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Online Marketing Tips For Dental Services by Myna Harriot http://www.htdental.com Your reputation as a qualified dentist should not be compromised by a website that doesn't reflect your practice. Why pay thousands on a site that has all the latest technology when you're not quite hitting the right audience ~ your patients and future clients? Web designers are specialists at knowing the latest ways to make HTML and other codes work amazingly. Dentists, not web designers, know best how to communicate your business. Rather than getting wrapped up in all the latest bells and whistles, you should make sure your website and other online tools tell what your visitors need to know. If you approach online marketing with this goal, your visitors are more likely to return and use your resources. A few helpful tips to make this happen are listed below: 1. Relevant material is so important to your visitors and to your practice. While a nice looking website is just that ~ nice ~ a website with content that speaks to your visitors is more important. Remember, your content should be relevant for your patients and not written as though you're addressing a professional dental association. As for organizing your web material, make sure the first thing that people see contains a picture of your place, your name and contact information. 2. Visuals are very helpful. Clients like to see a photo of yourself and your building for reference. Also, include accompanying information such as your degrees and activities that you enjoy. You can present this just as you do in a friendly introductory letter sent out to attract new clients. 3. Waiting for information to load is a real turn-off. Make sure your graphics load quickly or else visitors are likely to wait around. 4. Let your patients and visitors interact through the website. Encourage patients to use the site for customer service. The more interactive you make the site, the more likely people are likely to return. For instance, include an area for confirming or setting appointments, monthly contests, and questionnaires about dental care. Offer rewards or discounts for participating in these promotional activities such as a coupon. You can also include links to sites that pertain to your practice or hold high interest for many of your clients. 5. Keep your content as fresh as possible. Update your material with interesting articles and features. The more engaging and time sensitive the material, the more likely visitors will return sooner. Many online newsletter services provide material that can be used on your site. These same online marketing services also supply newsletter content that can be includes in your online newsletters. 6. Announce your website location loud and clear. Let your patients know about this site by listing it on direct mail campaigns or including its address on literature in your waiting room. Many referral services such as 1800Dentist also allow you to mention your website. Also, some search engines will let you register your website. 7. E-newsletters are a great way to stay in touch with your patients. Ask for their email addresses and offer to send an e-newsletter on a monthly basis. Customize the newsletter for your practice and offer free advise to keep your patients informed and proactive. Maintaining a website doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Many receptionists and office managers can update material on their own. To find out more about website designs for dental practices, visit Dental Marketing Center (www.dentalmarketingcenter.com) or Internet Dental Alliance (www.internetdentalalliance.com). |