10 Surprising Digital Marketing Statistics for Dentists

When it comes to marketing, you want all of the dental marketing tips you can get. The right marketing for your dental practice can make all of the difference when it comes to finding new patients and upping the satisfaction of your current patients. From local SEO services, SEO for dentists specifically, to any marketing of a dental website, we have compiled a list of digital marketing statistics that will help with all of your dental marketing strategies.

1. Celebrity endorsements are not as powerful as we once thought.

New studies have found that in general, celebrities do not necessarily equate to more shares or more website traffic. For example, when looking at which advertisements from Super Bowl 2014 were shared the most, only 25% of the twelve most popular commercials had a celebrity, and only 20% of the top five had one.

What does this mean for your practice? It means that public endorsement from a local celebrity does not necessarily mean that your advertisement is going to be well received. An engaging, well-expressed message will be more important to viewers than a friendly face.

2. Over 35% of people do not register Google Ads as advertisements.

According to a study conducted by Bunnyfoot, about 36% of people do not differentiate between the organic results and the Google ads (Adwords) results at the top of the page.  We’d like to think it’s even higher. This means that this is still an effective way to get to the top of the search results, without having your link immediately deemed as an advertisement. For your office, while your organic SEO is taking root, AdWords can help you gain ground over the competition immediately.  Remember, PPC (Google Adwords Pay-Per-Click) is the sprint, while SEO is the marathon.

3. The vast majority of consumers are open to mobile advertisements or offers.

Having a dental mobile website is more important now than ever. Not only are people using their smartphones to look for businesses in their area, they are also open to receiving offers from local business to their smartphones, either through email or text message.

Research has shown that about 65% of people would like to receive offers to their smartphone. For your practice, if you run an offer, like a free consultation, a smartphone message might be a great way to disseminate that information.

4. Digital content is quickly growing.

Content for the internet is the fastest growing sector of the market. It has overtaken all print media and will soon overtake television. What this means for your practice is that investing in digital content marketing will result in a better return on investment than content for newspapers or local television advertisements.

5. 26% of consumers use live chat to communicate with customer service.

If you have the ability to add a live chat functionality to your webpage, now is the time to do it. People are starting to prefer live chat customer service to email and to phone calls. Almost a third of people expect company websites to have a live chat feature.

This gives new patients a great way to make an appointment or ask a question about your practice, without having to call your office or send an email. The best part about this feature is that you can set it to “sleep mode,” so if the office is closed or there is nobody available for chat, that will display on the website.

6. 50% of consumers use their smartphones to learn about the business while they are in-store.

While your dental practice is not a store, it is important to note that new patients, as they sit in the waiting room, might use this opportunity to research your practice, see what reviews are being left online, and even whether or not your office accepts his or her insurance plan. This means that you need a dental mobile website that is as useful and responsive as your desktop website.

7. Television advertising revenues are dropping.

More and more people are taking to the internet, not only to find out about businesses they might want to use, but also to find entertainment. This means that investing in a local commercial might not be the best move at this point. Instead, finding a way to reach out to potential patients in your area, as they look for a new dentist or as they engage with local media, will be more effective. Even small towns may have digital newspapers, where you can place an advertisement for a relatively small fee.

8. In-app mobile impressions come in at just 31% of total ad impressions.

For your practice, this likely means that staying away form in-app advertisements is the best practice. It can be difficult to target people specifically in your area and especially difficult to create an advertisement that they will actually be willing to view while in the app. There are very few apps that would be appropriate for an advertisement for your dental practice.

9. Email is still the most effective digital marketing tactic.

Though email is likely considered to be the grandfather of all other digital marketing strategies, it is still the most effective, and for dentists’ offices, a great way to connect with your patients, remind them of an appointment, or remind them to make an appointment. The vast majority (75% of the general population and 83% of millennials) prefer to be contacted through email.

10. Websites are the number one patient acquisition channel.

You can have all the advertising in the world, but if you do not have a great website, you are not going to gain new patients. Make sure that your campaigns “pay off” through a great website, with interesting content and design and a clear call to action.