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8 Ways for Dentists to Maximize the Effectiveness of Their Paid Search Campaigns Posted by Tyson Downs on 9/29/14 7:30 AM Find me on: There are plenty of ways for dentists to get found on the internet. You'll likely start with a dental website and then add a blog, after which you'll seek out specialists that can provide you with targeted forms of dental SEO.
From there, you might list with directories, join forums, and start forming relationships with the blogging community, perhaps participating in online networking groups or guest posting on industry blogs to build your authority and perhaps get a link or two. And of course, you'll create social media accounts to increase your visibility and reach. But at some point you may have to bite the bullet and pay for marketing of some kind. As it turns out, paid search campaigns (pay-per-click, or PPC) can be a great way to spend your money, helping you to get the results you want at a reasonable cost, provided you know how to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts. These days most everyone has made the switch from the Yellow Pages to Google (and to a lesser extent, Bing). So if you're not getting the ranking results you want through the normal channels (like SEO for dentists), it's time to expand your strategy and take control of where your name appears for certain searches. Here are a few ways to maximize the effectiveness of your paid search campaigns.
Know your goals If you started a business with no firm goals in mind, it would likely collapse within months, if not weeks. The same concept applies to your online ad campaigns. Any time you engage in online marketing for dentists, you need to start with a clear idea of what you hope to gain at the end of the process. Your goals will inform the strategy you devise, the steps you take, and the money you spend.
And ultimately, knowing the end destination will help to ensure that your journey is fruitful. Without stated goals in mind from the get-go, you'll be flying blind and wasting valuable resources.
Focus on titles When a customer walks into your office, you want them to find a neat, clean office, and you want them to be greeted by a helpful and inviting employee. When a visitor reaches the home page on your dentist website, you want them to find an appealing layout, a compelling message, and an easy-to-navigate interface. After all, you only have one chance to make a first impression. This principle also extends to your paid search campaign. You're fighting a lot of competitors trying to grab the attention of search engine users. And your title is your shot to stand out from the crowd. For this reason, the title on your paid ad must be relevant and concise, but it should still feature some kind of hook, such as trending keywords, a clever play on words, or terms like "sale" or "free." These are just a few examples that are likely to catch a consumer's eye.
Select keywords carefully It goes without saying that the keywords in your copy need to pertain to your dental practice if you don't want to disappoint searchers and risk raising Google's ire. But when it comes to PPC campaigns, you have to keep in mind that you're competing for keywords with other bidders. So you need to engage in research and think long and hard about crafting keyword phrases that will encourage the targeted results you're looking for while delivering the best return on investment. And don't forget to include negative search terms, as well. You don't want to accidentally be found by searchers looking for something you don't offer.
Geo-target Dental websites almost certainly feature contact information for the real-world dental offices they represent. As a dentist, it only makes sense to ensure that prospective patients know how to find your practice. And you would do well to tailor your online ad campaigns with this thought in mind. A blanket coverage strategy won't necessarily serve your business well. And unless your goal is to increase traffic in general, geo-targeting is your best bet to attract potential customers through your PPC campaign.
Know your enemies One good way to refine your keyword strategy is to see what your competitors are up to. Since you'll have to bid against them for popular keywords, you want to make sure your money is being well-spent. This means not only paying attention to which search terms associated with dentistry are the most popular (and thereby the most expensive), but it also means finding ways to craft simple search phrases that benefit your business and aren't being used as much by competitors. Finding the best keywords to represent and promote your brand is more important than paying top dollar for the most popular terms, whether they're relevant or not. You can use a keyword tool for this such as SEMRUsh or similar.
Test new copy and keywords.
You may not update your dental website design frequently, but chances are good that you swap out content and copy on a regular basis in order to take advantage of the latest applicable keyword trends. You'll need to take a similar approach to your paid search campaign. Relevant and timely keywords are important, to be sure, but you never know when a turn of phrase, a new title, or different copy is going to hit that sweet spot and deliver clicks and conversions. So it's smart to switch your ads up frequently to cater to different demographics, or simply to see what will work.
Analyze, analyze, analyze! There's just no excuse for failing to track and analyze metrics associated with your paid search campaign. There are so many tools at your disposal for this very purpose (Google Analytics, for one), and they offer a goldmine of data that can inform your strategy moving forward.
Don't get hung up on number one One big mistake that many dentists make is deciding that they have to procure the number one spot for specific search terms. But if maximizing your return on investment is one of your goals, you may have to let this one go. You'll probably find, if you test different placements, that you'll see a much higher ROI from placement in second, third, or even fourth place. You'll still be listed above unpaid searches, putting you near the top of the page, so you'll get plenty of click-thru. The difference is that you'll pay a lot less for it. Most dental practices are willing to pay for their dentist websites to be optimized. And you probably spend money on all kinds of marketing strategies and ad campaigns, as well. But you do so with the expectation that spending money will make you money. And to this end, it is essential to maximize the effectiveness of any tactic you pursue. This mentality definitely applies to your paid search campaigns. So take the time to research keywords, craft compelling titles and relevant copy, and follow up to make sure that your efforts are delivering the results you're after. This is the best way to ensure that you see the click-thru, conversions, and profits that are the end goal of any paid campaign. What are some of the things you are doing to get a good return on your PPC projects?
Topics: Pay Per Click inShare5