More Stuff About Search Engine Optimization

The Lifetime Value of a Dental Patient

There are two things every dentist needs to know:

  • How much does it cost you to get one new patient
  • On average, what’s that patient worth over the relationship you have with him/her?


  • The internet revolutionizes both sides of the equation.

    Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media sites are marvels of the modern advertising world, because the cost to be seen by a large local crowd is virtually zero. When you can nurture a prospect into a patient for nothing, it doesn’t take much to give you a killer ROI, right?

    On the other hand, legions of unsophisticated marketers are getting both sides of the equation wrong.

    They invest a lot in hoopla, spin and hype to get strangers to notice them (once), and then, once they borrow a little attention, they put everything into a one shot transaction, which few people engage in, and those that do create little value, because the permission asset is then discarded.

    Dates, not singles bars. Subscriptions, not vegomatics.

    Posted in Local Search, Mobile Search, Paid Search (SEM), Search Engine Optimization, Social Marketing, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    Facebook, Twitter & Mobile…. VIDEO for Dentists

    Videos now go hand in hand with good search engine optimization practices. Not only do they provide the informative content people want to see “live,” but they can also be used to help your website rank higher in the search results, thereby getting you more patients. The research group Forrester found that videos were 53 times (5300%) more likely to receive first page organic rankings than were traditional static text-only web pages.

    Did you know that 48 hours of video are uploaded every minute to YouTube, resulting in nearly 8 years of content uploaded every day? It’s true… The fast-movers and early adopters (as they prove time and time again online) will take the Lion’s Share of the new patients, while the rest watch the “video train” rush by, wondering when their turn is.

    OK – I’ve Got Video… Now What?

    Leveraging your video properly includes so much more than just putting it on your website! Integrating your video into your social and mobile marketing strategies is paramount to your success.

    Here’s what YouTube says about how their video gets spread around:

    Social Video
    --  17,000,000 people have connected their YouTube account to at least one social network (Facebook, Twitter, etc)
    --  100,000,000 people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) weekly
    Mobile Video
    --  YouTube Mobile gets over 400,000,000 views a day (13% of their total views)
    Facebook Video
    --  150 years of YouTube video are watched daily on Facebook
    Twitter Video
    --  Every minute more than 500 tweets contain YouTube links

     

    Want to know more?
    Order my latest book for just $1, then contact our awesome sales guys.
    Posted in Local Search, Mobile Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social Marketing, Video on the Web, Video Productions, Web Marketing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

    What Walmart’s Checkout Line & Your Dental Practice Share

    Any time you go through a checkout lane in WalMart, you’ve no doubt noticed the hundreds of items that are surrounding you as you wait to check out. Most will be small ticket items, a buck or two here and there.

    They certainly don’t compare to the big ticket items found in other places of the store, but they are big money makers. Even though WalMart might sell a $599 snow blower in one department and a $1000 flat screen in another, based on square footage, the checkout line is the most profitable real estate in the store. The last time I checked, WalMart merchandise was selling at a rate of $5.00 per square foot on regular shelves and $28 per square foot at the checkout isle.

    Why? Because That’s Where Everyone Is

    A snow blower might be bypassed, and in reality they don’t sell that many compared to the number of gum packs in checkout isles. Everyone has to go through a relatively small space to get out, and while you are standing there, you are a captive audience. WalMart also knows the last minute decision in a checkout line is immediate and swift.

    “Mom, can I have a pack of gum?”

    How many times have you heard that and the parent, probably you included, has succumbed to the ease and immediacy of throwing a pack of gum on the conveyor belt?

    Being where people are at and allowing them to satisfy their need for “immediacy” is important!

    If someone is searching for a dentist, especially in today’s world of quick internet searches, instant gratification, and the prevalent use of smart phones, YOU HAVE TO BE SEEN IN THE MOST VALUABLE PIECE OF ADVERTISING REAL ESTATE OR YOU WON’T GET THE BUSINESS!

    Today that means you have to be seen on the web. Your website displays information about your dental practice. You can emphasize your specialties and let your prospective patients spend some time getting to know you via your website and videos… but not if you aren’t there AND NOT IF YOU CAN’T BE SEEN.

    At the same time remember we’ve already discussed well established facts and trends.

    • Well over 95% of people looking for a dentist, or any local service for that matter, will search online and on their mobile phones.
    • 86% of them will immediately pick up the phone and call, symbolizing the power of the “checkout isle” phenomenon.

    It’s a simple concept but an important one: Provide the information when and where people are looking for it and be the best at it… or drop down to the $5 a square foot rent district.

    People act quicker today than they ever have before. Technology has spawned a global “checkout isle” mentality. Turning that into a lucrative, patient attracting medium means you have to be there and be seen.

    We can help… Talk to us about how you can capture the “checkout line” mentality and make it work for you and your dental practice. You will get the lion’s share of qualified patients who are searching.

    The next time you go through the checkout line in your favorite store, think about the marketing angle and remember this blog.

    Posted in Local Search, Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    Legions of “Dental Marketers” Are Getting It All Wrong

    Many dental marketing companies are leading their dentist clients to invest their marketing dollars in the hype of Facebook and the glory of Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, making the cost of a connection very high and leaving them [the "dental marketers"] as the only one with cash in their pocket when the music stops…

    There are ways to reach the prospects YOU want that need treatment in the niches that YOU provide.

    Hint: It’s not Facebook or PPC… and here’s why:

    Facebook is revolutionary, but in order to “Friend” someone, you have to know them first. Even on your Facebook Business Page, for them to “Like” you, they have to know you. Would you “Friend” or “Like” a complete stranger? Of course you wouldn’t. That’s why Facebook is a FOLLOW-UP medium, a way to keep in touch with patients and prospects that you already know.

    Let’s talk about AdWords (Google’s PPC program). AdWords allows you to get your dental practice to the top of the search results by just bidding more than your competitor.

    Sounds great, right?

    The problem here is two fold:

    1) By bidding more, your cost of acquiring a new patient just went through the roof by paying $5, $10, $20 or more just for a single click into your website (do not make the mistake of confusing a “click” with actually getting a “prospect”!!).

    With the average “conversion rate” from clicks to prospects being only 3% to 8% (which was great a few years ago when you only paid $0.50 for a click… read #2 to see why), you could be easily paying (and not realizing) $300-$800 PER PROSPECT just to generate leads.

    2) PPC was, for years, one of the best kept secrets for lead generation. 5 years.. even 1 to 2 years ago the number of dentists advertising in Google AdWords was, in many local markets, a fraction of what it is now. Since AdWords is a bidding war, more bidders = higher bids = diluted results because more people want “a piece of the pie.”

    There are ways to attract qualified patients in the niches that you want to specialize in.

    Do you want to know more about successful web marketing? Contact us, we’re here to help.

    Posted in Local Search, Mobile Search, Offline Marketing, Paid Search (SEM), Search Engine Optimization, Social Marketing, Video on the Web, Video Productions, Web Marketing, Web Site Design | Leave a comment

    New Book Shows Dentists the Secrets of Google’s Panda Update

    The 9 Simple SEO Secrets of Google PandaThe 9 Simple SEO Secrets of Google Panda, released by SmartBox Web Marketing, shows dentists how to stay competitive at the top of Google to attract high-quality & pre-qualified new patients.

    SEO, in a nutshell, is presenting your site to search engines in the best possible light. There is no magic road to great search engine optimization… and anyone who tells you differently is simply lying. One key factor to getting good ranking in the search engines is quality content.

    This new special report will give you all 9 secrets you need to know to survive “the Panda.”

    Click here to Download the press release (PDF)

    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Video on the Web, Video Productions, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    The Yellowpages is Dead

    I came across some very telling numbers in Simba’s Information Industry Forecast today…

    Spending in the Yellowpages was down 16.2% in 2010, it’s 3rd consecutive double-digit decline (YP has declined every year since 2003). The 2011 outlook is similarly negative, and they are estimated to be down another 12% to $12.8 billion.

    I checked in with Google to get their take on the situation, but they had no comment… I assume they were too busy growing 34% since last year and are on track to a $40 BILLION 2011.

    When was the last time you opened the Yellowpages to find something?

    Looking for new patients? They are searching online too. We’ve been pioneering the way dentists market themselves on the web for over a decade. Submit your information below and we’ll contact you in 24 hours.
    

    Posted in Local Search, Mobile Search, Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    Google Might Be Penalizing You For Being Slow

    Google is obsessive. About pretty much everything.

    It’s one quality that makes their products the best in the world. But it can also hurt you if you’re not staying up to date on your Search Engine Optimization strategies.

    Last year, Google announced they are now using the time it takes your website to load as a factor in how your website ranks in the searches! They even developed a tool to measure your site’s speed. Here’s Google’s take on why your website’s speed matters:

    Google’s goal is to provide users with the most relevant results and a great user experience. Fast sites increase user satisfaction and improve the overall quality of the web (especially for those users with slow internet connections)…

    What this means to you is, if you have a lot of flash, rotating images, background noise, or un-optimized code on your website, you’re being penalized by Google!

    Here’s a screen shot of SmartBox’s website Site Speed results:



    We highly suggest checking your Webmaster Tools (including Site Speed) regularly.

    Google’s Webmaster Tools offers tons of critical information such as the search queries your prospects are searching for, errors within your website, crawl rate, and much much more.

    You can see if you’re being penalized for having a sluggish website by going into your Webmaster Tools > Labs > Site Performance.

    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing, Web Site Design | Leave a comment

    Local Search Evolved [infographic]

    Posted in Local Search, Paid Search (SEM), Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    Do You Want Impressions & Clicks or Dollars In Your Pocket?

    Some dental marketing firms will tell you about “exposure” and “branding.” Others will talk about “hits” and “clicks.” Still some might even show you “impression” charts and complicated measurements of readership.

    Are you marketing for “branding, impressions and exposure,” or are you marketing to bring in the new patients with money to spend?

    The downside to all of these is neither tells you EXACTLY how many dollars came back into your pocket.

    Last Friday I had several monthly strategy calls with our dentist clients. We embrace phone call tracking with every piece of marketing we do, so naturally they are a hot topic for conversation during these monthly calls.

    Here are the results from two practices we’ve been working with for about 4 months. Think about it.. …
     

    Practice 1 – July 1-Sept 31, 2011
    189 Phone Calls from Website Only
    143 Calls from Newspaper Print Ads
    Practice 2 – July 22-Sept 31, 2011
    140 Phone Calls from Website Only
      
      
    Click to enlarge this image

    Click to enlarge this image
    Click to enlarge this image

    Click to enlarge this image



    Interested in getting a landslide of new patients into your dental practice? Send me an email at colin@smartbo

    
    Posted in Company Announcements, Drip Marketing, Local Search, Mobile Search, Offline Marketing, Paid Search (SEM), Phone Tracking, Search Engine Optimization, Social Marketing, Video on the Web, Video Productions, Web Marketing, Web Site Design | Leave a comment

    Why Content Fuels SEO (and feeds the Panda)

    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    Google Panda Loves Your Video

    If you’re working to ensure that your videos are well search engine optimized, you may be staring at these words in dread.

    Why? Because there is just SO MUCH advice about the right and wrong ways to do SEO and other marketing tactics!

    We understand that you may feel a bit “full” on the information side, so we’re going to make this short and sweet for you…

    Google’s Polygamous Marriages

    Google is much more than just a search engine now, offering everything from advertising services to a full suite of website administration tools. The interesting thing about Google is that all of its “products” seem to have one end goal in mind – your website’s success.

    Let’s look at a few of the products and tools that Google has practically married to it’s [core] Search service:

    YouTube: There are hundreds of millions of users on YouTube now. Google is now putting YouTube video results at the top of the 1st page of search results, meaning you can take a top position by having well-optimized videos in your YouTube channel.

    Google Analytics: Google users have access to an awesome tool called Google Analytics. This allows you to look at your website’s traffic in order to see such things as the number of visitors, how they behaved on your website, and what they did when they exited your site. What this means to you is: You can use Google Analytics to analyze incoming traffic from your YouTube videos and learn more about your prospects.

    Google Webmaster Tools: Google users can manage their website’s status, get diagnostic information, submit sitemaps, and much more critical to maintaining a top ranking on Google.

    Google Website Optimizer: This has been around for years, and we don’t see enough people taking advantage of it! GWO allows you to test your website and improve the “conversion rate” – in other words, GWO will tell you exactly how to structure your website to perform at it’s best. More optins = more prospects = more phone calls and new patients. It’s as simple as that.

    “Winning”

    The most important thing to remember about your videos is that they will only get watched if they are visually appealing, have a bit of humor, include a call to action, and look professional!

    You’re simply not going to get results if you don’t understand the basics of creating KILLER video: lighting, sound, background, and content. Think of video as you would your physical dental office – would you expect your patients to “buy into you” if you showed up in a t-shirt and jeans? Your web videos are no different!!

    Here’s a few professional spokesmodel videos we’ve recently produced for a few very savvy dentists [we're also running a killer special rate (expires tomorrow the 14th) on 7 professional spokesmodel videos for $997].


    Mini-Dental Implants Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dental Implants Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dentures Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now

    Orthodontics Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
     Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dental Fear & Sedation Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now



    Would you rather be “the face” of your dental practice?

    Checkout a few video’s we’ve produced in our green screen studio with our dentist clients around the US.


    Dr. MurrayPlay Now
     
    Dr. SchmidtPlay Now
     
    Dr. SchmidtPlay Now

    Dr. MurrayPlay Now
     
    Dr. SurberPlay Now
     
    Dr. SurberPlay Now



    Not sure why you need video? Click Here to order our free book and DVD

    Got Your Videos?

    Interested in getting your own videos? Call our awesome sales guys to learn more @ 888.741.1413 or enter your info below and we’ll contact you within 24 hours.
    

    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Video on the Web, Video Productions | Leave a comment

    2 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Be Doing Video

    So you need to add video to your website, but maybe you don’t like to be on camera, or you don’t have the time to come to our studio.

    We have the answer for you: SPOKESMODELS

    Here’s 42 professional spokesmodel videos we just finished up for a few of our very savvy dentist clients:

    Link >> http://www.smartboxwebmarketing.com/video-spokesmodels-for-dentists.htm

    And the best part is (in my opinion) these take ZERO of your time.

    We produce everything here in our green screen studio and deliver the finished product to you.   Included in the package we’ll also Search Engine Optimize your videos on YouTube and add them to your website!

    We’re running a wild special offer through next Friday (the 14th).

    You can get 7 professional spokesmodel videos, customized and branded for your practice for only $997.  After that, they will go back to their regular rate of $1497 (to be fair, no exceptions will be made).

    Simply give our awesome sales guys a call @ 888.741.1413 to learn more.  Some conditions do apply (Thanks Lawyers).

    Not sure why you need video? Click Here to order our free book and DVD


    A Few Of Our Recent Video Spokesmodels


    Mini-Dental Implants Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dental Implants Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dentures Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now

    Orthodontics Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Cosmetics Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now
     
    Dental Fear & Sedation Spokesmodel Video Demo ReelPlay Now



    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Video on the Web, Video Productions | Leave a comment

    Are You “Clear” on What SEO is?

    In February of 2011, Google rolled out an update to its classic algorithm, PageRank. This update came under the code names of “Panda” and “Farmer,” but if you cut through the fancy terms, it was simply something that Google implemented to help create a more beneficial experience for web users.

    The “Panda” update was created to undo all of the artificial search engine results that were created by activities such as “keyword stuffage,” “content farming” and other “blackhat” tactics. This led to many informational or article “syndication” sites losing substantial amounts of their ranking in search engine results, but it also impacted many others as well.

    Whether You Were Slapped or Not

    Regardless of whether or not this new algorithm impacted your dental website’s ranking, it helps to understand that the classic “SEO” tactics are the best measures against any problems with the new “Panda” formula.

    You may already be using things such as headings, tags, keyword rich content, and more. But are you also using these same tactics with video content? If you don’t have any video content, you are missing the boat!

    Let’s say that you are a dentist who has just started offering dental implants and sedation. There are all kinds of videos that you could put on your website that would educate prospects about the safety, benefits, and costs involved in the process.

    You might consider making a “series” of videos in order to keep people clicking through the pages of your site, such as making separate videos about all of the different services you offer.

    How to Use Video SEO

    As you begin to use video, you have to consider their value in terms of SEO. For example, you are going to want the search engines to be able to “index” the videos properly.

    This means that you have to attach as much descriptive (and keyword rich) text as possible to each of your videos in order to help the web “crawlers” weigh and index them correctly.

    Your videos can have titles, tags, categories, and descriptions

    Each of these entries is going to be surrounded by the code that allows the search engines to know exactly how to read and use them in their algorithm.

    Of course, SEO for your videos doesn’t end there because you can create a separate “sitemap” that lists your videos as well. ANY sitemap is appreciated by a search engine because it makes the contents very easy to “read” and to “index” When you do this for videos, it helps the search engines to index your site fully and to use the videos in search results more often.

    This brings us to the final way to use videos for SEO, and that is to use them in other networks apart from YouTube. While you can easily embed links to the site in YouTube, you can also put videos on your social networks too. Done correctly, these are all instances of creating “backlinks” that improve your search engine result ranking and get you to the top of Google.

    Interested in adding video to enhance your web presence? Give our awesome sales team a call at 888.741.1413 or just submit your info below to learn more about how we can help you find the new patients you’re looking for.

    
    Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Video on the Web, Video Productions, Web Marketing | Leave a comment

    SEO Explained by SearchEngineLand

    Great video from SearchEngineLand that describes how SEO really works in today’s world.


    Posted in Search Engine Optimization | Leave a comment

    2 Fresh New Special Reports Due Out in October

    With all the game-changing updates Google is making, we’re going to be working overtime to get both these special report updates out ASAP so you can begin taking advantage of the recent changes.

    The first special report is “The New YellowPages: How To Get Your Dental Practice Found Online Where 97% Of People Are Searching

    If your dental practice isn’t all over the local search right now, then your competition is – and they’re taking your patients. This new special report will show you, step by step, what you need to be doing with Google Places and the local search so you can get the lion’s share of new patients.

    Every month, Google reports many medium sized U.S. cities see 75,000 to 85,000 searches for dentists and dental related keywords! The effectiveness of your Local Search strategy makes all the difference when it comes to getting your dental practice seen by these potential new patients in Google Places and the local search.

    The second free report is “The 9 Simple SEO Secrets of Google Panda: How Google’s Paradigm Shift is Affecting Your Rankings

    New patients aren’t to be found only in Google Places… Organic search results still give a great ROI by generating tons of phone calls & new patients. This new free report will arm you with the tools you need to dominate the organic rankings on Google in this new “Panda” world.

    SEO, in a nutshell, is presenting your site to search engines in the best possible light. There is no magic road to great search engine optimization… and anyone who tells you differently is simply lying. One key factor to getting good ranking in the search engines is quality content. This new special report will give you all 9 secrets you need to know to survive the Panda.

    Both reports will be available for download here next month on our Books & DVD’s page. If you’d like an advance copies, click here to request them.

    Posted in Company Announcements, Local Search, Search Engine Optimization | Leave a comment