By Mary Kay Miller

No matter what industry you are in, if you own a business, marketing online is essential to your success. With an average of 475,000 new businesses opening in the United States each month, it is more important now than ever to make sure your orthodontic practice stands out both online and offline. Many orthodontic teams still fail to see the relevance of investing in their online marketing, especially if they consider themselves a patient referral practice. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

In today’s digital marketplace, the first form of contact with any business is no longer the new patient phone call but the Internet. Consumers google your name and begin researching what pops up. Even if they hear your name from friends or family, the Internet is where they find your contact information and more.

Are you proactively delivering your marketing message exactly the way you want it delivered, or leaving it to chance?

Topics: technology, orthodontic trends, Marketing, orthodontics, Mary Kay Miller, google, online reviews, local search, local business, brand identity, analytics

By Mary Kay Miller

The local marketing landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The Internet is no longer a secondary component of a successful marketing plan; nowadays a successful local business must put online branding at the forefront of their marketing focus. Leading the way when it comes to Internet marketing are your online reviews and reputation.

I understand that taking time out of your busy patient schedule is a hassle to accumulate reviews. Unfortunately, there is no easy way around it in a consumer driven society, which is constantly looking for verifiable proof of quality and expertise when making buying choices.

Topics: orthodontics, Mary Kay Miller, online reviews, trust

by Mary Kay Miller

As of the first week in August 2015, almost every local search on Google for any business or service, including orthodontics, will return a result with a new 3-pack. The term Snack Pack is also being used in reference to Google’s new Maps area with three results instead of the old 7-Pack with alphabetical rankings of A through G.

Topics: technology, Mary Kay Miller, google, online marketing, search results, maps

By Mary Kay Miller
            – Orthopreneur Internet Marketing

So what happened? Not much – at least not yet. We braced for a shockwave in April. Google was updating their mobile search algorithm and it was supposed to shake things up quite a bit. Websites that were not mobile-friendly ran the risk of dropping in the mobile search results.

So far, ten weeks after the update was rolled out, only about 5% of mobile searches have been affected. It was far from the hammer blow that some were anticipating. Many local search markets saw no change at all and confirmed by the Orthopreneur Internet Marketing team as we tested more than 100 orthodontic websites that were either responsive, offered separate mobile sites, or no mobile application at all.

Topics: Mary Kay Miller, SEO, google, search, algorithm

by Mary Kay Miller
Make the most of your digital real estate with these 5 tips on website and mobile site marketing for orthodontists.

 

Topics: orthdontics, orthodontists, Mary Kay Miller, Internet Marketing

by Mary Kay Miller

For mutual funds or other financial products, a common statement on the prospectus is that past performance is no guarantee of future results. The same is true for marketing your orthodontic practice. What was done six months or six years ago may not have the same effect today.

Topics: Marketing, orthodontics, Mary Kay Miller, Internet Marketing

By Mary Kay Miller

In 2011 we saw iPads, Androids, and iPhones generate billions of dollars in new sales. On December 24th and 25th alone, more than seven million mobile devices were activated in the United States. Mobile is ramping up faster than any other technology we have seen in the past – eight times faster than desktop and laptop sales in the 1990s. By the end of 2012, it is predicted that 50% of the US population will have smartphones.

Topics: orthodontic practice management, technology, Marketing, web design, Mary Kay Miller

by Mary Kay Miller

After this year’s Super Bowl, I ran across a recent post by Ron Ashkenas and Holly Newman on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.  The topic was 3 ways that Super Bowl advertisers try to take advantage of very expensive 30 second spots to grab attention and impress viewers.

Topics: web design, Mary Kay Miller, Internet Marketing