PPC Campaigns: Effective Internet Marketing for Dentists

Pay per click (PPC) advertising is an effective marketing tool that works well for businesses, in many industries. However, some wonder if PPC ads are a good internet strategy for dental practices. Without reservation, the answer is yes.

The following are a few of the main reasons why pay per click advertising works for dentists:

For desktop users, dentists’ PPC ads appear as organic results

Google has recently changed how it formats ads on search engine results pages (SERPs).  PPC advertising now looks a lot like organic search results. Therefore, organic and paid PPC ads for dental practices look very similar.

If you do a Google search for “dentists Houston,” the bottom ads will blend in with the organic results and appear much the same. Flashy internet marketing may be viewed as annoying and users are highly likely to be skeptical about clicking a dental practice ad that is practically screaming at them. Users feel more confident when they see professional-looking Google ads.

Google dentist ads look even better on mobile devices

Like desktop users, PPCs ads are not so easy to distinguish from organic results on a mobile device. The added advantage for mobile users is they never have to write down a phone number: calling is made easy. The click-to-call icon simplifies life by making it possible to contact the dental practice instantly.

Since users go to their mobile devices to access the internet more often than their desktops, and most mobile searches are for local destinations, it is vital that dental practices jump on the bandwagon. Dentists need to create strong mobile internet marketing strategies that include effective PPC campaigns.

Dentists need to launch smart PPC campaigns

Keep in mind, using just any pay per click advertising is a bad approach. A campaign that is ill-conceived and poorly managed is doomed to fail miserably. Solid PPC ad campaigns include these vital elements:

• The appropriate target keywords: This begins with keyword research to help guide your selections.
• A well-organized campaign: The right keywords should be separated into structured groups.
• Campaign budgeting: Determine how much internet marketing spending is needed to achieve results. Know your checks and balances.
• Keep track of all leads: Set up your PPC ad campaign to track leads back to the source.
• Test campaign elements: Understand which elements need to be tested, and how to test them properly for continued success.

Successful PPC campaigns for dentists enables practices to attract new patients, and provide special offers and new services to existing patients.