Sean White, CEO of Whiteboard Marketing, specializes in helping dental offices establish an effective media presence and optimize available web search tools. When it comes to ensuring a thriving practice, today’s tools go far beyond the traditional referral. Knowing how to harness the power of Google and related technology requires specific expertise that Sean shares in detail.

Google’s coveted “front page” real estate involves Page 1 points of entry for prospective patients including Google’s Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, the Google Local 3-Pack (maps, review and listing) and search engine optimization. Proximity, relevancy and Google reviews are the first things to consider optimizing and are featured at the top of any given search return, but it can involve more time than pay-off for the inexperienced practitioner.

When it comes to the most valuable real estate, the search results below the ads, maps and business listings are actually where 60-70% of prospective patients click for more information, especially if they are on a desktop computer. The payoff is significant, but the effort is unlikely to succeed without a commitment of time and resources to manage search engine optimization (SEO). Dental practices need to be aware of domain settings, logo icons, webpage tags and unique content creation (website, blog).

To climb the ranks to Google’s Page 1 it requires time, patience and persistent effort to manage tools and track return on investment. Follow-up is necessary to ensure that, once they convert and click through, prospective patients arrive at a user-friendly website that includes things like an interface that is friendly, provides access to a one-click phone call from the screen, offers live chat and online options for scheduling and bill payment.

Main Takeaways

Why understanding Google search is key to growing a dental practice. (04:34)

What is Google Pay Per Click and how does it work? (08:25)

What constitutes the Google Local 3-Pack offering? (10:11)

The majority of prospects click through on the actual search returns, which are trickier than Google ads and require commitment and optimization. Here’s why. (19:20)

Best practices for optimizing and leveraging Google products in ways the search engine will reward with improved visibility. (24:52)

Key Quotes

“If you’re a dentist trying to figure out how to work all this stuff you’re essentially wasting money. We want you to be in the chair, treating your patients and doing what you’re best at.”

“There’s 20 to 25 potential results on that first page of Google, which is enough for most folks to look at. Some folks don’t even know how to go to the next page. So the answer is, Yes. You definitely want to be on the first page.”

“What SEO is about is generating opportunities: Phone calls, web forums, web chats. The days of key word rankings and searching for yourself and not showing up — you can’t have that mindset anymore. You’ve got to look at the back-end data.”

“You have to have your conversion tracking set up on Google analytics because that’s the real true testament to the efficacy of SEO. That’s what the goal should be of your marketing partner or yourself — tying lead generation to your SEO efforts.”

“Any SEO company that’s confident in what they do should be more than confident telling you that you’re going to get at least three to four patients a month on a minimum just from your SEO effort.”

“If you want to be available and have a good presence in all the factors, then it costs money to do that and typically it’s a really good value.”

“Ultimately, without sales nothing happens. You gotta get your phone to ring more than it is. You gotta be able to convert new prospects over the phone and over chat and over web forums. You gotta have scheduling ambassadors if you really are truly interested in growing a practice.”

Snippets

02:49 - 03:40 - A little background about Sean White, CEO of Whiteboard Marketing

22:12 - 22:25 - Major Google ad...