website marketing

Maintaining Dental Websites: Who’s Doing It?

August 31, 2010 By Julie Frey 3 Comments

Most dentists with dental websites have a website consultant or internet dental marketing company that handles site maintenance, this survey found.

In a recent survey, we discovered that 3 out of 4 dentists have a dental website.

Of dentists with websites, 32% personally oversee their website, 14% have staff oversee it, and 55% have a website consultant or dental marketing company that maintains it.

"We have regular meeting about updating the site with the website consultant, the staff, plus all the doctors in our group practice," said a Texas pediatric dentist.

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: dental websites, internet, website marketing

Why Google Is the Only Search Engine You Need to Worry About

July 27, 2010 By Jim Du Molin 17 Comments

When it comes to internet marketing, search engine positioning is your most important concern. And while there are lots of search engines out there, the savvy web marketer knows that Google is the only one that really matters.

The latest numbers from June show Google controlling 63% of the web search market, with about 10 billion searches per month. That means that two out of every three web searches went through Google.

Yahoo! had 19% of the market, and Bing (the Microsoft search engine introduced last year) was in third place with 13% of searches.

Yahoo! has announced that it will soon use Microsoft’s Bing for its own organic search infrastructure, but the transition has not yet taken place. Yahoo! has indicated that the switch could take place as early as next month, or as late as next year.

Organic searches are the search results that come up naturally when a person searches for a keyword or keyword phrase. Paid search results are sponsored links that are part of pay-per-click (PPC) web marketing campaigns. Paid search listings typically are displayed above organic search results in a shaded section, or to the right in a sidebar.

While some dental practices use PPC dental marketing, organic search engine optimization is the real goal of dental website marketing. Your search engine ranking (how high your website ranks) depends on the quality of your website content, your keyword optimization, and incoming links from other websites.

When people talk about “search ranking,” they almost invariably mean Google ranking. The holy grail of SEO is for your website to display on the first page of Google search results (that is, in the the first 10 search results) for your target keyword phrases.

To see how your dental practice website ranks with Google, just enter in your target keyword phrase — for example, “cosmetic dentist Tulsa” or “Van Nuys dentures.” And cross your fingers!

If you’re on the first page, you’re doing well. If you’re in the top 3, your SEO is excellent. But if you don’t see your site on the first page of results, it may be time to review your site’s search engine optimization. Internet Dental Alliance specializes in optimizing the SEO for its dental websites.

Understand that in competitive markets, a search engine optimization company will charge you from $400 to $1,400 a month per website, with no guarantee of results. In fact, any company that claims it can guarantee you placement on the first page of Google is misleading you. In the ever-changing world of internet dental marketing and search engine technology, there can be no guarantees.

A note about Google searches: if you’re logged into Google or Gmail when you conduct your search, your results will NOT be the same as what other people will see. Google tracks information (like your location and interests) to display custom search results that it thinks will be most relevant to you. To see the same search results as potential patients, make sure you’re logged out of Google and use the “Private Browsing” option under the “Tools” section of your Internet browser.

Filed Under: Dental Editorials Tagged With: dental marketing, dental websites, Google, Internet dental marketing, internet marketing, SEO, website marketing

Dental Website Marketing: DROA Marketing Scheme

June 29, 2010 By Jim Du Molin 11 Comments

DROA Domain Registry of America (DROA) is running a tricky Internet marketing scheme that all owners of dental websites should be aware of.

DROA sends you what appears to be a bill for your domain name renewal. But you more than likely don’t owe DROA a single penny. They’re hoping you’ll pay the bill anyway, at which point they’ll take over your domain name registration – and quite possibly charge you 10 times what you were previously paying.

What “domain names” are

A domain name (also known as a URL) is a website – for example, YourDentalPractice.com is a domain name.
When you register a domain name, you’re purchasing it for a specified length of time – usually 1 year, but sometimes longer.
Domain renewal is when your domain name is up for renewal and you buy it for another year.
Many companies offer domain name registration, including DROA, eNom, GoDaddy, and many others.
Domain name transfers are when you transfer ownership of a domain to another person (for example, to your associate), or when you change which company handles your domain name registration.
Website hosting is something else entirely. Many companies that register domain names will also host the content of your website on their servers.
What does it cost? Domain registration often costs around $10 a year, while website hosting tends to be $100 a year (or significantly more, if you have lots of web visitors.)

You may receive an invoice in the mail that claims to be a “Domain Name Expiration Notice.” This official-looking document tells you, “You must renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it on the Web.”

Or it could be an email that apparently confirms a purchase you never made. The subject line reads “Order Confirmation,” and the email reads, “Thank you for registering/renewing the following domains with the Domain Registry of America, America’s fastest growing domain registrar.”

A few days later you’ll get a second email letting you know that “The transfer and renewal of your domain name is not yet complete at this time.” They’ll ask you for the information needed to complete the transfer – and then they’ll bill you for that.

But what they never tell you is that you don’t have to renew your domain through DROA. You already have your domain name through another company, and that’s really who you should use to renew it. In fact, DROA will likely charge you several times what you’re currently paying. They’ll also charge you a fee for transferring your domain.

And once DROA gets a hold of your domain name, getting it back can be difficult. Rumor has it that DROA changes the email address associated with the web domain from your email address to theirs. In addition, there’s a minimum waiting period of 60 days.

Shouldn’t This Be Illegal?

Oh yes! In fact, the FTC slammed DROA in 2003.

“The Federal Trade Commission has requested that a federal district court enjoin Domain Registry of America, Inc., an Internet domain name re-seller, from making misrepresentations in the marketing of its domain name registration services and require it to pay redress to consumers.

“According to the FTC, the company told consumers that their domain registrations were expiring, leading many consumers unwittingly to switch their domain name registrar. The company also allegedly did not disclose that it would charge a processing fee to consumers if their transfer request was not competed – for any reason – and failed to provide consumers refunds in a timely manner.

“Under the terms of the stipulated final order announced today, Domain Registry of America (DROA), based in Ontario, Canada, may be required to provide redress to up to 50,000 consumers, is prohibited from engaging in similar conduct in the future, and is subject to stringent monitoring by the Commission to ensure its compliance with the court order.

“…In marketing its domain name registration services, DROA has violated the FTC Act in several ways. First, it allegedly uses notices/invoices that mislead consumers into thinking that they are renewing their registrations with their current registrar when, instead, they are transferring their registrations to DROA’s registrar, eNom… The FTC also contends that DROA fails to issue promised refunds in a timely manner… sometimes delaying refunds for months.

“First, the order bars DROA from making false or misleading representations in connection with the advertising, marketing, and promotion of domain name services. It also bars DROA from failing to disclose, clearly and conspicuously, any cancellation or processing fees, and any limitations or restrictions on cancelling domain name services.

“In addition, the stipulated order calls for monetary redress to reimburse consumers that DROA misled… It is anticipated that approximately 50,000 DROA customers will have the opportunity to transfer to another registrar under this provision.”

- Court Bars Canadian Company from Misleading Consumers in Marketing of Internet Domain Name Services (FTC)

Have You Been Targeted by DROA?

If one of your dental websites has been targeted by this scam, you can click here to find out how to lodge formal complaints with the FTC and ICANN.

In addition, if you’re a member of the Internet Dental Alliance who has received a notice, feel free to contact our dental website marketing support team at 888-476-4886. They will be more than happy to explain this in greater detail. They will also confirm the current registrar details of any domain names in question.

What do you think? Is this a clever dental marketing scheme or something more sinister?

Filed Under: Dental Editorials Tagged With: domain name, DROA, internet marketing, website marketing, websites

Dentist Sues Over Negative Review on Consumer Website

March 11, 2009 By Julie Frey 21 Comments

Yelp is a free website where consumers can post reviews of restaurants and stores, places and professionals.

It’s caught on very well in the San Francisco Bay Area, where people use it to find everything from coffee shops and antique stores to doctors and lawyers.

A California pediatric dentist recently made headlines for suing a couple for defamation after they posted negative reviews about the dentist on Yelp. After the dentist treated their son, the boy’s parents complained about the doctor’s treatment, upset that the boy was light-headed after receiving laughing gas and expressing outrage that the dentist placed a dental filling that contained mercury in their son’s mouth.

Misplaced Consumer Anger

It’s easy for an educated dentist to assume that most people realize that silver fillings are composed of an amalgam that includes mercury. But this case highlights how no one should assume that consumers know the facts. In this case, the dentist had the parents sign a consent form that disclosed the mercury content. The parents’ review said they had not been told of the mercury content.

The parents’ comments also indicated that their son was woozy after receiving “general anesthesia” from the dentist. The dentist’s suit states, “Plaintiff could lose her license to practice if she gave her patients general anesthesia. Dr. Wong only uses laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and oxygen.”

Yelp strives to maintain a “hands-off” policy, and did not take down the review as the dentist had requested. Actually, the dentist didn’t quite request so much as demand… Here’s the ineffective note she wrote to Yelp:

The review by T. J. on 9/10/2008 is full of lies and misinformation. When a disgruntled patient makes false accusations against me, I cannot refute these charges on your website because I must protect my patient’s privacy. I demand that you take this review down immediately.

The dentist’s attorney initially filed suit against Yelp as well, but later acknowledged that he had not been aware that websites offering third-party content are legally protected.

Everybody’s Doing It

In arecent survey of the Chicago Dental Society, 11% of responding dentists said they sometimes scan websites like Yelp and Angie’s List to see what patients are saying about their dental practice.

Yelp is particularly popular in the San Francisco Bay area. (Indeed, the aforementioned dentist filed suit in Silicon Valley’s San Mateo.) Angie’s List is a similar such site that is most popular in the Midwest. Though they are the top names, there are other similar websites that have caught on in various areas.

The Scandalous Review

Wondering what all the fuss is about? Though the poster has erased all but the final sentence, we tracked down the text of the original review. Would you, as a dentist, be upset with a review like this? You certainly should be – it’s terrible marketing. But would you sue?

1 star rating! Let me first say I wish there is “0″ star in Yelp rating. Avoid her like a disease!

My son went there for two years. She treated two cavities plus the usual cleaning. She was fast, I mean really fast. I won’t necessarily say that is a bad thing, but my son was light headed for several hours after the filling. So we decided to try another dentist after half a year.

I wish I had gone there earlier. First, the new dentist discovered seven cavities. All right all of those appeared during the last half a year. Second, he would never use the laughing gas on kids, which was the cause of my son’s dizziness. To apply laughing gas is the easiest to the dentist. There’s no wailing, no needles. But it is general anesthetic, not local. And general anesthetic harms a kid’s nervous system. Heck, it harms mine too. Third, the filling Yvonne Wong used is metallic sliver color. The new dentist would only use the newer, white color filling. Why does the color matter? Here is the part that made me really, really angry, The color tells the material being used. The metallic filling, called silver amalgams, have a small trace of mercury in it. The newer composite filling, while costing the dentist more, does not. In addition, it uses a newer technology to embed fluoride to clean the teeth for you, I regret ever going to her office.

P.S. Just want to add one more thing. Dr Chui, who shares the same office with Yvonne Wong, is actually decent.

Read theSan Francisco Chronicle article orsee the actual complaint

Tell us what you think…

Filed Under: Dental Editorials, Legal Tagged With: website marketing, yelp

Dentists Aren’t Sure If Dental Website Marketing Is Worth It: Survey Results

August 15, 2007 By Julie Frey 4 Comments

In our most recent survey, we asked dentists if their dental practice website marketing is worth its expense. Less than half (44%) said yes: internet marketing generates new patients and a positive ROI. The remaining 56% replied that they don’t believe that internet marketing has particularly helped find new patients.

Here are a few of the things our dentists had to say on the subject…

“I think it is the future. As more people look for goods and services online we are going to see more people looking for us there as well.” (Oregon dentist spending $100 monthly)

“Great concept, but I just haven’t seen much results.” (Mississippi dentist spending $30 monthly)

“My website generates 4-5 new high-value patients monthly! The most recent patient needs $19,500 in restorative treatment, and he has already paid half BEFORE treatment begins!” (South Carolina dentist spending $600 monthly)

“Website patients are likely to be skittish or scared, having avoided dentistry for some time. If they can be converted and have financial means, it can be good. Lots of email contact without appointment scheduling is common.” (Oklahoma dentist spending $800 monthly)

“The younger generation has grown up with computers and the internet and uses that like our generation used the Yellow Pages.” (Illinois dentist spending $200 monthly)

“Try it… I stopped.” (New York periodontist)

“Brings in an educated, motivated patient. They usually have done their homework and are just looking for a practice that is compatible with their personality.” (Florida dentist spending $460 monthly)

Check out the complete dental internet marketing survey results.