

Dentists spend a lot of money to rank well in Google and to list their practice through paid search advertising. That’s generally money well-spent. When a person is looking for a dentist, they are more likely to click on your ad and eventually become your patient.

However, in order to reach more potential patients, you should think about different strategies that speak directly to those who are not actually looking for a new dentist – yet.

Not looking for a dentist?

Most people living in your practice area are not looking for a dentist. They might be happy with their current dentist – you’ll never reach those people. However, some people are not satisfied with their dentist but they also assume they won’t get better service elsewhere. Or perhaps they aren’t going to the dentist at all because they’re scared, don’t have insurance, or just don’t want to take the time to visit the dentist. Your job is to give them a reason why they should go to the dentist – and a reason why that dentist should be you.

For these kinds of potential patients, make sure your marketing speaks directly to their concerns and highlights what makes your practice unique. Internet marketing allows you to target campaigns not just to people in your location, but also to a whole range of demographic information – from age to parental status, to interests based on their searcher profile. Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites offer tremendous opportunities to get your message out to people who haven’t previously been looking for a dentist. Here’s how:

• If people are too busy or lazy to find your practice online – go to them. Advertise on YouTube or Facebook directly to people in your geographic area and tailor campaigns based on their demographic information. For example, advertise family dentistry to people who are parents or one-visit dentistry to busy professionals.
• Show that you can provide excellent service by providing excellent patient education on your website and creating informative service pages. You can also share photographs that show off your calming décor and squeaky-clean operatories.
• Address their fear of going to the dentist with campaigns about sleep dentistry, one-visit dentistry, pain-free laser gum treatments, and tailored children’s dentistry programs.
• Clearly address costs by providing information about the insurance programs you accept, and show you understand by offering a free first visit or denture consultation.

What are you waiting for? Help new patients find your practice today!