By Wendy O ' Donovan Phillips , Big Buzz , Inc .
In this day and age , it is highly possible to attract your ideal new patients while you are sleeping . You may have spent a lot of time and money optimizing your website for search , but have you optimized it as a patient intake machine yet ? Here are a few simple steps to making your website work for you .
Write and design for the ideal . Choose your 10 best patients , and have the website written and designed specifically to their tastes . Sprinkle in testimonials from your top patients , too . This approach makes your website an engaging tool for attracting the right visitors and delivering them to your doorstep . More importantly , it helps to weed out the patients that you don ’ t want , which makes the intake process easier and more efficient .
HONE YOUR SERVICES .
Decide who you want to be in the world before putting it on your website . Perhaps your practice is best known for crowns in a day . Or for cosmetic orthodontics . Or for oral surgery and dental implants in one location . Nix the long list of general services and make yourself known for a signature service instead . This will keep patients loyal and keep them referring .
LET THE WEB DO ITS WORK .
When used correctly , the World Wide Web can be a wonder in driving patient leads to your website and in your door . Some practices benefit from SEO . Some from Google AdWords . Some from retargeting ads . Some from Facebook ads . There are a myriad of other online marketing tactics to explore on top of those . Research which online marketing efforts are best for your practice by talking with online marketing experts and by surveying patients to uncover what type of online promotions they and their peers prefer . Then implement the tactics you select for at least 6 months to give them a chance to work and to gather ample data on how it ’ s working .
TOUT ACCOLADES AND AWARDS .
You are not a general dentist , you are an extraordinary dentist . Share all of your success stories on your website . Potential patients are more interested in your passion for what you do than where you went to undergraduate college or that you are a member of your state dental association . Get at the heart of why you are extremely dedicated to CE , or are committed to offering state of the art technology , or are involved in a study club . Without the why , these things are just features . With the why , they are benefits to the patient .
GIVE MULTIPLE WAYS TO GET IN TOUCH .
At any given time , new patients are entering your practice through a funnel . At the top of the funnel are potential patients who just recently learned about the practice . They might want to like you on Facebook or follow you on Twitter to continue to get to know you before taking the next step . Be sure these options are easily accessible on your website . In the middle of the funnel are new patients who need a bit more nurturing before they are ready to make an appointment . They might prefer to email you a few questions , or call with those questions . Email and phone number should be prominently displayed on every page of your website . At the bottom of the funnel are the ones who are intentional about finding the kind of dental care you offer and are ready to enter the practice . Make it easy on your website for those folks to make an appointment now .
OFFER ONLINE PATIENT FORMS .
The easier you make it for the new patient to enter the practice , the more likely they are to do so . Go beyond the downloadable form . Offer forms that can be submitted online . There are all kinds of sophisticated website development widgets that make this possible while still maintaining HIPAA compliance .
Sit back , relax , and enjoy your new patients ! �
Los Angeles Dental Society Explorer