Page 1 Solutions Blog

First what is pay-per-click marketing and how does pay-per-click relate to a search engine?

In the most basic definition pay-per-click is simply a bid for position on the search engines. Let's say you want to be number 1 for the keyword “Catastrophic Injury.” The first thing you need to do is see who is number 1 and then find out how much they are paying per-click and out bid them. You then want to develop a list of other key words and a budget for each month. It sounds really simple but it requires strategic thinking, expertise, and careful attention to detail. In my experience it is very time consuming and might not be the best use of time for an attorney where time is money.

Pay-per-click marketing offers one tremendous advantage for law practices: instant gratification. When the next drug hits, like Vioxx did, how do you think law firms will go after those cases? The answer is pay-per-click. They get instant exposure, high rankings, increased traffic and will quickly start to bring in Vioxx cases.

In my experience with prospective clients who are conducting PPC campaigns, there is one problem that comes up time and again. Their PPC campaigns are generating great traffic, but they’re not seeing conversions. Your website design must encourage the potential client to take the next step and call you. What’s the point of traffic if no one’s contacting you?

At Page 1, we typically recommend PPC once you have great presence in the natural listings of a search engine. PPC allows you to get double the exposure on the first page of the search engines. The only other instance where PPC is warranted is in small markets where search engine optimization just doesn't make financial sense.

If you would like to talk in more detail about your current PPC campaign or how you can incorporate PPC into your marketing, contact Jonathan or myself and we would be happy to discuss your marketing with you.

Clint Macklin
Internet Marketing Consultant
Page 1 Solutions

Some web marketing companies are pushing what they call "Video Websites". They create a module that contains a series of videos for the web in a special video player. That module is then linked from a call-to-action on the home page that says, "Check out our video website."

This approach has a huge problem. You're banking on the fact that someone is going to click on that link. Most people don't think that they have the time to watch a video, or they think that they'll have to download something in order to play a "video website", so they don't click on these links.

People will watch videos if they're presented to the visitor in the right way. There's nothing wrong with having a video website, but don't hide your videos in there. Increase the number of times that your video is viewed by embedding the videos within the various pages of the website.

On a side note, be sure to include client/patient testimonials like our Portland cosmetic dentist, Dr. Sue Wendling. Check out our page about website video for more information.

Whether it be cosmetic dentistry or any other professional services industry, using testimonials in your web marketing is a great idea, but many practices miss out on the full potential of testimonials.

The biggest challenge in using testimonials is getting potential patients/clients to actually read them. If the only place that you use testimonials on your dental website is in a testimonials page, your testimonials aren't reaching the majority of your visitors. Most people just don't think to click into that page. There's nothing wrong with having a testimonials page, but don't make that the only place where potential patients can read a testimonial.

Sprinkle testimonials throughout your website. Consider using them in the banner of your website coupled with a portrait photo of the patient. Insert testimonials in your cosmetic dentistry procedure pages so that when someone is reading about a procedure they will come across a testimonial.

Lastly, use website video. Nothing compares to a testimonial coming straight from the patient's mouth on screen. Our cosmetic dentistry client in Portland is a great example of effective usage of video testimonials.

Your testimonials are powerful assets in Internet marketing. Use them well, and you'll increase the conversion rate from visitors into high-end cosmetic dentistry patients.

In the ever-evolving dental market, having a website is one of the most important factors to grow your practice. This is even more important in cosmetic dentistry, where you are marketing high-end cosmetic procedures. Having a great website can transform the way a dental practice communicates with prospective patients and even current patients, improving patient satisfaction and driving more patients through your door. The way online consumers shop these days has changed dramatically and your website needs to reflect and stay current with those changes. The Internet has transformed the way we go about our everyday lives. More and more people are using the web to find the services they need.

Before you jump in and just start building a new website, make a plan. Write down exactly what information and functionality you need on each page. Strategically document the page topics you want written for your site. Content is king on the Web and having a content-rich website is essential to build credibility with consumers and the search engines. This information should be easy for visitors to locate, so make sure that you develop a navigation order. This will also help make it search engine friendly. What is the point of having a great website if no one can find your website when they search for “cosmetic dentistry,” “teeth whitening” and “porcelain veneers”? Just make it simple and don’t try to get too fancy with your navigation.

Now you are ready to design the container that will fit the most important part of your site, your content. This is the fun part, but make sure that your design is a reflection of you and your practice. When people come to your site, the need to get a feel for who you are and how you can help them. Don’t portray the wrong image to possible patients. Don’t be afraid to have pictures of your staff, office, and yes, even you, doctor. One way of securing a great image on the Web is adding some custom video to your site. Consumers want to build a relationship with you and having them be able to watch you talk and have past patients talk about the great care you gave them is a great way to build trust with that patient before they even meet you.

Now you have a great looking site, that you have fallen in love with it and it connects with potential patients. The most important thing at this point is having potential patients complete the contact forms or call your office. Make sure you drive them to contact you. This is where having planned out your navigation plan will pay off. This includes mini-contact forms on every page so visitors contact you without having to make more clicks. Make sure you have links and compelling calls-to-action to ensure visitors take the next step.

Just remember these three things to a good website:
• It should be easy on the eyes
• It should be easy to understand
• It should be easy to develop a relationship with the doctor

I hope these suggestions helped and if you would like to talk about anyone of these topics in more detail please don’t hesitate to contact myself or Jonathan we would love to talk to you.

The first step toward success in Internet marketing is to make sure that you have an effective law firm website. Law firm website design needs to address three major criteria:

• Web Marketing Know-How


• Adequate Content


• Search Engine Optimization Friendliness

Web Marketing Know-How

Your website is not first and foremost a work of art. It is a marketing tool. What good would a hammer made of porcelain be? Any tool needs to be built with its purpose in mind. As a marketing tool, your website needs to be designed with marketing savvy. Sure, a clean, uncluttered website is good, but don't forgo marketing essentials such as a prominently placed phone number, an easy to understand navigation, and a contact form on every page of the site. Make sure that even your content is written from a marketing perspective. Don't let a person finish reading a page without prompting the reader to contact the firm. Make sure that your web developer doesn't miss the point of your website. You need case leads!

Adequate Content

Content is the very substance of your website. If your website's content is shallow and useless, so is your website. That's not just my opinion. That's Google's philosophy: help people find information. Without an informative website SEO is useless. The goal of SEO is to promote your website on the search engines, but if your website doesn't meet the search engines' criteria for a good website, then all the SEO in the world can't help you (or at least won't be as effective). Even if you did manage to get to the 1st page with only a 5 page website, people are naturally going to gravitate to a competitor's website that has more helpful information. When building your website, don't skimp on content.

Search Engine Optimization Friendliness

This is the most unfortunate pitfall that many attorneys fall into. They'll have a beautiful design, a goodly amount of content, but their website will be designed in a way that thwarts search engine optimization. The chief problem is when a website is designed in a database programming language that doesn't support SEO. They'll literally have a one page website that dynamically pulls in content. This means that the SEO specialist only has one page to optimize for all of your keyword phrases. It's impossible to win with a website that isn't programmed for search engine optimization. If you're in this situation, you'll have to rebuild your website using the design and content that you have, but start over with the construction. Better yet, when you first decide to build a website, use a website designer that knows how search engine optimization works.

Once you have these criteria under control in your website, you'll be ready for the challenge of positioning your website on the search engines. It's a tough job, but with the foundation of a good website, you have a competitive edge.

Many of the attorneys that I have spoken with lately are worried that now is not the time to spend money on Internet marketing because of the economy. The truth is that nothing has changed.

People still need lawyers just as badly as they did before. People still use the Internet more than any other medium to find lawyers. And without an aggressive legal Internet marketing strategy, these cases won't find their way to your door. If anything, now is the perfect time to get started on Internet marketing. Other practices are feeling the same pinch and are using the economy as an excuse to not spend money on marketing. You can easily gain a competitive edge by pursing cases online more aggressively.

There are three steps to Internet marketing success:

1. Build a competitive website (Law Firm Website Design)
2. Drive traffic to the website with search engine marketing (Search Engine Optimization)
3. Track your results

Don't miss out on the opportunity during our nation's times of adversity. Make these tough times a time of growth for your firm.