North Texas Dentistry Volume 8 Issue 2 2018 ISSUE 2 DE | Page 21

6 Steps to an Awesome Dental Website So, what is the secret to transform an ordinary website into an awesome virtual office? Over the course of the past 12 years designing hundreds of dental websites, we’ve discovered six keys to creating an effective dental website that will help you stand out from the competition and attract more new patients. 1 Be clear about what makes your practice the best choice. If your local market is like most, you have a lot of competition. To beat them, your website has to stand out. But before you start designing, you need to be clear why you are a better choice than the dentist up the street – your brand positioning. Are you the “eco-friendly” dentist? The convenient “family” dentist? The “mod- ern” cosmetic dentist? Find out what makes you special and own it. When you are crafting your website, this should guide the entire design. We clarify brand positioning with every client before we start work on design. 2 Speak to your ideal patient. Keep your ideal patient in mind. What is most important to them? Will your design appeal to them - language, pic- tures, style? Designing to an ideal patient does not mean you will not get other patients. But it will give you focus. The more targeted the communication, the stronger the con- nection. the independent dentist. One huge weak- ness of corporate dentistry is their revolv- ing door. Patients want to know, trust and develop a relationship with their dentist. People want to see and hear from the doctor before booking an appointment. Be personable. Get professional photog- raphy. Have a well written bio that tells them more than where you went to den- tal school. Ideally, have a short video of the dentist(s) introducing themselves and the practice. Talk to them and be real. 4 Give them social proof. Rave reviews from current patients are very persuasive and reassuring to prospective patients. With the rise of reviews and ratings online for everything, patient testimonials are more important than ever in building your credibility. If you have a 3-star rating, many people won’t give you a second look. The reality is that people trust reviews online. Psychologists call this “social proof” – gaining reassurance that the choice we are about to make is the right one. Take advantage of this insight by prominently displaying positive patient r eviews throughout your website. 5 Visit your website from your smartphone. Smartphones have surpassed computers as the most used device for going online. In fact, as many as 80% of the visitors to your website will be on their smartphone. When reviewing your website, make sure it looks great and is easy to navigate on a phone. If they can’t find what they’re looking for in a couple of seconds, or they have to pinch and zoom to read the text, most people will just move on to the next dentist in the search results. 6 Make scheduling simple. The most important action a prospective patient can take is to schedule an appointment. So you want to do every- thing possible to make that process easy. Just having your phone number on the “Contact Us” page or at the bottom of your homepage in small font isn’t going to cut it. Most prospective patients are viewing your site on their phone and won’t hunt for a number. For best results, add a prominent “Click to Call” phone number at the top of every page of your website. Marc Fowler is President of McKinney, Texas based dental marketing agency Bullseye Media. Since 2006, Bullseye has helped over 350 dental practices reach their practice growth goals. Marc can be reached by sending email to: [email protected] or by calling his direct line: 214-592-9393. Put yourself in their shoes. If your ideal patient is a busy mom trying to juggle the dental needs of her family, then early morning, evening or weekend hours and family appointment blocks are probably high on her priority list. Make sure these are front and center on your website. 3 Connect on a personal level. Research shows that the second most vis- ited page on a dental website is the “Meet the Doctor” page. This is great news for www.northtexasdentistry.com | NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY 21