The Quest for the Coveted First Page
You know the importance of having a website. It’s a crucial component of growing and maintaining your business. Your site helps you get found online, attract more patients, and generate higher profits for your practice.
Unfortunately, though, your website can also be an expense. Many dentists shell out thousands of dollars to a fancy web designer to have a website that does nothing for their business. The difference between a successful website and one that sits there collecting internet dust is…traffic.
Traffic is a term used to describe how many visitors your website gets regularly. Of course, you want lots of traffic. The more visitors that come to your website, the higher your chances are of converting those visitors into customers.
The most effective way to generate traffic is to capture people searching online via a search engine. For example, when a potential patient searches for a dentist on Google, they’ll be taken to the first page of the search engine result pages, often referred to as the SERPs. Therefore, your website must appear on the first organic Search or paid results page to rank high in Google.
Many businesses and dental practices invest resources in a race for industry-specific keywords for the first page—and often, the first spot. Multiple studies have shown that the number one spot in Google is responsible for approximately one-third of the total traffic generated from search results.
A top spot for a specific keyword can be earned through organic Search or paid Search. While experts argue the value of each, there is a clear winner in website traffic and, if we’re honest, in terms of your wallet. The clear winner is an organic search, Dentist Marketing.
Organic Search offers tremendous potential for lead generation.
Paid Search has its place. That place is often in e-commerce. Retail stores and other markets looking for a quick, one-time, or recurring online transaction are perfect markets for paid Search.
You’re focused on the long game when it comes to attracting new patients and growing your practice. Lead generation, any endeavor where the goal is to attract people to your website and convert them to leads and then clients, is where organic Search dominates Dental SEO.
A few ways you can rank high on the SERPs include:
● Understanding what keywords you want to rank for and weaving them throughout your website conversationally.
● Updating website content regularly.
● Utilizing social media channels to share your content
To ensure your success online translates to growth in your practice, have a strategy to collect email addresses and continue to nurture your leads to increase the likelihood that you’ll convert them to patients.
Earn a higher placement in the SERPs with a lower investment.
When it comes to fruits and vegetables, going organic is expensive. Unfortunately, the exact opposite is true online. Often, businesses want to bypass the process of Search Engine Optimization by paying for Google ads. While this can be an effective tactic, it’s typically costly.
While competing for a number one spot organically will require you to battle with other content from top competitors, the process of getting a paid Google ad isn’t without competition, either. To win ad space with Google, you must bid against other businesses, often those with sizable budgets.
Besides the time spent optimizing your website and creating content for your website visitors, organic Search costs little to nothing. But, conversely, paid Search often costs money whenever someone clicks on your ad.
Stay at the top for a longer duration with Organic Search.
Can you pay your way to the first spot on the first page of Google? Perhaps. Though it will likely take thousands of dollars to get there, your site will plummet in the rankings the minute you stop paying.
Earning a top spot in organic Search allows you to hold that position (or close to it) for an extended period. Paying for your ranking only helps while you’re the highest bidder on an ad and ends when you decide to stop funding your ad.
Online consumers are savvy and getting smarter by the day.
Many of us understand that the top results in Google are ads. After all, it’s hard to miss the “Ad” notation that precedes the effect. However, most searchers know to scroll past the first two or three paid options to get to the content they want. In addition, most users are aware that organic search results are typically more relevant and trustworthy than the results that have been purchased.
A recent study by Impact showed that the highest spenders are more likely to turn to organic Search for information. In addition, countless other studies indicate the consistent success of organic Search over paid ads.
Your budget has little-to-no impact on organic Search.
Last but certainly not least, the amount of traffic your site receives through organic search results is not impacted or limited by your budget. Instead, it’s affected by your effort towards content creation, understanding the data behind what moves your website visitors, and your diligence in creating a follow-up strategy to move your site visitors through your sales funnel.
While earning the first overall spot for a highly relevant keyword might make you 50,000+ visitors each month, that same amount of traffic might cost you upwards of $100,000 in paid Search—your commitment to earning traffic organically costs far less and last much longer.
Still, Deciding?
To understand whether paid or organic Search is better for your practice, look at your business goals, your desired timeline for achieving those goals, and your budget. These factors will help you understand what strategy will give you the best results.
When it comes to generating traffic to your website and profits for your practice, the Web Detective can help.
Contact The Web detective for a free 20-minute strategy session to take your website to the next level.