No one involved with Internet Marketing can question the importance of having the name of your practice and its website prominently displayed when a prospective patient does a Google search for a dentist in your town. My definition of prominent has been to be one of the seven spots on the local Google business map. On August 6th, Google instituted a major change. The Google 7-Pack became the Google 3-Pack. As mobile usage continues to grow, Google has changed the desktop search to appear more like mobile search results. So now only the top 3 positions on the Map are shown. Positions 4-7 in the old map pack are still there if you click the “More Dentist” icon – now jokingly called the “hamburger”. So those practices that worked so hard to gain that visibility have been definitely penalized.

Another change is that you can no longer get to the Google Place Page of a dentist from the Map. When you click the results on the map, you get a hybrid Google Plus Page or “card”. The only way to get to the Plus Page and see all of the reviews is from the practice website.

A third change is that when you do a search from a mobile device, the paid ads (Google AdWords) for a dentist show up prominently and you need to scroll down to see other results. A fourth change that is really irritating is that Google no longer is including the full address of the practice on the Map.

I believe that Google – with these new changes – is doing everything they can to leverage their vast power and force more dentists to buy AdWords to guarantee a top position. If you don’t choose to pay for a top position, your SEO strategies have to be exquisitely executed. The challenge for organic optimization is greater than ever. Your next generation marketing platform for your website must focus on the following.

• Creating continuous additional content. The easiest way is with blog posts. These posts should contain key words and mention your geography. Google rewards relevance and proximity as contributing factors for ranking in the Pack.

• Listing your town and surrounding towns in the first paragraph of your Home Page.

• Using a call tracking telephone number for your website. Let’s see how people are getting to your site.

• Adding Google patient reviews on a consistent basis. Have your Google Plus Page linked from your website to make it easy for patients to leave a review. And be sure to change the ugly orange, blue and green generic Google banner with the banner of your website.

• Better consistency with directories (citations). This is often called NAP verification (name, address, telephone number). Making sure that the name of the practice, the name of the doctor, address, telephone number, dental degree, etc. are all exactly correct on the major directory sites like Angie’s List, Bing, Yahoo, and Yelp.

The challenge for effective Internet Marketing has become even more difficult. A dental practice needs professional technical advice. I highly recommend TNT Dental. I have been using them for many years. Call Tim Healy at 214-680-1270 and see how he can help.

I have long been an advocate for staff to wear name tags with a title. There are many benefits to this. There is a comfort factor for the patient to know your name, and a respect factor for the staff member to be recognized for her skill. Susan – Patient Treatment Coordinator. Laura – Clinical Assistant. Joyce – Dental Hygienist.  People always relate better to you when they know your name. It stimulates conversation, and conversation builds relationships. And we all know how easy it is to forget a name, even if we were introduced a mere five minutes ago!

I’d like to bring to your attention a quality resource called Badge America. As with many topics that I blog about, I found out about this company at one of my client visits. Badge America is a small business owned by Rose Marie Branconnier.

The product that I am recommending is a two-sided card that contains the first name, title, AND a picture. The card is very sturdy–not flimsy at all. The card clips to scrubs or a jacket, rather than being pinned to the garment and making a hole. Using two sides makes a lot of sense so that the card is always visible,  even if it gets twisted or caught in the folds of a uniform. The cost is only $15  per card. All you need to do to place an order is e-mail a digital photo along with the pertinent information for each employee to badger1@cox.net. If you have any questions, you can speak to Rose at 401-766-1816. The delivery is quick–usually within three to five business days.

Just another simple way to distinguish your practice from the competition.