In my last blog post, I talked about the use of a Blog to improve website position. That is because the blog format is an easy way to add new content to your website, and Google rewards sites that add new information. But an even bigger advantage for you is that with the blog, you can express the exact message that will drive people you WANT to your site.

For example, let’s say you love Invisalign and want to do more cases. You probably have selected some keywords that include Invisalign with your geographic area so that when prospective patients search for that particular service, they find your website. But if you write a blog two or three times a month on invisible braces including the benefits,  the applications, the success stories you have created, etc. – in the process of writing you will be using hundreds of keyword phrases that relate to Invisalign, and Google is able to reference all of them. This is an amazingly powerful way to push your website to the top for this particular service.

One last suggestion – it can be very effective to write a series of posts about a particular topic. Don’t try to cover the entire gamut in one 300 word piece. When the mood hits, sit down for an hour and write a long dissertation on your topic. Include lots of thoughts – and it doesn’t have to be totally perfect just yet. From this large body of information, you should be able to chisel out a specific pearl or two that will form the basis for an effective post.

If you and your staff are truly going to make the commitment to blog consistently, then it is comforting to always have two or three posts “in the can”. This way you avoid the stress of the inevitable writers brain cramp that plagues us all when we are panicked about a deadline and a topic for the next post.

Google drives search engine marketing,  and it rewards new content with higher placement and more recognition for your website. Pardon me if I don’t even mention Bing and Yahoo because combined they only have ten percent of the search engine market.

In my opinion, the easiest way to add new content to your website is through the use of a Blog Page. Your webmaster can set up the blog so that graphically it looks exactly like any other page on your website. You write your material and publish it from a dashboard. Very easy to do. Each new post appears on the top of the Blog Page. The older blog posts move down and continue to be archived and retrievable. By blogging two or three times a month with relevant, informative, and interesting material, you are adding new content to your website two to three times a month–and that is great for SEO. Google says wow–this site is relevant!

But here’s a great tip I learned a few years ago that has skyrocketed my website so that I actually dominate the search engine results page for dental consulting and dental practice management in my geographic area.  I added what is called an RSS  feed to my site. If you look at my website, the RSS feed says “latest blog posts” and it is right up there to the left of my picture. It lists my two most recent posts. When I publish a new post, the RSS feed automatically changes, and the new post title replaces what was formerly first. And that former first post title goes to the second position. The post that was in second position goes into archives.

Now here is the magic.  Since the RSS feed  is on the top of EVERY page of my website, when I publish and the feed changes, EVERY page on my website changes–not just the Blog Page. Big difference! Click on any number of pages within my site and you will see how the feed remains on every page.

This is truly a powerful tool to use. Try it–and watch what happens.

About six months ago, Google changed the format of their search engine results page (SERP). The page previously had been dominated by a listing of websites arranged and ranked organically by some algorithm that recognized relevance relating to original content, new content, and new information. The challenge has been to use multiple techniques and strategies called search engine optimization  (SEO) to try to move your site to the top of the page.

Currently when you type a request into the Google search bar, the page looks totally different. The top seven spots (A through G) are from the Local Google Business Map. The Map is now the dominant feature. The SERP  results are now placed BELOW  the map results. So unless you are in the top three or four of the SERP, you all of a sudden find yourself demoted to the second page. And we all know that unless you are on the first page, you might as well forget about being found.

The good news is that it is much easier to get to the top of the Local Google Business Map than it is to reach the top of the SERP. Placement on the map seems to be most influenced by favorable patient reviews. I am in love with a company called Demand Force that makes the process of obtaining patient reviews an extremely easy one. And they magically get a lot of these reviews read by Google fairly quickly, thereby moving your practice to the top of the map.

The density and competitive environment of your particular marketplace will of course be an influencing factor as to how quickly you progress. And it is still absolutely essential to be optimizing your site with new content and not be solely dependent upon patient reviews. But I can report that in the last 16 months I have referred over 40 clients to Demand Force- in big towns and small towns–and every single practice–usually within 4 to 6 months–is middle to top of the business page.

So go check out this amazing company.