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Should Dentists and Orthodontists invest in SEO or PPC?

At FooCo we offer both search engine optimization services and PayPerClick management services and have dental and orthodontic clients who use one or other or both. So,

SEO or PPC? Both are proven to be effective marketing strategies to send targeted audiences to your website. They are different, though. Understanding how they are different, and which one you should use first in your digital marketing plan is important to get to right if you’re to maximise your budget and get the results you’re looking for.

SEO

Search engine optimization is the process of making your website attractive to not only search engines, but to potential new patients too. When your website has intuitive navigation, informative and focused pages, well written code and keyword-optimized meta and html tags, then you signal to search engines you have pages that deserve to rank high in the search results.

SEO also involves making sure your website performs efficiently for patients. This includes making it fast enough, mobile-friendly and easily navigable. These website factors are important to patients, so also important to Google.

Dentists need to be aware that SEO tends not to be a quick fix and often takes months and sometimes even years to gain traction in Google and other search engines.

PPC, or pay-per-click advertising, is different, in that you’ll often see results from it in a matter of days. Like any advertising, it’s important to research the best targeting for your business, create engaging ads, and display those ads at the perfect times for your target audience. It’s not easy, especially when you first start, but as you collect and analyze your data, you start to work out which combinations of keywords, ads, locations and times of the day bring the most interested patients to your site. What’s great about PPC is that you can use the information you gather from successful campaigns to boost your site’s SEO. The keywords that are the most effective in ads will also work for your website in organic searches, so it’s a win-win.

Limited Budget

The best way to bring in targeted leads as soon as possible is to invest in PPC and SEO right from the start. However, if you do not have the budget to do this right away, there is an alternative that we recommend. Start with SEO to get the basic foundation of your website in order. This means making sure your site functions well, existing pages are optimized for relevant keyword phrases, and you have the landing pages needed to convert visitors. Once you have laid a solid foundation, then invest money into PPC.

Putting your money into PPC while your website builds strength in the search engines is a great way to benefit from the patients searching for your dental and orthodontic services and treatments every day. You’ll start getting leads faster, and still remain within your budget.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion. If you have the budget, invest in PPC and SEO right away. PPC ads will bring you leads quickly, while SEO will help you get your website noticed by Google and new patients for free organic traffic.

If your budget doesn’t allow investing in PPC and SEO, start by optimizing your website for relevant keywords. Once the site is optimized for search and patients, you can switch to focus more on PPC. PPC ads can always be part of your campaign, and should be, as the results from your ads can be used effectively in your site’s SEO. With FooCo’s successful PPC and SEO management, you could end up having your site on search engine results pages twice for keywords, increasing the likelihood of people clicking through to your site.

Call 020 7504 7062 or email [email protected] for more information.