Dental Marketing Tips to Attract New Patients

Dental clinics need to bring in a minimum of 20 patients each month in order to be successful. Unfortunately, many dentists and orthodontists rely on old methods of attracting patients, and they aren’t meeting the threshold for success.

If dental clinics want to reach new patients, they have to go online. More than 90 percent of consumers use the internet to find local services, including dentists and orthodontists. People use the internet to look up reviews, research treatments, and schedule appointments. Dental practices need to have a strong online presence to attract new customers.

If you’re not familiar with digital dental marketing, you’re far from alone. Many dentists and orthodontists don’t know how to make the switch to digital, but it can be done relatively quickly and easily by following some tips. Find out the best strategies for adopting a digital marketing campaign and then get to work so you can grab at least 20 new patients each month.

1. Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Your Google My Business page is one of the easiest and most important aspects of reaching new customers. This page will put you out in front of countless people looking for a new dentist or orthodontist.

When people do a Google search for a local business, a map of listings come up in the results. The group of listings is the Google Local Pack. Google pulls the information from Google My Business listings and then compiles the pack. If you have a Google My Business page, you can be a part of the Local Pack.

Start by claiming your listing. Next, it’s time to optimize it.
Select your business category. This will put your business into a specific category so people can easily find it.

Then, include your phone number and fill out the description. Use some local keywords when filling out the description.

Finish it by adding your hours and address. You will also notice the listing has a section for reviews. You want customers to leave reviews to give your listing a boost. That’s covered later in this article.

2. Improve Your Website

Imagine if someone came into your dental clinic and it was a disaster. The receptionist was asleep at the desk, the chairs had holes in them, and the equipment looked like it dated back to the 1950s.

That patient would run, and for good reason. A first impression means everything for dentists and orthodontists.

These days, that first impression is rarely made inside the dental clinic. Instead, it occurs from the website. If your website isn’t professional, people will click out quickly and look for another dentist or orthodontist.

Let’s look at the features you need on your website.

Your website should include a profile for each dentist so that people can conduct their research online. It also needs videos and educational content to allow people to continue their research.
Your site needs some features to make the patients’ lives easier too. These features include online scheduling, bill pay, and prescription renewal, as well as messaging capabilities.

Having the right information is important, but you also need to make sure you have the tech side in order. Ideally, your website needs to be blazing fast. Almost half of the consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40 percent leave the site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.

A website also needs to be secure. If your site isn’t secured with HTTPS, you will likely lose a lot of potential patients.

Additionally, your site needs to be SEO friendly. Search engines should be able to easily crawl and find the website.

Finally, your website must be mobile-friendly if you’re going to reach as many people as possible. The majority of smartphone owners use their devices to look for local services, including dental clinics. If your site is optimized for mobile, you can grab some of these consumers.

3. Start Blogging

You know that lots of people use the internet to research dental treatments. When they do, you want them to find your website. The best way to accomplish that is to create a blog that provides the answers they’re looking for online.

If you’re new to the world of blogging, you might be overwhelmed with the idea of coming up with topics. It’s actually easier than you might think. You can fit your topics into three categories and then get to work.

Creating Healthy Habits
People who research information related to dentists and orthodontists are often trying to figure out how to adopt healthier habits. Create blog posts about caring for braces, brushing, flossing, and more.

Blog About Trends
If you spend much time online, you can find out what’s trending in the dental and orthodontic world. Check out other blog posts to find something that is hot. You can also use Google Trends to find trending topics. Write about the trend and post it so you can drive some traffic to your site.

Correct Myths
There are lots of myths swirling around dentists and orthodontists. Tackle some of those myths in your blog.

4. Optimize Your Website and Blog Posts

Search engine optimization (SEO) is necessary so your site will rank higher in the search engines. You will need to edit the site’s content and code to optimize it for SEO.

First, let’s back up a second so you can have a better understanding of what this means. The internet is vast, and Google and other search engines do not have time to have employees manually check websites. While manual checking is done from time to time, most of the checking is done by spiders. The spiders crawl websites and analyze it for SEO. The information is entered into an algorithm and then the website receives its ranking.

In order to optimize your site for SEO, you need to:

  • Ensure it loads in under three seconds.
  • Make it mobile-friendly.
  • Have it secured by HTTPS.
  • Ad alt-tags to the images.
  • Include a dental schema on every page.
  • Have high-quality content.
  • Grab backlinks from authority sites.

You also need to have a presence on social media. Search engines are starting to use social cues for ranking.

5. Add Sharable Images for Your Social Media Pages

Your social media accounts can help you drum up lots of business, and not just by building a large following. If you create sharable content, you can reach people who don’t even follow your page.

First, you need to understand why people share content.

It’s Valuable
People tend to share valuable information. That means information that informs others and might even change opinions about a subject. The more entertaining the content is, the better.

It Defines Who They Are
If you look at your social media feeds, you’ll notice that a lot of the content shared is used to define the person sharing it. They share items to let people know what they care about, so create some images that will allow them to do just that.

It Helps Them Stay Connected
Did you know that people share content so they can stay connected with their friends on social media? People often lose touch in the real world, and by sharing content, they find a way to connect.

It Keeps Them Involved in the World
Social media is like a world of its own. If people don’t participate, they aren’t involved in that world, so they share to put their own little stamp on the online community.

It Allows Them to Support Brands and Causes
Many people share content on social media to let others know about brands and causes they support. Sharing is a fast and easy way to tell someone to visit a certain dental clinic or get involved in a particular cause.

Now you know why people share, but how does that translate into dental and orthodontic posts? You have tons of options for sharable dental and orthodontic content.

Remind Them of Their Dental Benefits
You can provide valuable content by simply reminding people of their dental benefits. Many people fail to take advantage of everything their insurance has to offer. When they find out what’s covered, they’re more likely to go to the dentist. They’ll also want their friends to know so they can go as well.

Educate With Infographics
You can also create value with infographics. Canva.com is an easy-to-use platform for creating infographics. You can have your first one done in minutes.

Build Rapport With Videos
Videos are also highly sharable. Use videos to profile dentists and share testimonials. This will help you build trust with potential patients.

Dazzle With Before and After Photos
If you really want to wow the people who follow you on social media, use before and after images. If you create the right before and after images, you’ll blow people away and they will hit the share button over and over again.

Learn From Others
If you’re still stuck, check out some social media pages from other dentists. These practices know how to get the job done with social media.

Sugar Fix Dental Loft
Sugar Fix Dental Loft’s Instagram account is fabulous. The modern vibe is sharable, and the practice has quite a following.

Aspen Dental
Aspen Dental’s Facebook page is the perfect example of what all dentists need to do. The posts are relevant and sharable, and the practice engages with people in the comment section. Follow Aspen Dental’s lead and talk to your customers.

ProGrin Dental
ProGrin Dental’s Facebook page does an excellent job of building trust. It showcases the staff’s personalities and the page makes the practice look approachable.

Dental Arts Studio
Dental Arts Studio’s Facebook Page is heavy on graphics, and it works. It has managed to turn dental work into an art form.

6. Use Videos to Attract Patients

Did you look at the social media profiles mentioned above? When you give them a click, you’ll notice their pages are all populated with videos.

Forty-five percent of web surfers watch over an hour of videos on YouTube and Facebook each week. Videos aren’t just great to watch either - they improve a practice’s return on investment.

Dental clinics are in a unique position because the dental industry is so visual. You can show how a crown is created, what teeth look like after Invisalign, and the dangers of gum disease right there on video. You can also use videos for testimonials.

Dental clinics need five types of videos:

  1. Welcome Video for Your Website
    Your website needs to include a welcome video to build trust and show people what they can expect if they go to your practice. If you need help creating a welcome video, check out the video by Coastal Dental Arts. It highlights the practice and the dentists, and it showcases the technology used. You can’t help but want to go to that office when you see the video.
  2. Profile Videos
    Create profile videos of the dentists, orthodontists, and dental hygienists. This will help build familiarity and trust.
  3. Testimonial Videos
    You want potential patients to be confident in what you do. The easiest way to accomplish that is to have some testimonial videos on your website and social media channels. Include the word “Review” in the title of the video to boost views.
  4. Overview Videos
    Create videos that go over the treatments you offer. Be sure to add after shots in the video, so people know what to expect after the treatment.
  5. Educational videos
    People have all kinds of questions regarding dental and orthodontic treatments. They want to know how long it takes to straighten teeth with Invisalign, how to determine if they have a cavity, and so much more. Find out what your patients want to know and then create videos that answer these questions.

7. Add Your Practice to Dental Directories

People do a lot of research when looking for dental clinics. They check ratings and reviews before choosing a dentist or orthodontist, and those reviews matter. In fact, 84 percent of people trust the reviews they find online as much as recommendations from friends. You want to list your practice on relevant dental directories so it can gather reviews and attract more patients.

Claim your listings on:

8. Use Pay-per-click Ads

Almost half of the people are afraid to go to the dentist because of the cost. They think they can’t afford it. Use pay-per-click (PPC) ads to advertise your prices to show them dental treatment isn’t nearly as expensive as they think. Also, use ads to advertise specials.

Are you new to the world of PPC ads? Here’s a quick overview.

Pick keywords that trigger your ads. You should select high-converting keywords for this.

Then, when someone types one of those keywords into the search engine, your ad pops up. It appears at the top of the page.

If the person clicks on your ad, you pay a predetermined price. This is referred to as your bid.

This is a simple overview of PPC ads. The process is really quite complex, so hire a professional to handle your ads for you. Otherwise, you will end up spending tons of money for each click, and your conversions won’t be where you want them to be.

9. Get Reviews From Patients

Reviews are your bread and butter. If you can gather lots of positive reviews, people looking for dental treatments will find them and then schedule an appointment at your clinic.

You need to gather reviews on dental directories, Google, Facebook, and Yelp.

You have lots of options for getting reviews. Many dentists and orthodontists ask their patients to record video testimonials after a procedure. They also send emails and Facebook messages requesting reviews. Also, Review Us Now and other review aggregation software is helpful when soliciting reviews.

10. Email your Patients

Do you use dental and orthodontic marketing postcards? These are a great way to stay in touch with your patients, but it isn’t enough. You also need to put messages right in your patients’ inboxes.

Use email to send:

  • Appointment reminders.
  • Reminders when patients are due for cleanings or other procedures.
  • Educational materials.
  • Office announcements.
  • Reviews of dental products.
  • Referral requests.

Execute Your Dental Marketing Strategy

It takes hard work, dedication, and know-how to execute a digital marketing strategy for dental clinics. While many people have lots of creative ideas, they often don’t know how to execute them properly. Others have the know-how, but they don’t have the time.

If you don’t have the time or know-how to market your practice, hire a professional. A professional will ensure that you comply with standards and have a professional online presence. These are key factors in helping you to reach more customers.

Let's Talk!

OR CALL US

(888) 977-4866

OUR MISSION

Web Promotion Partners mission is to provide our clients, through education and service, the most efficient and cost effective online marketing tools available so they can increase revenues and profits. With Corporate Headquarters located in Palm Beach Gardens, FL we serve all of Florida the United States and Canada.
GET STARTED NOW!
HOMEABOUT USOUR CUSTOMERSCASE STUDYBLOG

HOURS OF OPERATIONS

Mon-Fri: 8am-8pm
Sat-Sun: By Appointment
Corporate HQ

Web Promotion Partners

250 S. Central Blvd., Suite 100
Jupiter, FL 33458, United States

Phone: (561) 299-3942

Fax: (561) 293-2551


Canadian Office

Web Promotion Partners
60 Walter Havill Drive #910

Halifax N.S. B3N 0A9, Canada
Phone: (902) 483-5066
phonetwitterfacebooklinkedingoogleenvelope Skip to content