Dental PPC Marketing
Our goal at Marketing Blendz is simple – help our clients grow their businesses.
We live in a digital age. For good or for bad, the internet has overtaken newspapers, billboards and yellow pages – for the most part – as an advertising platform. As a result, any business advertising in this day and age has to conduct digital marketing. This is especially true for healthcare providers: 82% of people research healthcare providers online before contacting and choosing one. That includes dental practices.
Simply setting up and maintaining a website is not enough. That would be the equivalent of opening your own dental practice at home and not setting up any sign or advertising in any way. How will people know about it if you don’t tell them?
Therefore, to meet new patients, you will have to meet them where they are. Whether that means on Google, social media, or any points in-between. Your digital marketing strategy will need to match the variety of these online points of contact.
This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO is the umbrella term for a whole host of activities designed to improve the organic search engine ranking of your website. The higher your website is ranking, the more visible it becomes for potential new patients.
However, even the most effective SEO strategy will take months to show significant results. You will therefore likely need (and want) an additional strategy to bridge the gap until your SEO strategy kicks in. Dental PPC is a great way to do just that.
PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click. The idea behind it is pretty simple: whereas SEO is a strategy to increase your organic engine search results page (SERP), dental PPC marketing works by targeting specific keywords through ads on different channels. In short: instead of organically growing your site’s reputation, you are paying for increased visibility.
Compare it to a TV commercial. Advertisers will target specific programming. For example, a beer company may want to run a commercial during a hockey game. The reasoning behind that is that the hockey audience is likely skewing adults and males. Dental PPC marketing works in similar ways – just more accurate because you can target your audience more specifically.
This brings us to the first point: designating specific keywords to target. You will need to identify the keywords you want to target through your different ad channels. Researching and targeting the wrong keywords can significantly harm your dental PPC strategy and lead to lower landing page conversion rates – and therefore higher costs per lead. The same holds true for using the wrong approach for a specific advertising channel.
Much like dental SEO, conducting dental PPC correctly is therefore labour-intensive and time-consuming. Unless you have an entire team of digital marketing specialists who are able to dedicate their time to it, chances are you may not see the results you want. In those cases, hiring a dental PPC agency can not only produce better results but also be a more profitable long-term approach for you.
At MarketingBlend, we provide dentist PPC services. We specialize in pay-per-click for dentists and dental PPC management, providing you with all-around dentist PPC services from keyword research and ad creation to split-testing and monitoring campaigns.
As mentioned above: SEO is a slow-moving train that requires significant input to get rolling. And even when your SEO starts showing results, it may still be advisable to keep some form of dental PPC marketing going to supplement your digital marketing strategy.
So, after identifying your targeted keywords and phrases, the next question is what channels to use for your dental PPC marketing campaign. Not all channels provide the same opportunity and offer the same crowd. For example, social media marketing is one element that can help you bridge the gap with your competition until your SEO is up to par (added bonus: it actually supports your overall SEO strategy as well). But the question might be which social media platform to use. Another option is Google Ads for dentists. And much like social media, it is actually quite versatile.
Let us take this opportunity and look at both options in closer detail.
While the goal of an SEO strategy lies in letting your website rank as high as possible organically, Google Ads presents an option that lets you jump the queue. Instead of ranking organically based on a number of factors such as specialized content and backlinks, Google ads are placed atop the search engine results page for designated keywords.
But those text-based Google Ads for dentists that appear for specific searches are just one (albeit usually very adequate) option. Google Ads actually offers a variety of different advertising forms, including video ads (e.g. Youtube) or image ads (on other websites), among others. Whatever variation of Google Ads you choose, they can all contribute to a well-balanced digital marketing strategy.
Keeping in mind that targeted keywords and users are glued together, Google Ads presents the basis of dental PPC marketing. All forms of Google Ads for dentists are related to a user’s search history on the search engine. That means you know that your ads are targeting people that have previously searched for your targeted keywords. As a result, your potential patients will come across your ads on multiple platforms.
Therefore, the first thing that Google Ads does for you targets the right audience.
Secondly, because of its pay-per-click nature, Google Ads only charges you once your potential patient has already clicked on your ad. That means you only pay for an actual return. This is like the aforementioned beer company paying for the air time on national TV depending on how many people will go into stores and actually look at their product.
This brings us to social media advertising.
Google ads for dentists are just one aspect of dental PPC marketing. Social media advertising for dentists is another part. While Google has the search engine market more or less cornered (about 85% worldwide), social media is a lot more diversified and, as a result, requires different approaches. Let us look at some of the most popular social media platforms and analyze how they might require different advertising strategies.
For as much controversy as it created in recent years, Facebook is still the most widely used social media platform for advertisers. In 2020, 25% of the world’s digital advertisement budget went toward Facebook ads, just behind Google (28.9%). If you build a social media advertising strategy, it therefore basically has to include Facebook ads for dentists (much like your SEO strategy has to be targeted towards Google’s algorithm).
To give your ads the highest chance of performing strong, you need to make sure that you are clear about certain objectives, including your target audience, the ad’s intended objective, alignment of visuals and copy, and a clear call-to-action.
Second, only to Facebook, Instagram is (for now) still the second-most important social media platform for advertisers. While Facebook is definitely your number one platform to target, chances are that your Instagram ads for dentists campaign will see better results overall since its engagement rates (likes, etc) outperform Facebook’s significantly (81% vs. 8%).
Whereas Facebook ads for dentists can be more varied (and more copy-heavy), Instagram is a more visual platform: photos, videos, carousels, and slideshow ads are four of the most effective types of Instagram ads for dentists on the platform.
The reason why we included the “for now” above is that Tiktok is the fastest-growing social media platform in the world right now (105% in the last two years!). If you are looking to reach a younger audience for your dentist ads, Tiktok is the place to do it.
Tiktok ads for dentists also present the biggest creative challenge as almost two-thirds of its users prefer platform-specific content. Whereas content for other platforms can be tweaked and recycled, Tiktok users seem to be more demanding.
Pinterest is a bit like the bass player of a band: it doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Its users are dedicated to the platform and have a higher level of trust with 7 in 10 pinners browsing Pinterest for products or services. While Facebook or Instagram may be more visible and engaging, Pinterest ads for dentists can pay off and build a solid reputation among a group of dedicated users.
Whatever channel(s) you choose, social media advertising for dentists is an integral part of modern PPC dental marketing. In combination with Google Ads, pay-per-click for dentists can help you bridge and support your SEO strategy and contribute to its bottom line: attracting new patients.
The bottom line is this: PPC dental marketing lets you find and engage new patients regardless of where your current SEO strategy stands. The recurring and targeted appearance of your dentist ads leads to increased brand recognition among your target audience. Pay-per-click for dentists is therefore an essential part of a balanced digital marketing strategy involving in today’s world.
You may have come this far only to find yourself still wondering what pay-per-click for dentists is and what dental PPC management entails. Don’t worry, we get it! You can spend hundreds of hours online and read dozens of blogs, case studies, and even printed books.
The best way to learn about some things is by actually doing them. Digital marketing and dental PPC services may well fall into that category. If you lack the time and or manpower to conduct it seriously, then MarketingBlendz is the right address for you.
MarketingBlendz is the dental PPC agency that lets you be in charge of your own project. While we can (and will) provide you with the best advice and knowledge of PPC dental marketing and dental PPC management, we realize that nobody knows your goals and target audience for your dental office better than you do. This is why we work in close proximity with you and make sure to consult with you about all steps along the way.
Interested in starting your PPC dental marketing strategy? Then contact us today! The dental PPC experts at Marketing Blendz are here and ready to help you.
PPC stands for ‘pay-per-click’. It is a form of digital advertising in which you place an ad – text, image, video, etc – and get charged for every click your ad garners.
It is a paid form of advertising, much like you (used to) pay for billboards or newspaper ads. A significant advantage of the classic forms of advertising though is that PPC is focused on your specific target audience by being tailored to specific keywords they are searching for.
For example, a potential patient in your area is searching for “dentist near me.” This leaves a trail in his cookies and Google. Your PPC campaign gets triggered by it and therefore your ads will appear for this potential patient.
PPC bridges the gap your digital marketing may face by trailing the SEO efforts of your competitors, while at the same time supplementing your own SEO efforts.
The way to find new patients can almost be summed up in one word: Google. 82% of people searching for a healthcare provider – such as a dentist – consult Google to find a provider in their area. They check the reviews and recommendations. It is like word-of-mouth on steroids.
What that means is that you need to be visible on Google. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the way to do that, but SEO takes time to get rolling – and it may not cover all your bases. That is where pay-per-click for dentists comes into the picture.
Dental PPC marketing can bridge the gap between starting your SEO strategy and its first results by letting you jump the search engine queue via paid ads. It also adds to your visibility on social media and Google by following potential patients on their journey through the web, increasing your brand recognition.
In short: dental PPC helps you find new patients by adding to your digital marketing strategy, supporting your SEO goals and even reaching beyond.
Dental PPC involves a variety of activities and strategic approaches. We offer the following (among others):
Yes – and no.
Yes, because we do deal with Google Ads (what used to be Google Adwords) and often include it as part of a dental PPC marketing mix.
No, because we are actually more than a dental Google Adwords Agency. We don’t just focus on Google Ads, but also include other aspects such as social media marketing.
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