Digital marketing has become the most important way for patients to find new dental practices, which means having a high-quality website is no longer an “optional extra”. However, as more dentists get websites, a new problem arises: how to stand out and successfully use your website to acquire new patients.
The reality is many dental practices are actively losing new patients because their website is not properly optimized for patient acquisition. And in this article, we explore…
3 Important Aspects of Digital Marketing Most Dentists Miss
1. Visibility
Why it matters
The whole point of having a digital presence is to ensure more patients discover your practice. In fact, a recent survey found that 18.4% of patients are most likely to pick the dental practice which ranks highest on search engines.
But simply having a website is not enough to make this happen: most patients will still never stumble upon your website if the site isn’t optimized to appear high in search results, especially as the number of dental practices grows and competition online increases.
Even if a patient has heard about your practice from a friend or social media, they will still likely visit your website before booking an appointment. For many patients, this is a form of due diligence. And if your website is not easily searchable or doesn’t include key information such as insurance details and a list of your services, they will take it as a negative signal – and most likely go with a different dentist.
What you can do
Dentists need to understand that there are multiple ways for patients to find your practice. Generating more search engine traffic comes from Search Engine Optimization(SEO), where dentists improve the volume and quantity of content on your website which is essential to help your site rank. But you also need to think about the various other avenues through which patients might discover your practice.
A strong presence on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok can provide a huge boost to your overall visibility and brand recognition, as can being featured on dental discovery platforms like Opencare and Zocdoc.
Cover these bases and your practice will be far more visible than most competitors.
Grow your dental practice
Opencare is the only risk-free patient acquisition solution for dentists.
2. Easy Booking
Why it matters
Consumers expect online transactions to be easy, and 18% say they abandon a purchase because the checkout process is too complicated. This applies to dental patients too: most will simply go elsewhere if it is not quick and easy to book an appointment online.
What you can do
First, it should be extremely clear how to book an appointment through your website. There are a few ways to achieve this:
- Make your phone number visible on every page
- Use scheduling tools like LocalMed to make it easy to book online
- Include a link to your Opencare page
Second, you should ensure there is plenty of quality information about your practice and what patients can expect throughout your website. Most patients will not make a booking online if they are unsure about the quality, cost or people involved.
Your website should therefore list:
- Your services and pricing
- The length of appointment
- When you have available appointments.
- Which insurance you accept
- Profiles of your staff
High-quality images and case studies can also help boost confidence and entice patients to book an appointment, as can…
3. Social proof
Why it matters
With a large number of practices to choose from, patients need a way to determine which dentist will provide the best value – and which they can trust. One study found that 43.3% of patients choose the dentist with the best online reviews, making reviews the single most important factor in selecting a practice.
What you can do
Your practice needs to encourage as many patients as possible to write reviews and rate your service online. The best way to do this is by making it easy to post a review and prompting patients to do so immediately after their appointment. These reviews should then be showcased across your entire digital presence, from your website to your profile on Opencare and Zocdoc.
Grow your dental practice
Opencare is the only risk-free patient acquisition solution for dentists.
Enhance Your Digital Presence with Opencare
Having a quality website is essential, but a patient acquisition platform helps you connect with more patients and cover all bases in your digital marketing. Our extensive investment in SEO and social media marketing has helped us become the trusted source for quality dental practices.
We help dentists:
- Increase visibility via our popular marketplace. Opencare ranks highly on nearly all “dentist near me” searches and has a strong presence on social media, meaning your practice will be seen by far more people.
- Make booking simple with our intuitive user interface. Patients can find your practice, learn about your services, see your reviews and book an appointment with just a few clicks.
- Generate more social proof. Our system enables you to automatically request reviews after every appointment, increasing the total volume of reviews you get and helping you stand out online.
As a result, we produce up to 40 new patients each month for many leading practices.
Want to learn more about our zero-risk approach to digital marketing for dentists?
Grow your dental practice
Opencare is the only risk-free patient acquisition solution for dentists.
