In 2017, there were 198,517 dentists in the United States. That means for every 100,000 people, there were 61 dentists available. So there’s some competition from other dentists, no matter where you choose to practice.
When there were fewer dentists and no internet, the Yellow Pages was all the marketing you needed to do. That’s no longer true. Today dentists have to use a variety of different marketing strategies if they want to enjoy a thriving practice.
Investing in a custom dental website design is a smart move. Keep reading to learn the seven benefits from a custom designed website.
1. Helps Define Your Brand
With so much competition out there, your first step as a business owner is to set yourself apart from the other dentists in your area. That means branding.
Take Pepsi and Coca-Cola, for instance; two companies that serve very similar products, yet, thanks to their branding efforts, both have long-term loyal customers.
Take some time to figure out what values your practice will provide to your patients. Think of what makes you and your team unique to every other practice out there.
Create a logo and determine what colors best represent your core values. Everything you do for your business should reflect your brand. It creates trust and helps potential patients recognize your name over every other dentist in town.
2. Keeps Patients Informed
Sometimes it can feel that getting a patient to return for a cleaning or other service is like, well, pulling teeth. Most people don’t readily admit they love going to the dentist.
Which makes keeping in touch with your patients when they don’t have an appointment such a smart idea. A dental website design should include a blog or newsletter.
Write articles on frequently asked questions so your patients feel more confident. Share tips on how they can brush more effectively to help them stay healthy between visits.
If a new team member joined your practice or you invested in new technology, share that information with your patients.
Communication builds trust. It also helps you engage with your patients more regularly.
If someone is new to town, having a website that readily shares information with their audience makes it more likely they’ll choose you over your competition.
3. Improves SEO
There’s no point in having a custom dental website design if no one can find you. Using the right keywords, backlinks and photography will all help improve your SEO.
But it’s not just about having your website designed once and then you’re finished. SEO (search engine optimization) works best using the most up-to-date criteria and best practices.
Adding quality content helps improve SEO rankings. The better experience your patients have on your site, the more likely they’ll schedule an appointment.
But it also translates into search engines pushing your site to the top of the search engine results.
With a well-designed site that’s contemporary, unique and easy to update regularly, you’ll be able to meet the latest metrics of search engines. That, in turn, will organically improve your ranking.
4. A Dental Website Design Provides Added Value
A good dental website design makes it possible to include additional items to your website that are specific to your business.
You can create a website where patient forms are available online. That means a patient can fill out the form before they even arrive at your office.
That saves both of you time and energy.
You can also enable appointment scheduling capabilities. Patients can now schedule an appointment through your website. They can also reschedule and cancel appointments. That means you are instantaneously notified when there’s a change in your schedule.
You’ll also be able to share information about you and your staff. And don’t forget to include a section that talks about the benefits your office can provide to your patients.
A website is an opportunity to show your patients who you are. It provides a value that no other marketing medium can.
5. Directly Targets Your Niche Audience
It would be a mistake to believe that you are marketing to everyone. Yes, it’s true that everyone does need a dentist, but you’re still not marketing to everyone. You have a distinct niche audience and that’s who you should be targeting.
Maybe you want to target families versus single people. Your marketing message will also be different if you live in a city versus in the suburbs.
This is where you get to set yourself apart. Niche marketing allows you to directly target those people most likely to become your patient.
It’s an easier and more effective method of marketing.
6. Saves You From Costly Mistakes
Dentists are rarely taught marketing during dental school, which is a shame because it’s an important element of running a successful practice.
A dental website design should be created by a marketing expert. They can interview you and your staff to help you identify your brand.
They’ll create a website that’s responsive and attractive to your patients. They’ll monitor your site to ensure things are running smoothly.
They can fix mistakes immediately. And marketing experts can help you with additional online marketing efforts to increase SEO; efforts that you wouldn’t have time for. Don’t make the mistake of trying to do everything yourself. Instead, be smart and outsource tasks that you don’t have time for or aren’t an expert at.
7. Grows Your Business Over Time
A dental website design isn’t working properly unless it was created to continue growing your business over time.
People grow and change. Businesses should, too.
A well-designed site takes into consideration the fact that changes are necessary, which means when it’s time to make those changes to your site, they’ll be easy to implement.
Get the Right Help
Even if you do know something about marketing, it’s an evolving process. Get some help with it. Having a marketing team can help you build your business while saving you time and money.
But it doesn’t end there. Keep yourself informed.
We have compiled a few of our favorite resources to help you improve your marketing efforts. Click here to get started.
Author: Kathy Jiamboi
Owner of Creativedge Marketing, where growth-oriented dentists find dental practice marketing strategies and advice to take their practice to a new and higher level.