Tooth in Advertising: Blog helps Dentist Bite into Search Rankings

For Comfort Dental, the way to cut its teeth on Internet marketing last summer was simple: Start a blog.

“People are searching for things in a way they weren’t a few years ago,” says Ali Sales, co-founder and president of Compendium Blogware, which helped create the blog. “They didn’t have a Web site presence, so they knew they were missing out on even on the most basic levels.”

“It seems like every dental practice on the planet now has a Web site,” says Dr. Dean Stratman, owner of Comfort Dental. “A blog was a way for us way to differentiate ourselves.”

Today, the practice does have its own site (www.yousleepwework.com). “But initially we saw blogs as the easiest way to get at the top of Google listings,” he says. “If somebody types in ‘dentist, Anderson, IN’ I want to be on the first page.”

Unlike many first-time bloggers, Comfort Dental wasn’t looking to just drive brand awareness and create thought leadership. Rather, they had the concrete goal of driving new patient traffic. And, notes Sales, since people don’t typically change doctors unless they go through a life changing event such as moving to a new area, the lifetime value of a new patient is many years.

Not many dentists have delved into the blogosphere yet, she adds, noting that many are still sticking to the traditional province of toothsayers, the Yellow Pages. “This industry isn’t nearly as progressed in this as say, real estate agents. Dentists are just starting to realize the potential of the Web.”

Indeed, Comfort Dental has over the years spent millions on Yellow Pages advertising, says Stratman, noting that at various times over the past 15 years the company has operated 23 dental offices (all were sold except for the current practice). “We’ve always been a big Yellow Pages and newspaper marketer, and we tried commercials.”

Three dentist are contributing to the blog, updating it a few times a month. No promotion is being done, but the blog is still accomplishing its main purpose, boosting search rankings.

“It’s interesting to see how far this is carrying them,” says Sales, noting that blogs, of course, need to be updated regularly to stay effective as search engine drivers.

“We’re a pretty busy practice. We’re not out there pushing [the blog] at all,” says Stratman.

The most popular terms aren’t too surprising— words like “dental office,” “tooth whitening” and “sedation dentistry,” all paired with “Anderson, IN.”

Dean notes that his company also maintains a blog through Compendium for The Stratman Center, a snoring and sleep apnea treatment facility. The lack of comments to posts doesn’t bother the dentists. They see the blog as strictly informational, rather than as a relationship building tool, and aren’t interested in building an online communications forum for the practice.

“That’s not what I’m looking for,” he says. “If a patient has questions, I want them in my office.”

He is, however, getting questions via e-mail from patients and prospective patients. “It helps them to feel like they have a relationships with us before they walk in the door.”

The number of new patients generated and the type of patient is how the ROI is being judged. All of the people who have contacted the practice via the blog have gone on to convert to patients. Stratman estimates that about five to eight come in per month. While it doesn’t sound huge, he’s happy with the numbers.

“We’re not giving away cotton candy away on the corner, so we don’t have 500 people coming up,” he jokes. “But we’re consistently getting a couple of patients a week who have been out researching for things like dental implants or a full mouth reconstruction or a particular service like sedation dentistry.”

As for offline promotion, you name it, and over the years they’ve done it.

“We’ve done literally everything,” says Stratman. “We’ve use hot air balloons and hired people to wear giant tooth costumers and stand on the corner.”

Indeed, the practice in its various incarnations has tried television, radio, print and a little direct mail, usually in co-ops like Valpak, where other dentists were often in the envelope as well.

“But we want to stand out and do something that’s different,” he notes. “We don’t want to be advertising the same way other people are.”