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.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Presentation at IACA

I am scheduled to participate in a presentation at this year's IACA meeting in San Francisco in July, and am currently working on the presentation.

The presentation is spearheaded by Bob Weiss, owner of Alyn-Weiss and Associates and will also include a case study by one of the IACA members. It will cover 1) statistics comparing multimedia marketing options and their efficiency, 2) website design, 3) search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, 4) referral-based marketing and 5)social media, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook.

I think this presentation will not only be very well received by the attendees, but help them as well.

posted by page1bill at 6:34 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Just wrote a review

Ok, so you have seen the Google results that are located next to the map. These are Google Local results. One way to help get higher listings on them is to write positive reviews for them.

I just wrote a review for one of our clients. The best part is that it is all true. They are Las Vegas Cosmetic Dentists and we just started positioning their website on the search engines.

Here is a link to the review I just wrote about them.

They are great dentists and even nicer people. They are going to do well.

posted by page1bill at 8:02 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bulk Email - Don't Jeopardize Your Website!

Most practices don't think too much about the hosting of their website or email, because for most part, they don't experience a lot of problems or issues (which is good).

However, there is one thing you should be aware of regarding protecting your hosting services:

Your domain is not the same thing as your IP address and it can be shared or dedicated.

Engaging in negative online behavior or having "bad" neighbors can not only hurt your listings on the search engines, it can get you banned and even force your host provider to shut down your website all together.

One of the most common faults many practices engage in is sending bulk emails out through their main IP (hosting both their email and website). Even if the list is composed of your own patients/clients or highly filtered "opted in" email addresses, this can create a problem: Your emails can be perceived as "spam".

If you want to engage in database marketing, do so with a seperate email provider, one who is set up with this objective in mind. One that has been doing a lot of aggressive national advertising is Constant Contact. Some other options are: ResultsMail or Campaigner.

So before you start blasting away, think and make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot!

posted by page1bill at 8:16 AM 1 comments

Word of Mouth Marketing: Electronic Referrals

It is not unusual when I have practice's tell me that they get the majority of their business (many, as much as 80%) is generated from positive word of mouth referrals from happy clients/patients. The facinating thing for most practices is that they do nothing to consciously stimulate it! At the same time, they spend thousands of dollars on yellow pages, direct mail, print advertising, and radio/television.

So why is it that they will spend 100% of their marketing dollars and attention to things that generates about 20% of their business? The answer is that there has not been a simple "just pay some money" means to professionally and effectively market word of mouth business - Until today!

We all familiar with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. However, Social media is NOT a website. It is a human phenomenon where more and more people are feeling comfortable with using the Web to build, manage, and communicate relationships.

The key is to find ways to get into the "community" by thoughtful participation and contributing. We will address this, and more, in subsequent entries, but for now, start thinking that your practice can and needs to enter the social media marketing arena and how you can stimulate more word-of-mouth business through a medium your patients/clients and all of their friends and co-workers are communicating, right now.

posted by page1bill at 7:48 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dentist: Highest Profit Margin in 2008

I just got passed an article that came out at the beginning of the year that identified a study that was conducted on 115,000 businesses and dentists were shown to be the most profitable among all different business types, including accountant/tax perparation (which showed a 15.6% profit margin), and even lawyers (13.4%).

The article was posted in the Triangle Business Journal .

So, if you are a dentist and feel crunched by the economy, don't fret, you are likely doing relatively better than most businesses.

posted by page1bill at 12:51 PM 0 comments

Friday, May 15, 2009

Don't Stand In The Way

I had several members of the Page 1 team attend (on their own initiative) an Internet Marketing meeting (The Rocky Mountain Internet User Group)where the topic was social media marketing. We met yesterday late after noon to debrief and discuss information. Some of it included:
-Changes in Search Engine Optimization technology (Google, Yahoo, etc.) and their growing ability to provide customized results based on user habits, location, history, demographics, etc.
-How more consumers are turning to their own network of friends, relatives, co-workers, even acquaintances, to get referrals and advice when considering big or expensive decisions.
-In order to facilitate this, they are leveraging their online social networking communities (facebook, myspace, twitter, etc.)

However the most beneficial part of this meeting was the initiative that these team members demonstrated and the desire to bring more to Page 1 and the passion to become part of something bigger than the work they do here.

For any manager fortunate enough to have team members like this, I have one one bit of advice: Don't get in their way, and even find ways for them to manifest this passion. Maybe even more than "a mind", passion is a terrible thing (for any business) to waste.

posted by page1bill at 6:59 AM 0 comments

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Facebook vs. MySpace

From a business perspective, there are several reasons that Facebook is a more valuable web marketing tool than MySpace. Here are just a few:
  • Facebook is the 5th most popular site on the Internet and is ranked the top social networking site, while MySpace is listed as the 9th most popular site overall and is 3rd on the list of social networking sites.
  • Facebook has over 200 million more users in the U.S. and 500 million more visits per month than MySpace.
  • Nearly 60% of Facebook users have an income over $60k, as opposed to 51% of MySpace users.
  • 56% of Facebook users have earned a college degree. The majority of MySpace users have no college education at all.
  • 73% of MySpace users are under the age of 34, while the fastest growing demographic of Facebook users is 35+.
As you can see, Facebook's popularity and demographics are significantly better for social meida marketing.

For more great Internet statistics, check out http://quantcast.com.

posted by SaraS at 1:46 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Google Trends

I recently was given an article that identified a tool that I have been familiar with for a little while (Google Trends). Google Trends is a tool that reports the gross number of searches done for a given keyword and keyword phrase over a number of years.

Obviously, there are outside forces that drive the number of searches for specific keyword phrases, such as mass media advertising, news events, public relations campaigns, etc. Typically, you will see large spikes in search volume when mass media generates interest in it, particularly national media.

For instance, when you see the trend of searches for "cosmetic dentistry", you will see a slight decline in the number of searches over the past few years, particularly after television shows like Extreme Makeovers and The Swan went off the air.

The other interest thing, although the total number of searches for "cosmetic dentistry" has declined, some of the cosmetic dentistry procedures, like "Invisalign" have increased! For that reason, it is important to make sure you have pages on Invisalign, like our Houston Invisalign Dentist and aggressively promote them on search engines like Google.

However, the bigger picture value of this tool is that it somewhat quantifies consumer interest level in certain topics and it does so with much greater immediacy than government or consumer research reports. Some indications are that it can even impact and predict the value of stocks! I am not a day trader, but with this type of tool, it can be tempting.

posted by page1bill at 5:15 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Niche Websites

The concept of creating multiple niche websites to supplement a main practice website is not new. For years, it has been an effective way to create more focused information and resources for target services and keyword phrases.

For instance, one of our clients, www.broadwayplasticsurgery.com, also has a breast augmentation specialty website, www.denverbreasts.com, that is the #1 listing on Google for "Denver Breast Augmentation". Coincidentally, Dr. Broadway's main website also is on the first-page (#7).

What has changed over the years is the manner and ease with which you can create more Internet real estate and get more visibility on the search engines. New website development platforms allow you to easily create niche websites that can help build link-popularity and even secure high listings. The biggest challenge is coming up with original content, but we do that all the time for our clients.

posted by page1bill at 11:14 AM 0 comments

Friday, May 8, 2009

Legal Social Media Seminar

Last week, Sara Schwarz (Page 1's Social Media Marketer and I participate in a seminar set up by Alyn-Weiss and Associates and Ginny Ford. The issue that was discussed was Legal Marketing and Human Resources within the scope of Social Media and Social Media Websites, like www.Linkedin.com, www.facebook.com, etc.

The following is a brief synopisis:
1- Individual lawyers and legal firms must address the phenomenon of social media as soon as possible - For example, highly conservative associations and organizations like American Bar Association and Martindale Hubbell have already jumped in by creating social media forums/sites for the associates and members.
2- Attorney firms need to also need to formally incorporate social media into their marketing strategy - target relevant websites, determine the type and nature of information to post, create the time and invest the necessary resources.
3- Legal firm adminstrators will need to develop formal policy, especially bigger firms with more staff/associates, to clarify issues that can arise in social media settings, such as solicitation, professional conduct, client information disclosure, etc.

posted by page1bill at 7:27 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Video Blogs

I just shot my first video blog!! Our in-house videographer, Andrew Harris, started producing them for the Page 1 staff yesterday. We should have some of them online real soon. It is again another example of how our clients need to view the Web and Internet users.

Even just a few years ago, the Internet was primarily a voyeuristic media and users were much more anonymous. They were much more reluctant to give out their name, email, or any other information. Today, they give up credit card numbers, phone numbers, social security numbers, addresses . . . they even are willing to find their spouse online!

It's all about relationship!! The trend toward using the Internet for developing and enhancing social relationships is a real key for marketers in leveraging the Web. Don't just think of Twitter and Facebook. Everything from the look of your website, to the writing style of your content, to the use of videos, and even the emails you send, should all incorporate strategies to address how consumers now use this medium.

Now, more than ever, it is time to take another look at your overall online marketing strategy to make sure your efforts really incorporate strategies to leverage the phenomenon called "online social networking". Things you did, even a couple years ago, should be revisited.

posted by page1bill at 7:06 AM 0 comments