When it comes to running a dental surgery, you want to be busy and continue to attract as many patients as possible. Not only will this help with your surgery’s expansion, but it will also boost revenue and draw more people to your brand, allowing you to help people get the smiles that they want.
This leads nicely to the best ways to do this. If you are someone who believes in attracting patients to your surgery the old-fashioned way, you may have spent a fortune on printing leaflets, which have failed to attract the patient numbers you expected. However, these days the best way to attract new patients is not with flyers but with SEO and online marketing.
They are not new ways of promoting business, but they are undoubtedly the most affordable and the most successful for dental surgeries. And when it comes to researching them, there are some misconceptions that are common that may be holding your dental surgery back.
What are they? Read on to find out!
Paid search advertising is the only way to get top rankings
Although paid search advertising may be an efficient way to get to the top of search engine results pages, it often cannot deliver the same long-term results as SEO. More sustainable results are gained through SEO, as it allows you to rank highly and organically in search engine results. If you are looking for a way to make over your dental marketing, you may need to turn your attention to the SEO portion rather than paying for search advertising.
Your dental practice doesn’t need SEO
Investing in SEO for your dental practice is essential, regardless of your size or market. Without investing in SEO, you will not be visible in search engine results, and potential new patient enquiries or customers will never know about your practice or services. Indeed, if your website is not optimised for SEO, you will lose out to your competitors and considering how affordable SEO is, you should really have it at the top of your marketing checklist!
Marketing is expensive and time-consuming
This is a common misconception, but it does depend on the type of marketing you want to do. It can range from inexpensive methods, like establishing a website and doing social media marketing, to more expensive methods, like television or radio advertising. The cost of marketing will ultimately depend on the budget and goals of the dental practice.
Marketing is only productive for larger practices
Marketing can work for smaller surgeries with some strategic planning and target audience research. Some useful tactics to consider include website and social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, and email marketing.
Social media isn’t necessary for dental practices
Social media can help surgeries reach potential patients, allow them to interact with current patients and showcase their services. Additionally, it can help to showcase positive reviews from patients and to give patients an opportunity to share experiences with the practice, so it is a core part of any marketing campaign.
