by Sophie Cameron, Director of Marketing at dentalcorp
In today’s digital world, your website is your primary marketing tool – whether you like it or not. A recent study showed over 80% of Canadian consumers use a digital device to locate and/or validate a business online before making contact1. That percentage skews much higher in younger audiences and it’s growing every year.
Your website is the most important representation of your brand, outside of your practice. Without a website—or with one that is poorly designed or lacks useful content—your online presence will be dominated by sources or links you don’t control. This means potential customers may not get enough or the right information to give them the confidence they need to pick up the phone and call your practice.
What makes a good website?
Striking a balance between form and function is essential for a successful website. A strategic site structure, compelling imagery, the right blend of content and how it’s organized on a page, are all important for generating traffic to your website. A great website makes it easy for visitors to navigate and provides them the information they need (or want) within a few clicks.
Why do potential patients visit your website?
Nowadays, potential patients seek information about health care providers and their practices online. More often than not, they will visit your website to determine whether your practice looks legitimate and feels safe before they pick up the phone to call. It has also become an expectation for businesses in health services channels, including dental care, to offer online booking. With the ease of digital technology increasing, consumer behavioural patterns are trending towards doing as much as possible online and on their own time.
What role does Google play in all this?
In the online world, Google essentially sets the rules. It continually looks for ways to ‘serve up’ better results for people using its search engine to find a business online. To get in the game, your website needs to give Google what it wants.
What does Google want?
Google reads text. So, apart from a clean technical backend and a great user experience provided to visitors, what Google wants is text content that matches the words or phrases people are searching. This is done through strategic keyword SEO (search engine optimization) and the regular posting of relevant content.
As previously published in Oral Health Office. This can also be found online here.
About the Author
As dentalcorp’s Director of Practice Marketing, Sophie is responsible for driving gross new patients and incremental revenue across a large network of Practices. She has over 10 years of marketing experience with a strong focus on digital, including websites, SEO and paid media. She continues to demonstrate success in driving results through patient acquisition, leadership and relationship management.
1https://www.retailingtoday.com/article/study-81-research-online-making-big-purchases
