Dentists need 20 to 50 new patients per month for their clinics to survive and grow. But acquiring patients is not that easy.
Putting up posters, distributing fliers, and relying on referrals are no longer enough. The competition has become more challenging.
Also, people are no longer canvassing in the streets. They are now mostly on their phones, through which they can access a lot of information, thanks to the internet.
So dental offices need a solid online presence to get more patients. One way to achieve this is through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
What Is PPC?
PPC is a digital advertising technique that allows businesses to put their name on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Search engines host these text-based ads and display them at the top for people to see. Keywords that users type in the search bar of a search engine enable these ads to show up on top of SERPs. Whenever someone uses the exact keywords when looking for something online, they see these ads among the search results.
Unlike search engine optimization (SEO), PPC’s traffic does not come for free. Businesses have to pay search engines whenever users click on their ads. Once they stop paying for these ads, they stop working.
Nonetheless, PPC accelerates the process of getting to the top of SERPs. SEO takes months to take effect. Dental clinics do not have the time to wait; they need something that will work for them quickly.
What Are the Benefits of Using PPC?
To understand why the dental industry should consider using PPC, they have to explore the good things it provides. Here are some of them:
1. Helps Save Money
Unlike other ads that you have to pay for first before a platform displays them, search engines can display your ads right away. You only have to pay for them when people click on them.
In addition, it is up to how much your maximum daily budget is. So you do not have to spend beyond your means. More importantly, you can stop running your PPC ads anytime you want.
2. Generates fast results
PPC ads are ideal for newly opened dental clinics that have yet to acquire patients. SEO can provide them with longevity, but they do not have the luxury to wait for their SEO efforts to kick in.
Dentists need something that can jump-start their practices right away. Search engines can put PPC ads on top of SERPs in an instant. So it will only take days to get the desired outcome.
3. Makes the Company More Visible
As your PPC ad is on top of SERPs, more people can see you. They can click on your ad and learn more about you from your landing page. If you placed a link to your website, they could decide to head there.
People are more aware of your practice when you have more visibility. Brand awareness is essential for dentists who are starting their businesses. It makes people trust them to avail of their services.
4. Reaches the Right Customers
PPC ads require keywords your target audience will be likely to use. Using the right keywords is vital to bringing in leads. These people do not need much convincing because they are ready to avail of your services anytime.
On social media platforms, you have the option to specify other parameters. For instance, you can target one particular age group, location, and profession. You can also target people who have certain behavior and interests.
5. Helps Get Ahead of the Competition
The rise of digital marketing has made the market more competitive for any industry. Everyone is online promoting their business. Dentists who have just started their practices or those who have only small clinics believe they cannot compete.
However, digital marketing practices allow everyone to be on the same level. Even though some clinics have more budget for their promotions, small players can still outdo them with how well they set up their PPC ads.
6. Enables Easy Monitoring
PPC platforms allow you to monitor the performance of your ads. Once you launch them, you can see how many times they appear in searches and how many people click them.
Analytics enables you to see the aspects that work and those that are not. It gives you a chance to make necessary adjustments to fill in the gaps in your campaign.
7. Enhances SEO Practices
SEO is still a crucial part of your digital marketing efforts. You can work on it on the side while running your PPC ads. There is no need to choose between the two strategies.
Using both can provide you with better results at the beginning and in the long run. Digital Authority Partners said that you could use your PPC ads to gauge the efficiency of your SEO strategies to avoid some mistakes.
How to Create a PPC Campaign
Putting together PPC ads can be simple but needs careful planning. Affordable as they can be, you have to make them work to get your money’s worth.
Here are some tips on how you can make an effective PPC campaign:
1. Set Specific Goals
Having goals can help you form your campaign. It can also guide you through keeping everything in the right direction while running your campaign. Those goals serve as your point of reference when assessing your ads’ performance.
You design your PPC ads according to your goals. The most common goals for creating PPC ads are brand awareness, lead generation, enhancing website traffic, increasing sales, and promoting limited offers.
2. Identify Your Audience
People are different from one another. There is no single approach that can work for everyone. Their age, location, income, and interests dictate their behavior.
Focusing on one group of people allows you to tailor your copy using a language and tone that will get their attention. You can create various campaigns and run them simultaneously if you prefer to target different audiences.
3. Decide What Type of Campaign to Create
There are several types of PPC ads. You can choose from search ads, display ads, social ads, shopping ads, email sponsored ads, and instream ads. Though all of them are PPC ads, they can give different outcomes.
If you determine your target audience, you can pinpoint where you will find them. Hence, you can decide what kind of PPC ads you will create for your campaign.
4. Research for the Right Keywords
PPC ads depend heavily on keywords. As mentioned earlier, PPC ads show up on top of SERPs when people type specific keywords in the search bar. Hence, your copy should contain these keywords.
Right keywords do not mean popular keywords. It is better to use a more specific phrase that refers to your location and services. Moreover, keywords should go smoothly with your copy.
5. Prepare High-quality Landing Pages
Rather than leading visitors to your website, it is better to take them to a landing page. It should help you accomplish your goal. Aside from a compelling copy, it should have a call-to-action (CTA) that will make them act.
For instance, if you want to offer special rates, your landing page should talk about your services, their original prices, and the discounts. You can end your copy with a simple CTA such as “Sign up Here” or “Visit Us Now.”
Final Words
PPC can give any business a good boost in different ways, even dental clinics. Dentists can introduce their practices to people looking for professionals they can trust. They can also bring back old patients who have lost touch.
If you are unsure how to create a PPC campaign, you can always get help from digital marketing experts. These professionals can put together an effective PPC campaign to help your practice. They can help you organize everything.
You can tell them what you want to achieve and who the people you want to be your patients are. They will help you determine where you can find your audience and choose the suitable ads to run.
They can also create landing pages for you. You can focus on your existing patients and provide them with excellent service.
