Sunrise Dental Solutions Blog

Did your dental practice recently disappear from Google local search results?

Google makes updates to their search algorithm all the time, but the last “Possum” update made some big changes that can affect local businesses, like dentists.

This particular update, made in September 2016, was nicknamed the “Possum” update because some listings may have appeared to be gone, but they were in fact “playing possum.” This is the biggest update that Google has made in several years, with the goal of improving local search rankings, diversifying results, and preventing spam listings from making it in.

While I do enjoy developing clever dental marketing strategies for clients, most of the time dentists need to be focusing on the basics of a good campaign. The following K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple) strategies should lay the foundation for the marketing campaign of any dental practice.

1. Pay Per Click (PPC)

While we always want to win the keyword search battle, that can take time. A quick and effective way to make it straight to the top of your desired search is to simply pay for it. Patients can be easily targeted through their searches, with your ad appearing when someone searches your keyword, with you only paying for the ad when it is clicked. The best place to start is with Google AdWords, where your bid will compete with others in the same category. Well-organized campaigns can generate a hefty return on your investment.

I’ve worked with many dentists who say social media just isn’t for them. They didn’t go to school so they could spend time on Twitter. Surely they should focus on patients and not waste time posting pictures to their social media feeds, right?

Wrong.

Just a few weeks ago we witnessed the latest Super Bowl, and 30-second ads were selling for around $5 million. Even a normal primetime slot on CBS (such as during a new episode of “The Big Bang Theory”) can have a staggering price tag of $326,260. Why are marketers paying such enormous sums for a mere 30 seconds of airtime?

We have helped a lot of dentists turn their practices around. In that time, we’ve come across many mistakes that we see time and time again. Don’t wait until it’s too late to ask for help. You might be making seemingly innocent mistakes that are costing you money.

5 Common Marketing Mistakes that Dentists Make

1. You’re not active on social media.
Oh, how times have changed! You’ve spent all of this time becoming trained and educated, investing heavily into your practice, only to be told that Twitter might be a good use of your time.

We have helped a lot of dentists turn their practices around. In that time, we’ve come across many mistakes that we see time and time again. Don’t wait until it’s too late to ask for help. You might be making seemingly innocent mistakes that are costing you money.

5 Common Marketing Mistakes that Dentists Make

1. You’re not active on social media.
Oh, how times have changed! You’ve spent all of this time becoming trained and educated, investing heavily into your practice, only to be told that Twitter might be a good use of your time.