How to Get Your Website Started

Patient Testimonials and Reviews

In today’s dentistry sector, patient feedback and testimonials are key components of marketing initiatives. Any dental office should attempt to establish a patient-centered atmosphere where patients may feel confident that they are receiving the finest care available. To promote your practice, you can display patient testimonials and reviews on your website. This is an excellent way to earn the trust of potential patients. You can also use video to share your patient experiences. Patients are more likely to visit a healthcare practice after viewing a video.

Before and After Pictures

Taking before and after photos shows that you’ve thought about future patients’ needs. It demonstrates that you are concerned about the quality of your work and understand the importance of long-term planning. This is a hallmark of the most successful dental practices as they are dedicated to earning their patients’ trust and taking pride in their work.

Video Testimonials

Video marketing is one of the most effective marketing formats available. A video testimonial  has a patient appear on video to discuss your dental practice. Patients usually talk about how the business helped them solve a problem or how it affected their lives. Video testimonials are authentic since it’s real people, willing to associate their faces and name with your practice on camera.

Written Case Study

A marketing case study is designed to persuade people that a certain service can solve a problem. It appeals to logic while painting a picture of what success looks like for the patient. Using case studies in your marketing plan will help potential patients not only see things logically but also see what a happy patient looks like at your dental office.

The best way to structure a marketing case study is in the form of a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Focus on the patient and how you can assist them. Case studies can be used to promote your practice on social media, websites, and emails. Opinions from people outside of a dental office, particularly from patients, will always have more weight than any marketing pitch. 

Google Reviews

The value of online reviews for dental practices is incredible, ranging from increased brand awareness to increased overall profitability. The more reviews your dental practice has, the higher it will rank on major search engines like Google. It’s critical to be at the top of a Google search if you want to attract new patients.

Website Security 

There are several benefits of having website security for your dental practice. Website security communicates trust and competence, is necessary for search engine optimization (SEO), prevents spoofing, and protects patient data from exploitation. When a website is hacked or attacked, it typically crashes or slows down, loses traffic, and sensitive client data is lost. 

Hosting/SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate identifies your website as secure, and it’s one of the factors Google takes into account when ranking websites in search results. Installing an SSL certificate is a simple first step toward reaping the benefits of a secure website, as well as improved SEO.

Malware Protection (Wordfence)

Every dental office’s computer system should have a strong antivirus software package. Malware refers to any malicious software that is designed to harm or exploit any programmable device, service, or network. Cybercriminals use it to extract data that they can use to gain a financial advantage over their victims.

Malware Removal (WPFixit)

WPFixit provides immediate assistance, malware virus removal, infection insurance, site speed-up services, and complete website management and support. These small digital pests frequently enter WordPress pages via seemingly harmless plugins. You can avoid these problems by keeping a close eye on your site and optimizing it to see where the problems are coming from. 

Daily Backups

Dental Practice’s should consider using backup software to prevent data loss in the event human error, corrupt files, or a natural disaster renders critical data inaccessible. Backup software copies data from servers, databases, desktops, laptops, and other devices to ensure it can be accessed if necessary. Backup your data is a great idea whether it’s personal or business-related, and could save you from having to react to any kind of loss.

Online Appointment Requests

Online scheduling is one of the most widely used and straightforward technologies among forward-thinking healthcare organizations, including hospitals. It allows patients to book or request appointments from any internet-connected device with just a few simple clicks. The only difference between an online schedule request and a phone appointment request is that the latter does not require a phone call to complete.

Sticky Menu CTA

A great CTA will grab the attention of your website visitors and make the next step in becoming a customer as simple as possible. Sticky menus have been shown to improve customer experience by keeping users oriented and giving them more control over their journey through your website. They are most effective for “actionable” sites where the user wants to take a specific action, such as using their service.

Add Forms to Service Pages

Contact forms are basically online forms with a few fields for you to fill out. Name, address, and a text area for questions or feedback are common fields on these forms. There may also be fields where you must select one of several options. This simple form on a website allows visitors to contact you quickly and easily.

How to Respond to Online Requests

Customer communication (responding to customer requests) can make or break a company. One of the most effective ways to improve the speed with which you respond to customer service emails is to categorize and prioritize them. You can categorize requests based on their subject or theme and assign them a tag. Different tags should have different levels of priority based on factors like response time, problem complexity, and importance to both the customer and the company.

Special Offers

Special offers are effective at attracting dental patients because they help set your practice apart from the competition. Focusing on why visiting your practice is a good value sets you apart and gives people a reason to make an appointment. Here are some examples of common offers that dentists use to attract new patients.

Incentivize New Patients

Patients today are looking for special offers and good value, so offer discounts or free consultations to entice them into your dental practice. Then keep track of which services they prefer and which offers they take advantage of so you can better target them with marketing strategies that help them stay loyal.

Reward Existing Patients

The more you market your program to patients, the more likely they are to use it. Patients may earn loyalty points for certain activities that you specify, and then redeem those points for branded merchandise, electric toothbrushes, gift cards, whitening treatment discounts, and more. It’s never a bad idea to let your patients know they’re appreciated. 

Easy Access Phone Number

A phone number is critical information to provide on a company’s website. Many dental practices give little attention to where it fits within the overall site design. Rather than making your phone number difficult to locate, post it prominently on your pages. Make it simple for your patients to discover your practice’s phone number.

Where to Place the Number

The location and design of your dental office phone number, like any other feature on your website, will take some trial and error to figure out what works best. The visibility, style, typeface, and location of a phone number on a website may all have an influence on how readily your audience can locate it.

Optimize for Mobile

When it comes to mobile optimization, there are several factors to consider. Your website may pass all of the mobile-friendly standards and appear in mobile search results, yet it may not provide a satisfactory user experience. You may observe a high bounce rate and a short time on page if your site is appropriately optimized in Google’s eyes but does not work effectively for the patient.

Explainer Video

An explainer video may be thought of as the modern-day elevator pitch for a company’s product or service. Successful ones are short, focused, and have a single goal: to communicate the value of your product in the shortest time possible. Explainer videos are frequently used on landing pages, the main page of a website, or a prominent product page.

FAQ Page

For many dental practice websites, the FAQ page is an afterthought. If used carefully, this page may provide a lot of value in a variety of ways. You may enhance the usability of your site, establish authority, and increase conversions. Instead of offering ambiguous information, you can utilize patient questions to accurately meet their demands.

Trust Indicator Badges

A trust badge is a logo or symbol that you post on your website to reassure visitors that your company is trustworthy. Your patients may trust your site by including trust badges on their website because trust badges reassure them that their information and rights as customers will be protected. Customers want to trust the website with their personal information.

Showcase Awards

Don’t be scared to brag about your awards. When this is tastefully done, it boosts patients’ confidence while also boosting your team’s confidence. If you have dental industry credentials that are essential for what you do, they should be shown prominently on your homepage and in the footer of your website.

Establish Credibility

Every month, millions of people visit the About page since it’s more than just a dull bio. It includes information about background, narrative, personal images, and qualifications. Your aim  is to make potential patients feel at ease and enthusiastic about your practice. Bios are a great way to achieve that and they take very little time and money to create.

Highlight Achievements

Dental practices are afraid of appearing arrogant if they brag about their accomplishments, so they remain quiet about them. They will, however, help you create credibility if you merely mention your accomplishments. If you have the opportunity, apply for any local business awards or enter your items in awards. These are fantastic accomplishments that you can use to demonstrate that your dental practice is trustworthy.

Live Chat

Live chat is an essential component of a dental practice in the digital era since it allows you to speak with patients in real time. This form of immediate communication has revolutionized the way practitioners connect with their patients. The majority of people who visit your website prefer to utilize Live Chat to get instant help rather than waiting for a phone call or email answer.