For many dentists, running a dental practice and having a website now go hand-in-hand. You understand that in today’s digital world, your patients expect you to have a website. A website is a necessary part of having an online presence.

However, many dental practice owners do not consider the marketing practices required to rank a website in search engines. Additionally, having an optimal online presence involves more tips and tools than just having a website, such as social media, ads, online profiles, and patient reviews. To make your practice stand out and rank among the numerous dental websites out there, you must invest in the latest digital marketing strategies.

Here, we have laid out a few of the top lead generation and marketing strategies to help your dental practice grow.

Digital Marketing Strategies for Lead Generation

Upping your marketing game requires the latest techniques and strategies to improve lead generation to convert more potential patients. SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads are three of the highest-performing lead generation strategies for dental practices.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

A priority for any business with a website is search engine optimization (SEO). SEO for dentists involves using relevant keywords, target locations, and high-quality content to help pages rank higher in search engines. The goal is to improve online visibility, so the website gets more organic or natural traffic. 

At Med Rank Interactive, we start by doing keyword research to target keywords and variations that have the highest search volume for our clients’ topics or services. Keywords with higher search volume help to boost their rankings in search results since these terms are more widely researched by patients.

These keywords are used to generate content for the client’s website and to optimize current landing pages. Our goal is to create original, high-quality content that is relevant to their readers. We use keywords in headings, titles, page descriptions, and links for better SEO.

To achieve the best optimization results, the chosen keywords are relevant and used naturally within the content. No overstuffing keywords just to fill in content; this will actually harm rankings! 

When creating content, we want it to be natural and true to the client’s voice to establish their dental practice as an authority on the brand. We check Google’s “people also ask” sections to generate content that is frequently searched. These suggestions are used to better optimize landing pages and to improve SEO in blog posts.

Knowing what patients are asking and searching for is key for improved SEO!

In addition to keywords and phrases, our marketing agency helps our clients choose their target location(s) for local SEO strategies. By combining keywords with target locations, we can boost your chances of ranking in Google’s local 3-pack or within the first page of search engine results. Local SEO strategies help our dental clients reach more prospective patients in their area.

Google Ads for Dentists

When spending money to create advertisements, our clients want to make sure they spend it in the right place. Google Ads help put dental practices in front of more potential patients and maximize exposure. With Google’s expansive reach, our clients can reach patients while they are searching for related dental products and services. Simply put, their ad pops up at opportune times during the patient’s search. 

Our marketing agency uses platforms like Google Ads to run advertisements, so we can choose which keywords and phrases will trigger our clients’ ads.

Their ads are displayed above organic results in search engine results for those keywords if the bids are among the highest.

The best thing about Google Ads for dentists is that our clients only pay when people click on their ads, which means they do not spend anything if no one hits on the ad.

Furthermore, there is no need to wait for results. The ads may start sending qualified traffic to the client’s website as soon as Google Ads activates them. This implies that Google Ads are an excellent strategy to immediately increase traffic to our clients’ dental practice websites.

We want our Google Ads campaigns to have a unique offer that the user can only find on the ad, nowhere else on the website, to encourage them to take action. Here are some points that help our clients generate more leads and get the most out of their ad campaigns.

Once again, it's critical to understand what keywords potential patients use when looking for dental services online. Then, we can categorize those keywords into ad groups that are specific to the services our client offers.

For example, we may create a group of keywords that target people searching for dental emergency services and another group that focuses on dental extractions.

This helps us produce more relevant search ads with higher click-through rates.

Then, for each of our client’s search ads, we create a unique landing page for their targeted keywords and customers. This helps increase the quality score of the ads so that Google Adwords trusts to show it for the targeted keywords for which we are requesting them to display the ad.

This means that a client’s search ads and landing pages should both highlight the same topic, keywords, or services for which they are advertising. For example, if their search ad mentions dentures, the landing page should also highlight the types of dentures that they offer.

Alt text: keywords for Google Ads for dentists

Additionally, on landing pages, we feature clear calls-to-action (CTAs) that urge potential patients to take the next step and contact our client to make an appointment.

Creating custom landing pages aids in consistency and ensures that prospects do not lose interest and click the return button before contacting the client.

• Next is local targeting is essential for dentists. We want our client’s ads to appear most of the time when people in their area look for dental services. The client can reach their most qualified prospects and avoid overpaying for search ads by targeting a local audience.

• Our marketing agency also uses Google advertisements to generate phone calls. This phone call costs our client the same as a normal click to their landing page.
• In order to generate call-in leads, we include the client’s phone number in their search ads and use Ad Schedule to set their ads to appear only during office hours. This ensures that all calls are answered by a real person who can assist in converting leads into patients.

• Another interesting thing about Google Ads is that it also allows us to provide more detailed information about the client’s dental practice using ad extensions.

Examples of these are location and call extensions that display their office’s address and contact number.

We also have sitelink extensions to display links to multiple pages on a client’s website instead of one landing page.

These extensions will help our dental clients broaden the reach of their search ads and attract even more patients.

• Lastly, we analyze and evaluate our clients’ Google Ads campaigns to obtain valuable information to improve their ads strategy in the future, like testing new ad copies and keywords that will result in the highest number of traffic and conversions.

Google Ads Case Study Results

Check out the case study results for the Google Ads campaign that we ran for a client. Soft Touch Dental is a trusted dental practice for stunning, healthy smiles in Florissant, Missouri. They recently joined our marketing company to expand their reach by marketing their dental practice through Google Ads.

Med Rank Interactive increased their leads through Google Ads by:

• Adding keywords that have the most Average Monthly Searches based on our keyword research
• Creating compelling ads with headlines and descriptions that have pain points that lead to a click on our ad
• Weekly monitoring of search terms to make sure ads appear for the right audience 
• Performing bi-weekly and monthly audits, optimizing, and experimenting to generate the most leads

Results:

• Received 105 Phone Calls in the last 30 days
• Received 43 Conversions in the last 30 days

Our client’s Google Ads campaign has a conversion rate as high as 33% which is well above the industry average!

On the first day of running the ads, our client already received 4 phone calls and 1 conversion! They have also appeared as the first listing in Google’s local 3-pack!

Facebook Ads for Dentists

Like Google Ads, Facebook Ads are an effective way to generate leads and sales. The ads can be customized and targeted, so they get in front of more of the right potential patients. At Med Rank Interactive, we use Facebook Ads that focus on our clients’ target keywords and patient demographics. There are various options for ads including images, videos, slideshows, polls, messenger ads, and much more.

Using ads is a great option for driving website traffic, boosting phone calls, and increasing patient conversions. Additionally, we can monitor and analyze ads, which helps our clients improve or expand their ads to meet their marketing goals.

In Facebook Ads, we set detailed targeting to target the right audience based on the client’s niche. In one client’s case, we want to target everyone who is interested in getting braces in Cary, NC.

First, we target the location and adjust its radius:

The Facebook algorithm shows ads to people who are interested or most likely to convert based on our set of detailed targeting options:

For example, if a Facebook user is interested in health & wellness (a health and wellness group member, likes wellness FB pages, posted about health, etc.), then most likely they will see the ad as it is targeting “Health & Wellness.”

Our Client’s Actual Facebook Ad on News Feed:

If a potential patient clicks anywhere on the image of the ad, a form will pop out asking for basic details such as name, email, phone number, and preferred time of appointment. Once they are done and hit submit form, our client is then notified via email for a new lead containing all of the information submitted on the form. 

Our client can now reach out to the potential patient to confirm their appointment. 

It is important to remember that Facebook Ads may not convert as well as Google Ads. This is because when users are on Google, they are actively searching for a dentist. On Facebook, they are scrolling through their News Feed. With Facebook Ads, we use email automations with follow-ups and SMS follow-ups. These are added to encourage users to book an appointment with the client when they complete a Facebook form.

Our agency tracks all leads from Google, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads in a CRM so that our clients and our marketing team understand which avenues are the most profitable marketing channels. Dental Intelligence now allows us and our dental clients to track scheduled patients by marketing channel more efficiently because DI connects right to the dental practice’s patient management system.

Actual Facebook Ad Form:

Facebook Ad Manager Dashboard:

Facebook Ads Case Study Results

Check out the case study results for another client. Griffin & Bernstein Orthodontics strives to provide the best orthodontic care for adults and kids in Cary, NC. 

Med Rank Interactive helped boost their social media presence and drive new leads through Facebook Ads. 

Facebook Ads Case Study Results:

• 49 Facebook Ads leads in just over 4 months
• 126% cost-per-lead improvement
• Maximized campaign delivery with the lowest cost-per-click
• Increased the client’s quarterly ads goals

Using Dental Intelligence to Monitor Leads and Marketing Strategies

Taking our clients’ dental practices to the next level is easy with Dental Intelligence. DI helps us monitor leads, track performance, and analyze marketing channels.

Tracking Leads by Referral Source

DI is able to help us monitor where leads are coming from into the practice. We can track and monitor which leads and sources are successfully growing a client’s dental practice. 

This all starts with referral codes. Referral codes are what our clients put into their patient management software when they ask how a new patient found their dental practice. It could have been through Google, their Google My Business profile, or a friend as an example. 

Updating Referral Sources

The first and most important aspect when tracking leads with DI is referral codes. If a client is not entering referral codes for each referral or keeping track of them, they will be unable to tell which marketing campaigns are and are not working for their dental practice. 

Here is a quick and easy list to use for referral sources that we prefer for our clients:

• Family / Friend
• Google
• Social (i.e., Facebook)
• Website

By entering these referral codes when a new patient comes into the practice, our clients have a clear view of where their new patients are coming from and where to devote more of their marketing efforts. 

Once they have started entering referral codes into their patient management system, they can then go into DI. From there, go to the left-hand menu, hover over the three people icon, and click “Patient Finder.” 

Next, click “Start From Scratch” located in the middle of the screen.

Then, click “Edit Table” in the top right and scroll all the way to the end, and check mark “Referral Source”. 

Now, our clients can see all patients that have come into their practice and where the patients have found them. 

Take Your Practice to the Next Level with Digital Marketing Strategies

Now that you know the best digital marketing strategies and how to monitor and analyze their success, you can take the next step toward growing your own dental practice. Ask your dental marketing company about SEO strategies and Google and Facebook Ads to generate patient leads and how to use the DI platforms to monitor referral sources.

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Author Bio:

Lamar Hull, MBA, is the founder of Med Rank Interactive, a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in local SEO, reputation management, Facebook / Google Ads, content marketing, website design, and data analytics exclusively for dentists, orthodontists, pharmacists, independent physicians, and multi-location medical practices. Hull has an MBA in internet marketing and uses much of his time learning new strategies in online marketing and health care. He attended Davidson College where he played basketball for Bob McKillop and alongside NBA superstar Stephen Curry. Med Rank Interactive is an agency partner of Dental Intelligence and has been featured in Dental Economics, Dentistry IQ, and Dental Entrepreneur.