Ultimately, how well a dental practice website does in the search engines directly hinges on the quality of its online dental content.
Don’t believe me? Then let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a dental practice in a galaxy far away. Not just any old dental practice but a highly successful one. The practice owner understood that the real secret to growing his business was to produce the best online dental content he could. Content with the power to engage and persuade readers while gaining their trust. So over the coming months and years, he produced lots of it. As a result, the dental practice became the busiest in all the land, and patients came from far and wide to be treated.
After a few years, he had enough money to sell his practice by a huge condo back on planet earth -The Bahamas, I think 🙂 and live a happy, fulfilling retirement. The end!
Okay, okay, poor attempt at a fairy tale, I know, but you get what I’m trying to say, right?
The point is that when it comes to content, many marketing agencies are so focused on stuff like metrics, keywords and backlinks that they forget one fundamental thing…
Quality matters!
Sure, keywords and backlinks are still important, but if you really want to experience optimal conversion rates, then quality content is where it’s at!
You could get away with poor to mediocre content if it wasn’t for one thing. Search engines are learning. What’s more, they’re learning fast!
Nowadays, Google has the ability to sniff out poorly written content in a heartbeat. Gone are the days when companies could throw up some garbled content, stuff it full of keywords complete with some dodgy backlinks and have it rank.
Those days were awful… Remember when it was virtually impossible to find what you wanted unless you got an exact title match?
Thankfully now algorithms such as Google’s Penguin update are specifically designed to give users a better search experience.
At the very heart of this is quality, informative content.
What’s more, if your online dental content isn’t up to scratch, you’re more likely to plummet the rankings quicker than a lead weight being hurled down a mine shaft.
So now you know why you should care about quality content, the question is….. how do you ensure that the content you produce is always the best?
Here are some pointers…
Write for your readers, not for SEO
There’s an old saying in my line of work, and it goes something like this….
‘If you write quality dental content for your readers, the SEO will follow.‘
What that means is that while keywords are important, they should never be the dominating factor.
Nowadays, people are inundated with content. It’s everywhere!
- It’s on their phones
- It’s on their social media pages and…
- It’s in their inbox.
As such, it becomes easy to spot poor or badly written content a mile away. When they do, and it’s yours, you can guarantee one thing…
They won’t be returning!
In order to avoid this, it pays to write online dental content that helps the reader in some shape or form.
That may be through…
- Answering a question
- Settling a debate/argument or
- Giving good advice
By bringing something of real value to the user, you’re providing them with content that enriches and/or improves their lives. Ultimately, this helps build trust and slowly positions you as the ‘go-to’ dentist in your area over time.
Make your online dental content engaging
Look, everyone talks about engaging content as if it’s just a throwaway line. The truth is that according to a survey carried out by SEO Moz, who did some deep research into over 100,000 pieces of random content, around 75% weren’t engaging at all!
They weren’t engaging because they had zero external links and very few if any, social shares.
The real engaging posts (the remaining 25,000 or so) got read, retweeted, and shared. Some multiple times.
Because of this, they ranked better in the search engines and, to all intent and purpose, moved the audience closer down the path to taking action.
The truth is that engaging content is like a Swiss army knife.
You may have it in your back pocket, but if you aren’t entirely sure how you’re going to use it, then it’s pretty useless.
So how do you make your dental content more engaging?
Let’s take a look…
A great title – A good headline draws the reader in and spurs them on to read the rest of your content. Consider a title less of an afterthought but rather a key driver that hooks audiences to your online dental content.
Tell a story – Everyone loves a good story, and it’s the perfect way of connecting with potential readers. Whether it’s an anecdote, a narrative, or a true story, it helps the reader to really ‘buy into‘ what you’re doing.
Make it original – While not all regurgitated content is bad, ‘same old same old’ content that’s on everyone else’s dental website isn’t going to cut it. Instead, how about writing using your thoughts and experiences and dropping in some knowledge along the way?
Use visual aids – No one wants to be confronted with the equivalent of the ‘Great Wall of China’ in text form, especially as longer posts over 1000 words or more tend to get shared. Instead, it makes sense to break up content with visual aids such as pictures, videos, or infographics.
Make it lengthy – According to a report by Buzzsumo, posts that are shared the most tend to be longer – see above. If you think about it, you have more room to cover the subject matter in greater detail. When you do, it becomes more informative and ultimately stands a greater chance of being shared….. simple 🙂
Make it personal
Did you know that in 2017 more and more people in need of a dentist will look online first?
In fact, a survey carried out by PracticePlan explains it in more detail. The thing is that when they do, what’s the first thing they come across?
Yep, you’ve guessed it, your dental website or your online dental content!
So just imagine when a potential patient lands on your website only to find content devoid of soul, character, and, dare I say it, personality.
It’s highly unlikely that they’re going to stick around, let alone make an appointment.
Instead, you want content that makes them feel comfortable, makes them feel at ease, and, most importantly, makes them feel like they already know you.
So how do you do that?
Simple – You need to make it personal! Keep the tone conversational as if you’re talking to a family member or friend, and most importantly…
Write like you talk! Minus the swear words, of course 🙂
That means talking to people in non-technical terms and….
Saving the dental speak for conversations with other dentists.
I’m sure you’ve been in social situations where you’ve given advice to a non-dental friend about a dental problem they have. Think of it just like that. You’re talking to a friend about how you can help. Do that with your online dental content; I guarantee you’ll see results.
So there you have it….
How to make your online dental content the best that it can be and why you should bother
The fact of the matter is that if you place high-quality online dental content at the heart of all your marketing efforts, before long, you’ll be so far ahead of your competition you’ll be looking over your shoulder at them from a huge vantage point.
Who doesn’t want that?
At Dental Writers, we pride ourselves on writing stand-out content for stand-out dental practices just like yours. Why not contact me today to discuss your needs?
