Web Marketing with Bill Fukui

Welcome to Bill's Blog. I am a website marketing consultant for Page 1 Solutions and have been marketing professional services (medical, dental and legal services) since 1994. Let me know if you have thoughts or questions on any marketing topics. Sharing information is the key to growth and success.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Pay Per Click and SEO

I got an email from a dentist today that got some advice on a dental forum about pay per click advertising being more cost effective than good search engine optimization. I felt compelled to provide the following insight:

Although it bothers me sometimes when someone that doesn't specialize in Search Engine Marketing tries to undermine specific vendors to sell their own service, (actually, WE DO PAY PER CLICK ONLY CAMPAIGNS, as well!), I don't engage in forum chatter/self promotion. I just don't think it's the venue.

Just so you know, I have over 12 years of advertising experience (TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor, Direct Mail, etc.) with medical and dental practices throughout the U.S. and understand targeting audiences, cost per lead/cost per new patient.

The reason most marketers that promote pay per click do so because they do not have the resources/expertise to consistently show up on the natural listings, which are far more difficult, but in most cases, are also more valuable.
PPC vs. Natural Listings

Would you prefer to get a free half page advertisement in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or have a reporter write a half page expose and photo about your practice and a new dental treatment? Of course you prefer the article because of the third-party media endorsement and the credibility of the article as compared to an advertisement. The same applies to search engine marketing.

- 3 to 1 more online marketers report Natural Listings generate more ROI than PPC Listings.
http://www.iprospect.com/media/press2005_9_13.htm
Search engine marketing is more than just getting 1st-page exposure. It's about the credibility of the exposure.

- There is a minimum threshold click-through budget necessary to generate new patients, and that varies greatly by the market. Ex. - it is much more expensive in Atlanta vs. Athens. So to say a PPC budget "won't break the bank" will depend on the market and size of your bank. A $200 PPC budget will likely not generate a lot of new patients in Atlanta, sorry to say.

- Effective Marketing is all about lowering your cost per visitor, cost per lead, and cost per new patient. There is no way to do that with only PPC. The cost for each "pay per click" listing is only going up as more competitors engage in it. It's basically an auction or bidding war. The same PPC budget will only get less effective over time. SEO fees are fixed and the more traffic it gets lowers your cost per visit, cost per patient. You are also not charged more to show up on more keyword phrases. Time is also in the favor of SEO as your results percolate up over time as you build equity with the search engines.

- Relying purely on PPC makes you much more vulnerable to "click fraud" from competitors. (article in Business Week) http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_40/b4003001.htm

- Once pay per click costs get too high and you have to cut back or suspend it, your listings disappear instantly. Your site has no equity with the search engines and you have lost a lot of time, while competitor websites have been building and fortifying their position. At some point, it may be nearly impossible to make up the ground if you want to revert to a natural listing strategy.

- WE RECOMMEND PAY PER CLICK-ONLY CAMPAIGNS when it makes more sense, typically based on your market and website. If you are in a rural area where there is little competition for important keyword phrases like "cosmetic dentist Athens" and have a website not built for SEO, then PPC campaigns may be more cost effective. However, if you are in Atlanta, PPC costs for important keyword phrases, like "cosmetic dentist Atlanta" can cost much more than fixed SEO costs. No campaign (PPC or SEO) is best for every market and client. Vendors who only do one can't be doing what's best for every client.

- The best search engine strategy is to do both! Page 1 incorporates both PPC and Optimization as part of every SEO client's campaign. Here is an article to support this strategy.
www.marketingchat.org/articles/online-marketing/pay-per-click-vs-seo-4.html

Bottom line, it depends. One size doesn't fit all, particularly if you want it to be effective.

posted by page1bill at 5:40 PM 1 comments

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Website Marketing Course

Looking forward to presenting a course on website marketing to dental professionals at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies / LVI Global. The course will concentrate on the basic elements of effective website design, search engine optimization and positioning and lead management.

The course is scheduled for Wednesday, March 28, 2007 on the campus of the Las Vegas Institute.

posted by page1bill at 2:59 PM 0 comments