Managing a Dental Clinic’s Directory Listings can be Overwhelming if You Don’t Know What You’re Doing.
With countless directory platforms available and the varied approaches to building out profiles, the choosing the right ones can get overwhelming very quickly. In this post we will discuss how dentists can choose the directory listings that have the highest value, and how to use them effectively to maximize the results.
Consider What Makes A Dental Directory Valuable
Before you sign up for any directory listings, there are a couple of questions you need to answer:
- Does the directory provide your clinic a unique advantage that you cannot get anywhere else?
- Does the directory actually reach the types of patients your practice serves?
How Does This Directory Benefit Your Potential Patients?
Determining which directories will benefit your patients and your practice the most will help in your selection process.
Does this specific directory provide value to its patients? Is it in high demand with the types of patients you are targeting? How likely is it that a potential patient is going to find your office on this directory? Can you determine how many patients are actually using this directory?
For example, if you are selecting between a directory platform such as Yelp and a more obscure dental directory, Yelp is going to be the smarter one to start with. Yelp is very prominent and has millions of visitors each month. Your dental practice is going to be visible to larger numbers of visitors on a platform like Yelp than a smaller, less popular directory.
Dentists Should Start With Popular Directories Initially
There are numerous directories available, but claiming your profile on every single platform is not a good investment of your time. It isn’t the most efficient tactic for creating an online presence for your dental practice either.
We suggest dentists claim their profiles on directory platforms like Yelp, Google, and the ADA initially, then transition to less popular platforms. It is not likely that your potential patients start their searches on the smaller directories, but, there is a high probability that they will locate your dental practice in the more popular directories with the help of search engine results pages (SERPs). It could be that potential patients use these popular directories frequently.
Yelp is a very popular directory platform with mobile users, especially in large, tech-savvy cities such as Sacramento. Many patients in such areas use Yelp frequently. Many patients search businesses (dental clinics included) on Yelp before they make any decisions.
Build up Directory Profiles With Reputation Management Tools
It is a wise to claim your profiles on directory platforms like Yelp, the ADA, and Google, then utilize those profiles to broadcast valuable information about your dental clinic and you.
Your dental practice can nurture these accounts consistently and add to them with testimonials from satisfied patients. Potential patients love the feedback your previous patients have, and often find it helpful in choosing a dentist for themselves or their family members. The importance of reputation is increasing all the time. For many patients, digital reviews carry just as much weight as testimonials from a friend or family member.
The good news? Collecting, displaying and managing your dental clinic’s digital reputation doesn’t have to be complicated.
Use Good Reputation Management Tools For Your Dental Practice
The AdInfusion system has built-in suggestion engines that enable you to import Google reviews to your dentist office’s website quickly and easily. Additionally, our systems create an index that allows potential patients to find reviews that are relevant to their specific circumstances. Our system gives dental clinics absolute control over which of their reviews are displayed and where.
These testimonials will become a vital feature of your website, but they don’t reach beyond your it, like outside directory platforms such as Google, the ADA, and Yelp.
Consider Smaller Directories When You Have Time
Once you have established your dental practice profiles on the larger and more popular directories, and built them up with client reviews, then it might be the right time to begin considering some of the smaller directories.
Its important to make sure that this process does not disrupt the marketing efforts on other resources that you own or have authority over, such as your website and blog. If you get distracted by things like directory listings, and lose focus on developing high-quality content that addresses the needs of your patient community, you run the risk of tarnishing your online reputation, and missing out on prospective new patients.
Let AdInfusion Simplify Your Law Firms’s Digital Marketing
At AdInfusion, we are embrace the challenge of marketing each unique dental practice. AdInfusion strives to empower dental practices to claim complete authority over their digital marketing, and to skyrocket your success without wasting your valuable money or time.
AdInfusion provides more effective marketing solutions for dentists. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your dental practice expand digitally, call us at 916-798-5707 today.
