Do you know anyone who never goes online? Probably not. Even my 88-year-old grandmother uses the internet! 

(Keep reading to learn how our website checklist can drive more new patients to your dental practice!)

Internet User Statistics

Everyone’s online, including your potential patients. 

While the age and demographic of web users vary widely, we know that between 60 and 80% of search engine users have shopped for healthcare providers or services online

Furthermore, people read reviews. Nearly 80% of internet users believe in the integrity of online reviews as much as word-of-mouth referrals

Do you have enough Google Reviews?

Here’s one more stat: Nearly 60% of users read Google Reviews, and about 55% read at least four reviews before making a purchase.

So Many Sites!

  • There were 1.86 billion websites online as of June 2021
  • 600 million of those are blogs
  • In 2020, there were 31.7 billion bloggers online

Are you thinking that anyone who advertises online faces serious competition? Think again…

The Real Competition

Here’s good news. Google has finely tuned its algorithm for indexing websites. Your dental practice does not compete with 1.86 billion others. 

In fact, your website only competes with other dental office websites that promote the same services as you, for practices located in the same town/city as yours. In light of those facts, online marketing is much more appealing, wouldn’t you say? 

Here’s how Google delivers search engine results. When someone makes a search query, Google Local Finder filters the results to a smaller geographic area, so users can easily find local businesses.

In addition, Google Business allows you to create a profile that goes beyond providing your contact information and map. Reviews, photos, special offers, and more can be included in your Google Business profile. Google Business results show up in a 3-pack, with a map, at the top of a search engine results page after a query is made. Various factors contribute to ranking in the 3-pack, including having Google Reviews.

Perhaps best of all, Google Business is free, so set up your practice profile, stat!

(Keep reading to learn how our website checklist can drive more new patients to your dental practice!)

How to Get More New Patients from Your Website

The leading lady of your online presence should be a visually stimulating, interactive, well-optimized website. Google Business, reviews, social profiles, and local directories are important supporting actors, but they are not the star of your show.

So how can you know if your website has what it takes to bring you new patients? 

How can you find out why your site isn’t producing new patients?

Below is a checklist that will help you determine whether your website has all the assets necessary to rank high in Google Local. Of course, competitive analysis of top-ranking dental practices in your region is an important part of strategizing, but first, evaluate your website with this checklist. 

Best Website Checklist Ever

Domain – Did you purchase your domain for 10 years?

Hosting – Is your website on the best hosting plan for its type, size, and functions?

Website Structure – Is your site built on WordPress? It is the preferred content management system for ease of use and the huge variety of templates and plugins that are available, in many cases at no additional cost.

SEO

These factors contribute to good SEO and the ability to evaluate a site’s traffic, indexing, and rankings.

  • original content (use Copyscape to check for duplication)
  • blog updated weekly (at least)
  • unique meta descriptions
  • keyword integration
  • h-tags
  • interlinking
  • backlinking (off-page SEO)
  • Google Search Console
  • Google Analytics
  • alt-image tags
  • videos hosted offsite (YouTube)

Design

These factors contribute to user-friendliness, visual appeal, and conversion of viewers to new patients.

  • contact info at top
  • brand consistency: logo, practice name, tagline
  • colors and contrast
  • font size and style
  • images and videos
  • original photos
  • responsiveness
  • load speed
  • info above the fold
  • easy navigation (see more below)
  • elements of motion
  • reviews feed

Data Capture

These elements deal with communication between your company and the potential patients. If forms and emails do not function properly, patients may become frustrated and choose a different dentist.

  • contact form
  • opt-in form (blog, newsletter, report)
  • email automation tool
  • Your email should be domain-based
  • check forms regularly
  • answer your email daily, without exception

Updates

These factors deal with technical issues that can harm a website’s uptime, usability, and the ability to be restored should the site go down. 

  • security
  • function
  • template
  • plugins
  • backups

Basic Navigation

These are pages that most businesses need to feature in their website navigation. Navigation should be clear and readily available from all pages of your site so that visitors can quickly and easily find the information they want.

  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Blog
  • Contact

Website Help – Rank High! Get found!

If you’re unsure whether your website meets all of the criteria on this website checklist, or if you’ve identified issues that need attention, call Identiwrite Creative today at 940-395-5115. We can refresh your current website, create a new website for your dental practice, or improve your on-page SEO so that your site ranks higher and gets you more new patients. 

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