1. Make Sure Your Website is User & Mobile Friendly
Decent site speed, clean layout, and a responsive design are just some of the basic elements your website needs to assure potential customer can use your site. There’s no point to having great content if your site is too slow or crops off part of the page when a visitor views it. Missing key functions like a search bar or chat function can also send potential customers elsewhere.
2. Know Your Keywords
If your website is not appearing on page one, or even page two or three, then don’t count on getting traffic from that keyword. To begin ranking for keywords (especially if your site is new), you need to find the less competitive long tail keywords which still get a decent amount of clicks and searches. Focusing on just the keyword dentist is not sustainable and very competitive. Most searches for dentists are location based. So, focusing on a keyword like cosmetic dentistry in Beverly Hills is much easier to rank for.
3. Use Blog Posts to Rank for New Keywords
When you identify keyword opportunities, a blog post is a great way to potentially rank for those keywords. Writing content around one keyword can hopefully help you to rank for new keywords. SEO is generally hit or miss by nature, so even if you follow all the best practices its hit or miss whether your blog post will rank for a keyword. There are always factors outside our control and rankings are always changing. Once you publish your blog post, you can always see what keywords it is ranking for and adjust or update the post if needed.
4. Optimize Your Site for Voice Search
Voice search is usually faster than typing a query, therefore so many opt for this type of search. If you’re a local business your Google My Business profile should be updated and complete. This will increase search rankings and traffic. Many people use voice search to find the nearest restaurant, gas station, gym, etc.
An FAQ page on your website will also help with increasing search rankings. What time you close, where you’re located, and what insurances you accept are just some of the questions your customers should be able to get answered with voice search.
5. Reputation Management Matters
Good customer reviews are one of your best assets. Good reviews help you rank higher in local searches and help build customer’s trust. As much as you encourage patients to leave reviews, you also need to be prepared to respond to any negative reviews. Reputation management software allows you to monitor your reputation, increase your number of reviews, and see all your reviews/mentions in one place.
6. Use Local SEO to Your Advantage
Claiming your Google My Business profile is the first step to using local SEO to your advantage. Sometimes customers may be willing to drive much further than their city of residence for a good dentist, but most of the time they’ll stick to finding a new dentist that is close to home. Only being found and ranking high for search queries coming from a different state isn’t ideal. This is why local SEO and being listed on business directories in your area is important.
7. Use Google Ads Effectively
Google Ads will always be a great advertising tool if you know how to use it effectively. Google Ads can get your website and contact information in front of customers who need an appointment immediately. Setting up effective campaigns takes skill to know what works, so it’s best to consult an expert. Otherwise, you can quickly exhaust your budget with no ROI.
8. Use a Combination of Organic & Paid Social Media
Paid social media should always be used in conjunction with organic social media. When someone views your ad, they’ll most likely visit and interact with your social media account before deciding whether to like or follow. Visitors expect to see an account with a completed profile and recent activity.
Before you acquire a new customer, potential customers will also most likely research your business or company name online. If your company website or social media profiles are outdated, it doesn’t make a good first impression. If you don’t have an organic social media strategy to support your paid strategy, you’re missing out on increasing followers and engagement.
9. Use Remarketing to Your Advantage
Remarketing is a form of advertising which shows ads to users who have already visited your site. This keeps your company in front of your potential customer’s eyes and hopefully persuades them to revisit your site. It is very common for potential customers to still be in the research and planning phase when they visit your site and not be ready to purchase yet. Remarketing is a reminder and can hopefully convert some of those visitors that weren’t ready to convert yet.
10.Don’t Forget Shared and Direct Mail
Shared mail is one of the most affordable, flexible, and proven ways to successfully reach your clients. Most people read and scan their mail daily, making this an effective way to even reach audiences in smaller towns and cities. Shared mail is a direct mail package that is delivered to over 70 million American households on a weekly basis. As a result, you can quickly reach customers for mere pennies while also using hyper-local targeting to narrow down your target audience.