In this highly modern days, almost everything and everyone has already gone online. Even home-based small businesses are making use of the internet to reach out to their target market. Not having an online presence these days is a surefire way of getting dump by competitors and staying behind the competition. A private dental practice, just like any other types of businesses and professions out there, also has a couple of local and national competitors.

Marketing Strategies

If you have not started any effort to establish and boost your online presence yet or if you believe it's not necessary anymore as you already have a good stream of income, think twice. You are definitely missing a large pool of potential patients. Meanwhile, let me introduce to you the different online marketing strategies that you can use for your dental practice.

Search Engine Optimization

This strategy includes optimizing your page so it will show up on the first page of the Google search engine results page. You typically need a landing page or a website when you choose this strategy. Having a good looking website alone is not enough for you to get visible to your target market, though. You need to invest in search engine optimization or SEO to rank higher on search results page.

Search Engine Optimization

Accordingly, those websites listed on the first page, especially those that rank first, second, and third, receive the majority of the searchers' click and get more site visits than those on lower ranks. SEO is a time-consuming strategy but it offers long-term benefits.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM), also referred to as pay-per-click or paid advertisement or marketing strategy, is like advertising for search engines. When you enter search terms like "dental offices in the U.S." for instance, Google will display two kinds of search results- one is the organic results (SEO) and the sponsored links (SEM).

If you want the fastest way to boost your online presence, SEM is the best option. However, if you choose SEM, you need to be ready to shell out a considerable amount of money since you will be paying Google for every click that you receive. If you stop paying for an advertisement slot, you will also no longer show up in the sponsored links section.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the use of different social media platforms including Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, Twitter, and Instagram to market your dental practice. It is so far the most applicable online marketing strategy for dentists for some good reasons. One is that social media pages, posts, and updates are now being indexed by search engines, especially on Google. When people search for dental offices or services, your social media page may show up on Google provided it is relevant to the search term.

Social Media

Another reason is that social media provides you an effective and efficient platform for you to interact with your past, present, and future patients and to build a lasting relationship with them. It also gives you an opportunity to hear or learn about what your patients think, and feel about you, your services, and anything pertaining to your practice. It's also a good platform to inform your patients about the latest updates of your dental office, about the dental facilities, devices, and instrument like dental loupes available in your office, and about helpful dental tips and information that can help your patients maintain oral health.