One of the most valuable strategies to build the credibility of your website in Google’s eyes is also one of the most challenging. Whether you’re running a dental practice or a sandwich shop, SEO experts agree that backlinks are one of the most important factors (out of hundreds) that impact your ranking.

Google has become so dominant as a search engine that we often use it as a verb, but it wasn’t always that way. During the dot-com boom, there were a plethora of competing choices. Do you remember Lycos, Infoseek, AltaVista, or AskJeeves? All of these eventually fell to the superiority of Google. Even Microsoft (MSN Search, Windows Live, and Bing) couldn’t compete.

While most dentists take great care when hiring associates or dental hygienists, many don’t put as much consideration into hiring for their front desk team. They may not be revenue powerhouses like yourself or highly skilled team members, but they do merit the same consideration.

Why?

We’re encouraged from childhood to be nice to people, but sometimes kindness goes too far. Many dentists are hurting themselves—and their practice—by being too nice.

Do you have trouble saying “no” to others? Do you get stuck in long conversations with salespeople? Or perhaps you have a team member who is under-performing, and you wimp out when it comes time to provide criticism or lay down the law.

When was the last time you took a vacation, doc? You probably think that this piece is going to be about how a mental break will do you wonders and that is why you should go on vacation, but you’re wrong! While that’s a relevant point, I’d instead like to explain how a dentist taking a vacation can translate into more practice productivity even when they’re gone!

An exaggeration, you say? Not quite. Not only may a vacation be just what the doctor ordered to pump a little profit into your practice, but I’ve actually seen some dentists set personal records while they weren’t home!

One minute you think you have Google all figured out, and the next they push a change to their algorithm that blows your old strategy out of the water. It’s a fast-paced online world that is dripping with content, so dentists who want to stay on top need to understand current digital marketing trends and how they affect their business plans.

Digital Marketing Trends for 2018