Content Marketing for Your Dental Practice Website

We’re using the terms “digital marketing” and “content strategy” interchangeably on this page, and that’s because each approach informs the other. Neither would be effective, whole, or comprehensive without the other. Digital marketing needs content to function, and content relies on digital marketing to help it spread and find readers.

With that in mind, let's get down to brass tacks:

Content strategy, loosely defined, is the approach a business takes to sharing and promoting the content it uses to publicize its business — either digitally or in print.

Here are a few examples of content strategy:

• A schedule of monthly social media posts
• A schedule of quarterly blog articles
• Long-tail keyword research that helps you identify which terms to target in your site content
• Editorial calendars

Here’s how MarketMuse defines content strategy:

Content strategy is the ongoing process of transforming business objectives and goals into a plan that uses content as a primary means of achieving those goals.

Digital marketing, then, is the umbrella that encompasses content marketing and a bunch of other digital efforts (web design, back-end development, etc.) that help a company market itself digitally. While all digital marketing is also content strategy, not all content strategy is digital marketing.

In fact, many service-based companies (like dental practices) enhance their digital marketing efforts with associated print marketing pushes. For example, a dental practice may invest. in SEO, digital marketing, and social media, while also running ads on a local radio station and in local magazines or newspapers.

This combination of analog and digital marketing is an effective way to meet customers and patients where they are and ensure they're interacting with your content in a way that feels good for them.

Content might matter for digital companies, like design agencies and ecommerce sites, but how important is it really for dental websites? The answer is hugely. To. put it bluntly, you cannot have a successful dental practice website today without a great content strategy.

Here are a few stats to demonstrate that point:

As it stands now, year-over-year growth in unique site traffic is 7.8x higher for content marketing leaders than it is for followers (19.7% vs 2.5%). Content marketing also costs an average of 62% less than traditional marketing but generates 3x as many leads. Here’s the real nail in the metaphorical coffin: conversion rates are 6x higher for content marketing adopters than non-adopters.

Now that you know how content functions in the actual world, let’s look at a few ways it can help your dental practice website thrive.

Higher Conversions

We just mentioned how content improves conversions in the paragraph above, but let’s inspect the mechanism.

Here’s how content helps you earn more patients:

Today, about 81% of would-be customers shop for products, goods, or services online. And, when they do, they’re looking for a few key things.

A person searching for a dental practice, for example, probably wants to find an office that’s in their area and works with their insurance. They also want to work with a practice that seems approachable, professional, and knowledgeable, and that addresses their unique pain points.

Someone interested in cosmetic dentistry, for example, wants to know the office provides it. Someone with a deep fear of the dentist might be interested in the sedation or relaxation methods the office offers.

Ultimately, it’s the job of your content to help would-be patients decide if your firm is a good fit. If they come across your website or social channels and find professional, well-written content that seems tailored to them, they’re more likely to call you up and make an appointment.

Great content like that doesn’t just happen, though. It’s the result of a strategic approach that involves research and planning.

A Better Social Media Presence

Have you ever wondered what the heck to share on your social media platforms? You’re not alone. Service-based companies, like dental offices, often have a tough time coming up with posts to fill out their social platforms.

Fortunately, content strategy is an excellent way to build out that social presence. Besides helping you win a large social media following, a content strategy can help you maintain a consistent, relevant social presence that keeps your followers engaged. It’s also a great way to share news about promotions, specials, or new services you’re offering.

Enhanced SEO

No matter what industry you’re in, every website needs SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization and it is, quite simply, what makes the web run. Here’s how SEO giant Moz defines it:

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

SEO involves several parts that work together to help websites rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). These parts include the quality of a site’s traffic, the quantity of that traffic, and the organic search traffic - or the unpaid traffic that comes to a site via the SERPs.

When you invest in a content strategy for your dental practice website, you inherently boost your SEO. Useful, relevant, high-quality content boosts your monthly search volume, helps you rank higher in the SERPs (which means more eyes on your website), and allows you to stand out as an authority in your industry.

More Trust From Your Audience

Let’s put it bluntly: nobody is going to trust a shoddy dentist’s website full of skeletal, misspelled, unprofessional content - no matter how good your actual dentists may be. If you can’t wow today’s customers with your digital presence, there’s a very slim chance they’ll ever actually make it to your office.

With that in mind, investing in a great content strategy helps you stand out in your industry. Besides keeping you ahead of your competitors, it also positions you as a trusted authority in your industry for would-be customers.