2019 is just around the corner, and with 2018 wrapping up, it’s time to think about new marketing goals for your practice going into the new year.
There are a lot of marketing options out there. Where should you start?
To make it a bit easier for your dental clinic and staff, our team has compiled a list of ways you can make marketing a priority in 2019, based on marketing and success trends we’ve observed in the last year.
We understand SEO can seem technical and complicated, and sometimes it can be! If you don’t already have SEO services with a marketing agency or representative, here are some basic SEO tactics anyone on your staff can do!
Your Google My Business listing is a one-stop shop for your practice. Your GMB listing includes your contact information, photos of your office, questions about your practice, reviews, and more. It’s essentially free real estate to market yourself.
Log into your GMB account and make sure all fields are filled out to provide the most information possible for potential patients. Also, start playing with the new Google Post feature to advertise any specials you may be having at the practice.
Need help getting started? You can find help with setting up your listing and other commonly asked GMB questions here.
Online reviews are a top-three ranking factor in the eyes of Google. Gathering reviews across Google My Business, Yelp and Facebook can help your site rank better on search engine result pages.
In addition to the SEO benefits, it’s important to know that 88% of users trust online reviews just as much as a personal recommendation. Online reviews in 2019 will essentially represent your online reputation. Make a point to ask your patients for a review on any or all of these platforms following their appointment.
Consistent, engaging content on your site not only gives Google more pages to index, but it also shows search engines that your site is active and consistently providing content and information to patients. This can influence rank and make your website more prominent. It’s also important to diversify your content as much as possible.
Your Monthly Content Goals for 2019:
– 1 before and after smile gallery image per cosmetic/restorative service
– 1 blog about what’s going on around the practice or general oral care advice
– 2 frequently asked questions
– 1 video testimonial
Combining marketing services is something our team recommends if your budget allows for it. This is because each marketing service creates online visibility for your practice in completely unique ways. For instance, SEO helps your site rank in organic and local searches on Google. PPC helps your clinic rank in the paid ads spots at the top of the search engine results page (or SERP, for short).
Since we already talked about SEO and ways to encourage better organic results, here are some other marketing tactics that can help accommodate your efforts:
Organic search results saw a drop in desktop and mobile click-through rates in the last three years. This isn’t because organic results don’t matter (they certainly still do) — the drop is due to how search results are laid out on the modern Google SERP. Organic results have been pushed further down on page one to allow for paid ads and local organic results to show.
In most cases, Google now reserves 2-3 positions for PPC campaigns on the top of the first page, before the local 3-pack box, as well as another 1-2 positions at the bottom of that first page.
The great thing about PPC is you can start a campaign today and be on the first page of Google almost immediately, should you bid high enough on a specific search term. Each campaign can be tailored-made with a specific goal, service, and market to maximise clicks to your site and patient conversions.
In 2018, clients running a PPC campaign at Great Dental Websites saw an average 3.3% click-through rate (compared with the average in the health and medical industry , which is at 1.79%) and a 24% conversion rate (which is defined as the per cent of patient clicks that turned into bookings).
Account managers essentially serve as your personal marketing consultant and are here to support your practice and help you build the skills to keep up with your practice’s marketing long-term.
In addition to having a go-to support line, our account managers set up monthly calls with you to discuss your campaign performance, your ongoing goals, and what you can do to improve traffic to your website.
Account management services are great for practices who want to ‘learn as they go’ when working with a marketing representative or agency.
Contact our team today if you’d like to learn more about taking on more marketing for your clinic, get a quote, or if you need any help with your Great Dental Website. We are here for you in 2019. Happy new year!
