You know as well as I do that nothing beats a perfect smile. And a perfect smile can be achieved with teeth whitening and/or cosmetic dentistry. But where do you turn when you need marketing for teeth whitening or cosmetics to attract new patients to your clinic? Facebook or Google?
As a seasoned digital marketing specialist, I’ve had hands-on experience with what works, and what doesn’t. So let’s explore some of these tried and true tactics together!
Step 0: Before you put yourself out there!
I’m sure you may be aware, but in case you’re not: Certain medical terms like “surgeon”, “dentist”, or “oral health therapist” are legally protected terms in Australia. There is an article explaining these rules on the Aphra website, explaining it better than I can. As someone providing services involving other people’s bodies, it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re ticking all the legal boxes.
When it comes to advertising and marketing for teeth whitening and cosmetic dental, there are some protected titles. This is explained in further detail on the Dental Board of Australia’s website.
As I am not a legal professional, I will ask that you speak to an appropriate advisor to answer any questions about protected titles. However, please ensure you don’t lose any documentation that permits you to do business as who you say you are. As this may cause problems when it comes to advertising online.
I’m just as eager as you are to get your business in front of people, but we need to make sure it’s above board!
The foundations for success begin with your website
Before sending a flood of traffic to your website, it’s important to ensure it’s set up properly to receive bookings. Ensure that your booking system is not only compatible with your practice management, but it’s also user-friendly across all device types
>50% of web traffic comes from mobile. Source: Think with Google.
It’s one thing to be able to use it on your computer, but over 50% of internet traffic is on mobile phones these days! (For some websites I manage, that percentage is closer to 70%.)
Furthermore, it’s important to choose a booking system that is compatible with website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics. This way, we can attribute customer bookings to your online marketing channels, paid or unpaid, to confirm which ones are working.
Speaking as a marketer, I can’t stand not knowing which channel produced the best results. I’m sure you’ll want to know which ones are affecting your bottom line too! Additionally, without these website analytics, we’ll be less informed about what we can potentially do with paid channels, such as Google Ads.
Getting your website in good shape
Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, your website should be:
- Fast-loading.
- Responsive (meaning it works well on all device types. The last thing you want to do is turn away prospective clients because they went to your website on a phone, and not a computer.)
And your dental website should have:
- Photos of your clinic (with people in it! Empty rooms may be unsettling!)
- Copy (writing) that inspires customers to connect with your brand and services.
- A means to contact you for help.
- Payment methods and health funds you accept.
- Privacy policy, and other legal pages.
And your online presence as a whole should have:
- Cohesive visual branding and voice across all channels. This helps inspire trust in your brand.
Which channel should you invest time, money, and energy into?
Should you use PPC or paid ads to advertise cosmetic dentistry?
Due to the aforementioned protected title, marketing teeth whitening or cosmetics with PPC or paid ads might be difficult for you, but not impossible.
But here’s why you absolutely should choose Google Ads: Privacy, pride, and embarrassment.
Because given the personal nature of cosmetic dental procedures, a patient may be too embarrassed to ask friends, family, or social media for advice on where to go. Therefore, with paid Google Ads, you can claim your place on Google Search results when someone types “cosmetic dental near me”.
So in other words, if Google Search is where people are looking, then Google Search is where you should be!
SEO also is going to be one of your best allies!
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and it involves creating and adjusting web pages and content to stand out on search results. Even if some people pay to be in Google Search results (i.e. Google Ads), oftentimes a good unpaid result (we call this “organic”) will be more appealing to someone.
Besides, people don’t just use search when they want to buy something. People also use search when they want to learn more about something. If you can answer a concern or question someone is having better than another website, then that will put a good impression of your brand in that person’s mind. I happen to think that’s very valuable to branding. Wouldn’t you agree?
And where does social media marketing fit in?
In my experience as a digital marketer, I find social media for health/body-related businesses to be great at building brand awareness and loyalty.
If you have seen results with paid social media, then by all means, do it! Just ensure that you’re doing it with organic social media as your backbone.
Measuring what’s working
Earlier I mentioned that when choosing your booking system, it’s helpful to find one that integrates with Google Analytics. With this all hooked up, PPC specialists like me will more accurately be able to measure your ROI from Google Ads. Without it, it’s much more hectic to attribute how many bookings came from paid ads.
So if you only take away one thing from this article: Ensure you have Google Analytics properly installed on your website. You don’t have to know what all the data means, but the sooner you start collecting it, the better it will be should you eventually work with a digital marketing consultant.
Conclusion
Hopefully I’ve given you some good ideas on which channels are the most worthwhile marketing for teeth whitening and cosmetic dentistry services. If you have any questions about advertising or marketing your business (besides legally protected titles and other legal questions), please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Just like any other business, you deserve to be found and seen by the right people.
I wish you all the best in your business journey.
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