What is in this article?
- The Dream of a Fully Booked Clinic Comes True With Digital Marketing
- Innovative Marketing Strategies for Dentists
- Digital Marketing Strategies for Dentists: 5 Campaigns You Can Take as Examples
The Dream of a Fully Booked Clinic Comes True With Digital Marketing
Dentists' dream is a full appointment book and meeting new patients every day. Bearing in mind how highly competitive the dentistry sector is, we know it takes a lot of work for that dream to come true.
In this article I will share with you the most interesting marketing campaigns I have seen in the dentistry sector and examine the elements that make those campaigns so effective. In the light of that information you too can build your own marketing strategy and get a step closer to the clinic of your dreams.
Innovative Marketing Strategies for Dentists
To reach the dream of a fully booked clinic it is sometimes necessary to step outside the usual and develop creative marketing strategy. In this section I will offer you some bold, effective ideas for standing out in the dentistry sector without damaging your budget;
Digital Marketing Strategies for Dentists: 5 Campaigns You Can Take as Examples
If you are looking for innovative, effective marketing campaigns in dentistry, you are in the right place! In this section we will examine the campaigns of dental offices and companies that have found success in various areas, from Google ads to dedicated website updates.
Increase Your Lead Rate With Google Ads
There are many options when developing marketing strategy in the dentistry sector. But in my experience Google Ads is among the most effective of them. Google Ads does not only build brand awareness — it also offers the ability to win new patients quickly.
Why should we use Google Ads?
In my research, marketing channels such as SEO take time to deliver results. Simply bringing traffic can take 6–9 months. A Google Ads campaign is an easy (but costly) solution for gaining visibility quickly when people make location-based dentistry searches, and the landing pages created specifically for each ad as part of the campaign can increase conversion rates by delivering a flawless user experience. Location-based landing pages can also strengthen the local targeting strategy. When a strategy of this kind is followed, Google Ads can get potential customers to take 35% more action. That can be an impressive increase covering every conversion, from calls to appointment requests or filling in a form.
Increase your reputation
According to a B2B SaaS Reviews report, 52% of customers regard businesses with an average rating of 4 out of 5 as "suspicious". The Parker Pediatric and Adolescent Dental Clinic could not meet that threshold either. The result? Patient numbers were falling.
To solve the problem they started a reputation management campaign following a two-pronged strategy.
Organising and optimising business listings:
First they built and optimised their business listings, giving weight to Google Reviews. Solid business listings form the foundation of local SEO success.
That process ensured consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) information across the internet and built trust for potential new patients
Collecting and managing Google Reviews:
Second, they launched a campaign to collect Google Reviews from real patients regularly. They thereby gained positive, genuine feedback about the clinic. Engaging with patients by responding to the reviews collected also left a positive impression. The clinic's Google Reviews rating rose noticeably, from an average of 3.6 to an impressive 4.2. According to a consultancy firm, a 16% increase in new users was observed alongside that rise. The clinic now has more than 100 reviews. That is strong proof of its patients' genuine satisfaction and an accurate reflection of the clinic's work.
Win potential customers with Facebook ads
A family business in Istanbul, the Smile Specialist clinic, was faced with low new patient numbers. As a solution to that problem the brand decided to adopt Facebook ads.
Their goals were:
- Reducing customer acquisition cost.
- Increasing patient numbers while keeping spend fixed.
- Increasing new patient bookings and lead generation across their 50 locations.
To reach these goals a marketing agency worked with the Smile Specialist clinic, telling video stories, using image carousels and adopting value-focused conversion actions that help the Facebook algorithm find better leads.
Ads dedicated to each location were also created at every stage. A/B tests on assets were run in order to achieve the lowest cost per lead (CPL).
After this campaign, call duration, conversion rates (CVR) and customer acquisition cost (CPA) all improved. There was also a noticeable increase in brand search volume, which shows improved brand awareness.
The sign of success appeared not only in the efficiency of the conversions but in the real results
Try keeping your website current, or refreshing it.
Web archive results show that dental service websites have been redesigned several times.
Staff at leading healthcare agencies say they redesign the websites they manage roughly every 2 to 3 years. And in 2021 they refreshed the website entirely.
According to a leading agency, the results of brand restructuring come out as a 72% increase in average mobile traffic, a 37.9% increase in total traffic and a 52.5% increase in average pages per session.
Optimise your Google Business Profile for local search.
- "Dentists near me."
- "Istanbul dentist."
- "The best Invisalign dentist in Istanbul."
These are local search terms. When patients search for these terms, Google will return results with profiles in the user's area.
To win local customers of this kind you need to create or claim your Google Business Profile.
Take a look at the tips below for optimising your profile:
- Fill in your profile completely and keep it current.
- Provide accurate, comprehensive business information.
- Encourage and respond to customer reviews.
- Optimise your profile description using relevant keywords.
- Enrich your profile visually by adding photographs and videos.
- Keep your opening hours and contact details current.
Set your business category correctly and add extra attributes (COVID-19 measures, payment methods and so on).
By following these steps you can make your Google Business Profile more visible in local searches and attract potential customers.
Claim and verify your business.
This is the first step in optimising your Google Business Profile.
A verified profile adds credibility to your brand. It assures visitors they are engaging with a real, established dental practice. This is what a verified Google profile looks like:
- Verify your business's name, address and contact details.
- Provide the information belonging to your business accurately and completely on your profile.
- Add distinctive features that set your profile apart from other businesses.
Once you have completed the verification process you will see the "Verified" mark beside your profile.
That is it! When you verify your business you can catch potential customers' interest by delivering increased credibility and trust in your Google Business Profile.
Add images showing the physical location.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and for a dental practice, even more. Showcase your clinic, staff and facilities using high-quality images and videos.
A visual representation of your dental services can help potential patients get a feel for your clinic and set the tone for a positive experience.
Optimise your description for local keywords.
Research and identify local keywords for dental services. Think "Kadıköy orthodontist", "Şişli teeth whitening".
Use these keywords in your profile description, your services and your posts to increase your local search visibility.
Bid on keywords
Bid on transactional and commercial-intent keywords.
Both are keywords at the purchase stage. Customers searching for these keywords actively want to make a purchase or take an action — you just have to be there and win their trust.
From my experience I can say that keywords of this kind may not generally have high traffic potential.
But their commercial value is great, and bidding on them is expensive and rewarding. The Smiling Doctors' success shows how effective these high-conversion keywords are.
Here are a few ways you can identify keywords of this kind:
If your dental practice serves a particular location, use location-based terms in your keywords. "Dentist near me" or "Ataşehir dental services", for example.
Discover competitor keywords with tools such as Ahrefs and SEMrush and target the ones with the highest commercial value. Keywords relating to services, pricing or transactional actions are good examples.
Focus on long-tail keywords. These keywords are specific and indicate user intent. Targeting "my tooth hurts" can be a big waste of money, for example. But "my tooth hurts really badly"? That is a keyword someone who needs help immediately would search for.
Use phrases in your ad copy that encourage action. Same-day treatment available and 24-hour emergency dentist, for example.
Use adjectives that encourage engagement, such as "best", "top-rated", "affordable" or "near me". These modifiers signal commercial intent, and using them will help you develop your keyword list for attracting patients.
Create Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram)
Facebook's global advertising audience is 2.25 billion, while Instagram forecasts an estimated 1.44 billion users by 2025. Both platforms offer unmatched reach and targeting capability for paid ads.
Below I list some ad ideas;
After images
Images showing a smile's transformation have enormous impact.
By creating images of this kind you give potential patients confidence in using your service. You can try this by showing a side-by-side image of the smile of a customer who has used your services.
"Important: in Türkiye, for before and after service posts, only the after can be shared. Adding the before in posts of this kind is prohibited."
Showing lifestyle transformation
Emphasising dental services' effect on lifestyle can have a deep impact. It is as simple as showing happy people with well-aligned, white teeth.
Feature images or videos capturing the new confidence and happiness your patients experience after having their teeth corrected.
Education about bad habits
Educational content is highly shareable and can position your dental health brand as an authority.
Create visually appealing content informing people about the bad habits affecting dental health; that will deliver engagement and trust that brings more patients.
Triggering pain points
Addressing the pain points associated with dental problems helps you reach a patient's emotional triggers. For that you can design image carousels, create videos, showcase previous customers and more.
You can also address a set of problems such as bad breath, toothache, decay, smiles that leave a bad impression and yellow teeth.
You can also create videos containing footage of some of the work done behind the scenes, the environment and everything up to the result.
Tips for Facebook and Instagram ad success
- Setting goals and building strategy:
Define your audience: which age groups, genders and interests are potential customers for your dental clinic?
Develop a strategy: decide what kinds of content your posts will cover, how often you will publish and what kinds of engagement you plan to reach your goals with.
- Profile optimisation:
Create an engaging profile photograph and description. Add your contact details and link your website or your booking page.
State your location (important for reaching local customers).
- Regular, quality content posting:
- Visual content: photographs and videos to share from inside your clinic, of your staff and of your satisfied customers.
- Educational content: content such as oral and dental health tips, dental care guides and answers to frequently asked questions.
- Reply to followers: answer questions, like comments and engage with your followers.
- Using hashtags: reach a wider audience by adding relevant, popular hashtags to your posts
- Run engagement campaigns: run engagement-boosting activities such as giveaways, Q&A sessions or polls
- Collaborations and partnerships: collaborate with other healthcare organisations, beauty salons or influencers. Widen your follower base mutually by running joint campaigns or promotions.
- Analysis and improvement: monitor your performance regularly using analytics tools. Identify the best-performing content and publishing times and adjust your strategy accordingly. Take customer feedback into account by assessing followers' responses and make changes where needed.
