By ADMC Member Dan Delmain
Are you worried your practice’s website is holding you back? If your website hasn’t been updated in ages or you’re not ranking on the first page of Google results, you may be right.
Modern websites are faster, look better, and help communicate your practice’s services, values, and personality. They also help you rank higher in Google searches, getting your website in front of more potential patients.
Read our 6 building blocks for a successful dental practice website.
A homepage that passes the 15-second test
With 55% of visitors spending less than 15 seconds on your website, your first impression better be a good one.
Make sure your website is engaging and presents key information to visitors. You need to make your first impression count.
Within 15 seconds of opening up your practice’s website, visitors should easily be able to determine…
- What you do
- How you’re different from other practices
- What benefits you offer patients
- A clear way to contact you
These 15 seconds are your practice’s elevator pitch!
Mobile-friendly design
Over 50% of web browsing now happens on mobile devices. Since most of your audience is viewing your site on mobile, your website should not only survive, but thrive, in this format.
To be mobile-friendly, your site’s design needs to be responsive to the type of screen and device it’s viewed on. You need to build your site on a responsive platform that gives your design this flexibility.
The best websites we see, and the ones we build ourselves, are built with WordPress. Sites built on WordPress are flexible, scalable, and look perfect on every device.
Professional photography
How can you show what makes your practice special with stock photos?
The clearest way to show the personality of your practice is with professional photography of you, your practice, and your patients. This helps potential patients put a face to a name and envision themselves coming to your office. It also gives them an immediate feeling of comfort and authenticity that’s impossible with stock photos.
Web-optimized images
One of the biggest culprits of a slow website are bloated and oversized image files. These massive images not only lead to a frustrating experience for website visitors, but can actually harm your Google rankings, too.
Crisp, high-quality images are of course a necessity for a good dental website, but make sure the file is small enough so as to not bog down your site speed.
A site written for your audience — and for Google
With dental practice websites, nothing is more paramount than connecting with an audience of potential patients who want to schedule an appointment at your practice.
The first part of this is researching to find relevant keywords for your practice and services. Then, you’ll need to write optimized content around these keywords. This will help you rank in Google searches and get you in front of your target audience.
Just as important is writing content that is compelling to potential patients. Show off your practice’s personality and communicate what makes your practice special. There is a reason 61% of people said they’re more likely to work with a practice that uses custom and engaging content.
Not so fun fact: Google will ding your website if it believes you are using copy-and-paste content that appears anywhere else on the web. Not only will this hurt your Google ranking, but it will come across as dishonest to patients.
Clear appointment scheduling
Don’t give potential patients any reason to not contact you.
Make sure to display how you want your patients to contact you. Contact forms, appointment scheduling widgets, and phone numbers can all work, just make sure website visitors can see it!
Strategically placing these call to actions eliminates friction and makes sure potential patients have an easy way to schedule an appointment.
This article is contributed by ADMC Member Dan Delmain
As a small business owner himself, Dan DelMain knows firsthand many of the struggles dentists face when it comes to online marketing. Since 2009, Dan and the Delmain team have helped dentists around the country increase website traffic, attract new patients, and achieve real results through their online marketing efforts.