Special Report Reveals the Insider Secrets of How Your Dental Practice Can Dominate the Local Search Engines Results

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2 Special Report Reveals the Insider Secrets of How Your Dental Practice Can Dominate the Local Search Engines Results 2011 Graig Presti 2

3 Contents Topic Page Getting Your Practice on Page One of Google 5 Local Search Marketing: Your Questions Answered Five Secrets of Getting to the Top of Local Search and Staying There 7 18 Ten Local Search Mistakes Dentists Make 21 Success Stories: How Dentists Are Winning With Local Search 28 Simply Amazing! Four Top Listings and the Coveted One Pack... What Graig and Local Search for Dentists have done is simply amazing. We now have four top listings for relatively competitive keywords in our area! And we are the coveted "one-pack" (solo listing) for the most profitable niche in our business dental implants. As I understand it, Search Engine Optimization is OUT and Local Search Management is the key to being found online. Graig and his team understand the rules and are getting it done!" Dr. Scott F. Peterson, DDS. PA. The Dental & Implant Suite 2011 Graig Presti 3

4 Why Dentists Need This Information Now There are not many times in your career you have the chance to be at the forefront of changes that affect the way everybody does business. Right now we have one of these moments. You can choose to take advantage of the opportunity and steal a march on your competitors.or you can do nothing now and wait until everybody else catches up because they will. But then it will be too late for you to benefit. This huge opportunity reflects the revolution on the way people check out local businesses when they need a service.here are the key points you need to know: The advent of online search engines like Google transformed the way people search for information. Now almost everyone goes online and conducts a search when they want information But most people don t know that the way the search engines work has changed dramatically even in the last few weeks The key change is that it s not a world-wide web any more it s a local web People searching for information about local dentists can get information instantly tailoredexactly to their city and the specialty they are looking for That s a great opportunity for dentists but the whole process of getting listed on these pages has changed completely. The old systems for getting to the top of Google no longer work for local businesses Only a handful of dentists are aware of this change and even most of them are trying to figure out what to do about it Benefiting from these opportunities does not require special technology, technical knowledge or expensive campaigns. Anyone can do following the right approach a handful of dentists are already transforming their practices this way If you know what to do, you can dominate the local search in your are and start attracting new patients easily The rapidly growing importance of mobile search is going to push these changes to completely new levels The opportunity right now is ripe for picking and you have the chance to steal a march on your competition In this special report, I ll explain these changes in more detail and outline exactly what you need to do in order to be one of the handful of dentists benefiting from the change Graig Presti 4

5 Getting Your Practice on Page One of Google The way Google, Yahoo and Bing (MSN) serve up local search results has changed in a big way recently and most dentists are just simply not aware of these changes. But, when you know the right techniques, you can easily get your practice on the front page of Google, Yahoo,Bing and other third-party search engines to dominate the results. Local search results are continuing to grow in importance every month and are becoming the key to getting found online by your ideal and most profitable patients. In recent years, readership of newspapers has dropped by 75% and many of the publications people used to read are no longer in existence. At the same time, the value of advertising in Yellow Pages has dropped considerably. So local search is growing significantly and the tools we're using to dominate it are just mind-blowing. Google says 61% of people who search online for a local business make a purchase offline within 24 hours.and 86% of those people followed up with a phone call and or visit. This means the majority of your potential customers look online first for a local dentist. However 94% of those searching DO NOT LOOK beyond page one of the Google results. So, if you are a local dentist, you need to be on page one of Google to be seen by the vast majority of your potential customers. But there are only 10 spots on page one of Google and the key to being there is dominating the local search results. So the bottom line is that if you are not easy to find online, you're going to lose that patient. And you re going to lose a lot of money! Let me ask you a question: Is your dental practice there for EVERY service you offer? This report explains why 99% of dentists fail at online marketing and how you can be one of the tiny group avoiding the major mistakes I see dentists making every day. I ll show you how you can be the one in your local area that patients choose to be their dentist. I m about to share information and strategies that your competitors don t know about - so it s ripe for the picking! It s time to turn these Google changes into some $$$ in your pocket!! 2011 Graig Presti 5

6 About Graig Presti and LocalSearchForDentists.com Graig Presti is one of the leading experts in local search marketing for dentists. He has a long history with internet marketing, direct response marketing and helping dentists grow their businesses. He worked closely with many leading dental practices as Senior Manager responsible for Dental Implant Marketing and Direct Response marketing at Dentist Profits. Now, he has established Local Search for Dentists to help dental practices get the best results possible with Local Search Marketing. He s the ideal expert to explain the future of Dentistry Online and the importance and value of online marketing for dentists. You couldn t find a better team to have in your corner Before working with Graig Presti and his team we had zero internet presence with poor and inconsistent rankings on Google as well as the other search engines. Within a few short weeks of Graig working on this for our dental practice, by using multiple keywords, general listings and geographical search techniques, we now experience consistent rankings in the #1 or #2 position. As the public continues to use the internet preferentially over newspapers,yellow-pages and other print media this consistent internet presence is vital to the continued growth health and expansion of our businesses. Already we are seeing a dramatic rise of new patients in our office from internet search activity. Graig and his team are super responsive, smart and utilize the latest technologies in their work. You couldn t find a better team to have in your corner! Richard B. Dunn DDS, PC & Tracy DeMark 2011 Graig Presti 6

7 Local Search Marketing: Your Questions Answered What is Local Search Marketing? The whole search engine game has completely changed just in the last few months and it is continuing to change rapidly almost on a weekly basis. Some of what I share in this report is known only to a handful of specialists who follow these trends on a DAILY basis. Until recently, it was all about being on the first page of Google. That was everyone s goal every dental practice wanted the top slot in Google. And truth is, most dentists still think this matters. But, as I share with you in this report, they are absolutely wrong. And this knowledge could therefore be worth a lot of money to you. The fact is, everything with search engines has turned local. And most dentists are way behind in this game. So this is your chance to get ahead of the rest. Local search is a generic term for the local business map listings that you find at the top of the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing (MSN) and the other search engines that continually pop up. Local search is only going to become even more robust in future so, if you re not featuring in these results, you re not getting found. These search engines saw that so many people were coming online and looking for their local dentist. So now, above the regular organic listing, they provide a map and local listings that offers a myriad of information that is basically the local search result. The organic listing is being pushed down and the local map is being pulled up just under the pay-per-click ads where people are paying to appear. THIS IS CRUCIAL: If you are not on the local search map for all of your services in every city that you're serving, you're missing out on a lot of business. But that s not the worst part the terrible thing is that your competition down the street is picking up that business instead of you. So if you're not on that map, you're not getting found for any of your services Graig Presti 7

8 Local search is only going to become more robust in future and if you're not there you're just not getting found. So you need to pay attention to local search. You need to go where the customers are buying. ANSWER THIS: If you re letting your competitors take your place on the map, you re handing them your patients and your profits. Why would you want to give them your hard-earned cash so easily! Why is Local Search Marketing becoming such an important factor today? The reason local search has become so crucial is that all of the search engines have realized that so many people are now doing searches for local businesses includingdental practices. THIS IS THE KEY: Over 500 million unique local searches are being done on Google each month that s half abillion every month. Those numbers are outstanding. And you could be missing out on your share of that market if you are ignoring local search. So, while Yellow Pages may still be a viable way to get patients, it's on its last legs as a viable marketing tool. The importance of paper media is going down the tubes as newspaper readership falls drastically. The fact is that the game of trying to find people locally has gone completely online. One third of searches in Google now include a city, state or zip code in them! Here are some more important facts: 86% of adults use search engines to look up information on local businesses 97% of consumers are using online media to research products and services in their local area 85% of local searchers will follow up with a phone call or visit to the listing that stands out best 80% of Americans income is spent within 50 miles of their homes A good local internet search strategy is now essential to your practice success. But the truth is the real transformation in local search is only just beginning. The increasing importance of mobile search The big difference is going to be in the way search goes mobile. And, if you think that s still in the future, think again Graig Presti 8

9 According to Google, there was a 500% increase in the use of mobile search between 2008 and THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Google predicts that by 2013 that s not so far away 50% of all web traffic will be mobile. Look at the chart here showing the growth in US mobile internet use. While the rise from 42 million users in July 2009 to 57 million a year later is huge, the real growth has occurred since then and continues at a dramatic pace. Now almost everybody is buying a smartphone or connected device like an ipad and searching online. The fact is that most of what your patients currently do on their PCs is going mobile. Alongside this growth, businesses are being given QR codes these are barcodes that are readable by mobiles and can give people access to lots of information about local businesses. We ll see more and more local businesses having these codes posted in their windows and on their websites. Potential customers simply scan the code and are taken direct to the business Google Places page. So someone can literally stand outside your office, point their phone at your QR code and be checking out all your information before they even open your door. And note they are going to a Google Places page not to your website. Fact is when people leave home, they have their wallet, their keys and a way to connect to the internet (whether it s a phone or other device) and when they want information they will go straight to Google wherever they are. If you are not ready, you are going to miss out big time. The move to mobile is happening already and will gather pace enormously in the next few months. Remember a month is nothing in internet time. Everything moves FAST! The declining power of Pay-per-Click Another thing that has shifted is that Pay-Per-Click or online paid-for advertising competition nationwide is so stiff. The big companies like DENTISTS and the big national campaigns for Lumineers, Veneers and Implants have huge budgets and can afford to pay Graig Presti 9

10 These big companies have brand-building media budgets. They don't care if it requires a little extra money because they believe they are building their brand. The reality is it jacks up the price of pay-per-click for local practices and local dentists can never compete with that. It s a fact paid-for advertising on Google is dramatically down, mainly because it s becoming too difficult and too expensive. But, more importantly, people simply are just too smart and don t trust the ads. They favor local search results all day long, it s a comfortable, safe, proven choice for local patients! So, as a result, local search is becoming the most important show in town for providing services to users that the search engines want. 85% of local searchers follow up with a phone call and/or a visit to the listing that stands out the best. And here s the important thing 90% of people don t search beyond page one of the listing. So, if you are not listed, you are not getting the business. And the worst part is that your competitors who have this figured out are scooping it up. If you are letting your patients walk out of the door so easily, now is the time to put that right. The good news is that, rather than trying to compete with the giants, local search takes some of the competition away from you. It doesn t require you to pay for every visitor after you ve set it up, it s FREE! BREAKING NEWS:Recently, Google changed the game completely and local search and the map now represent the whole first page without any organic search or paid-for ads. The Old Google Way In the old Google way of searching, you d key in what you were looking for and you d get given some ads, a local listing this is the 7 Pack that most dentists are striving to be in and some organic search results Graig Presti 10

11 The New Google Way Now the result when you do a similar search is completely different. The result is not just local it s hyper-local. The local search becomes the whole page, the organic search is cut back and pushed down and the map scrolls with you as you scan down the page. Even the advertising is pushed down under the map. Google has made this change because it tracks what searchers are looking for and wants to give them exactly what they want an easy way to get the most important information they need. You can see that if you want to even exist in this marketplace, you have to dominate the local search. What are the benefits of Local Search over Traditional SEO? One of the huge advantages of local search is that you're actually getting highly targeted pre-motivated buyers for free. Local search listings are not only free; they are actually better than pay-per-click ads Graig Presti 11

12 You're getting someone who is pre-interested in your services and is looking specifically at that niche. They're already coming to the phone or webpage or office with the mindset that they're going to move forward. In direct response marketing, we always talk about people being preconditionedto move forward with services from your dental practice. Local search does that automatically for you. You ve got people looking specifically for that service. Customers who pick up the phone off local search are looking and ready to buy. Google Yahoo and Bing (MSN) know these people are pre-motivated and ready to buy and that s why they bump the map up above the organic listing. Remember, 85% of local searchers follow up with a phone call and/or a visit to the listing that stands out the best. You get a local buyer who comes in qualified and ready to buy and they spend more in your practice because they're coming to the door knowing exactly what they want. Whether it's cosmetic dentistry, implants, reconstructive work or whatever, they re coming pre-motivated and ready to buy. This allows you to dominate the competitive niches like implants, sedation and cosmetics. When people are looking for a local implant dentist andyou are top of the localsearch you are going to be the first they choose because you're at the top. So now you can dominate those competitive niches. People are going to Google and looking for specific services and locations. Your competition is probably not optimized for this so taking the right steps can give you a huge leg up in these competitive niches. Instead of traditional organic SEO where you have to keyword-load your website in the hope that you get to the top now you can get on top much faster and for less money! In short, when you dominate local search and you can easily do that if you take the right action now you get exactly the customers you want without having to pay for advertising. How do you get your business listed and then optimize these listings so that you get to the top of the local search results? Getting your business listed is a fairly easy process. It's only tricky when you go into how you're going to leverage and optimize it. Getting your business listed with any of the search engines is free. You go on and create an account in the local directory whether it's Google, Yahoo or Bing (MSN) Graig Presti 12

13 You input your information and they'll then send out a letter or postcard for verification. This can take days. They want to make sure you re a real business so that they give their users accurate information. If Mrs. Smith goes to XYZ Dental and they don t exist, that's not good for Google, Bing or Yahoo. Once you have that done, the next stage is optimizing it and leveraging it to get onto the front page of local search. That's where you need to use a combination of strategies and that's where we've really nailed down exactly how to do that. One of the best ways to start is with plain old keyword research figuring out what people in your area are looking for and what services they are searching for and you have to filter that into your listing. Step two would then be figuring out all the local directory listings called citations. The more local listings you can have on the web that link back to your local search listings the higher they will pull. Google s goal is to give people exactly what they are searching for so they are going to get more and more specific about the searches. As well as including photos and coupons and optimizing your services on that webpage with more keyword-loaded descriptions, you need to stay on the cutting edge of where the traffic is coming from outside of that search engine. The more you have on the web in terms of local directories, video and photos and the more your keywords are optimized; that is really what drives you up on the local map. In the next section, we share five secrets of getting to the top of local search results and staying there. How are social media and online reviews and local listing directories connected to local search? There s a difference between going online and having regular social media activity for your practice and having it optimized for your local business search. One of the ways social media can work for you is that, if you have a Facebook or Flickr account for example, and you have it optimized for local search pointing back to your website that's going to pull extremely high. The search engines see it as a high-value target but it has to be optimized for the local directory Graig Presti 13

14 There are over 100 local listing directories out there and Google recognizes every single one of them. The power of that is almost untapped as not everyone knows there are that many. In fact, it goes even deeper than that as, in your local area, you may have hyper-specific directory listings between 25 and 30 which you can optimize for local search. It's almost an unlimited untapped resource as new directories will come out every day. Google s goal is to give people exactly what they are searching for so they are going to get more and more specific about the searches. There are more and more local directories and they are being broken up by profession, job and occupation. What s the solution when there is more than one dental practice under one name? It s quite common that you have multiple practices, so you have to take into account the search engine rules if you want to optimize the site for more than one location. We heard from a doctor recently who got his business listings taken down by Google for breaking their guidelines. YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS: Google will punish you badly if you don t play by their rules. A lot of doctors post their businesses information and think they know what they are doing. But what happened in this case was that they had multiple listings done improperly under the same address. That's the reality of the local search game right now so you need to manage this properly. And you need to claim your listings before it s too late. One of our secret strategies for multiple practices oreven multiple niches is to create multiple directory listings with different addresses, phone numbers, URLs and keywords. This fits within the search engine guidelines so Google and Yahoo won t drop you down. Before you know it, you re going to have multiple listings at the top of the map and, even better, you're going to have keywords for your specific niches like implants or TMJ featured too Graig Presti 14

15 What is one of the other big opportunities with local search optimization that everyone else is leaving off the table? One of the biggest mistakes I see is everyone focusing too much on Google. The reality is that most dental practices ifthey're in the search engine game are neglecting Yahoo and Bing. Yahoo gets about 40% of local searchesand that means you're missing out on around 5000 searches a month on Yahoo alone. Bing is coming up a pretty strong third as they continue to advertise and,with Microsoft backing them, they're going to continue to increase their market share. Each search engine has their own unique way they want you to put the keywords in and optimize. If you don't have a different strategy for each search engine, you re leaving some big opportunities on the table. There is huge untapped territory if you're concentrating too much on Google.Of course Google is huge but there are many homes where people are searching for local dentists and they might not be using Google. Those searches could bring in awhole family or a large case worth tens of thousands of dollars to your practice every few months. There are many homes where people are searching for local dentists and they might not be using Google. You could do that just by adding a couple of simple things to what you are doing. What role does video play in local search SEO? Video and images are huge for local SEO. The more video you have on the web that is optimized for the local demographic you're trying to reach, the higher you going to rank on the local search. However, you can t simplyput video out there youhave to have it attached to your directory listings that have to be attached to local directories. The most powerful way to do that is putting your video out on the web in as many places as you can so that the search engines are picking up on that. It then goes viral to all the sites. You can have the video produced professionally or you can be the person creating the tips and tricks yourself. The best way to optimize video and images is to ensure the right keywords are coded in the title tags Graig Presti 15

16 Part of what we do with our clients is to figure exactly what keywords are required in the video descriptions. We put that in the video description so that Google and Yahoo place them highly in the search. This gives their users a better way to find their local doctors. Are there any benefits in offering promotions in the business listings? One of the coolest new features is that the search engines are figuring out that people not only want to come onto the website to find local businesses or dental practices, they actually want to come on and figure out the best deal they re going to get. They are shopping just as they would when looking for bargains in the local ads. They want to do the same thing on the web. So with all those local directory listings, Google and Yahoo and MSN are allowing you to include promotions. Some actually allow you to print out your promotions and bring them to your office; some even allow you to use a mobile phone code. If you don't have a blog that is keyword loaded and has proper videos, you're going to struggle. People want the offers in front of them as a one-stop shop.if Dr. Smith has no promotion and Dr. Jones has three or four, Dr. Jones is going to pull more because he is offering the user a better experience and will be ranked higher in the search. The search engines will want that to get on top of the search. So getting the information properly placed about promotions and being in the right directories is very important. People often make a purchase decision just because of a discount. What are the benefits of having a blog in local search? The attractions of having a blog have had a lot of attention recently but it s not just as simple as having a blog. We've found that, if you have a blog that is optimized for local search, and it s loaded with the proper keywords for your area, you are leaps and bounds above your competition. The search engines view those blogs as having such high content levels that they just jump right up the listings. So, it s not just having a blog, you need to work in detail to optimize them.if you don't have a blog that is keyword loaded and has proper videos, you're going to struggle.but if you do have a good one you can really dominate your area Graig Presti 16

17 Google loves blogs because they are content and their whole goal is to provide killer content for people. Reviews are becoming more common online. What can someone do if a bad review has been posted about them? The first point is that it s very unlikely you ll be able to remove a bad review. So the secret is that you have to get more good reviews. One way to get good reviews is to be on more of those directory listings. The more you're on those directories, the more you going to get found and the more patients are going to review you. A lot of sites are setting up to be more review-oriented and there are many things you can do to incentivize people to place reviews. But the first step is to get listed and make sure you are optimized so that they can find you. I Was Hesitant To Give Up Control "Hey Graig, I just wanted to give you a big shout out saying thanks for all that you are doing for me on the Google Local scene. As you know I was hesitant to give up control over something that I thought was easy to do, but man you have done a way better job than I ever could unless I quit being a dentist and even then who knows. But even more importantly you are actively monitoring and taking action on a regular basis vs. me never monitoring it unless I just happened to see a Google alert or read an article of some untested idea. In reality I just didn t have time to do everything necessary and it was just added to my stack of stuff that I was going to get to when I finally finished working on patients. You know that stack that keeps getting bigger unless I hide it in a box beside the desk. LOL. But seriously thanks again for helping me turn things over, improving my Google ranking and making life a little easier. Scott Schumann DDS 2011 Graig Presti 17

18 Five Secrets of Getting to the Top of Local Search and Staying There 1. Follow the Guidelines Getting on the listings is quite easy. The hard part is optimizing that listing properly and staying within the guidelines of each search engine. They each have their own rules and, if you don't play by the rules, unfortunately they either penalize your listing or remove it. So, first and foremost, you want to understand the guidelines and policies of each search engine and make sure you work within them. You need to do your homework because you don't want to put something up and have it ripped right down. THIS IS IMPORTANT: If something is ripped down. It s difficult to get it put back. 2. Keyword Research One of the most important things you can do is find out what people in your area are actually searching for online. You want to understand the guidelines and policies of each search engine and make sure you work within them. So, you want to do a local keyword search and this is different for the keyword search for your website. Most people don t do this so your competition probably doesn t know how to do proper keyword research. You need to use an online resource such as the free Google AdWords Keyword tool at adwords.google.com. Type in your area and find out exactly what people are searching for. 3. Merging Multiple Listings You will probably find you have multiple listings on the search engines most practices do. You may have created some of those but there could be others which you may not have created. You want to combine those listings because that's going to give you more staying power over time. Having one merged, powerful listing is better than three or four smaller ones. However, you want to follow the policies for the search engine and figure the exact steps of how to merge them properly because it violates their policies if you have many multiple listings under one address. This process can take some time but the results are well worth it Graig Presti 18

19 4. Submit to and Check Directory Listings Submitting to directory listings is one of the most tedious manual things you have to do but it's necessary because it s one of the most important steps. Citations and directories are third-party sites that search engines recognize as a viable link to your website. WHY THIS IS VITAL: They validate your listing and give it credibility so the more listings you have the better. Some of the best known are insiderpages.com and yellowbook.com and new ones pop up everyday. There are more than 100 but it has to be done manually notusing software. You must ensure your practice information in each is identical to what is on Google. What you have in these directory listings is crucial if you want the sites to work with each other. DEADLY LOCAL SEARCH SINS TO AVOID There are many offers out there claiming to make it easy for you to submit to directories for example using automated directory submissions or auto web feeds. Fact is these options don t work. Each of the directories has different requirement for example some require addresses, others don t; some ask for fax numbers, others don t. If you submit the wrong data, your entry will be rejected and you will never know. We tested this out to check the results. We used an automated service claiming to hit more than 100 sites and few months later had no citations. On the other hand, using manual submissions we quickly achieved more than 42 citations in just a few months. 5. Getting Reviews You want to get your patients to review your practice on third-party sites. However, you need to pick trusted review sites. There is so much spam out there with false reviews that the search engines know they can't just recognize any of them. Review sites link back to your business listing but make sure you find a couple of trusted sites. You need to have a way for your patients to start reviewing your practice online. 40% of directory information is inaccurate so getting your information right gives you a huge advantage Graig Presti 19

20 If you look at the top local searchesin some of the more competitive areas such as San Francisco, you're going to see practices that have reviews in the range. According to the Nielsen Company, 70% of people trust the reviews they see online and it has a strong influence on whether they trust you. The only thing giving a higher trust level was a recommendation from a friend or family member. Got Me Where I Wanted To Be On Google "After years of working with SEO, Pay per Click, and any other medium to help promote my website, I have finally found the one that works BEST, Local Search powered my Graig Presti and his crew! I have always wanted to dominate the Internet and when I talked with Graig and found out what he was doing it was a perfect fit to get me where I wanted to be in Google. Since working with Local Search, my name shows up at the top of the map on the most common dental searches that potential patients will type in. Thanks Graig, working together I know we will continue to dominate! BTW did I mention how fast we got to the top? We have only been working together for a few months!!!! Great Job" Dr. Robert J. Gallien DDS 2011 Graig Presti 20

21 Ten Local Search Mistakes 99% of Dentists Make Every Day These are some tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes your peers are making. 1. Too much focus on websites and optimizing web pages Many people make the mistake of thinking that having a website means their local search listing is covered. Nothing could be further from the truth. They are entirely different things. In fact, we have dentists coming top of their local listing who don t even have a website. For a long time, we ve all been optimizing our webpages to get on the front page of Google. It was the cool thing. But now, with the local maps coming above the organic search, 90% of searchers don't look past page one. The map already takes up a big chunk of page one and it s getting bigger. So if you re not on page one, you re not going to be found. DON T WASTE YOUR TIME ON THIS: It's a lot of work to get on the front page of Google organically and concentrating on organic search is not an adequate strategy. Google is creating a way so that people don't even have to leave the front page of Google to get all the information they need. It s still important to do organic search as you need to have a viable website as a tool to show who you are and your work. But you don't want to just have one strategy and, with the trend towards the local market, you're going to want to shift things away from the website towards the maps. In fact, your website is probably one of the least important things when it comes to local search. It is very little of the percentage that affects the local map listing while it's really important to optimize the business listing. Even having more than one website does not help your local ranking. You can actually top the local search without a website. Your website is a different focus and it s almost like having two different marketing plans. You need to concentrate on local search Graig Presti 21

22 Nevertheless, your website does have a role to play. They key is to use it to engage the reader and make them want to know more about your business. Make sure you have a lead generation tool such as a free report to help you capture addresses and keep in touch. Remember local search will also feed traffic to your site. 2. Letting competitors hijack your listing One of the biggest problems right now is how to stop other dentists plus hackers, hijackers and spammers from taking over your Google listing and snagging your patients. THIS IS NOT A SCARE TACTIC : It is happening and it could be happening to you right now. Not everybody plays fair. If you don't monitor your listing, orhaven t even claimed your practice, anyone can go online right now whether it s the dentist down the street, a spammer, a hijacker or whomever. Anyone can claim your listing and take over your ranking. Your competitors may actually be stealing your business and worse yet they're hijacking you. The first thing you should do is claim your listing and monitor it weekly to make sure the information is correct and has not been hijacked. If you have to reclaim it and make adjustments you should go ahead and do that. One dentist in Connecticut found out that another company had created a listing on his address. Luckily he was able to reclaim the listing but if he had not been aware of the problem, he would have been left with a rogue listing which then drops him down the search. In some cases, Google will delete it because they don't want multiple searches. Another dentist in Pennsylvania was marked as closed for business. To check out what is listed under your address, put your practice listing address in the map search. If you see a myriad of listings, some may have been created falsely and in some cases Google creates them. One practice lost all their listings because they had multiple listings at the same address. Where you have multiple listings, you need to merge them together. You need to go on to Google and other search engines and stay on top of all that. 3. Wasting too much money on pay-per-click and paid-for advertising It is now becoming less and less important to spend money on pay-per-click. PPC has become almost saturated to the point where you're fighting with big companies with huge budgets. You can t compete with these guys Graig Presti 22

23 In fact, click rates are dropping dramatically due to local search. So, if you are spending dollars on pay-per-click, make sure you check your results closely. But, at the same time, why would you spend marketing dollars when 85% of the people online are actually looking local for a free listing and they're ready to make a call. With the entire front page of Google now being dominated by local search, Google knows that more people are online looking locally. They are trying to kill print media and they want to make local search the way to go for every user. People trust the maps because they know it s not advertising. 4. Not having enough information in the map listings Google is creating a way so that people don't even have to leave the front page of Google to get all the information they need a lot of people feel their websites are becoming almost irrelevant. With local search, your photos, your phone number, your coupons, your YouTube videos, your reviews everythingis on one page. If the listing is empty, people won t stay. Having more information attracts more patients and will be rewarded by Google. One of the ways you can do this is by creating your own dental YouTube channel. Another way of boosting your listings is by including Coupons and Offers. This is going to become even more important with the growth of mobile as people will be able and ready to take advantage of offers right away. So make sure you create a good coupons and offers page and that the offer can be redeemed by mobile Graig Presti 23

24 You can even create your own deals similar to Groupon and mail them out to people. Google wants to be a one-stop shop and the truth is a large percentage of people are ready to pick up the phone just from the listing. REMEMBER THIS: If you're not on the top of the Google map, you re not going to get that call. As a result, your website is less of a new patient generation tool and all the money you spent on the past in search engine optimization now needs to be shifted to local search. 5. Relying too much on website designers and developers A lot of businesses ask their web designers to handle local maps. But their focus is on design and website development; they don t have time to learn all the rules and strategies of local search optimization. The SEO strategies that traditional website design companies use for optimizing your website are becoming less powerful because the organic search strategies are completely different than the strategies needed for your local business listing. Don't try to be sneaky and use any black-hat or unethical techniques. A WORD OF WARNING: If you re spending money with a website design company that still uses these strategies they may be somewhat outdated. Even if they're managing your business listings, look at the strategies they are using and make sure that you shift your dollars from website design to local search in your business listings. Google makes small changes to its algorithm and its policies virtually every day. Designers don t have time to keep pace with all these changes. If you are relying on someone who is not keeping up to date with the changes, you ll find your keywords are out of date, your site is not optimized and you may be getting penalized for breaking rules. Certainly, you should still have a great website because it swhat people will use to investigate the practice and the doctors and that's important. But with this local search and business listing being so robust, they're not going to need to go to the webpage as much. 6. Depending too much on Google Another problem with some website design companies is focusing entirely on Google Graig Presti 24

25 There are new search engines and directories coming out every day so don't let the design company make you focus just on Google. Yahoo and Bing are pretty big in their own right and you can t leave them out. If Mrs. Smith has just signed up for a Hotmail account and Bing is her default search engine she won t find you if you only show up in Google. Don t just be a one trick pony spread that wealth of marketing dollars amongst all the search engines and make sure you're doing the proper things. You ll find the fact that so many of your competitors put all their efforts into Google has many benefits for you. Like anything in marketing, you want to focus on multiple avenues. 7. Using unethical techniques One of the biggest mistakes that lead to people getting banned by Google is multiple listings under one address. Another issue is loading descriptions with keywords and Spam words. So make sure you're following the Google guidelines. They are sticklers about the rules. Don't try to be sneaky and use any black-hat or unethical techniques. One dentist created a bunch of listings that were rogue listings but he thought he would dominate his area. However, he violated more than one policy and got dropped. If you're doing the wrong things, you're going to lose listings and you're going to have to start all over again. You don't ever want to use unethical techniques so if you are using a company for local search ormaybe someone in your practice is doing it don't wait until tomorrow to check it. There are companies out there claiming they can get you a guaranteed top listing in Google. But these guarantees are based on spamming. They get you a fast result and all looks fine but it turns into a short-term result that has long-term problems when you get banned by Google. Dominating local search requires a long-term strategy with ongoing updates. There are no one-off fixes. Ifyou're doing the wrong things, you're going to lose listings and you're going to have to start all over again Graig Presti 25

26 8. Using keywords in the wrong way Never use anything other than your doing business as name in the listing. If you try to add in something like Chicago dentists or cosmetic dentists in the business listings, it may give you a quick boost for a short time but it will go pretty quickly. What happens is that Mrs. Smith goes to find a dentist and it isn't an implant dentist because the business name is wrong and she couldn't find the building. She will complain to Google and they will remove the listing or they may even discover it themselves first. Make sure the information is correct and verified. Don t leave it to your web designer or somebody in the office. When we surveyed dentists about their use of keywords, virtually everybody said they left it to the web guy This is a mistake. Keywords are constantly changing so you need to keep on top of it. It s not something you can set and forget. So make sure your keyword information is correct and verified. Don t leave it to your web designer or somebody in the office. 9. Spamming reviews Don t spam your reviews. Don't go on and post a bunch of reviews and don t get your staff and friends to post reviews. The reality is everything is being tracked from your computer. Make sure you have legitimate online reviews from your patients and not posted from one computer. Some offices register people from a single computer in the lobby this can be a great strategy for some things such as Facebook BUT not Local Search reviews. Unfortunately, the citation sites and the search engines know when it comes from the same computer do don t use them for posting reviews. You need to develop a review strategy using and direct mail to get the reviews you want. It may seem hard to believe but people will choose you on the basis of the reviews they read about you Graig Presti 26

27 10. Not reviewing your analytics and tracking One of the biggest takeaways from this list is the importance of reviewing your analytics and tracking results. You need to track factors such as the number of impressions for the local map, clickthrough rates to your website and number of phone calls from local search. Typically we are seeing that the average new patient value for clients coming through the internet is around double the level for patients from other sources. This is probably because they come in knowing exactly what they want they are presold and pre-qualified. But you don t know if you don t track the results and, as everything moves online, this data is critical. If you don t know the current average value of a new patient, have a staff member go through new patients from two years ago and note the dollar value they have spent in that period. It s not enough to have the front desk ask people where they found out about your practice. The answer online or Google doesn t give you any useful information. It needs to be more specific so that s why it needs to be tracked in detail. When you have the right data, it helps you know where to put your resources and your efforts Graig Presti 27

28 Success Stories: How Dentists Are Winning With Local Search Success Story 1: PA Dentist Saves Practice on Google When Dr. Stall and Four Star Dental Care first came to us to help them get to the Top of the Map, they were shocked to find out that their practice was listed as Permanently Closed on Google. The listing was not claimed and was just sitting there ready to be spammed, hijacked or whatever terrible thing your competition can dream up. Not only does this bury you at the bottom of Google but, if someone does find you on the web, in their mind you are closed for business. So they do what most people do, they move onto the next listing (your competition, down the street) and forget about you! So after finding out about this terrible disadvantage, Dr. Stall brought us on board right away and we dug in to start fixing this unfortunate mess. After about a week, we not only got the Permanently Closed label off his listing, we were able to get him listed in the Google 7 Pack for 4 keywords and a highly elusive 3 Pack listing for Implant Dentist in West Chester PA. So the moral of this case study, is don t ignore your listings on Google. Even if you think you don t have one, I guarantee Google created one for you that you don t know about. The strategy is get someone who knows how to analyze a listing and make sure everything is in order. Many doctors have come to us in the last few months, having tried to do things on their own. They ve ended up violating Google policies and created a headache for themselves. So proceed with caution. PS Dr. Stall couldn t figure out whythe phone calls significantly decreased about six months previously the phone just stopped ringing. A week after we fixed his Google errors and optimized his listing properly, the phone calls increased. So, once again, the phone was ringing and more patients were making appointments.what a change!! 2011 Graig Presti 28

29 How Google Has Changed the SEO Game 2011 Graig Presti 29

30 Success Story 2: Smiles of Chattanooga Jumps Off Page Two of Google The minute Dr. Gallien got on the phone with Local Search for Dentists, he said: I don t just want to be up on the web, I want to dominate online! We really enjoy working with dentists who have that mentality and attitude. When we started out, his practice was buried at the bottom of page two in the local search and wasn t even on the board for many other money making keywords, like Dental Implants etc. As soon as we got to work, his visitor numbers jumped and he is now listed at the top for multiple keywords. He will move up further as time goes on we are just getting started! The screen shots below speak for themselves. Before: Nowhere to be seen in local search! 2011 Graig Presti 30

31 Well, if you kept searching, you deventually find them way down page 2. But most people don t go past the first page. So we had to get a fast improvement in rankings. We got to work and almost immediately, they jumped right up the rankings. After: Just Two Weeks Later In a Coveted Top7 Slot 2011 Graig Presti 31

32 How Google Has Changed the SEO Game And just as important among the leaders for the most important keywords 2011 Graig Presti 32

33 Success Story 3: Carolina Dentist Takes Top 6 Spots in Google In just one month working with Dr. Griffin of Advanced Dental Center of Florence, Carolina we were able to get significant boosts for the ranking of their site carolinasmile.com. The practice now shows close to the top in local business results And we even achieved a coveted 2 pack placing in the implants search meaning the practice comes out as an obvious choice for people searching for an implant dentist in that area. It s just as important that the practice comes out top in other searches too so here are some more screenshots that speak for themselves about the practice s high rankings Graig Presti 33