Marketing is a huge part of any business even a great restorative practice. Many dentists will spend a lot on their websites, but they either aren’t getting a great return on their investment or they don’t know what type of return they are getting. Today, I have dental Internet marketing expert Mike Pedersen on the show. Mike runs The Dental Boost and is the host of The Dental Success Podcast. Today, we talk about where do I start, and what do I need to know about building a dental website.
Mike has a fitness background, and had the foresight to see the potential of the Internet. He began marketing fitness and golf products until he pivoted to helping local businesses with their websites and Internet marketing. He pivoted again and began focusing on dental practices. It is a pleasure to have Mike on the show. You won’t want to miss all of the website and marketing knowledge he shares with us today.
You can find Mike here:
The Dental Boost
Mike@TheDentalBoost.com
Your Dental Success Podcast
Mike Pedersen on LinkedIn
Show Notes
[03:01] Mike was a personal trainer for twenty years. He almost made the Olympics in 1988. Sports was a perfect fit for him. He trained elite CEOs in their homes.
[03:35] In 2000, he wanted to do something with fitness and the Internet. He then became obsessed with golf. He then launched a website for golf fitness and created products that hit seven figures. He had a subscriber base of 78,000. His YouTube channel has 4 million combined views.
[05:52] In 2008, he lost 80% of his revenue, and pivoted to help local businesses grow. Then he became involved in dental marketing.
[06:57] People spend big money on marketing, and it is not always successful.
[07:11] Today, we talk about where do I start, and what do I need to know about building a dental website.
[07:25] How many dentist have very ineffective websites.
[07:36] Everything about your website should be directed at getting your visitor to call your practice.
[07:56] You need a prominent phone number on every page of your website. Put it in the upper right-hand corner.
[08:33] You also need to tell your visitors exactly what to do such as call us today.
[09:26] Dynamic numbers so that you can track your calls. All your numbers need to be in text format not an image. Every single call can be tracked.
[10:37] If you don't track your calls, you will never know the ROI on your website.
[11:27] You should have people answering the phone who can convert that call into an appointment. Call tracking lets you know what is happening with those phone calls.
[12:18] Dentistry conversion rates are extremely low.
[13:57] Calculating what the patient is worth to you in their first year at your practice.
[14:25] A story where the potential loss of the wrong person answering the phone over 17 years added up to $1.9 million.
[15:36] Don't waste the first fold of your website with a big image. Give the visitor the information that they are looking for.
[18:27] Video is a game changer for businesses.
[19:05] Stop hiding behind your website. With video your conversions will be 10 to 1. Make your video 45 to 60 seconds at the most.
[21:53] Introduce yourself, say the city where you are from, and end the call with a call to action to give your practice a phone call.
[24:25] Have a picture of your external office on the homepage. Have a picture of your warm and inviting team.
[27:29] Have “real patient” images.
[30:36] SEO is important. Search engines hate duplicate content. Have branded content with a problem and a solution.
[32:20] Write to solve your visitors problem.
[32:53] You need to create content for your keyword phrases.
[33:43] Shooting a video a week answering common questions can turn your website into a search engine beast.
[35:20] Don't have a bunch of links in your footer. Make it easy for people to find the content that they are looking for. Have office hours and a map on every page of your website.
[37:22] Everyone should have a responsive site and the first thing that shows up should be the call us button, a map, and office hours.
[38:42] What people see on your mobile site doesn't have to be exactly like your desktop site.
[39:23] Don't send people off to social media sites. Don't have these buttons near the top. Put them at the bottom of your website. Have third-party software integrated on your website.
[41:22] A website is a business investment. The cost should probably be in the $6000 to $8000 range. Beware of add-on costs.
[44:53] You need a good converting website and strategies in place to get traffic to it.
[46:58] Google ads drive 20% of the traffic, and 80% of the traffic is organic.
[49:50] Your contact page is very important. Have a map, a form, hours, phone number, and an address. The form should be name, phone number, submit.
Links and Resources:
The Dental Boost
Mike@TheDentalBoost.com
Your Dental Success Podcast
Mike Pedersen on LinkedIn
