BY: DEVIN SCHUMACHER // Head of Marketing / SERP Dental
This list of dental marketing ideas comes from experience working with dentists and other local service providers.
I have used these strategies to have helped our clients build dental practices of all sizes and stages of growth. I hope this information is as helpful for you as it has been profitable for our clients!
Blogs can be a great way to generate traffic to your website. People will click through if you give them topical, informative articles with headlines like “10 Tips for Preventing Gum Disease” or “What You Need to Know About Veneers.”
Establish an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page on your website. Not only will it reduce the number of inquiries to your clinic, but it can also be used to promote discounts, services, treatment options and other things that you’d like potential patients to know.
Sitemaps can help you rise in search engine results pages (SERPs) by gathering all of your data and presenting it in an easy-to-read format for the search engines themselves. They’re basically road maps for the algorithm systems used by companies like Google.
Analytics software can help you track, record, organize and analyze the traffic flowing to and from your website. The most well-known brand is Google Analytics, but there are other kinds that you can use as well.
Health screenings are provided by everyone from podiatrists to cardiologists. However, it’s rare to see a dentist enter the mix. You can get a lot of fresh sign-ups if you’re willing to break the mold and offer free or low-cost health screenings at your clinic.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the bread and butter of online advertising. Whenever you look for dental marketing solutions, SEO strategies will dominate the list. Start doing your homework on SEO and how it can help you.
One of the most efficient dental marketing strategies is to create how-to videos that can be hosted on your website or social media account. You’ll get clicks from all around the world as people search for flossing techniques or wisdom teeth removal.
Television and radio ads can increase your visibility among local residents. Even if they don’t need your services today, they’ll remember your jingle from hearing it on the radio every morning, and they’ll be more likely to contact you when they crack a tooth.
Hand out water bottles at a triathlon. Distribute key chains at local business conferences. Just make sure that your name, logo and phone number is on all of your freebies.
Throw out those dusty magazines and bring in books, movies, puzzles, board games and coloring supplies for adults and kids alike. People will definitely comment on your top-tier waiting room in their reviews.
If you’re still using plain white squares, you’re missing out on prime opportunities for memorable marketing. Think about something colorful or something shaped like teeth, toothbrushes or gums.
Once you’ve created a blog, it’s important not to drone on with the same topics and the same “voices.” Feature some guest bloggers to give it variety and credibility as a blog written by and for well-informed individuals.
Print media might be on the decline as businesses become increasingly digital, but there’s still power in old-fashioned billboards and bus stop flyers. In fact, without a lot of competition, print ads can be a surprisingly effective and creative dental marketing plan.
If the patient is smiling as they leave your clinic, ask them to give a testimonial before they go. You can use their praise everywhere from commercials to radio ads.
This is one of those marketing tips for dentists that sounds obvious but is still crucial to the success of your business. More than two-thirds of people use phones and tablets rather than traditional computers. Your site needs a good mobile display to accommodate them.
Facebook offers Facebook Ads. Instagram and Twitter allow you to create “sponsored” content. Don’t be afraid to play around with the different on-site advertising tools of your chosen social media platforms.
Places like Groupon and LivingSocial can be a big boon for your business. You’ll need to take a financial hit by offering deals and discounts to attract new patients, but consider it an investment for the future.
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are one of the most effective ways to bring unique views to your website. You’ll need to do some research to make sure that you’re utilizing them correctly, but they’ll be worth it in the end.
You don’t always need to think outside of the box. Sometimes, the box itself is a great dental marketing idea. Lead boxes are both fun and functional, and they can generate a lot of interest in your brand.
A customer service kiosk will allow your patients to check themselves in and handle their own payment arrangements. Not only will it cut down on appointment times, but you can also feature it in your advertisements to bring attention to your modern, convenient practice.
The best graphics are crisp and colorful. They don’t have any blurry backgrounds or pixelated portions, and they reflect the high-quality nature of your practice by existing as high-definition images. You might need to invest in a new DSLR for this.
Dinner talks can be given to clients, vendors, investors and other business leaders in your area. They’re an excellent but underutilized promotional tool in the world of dentistry.
Do the Harlem shake in your hallway. Dance in your offices to Gangnam Style. If you’re looking for creative dental marketing ideas, this is one to consider. It won’t be suitable for every clinic, of course, but if you have a reputation for friendliness, it can cement that impression.
Your keyword list should be more comprehensive than “dentist” or “dental clinic.” It should also include things like “cavities,” “braces,” “sore gums” and “teeth whitening costs.”
Everyone loves a freebie. Whether it’s pens, pencils, notepads, key chains or sugar-free lollipops, there’s always something that you can give to patients to thank them for their business.
Your website should make it easy for readers to like, share and bookmark any content that interests them. Include all of these options on your display panels.
Your keyword list should be more comprehensive than “dentist” or “dental clinic.” It should also include things like “cavities,” “braces,” “sore gums” and “teeth whitening costs.”
If you’ve gotten any middling reviews on third-party websites like Yelp, it’s time to do some damage control. While you won’t be able to remove them, you can usually respond to them, and that will go a long way towards helping your brand reputation.
Not only will this increase your legitimacy in the eyes of your patients, but it will also provide networking opportunities with other businesses in your area. You never know when that will pay off for your practice.
Even if you have a favorite platform, you shouldn’t neglect the others that you’ve signed up for, especially if you’ve linked to them on your website. You don’t want patients to find a tumbleweed account and assume that you’re no longer in business.
You might not have the funds for a full-time masseuse, but you can hire one for a special “Get Over Your Fear of the Dentist” weekend. You’ll also generate a lot of good buzz for your company with the creativity of the gesture.
While it’s great to cover a wide variety of topics with your website, don’t become one of those shallow, surface-level sites that fails to engage patients on a meaningful level. Have a couple of specialty interests that show off your expertise.
A lunch-and-learn is a chance to connect with potential patients in your area. It can be especially helpful if you coordinate with relevant businesses and insurance companies. For example, if your clinic is listed in the network of Company A’s health plan, you can organize a lunch-and-learn at Company A to encourage its employees to choose you.
There are certain SEO tricks that can drive even more traffic to your website. For example, did you know that you can put your keywords in your alt-text for images? Search engines will still count them, but they won’t over-stuff the webpage itself.
Leave comments on teeth whitening articles written by other people. Answer questions about cavities and crowns on sites like Yahoo Answers. It’ll get your name out there, especially if you link to your own website as a reference point.
If you haven’t verified your website with search engines like Google and Bing, it’s time to get it done. This small action can have huge benefits down the line.
It’s easier to retain an old customer than to find a new one. If it’s been awhile since Sally Smith had a check-up, send her an email or postcard that offers her a special deal for coming back to your clinic.
The nice thing about dental marketing tips is that they can be applied to every form of food on the planet. Whether it’s the packaging of a cookie or the inside of a pizza box, you can advertise your services anywhere that people eat.
This is one of those old-school dentist marketing ideas that can still make a splash if you approach it correctly. Don’t use email newsletters as stuffy press releases. Use them as fun, engaging advertisements for your most recent sales or blog posts.
With so many people afraid of the dentist, it can help to calm their nerves if you offer a virtual tour of your clinic. There are plenty of low-cost programs that will make it easy for you to set up.
Billboards don’t always offer the greatest ROI, but if you’re located near a major highway or shopping center, they might be worth the expense. This is especially true if you advertise that walk-ins are welcome.
Search-and-discovery apps like Foursquare and Gowalla can put you on the radar of people looking for local dental services. However, you might need to reach out and join the app to make sure that your clinic is listed.
Guerilla marketing is a low-cost way to spread the word about your practice. Instead of spending a lot of money on flyers, commercials and sponsorships, you just hit the streets. It’s worth considering if you’re a new or struggling clinic without the budget for expensive ad campaigns.
Pediatric dentists, this one is for you. Organize a children’s day that will draw in new patients and their parents. You can arrange all kinds of tours, prizes, giveaways, educational exhibits and question-and-answer sessions for the crowd.
Your social media and RSS buttons shouldn’t be hidden at the bottom of your website. Put them in a prominent position where they’re easily noticed and clicked by your visitors.
Referral cards are another one of those throwback dentist marketing strategies that have fallen out of favor with the rise of the digital revolution, but it doesn’t hurt to try them. They aren’t a significant investment, and if they don’t recoup their costs, it’s easy to discontinue them.
Article submission sites allow you to post content on their website. They can be a valuable tool for reaching new audiences, improving keyword visibility and building authority for your brand.
Many people use directories to find dental offices with particular services, prices or locations. However, if the information listed on the directory is inaccurate, you could miss out on a lot of potential patients. Make sure that you’ve verified everything.
Affiliations with other websites can help to establish your own site as a legitimate source of information. Do some research into figuring out the best affiliations for your practice.
From renting out your office space to funding certain activities in exchange for brand promotion, there are many ways to sponsor a local group. All of them can bring new customers to your clinic.
Open up the comments section of your blog. This will give it a friendly, interactive feeling and allow patients to ask questions and express their opinions on the content that you’ve posted. It will also increase engagement on your website as a whole.
As a dentist, you might be tempted to swear off all forms of candy, but you can generate more leads by harnessing rather than ignoring its power. For example, you can have your clinic’s phone number custom-printed on candy wrappers and Popsicle sticks.
Hashtags are the key to getting yourself noticed on social media. In addition to standard things like #dentist and #teeth, be sure that you’re also engaging with current, relevant trends like #ThrowbackThursday.
This will give your brand some fantastic media coverage. Every time that someone looks you up on a search engine, they’ll see news articles that detail your generosity.
Last but certainly not least, create a marketing calendar that details and organizes all of your dental office marketing ideas. It can be used to determine how much or how little that you’re doing on the average day. If the numbers are too low for your liking, you’ll be able to recognize that and pick up the pace.
Okay so this may be a bit a little shameless self promotion but we're serious - working with us is an excellent way to grow your practice. We have helped 100s of Dentists & Dental Professionals grow their practices and we would love to help you too! Contact us today and let's take a look at your business, goals, and create a plan to get you there. Talk soon!
9 responses to “Dental Marketing Ideas”
Wow! These are all good ideas and I'd say they're also good for other businesses too. Here's a question. Don't know if it's up serp.co's alley, but in terms of some of these strategies, are there any modifications you'd recommend due to the current health crisis? I imagine there are people who are even warier of going to the dentist right now. Can you think of a way to utilize your strategies to increase potential patients and their confidence for their safety?
Yes, we talk about a ton of things you can do right now in the free SERP Dental Facebook Group.
Speaking from experience, responding to reviews (negative or positive) on sites like Yelp is smart—as long as you can control your temper. Don’t go on there just to vent against a scathing attack on your business (dental or otherwise). If you can’t do this, then don’t respond. However, if you can, you may be able to bring a disgruntled customer back or at least minimize or eliminate the damage their negative review did.
With 61 ideas I can see why someone would want to work with your agency. Where did you come up with all these great ideas? Do you have specific ideas for specific businesses too? Say for example a spa? Although some of these ideas are likely to work with a variety of businesses, I can see there being some that work only for a few. Just can’t think of any right now which is why I’m asking.
Hi Sandy, yes we work with many businesses in medical & health related fields. We can definitely help you out.
Fantastic, Devin! I'm very excited to share these ideas with my friends. Can't wait to see sample post for another idealistic and strategic Sitemap that you can publish. Will surely wait for that.
Thanks Robert. We have a few videos on our YouTube channel about sitemaps for dentists.
Oh I see, will check on it. By the way, since we are talking about strategies on how to increase ranking optimization, do you have any idea for any modification due to the current health crisis, I can say that there is also patient that wants to visit dentist. However, they are worried for their safety. Can you think of a way that can increase potential patients with the confidence for their safety?
SEO is a long term play. Keep doing SEO and when this blows over you will be glad you didn't take your foot off the gas.