Web Marketing with Bill Fukui

This blog has moved

2010-04-28T10:16:00.001-07:00

This blog is now located at http://billfukui.blogspot.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://billfukui.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Join The Group

2010-04-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

To provide my followers with a wider variety of subject matter and perspective, please visit our website marketing group blog http://www.page1solutions.com/Blog, where I will be posting there from here on.

See you there!

AMO - VISX University

2010-03-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

Are you heading to Boston for the ASCRS ophthalmology meeting in April? It's just around the corner. AMO, owners of the VISX laser technology brand, is having it's annual University courses set up to help ophthalmolgy practices become better at building their refractive and other areas of their practice. Page 1 will be supporting this event and we will be there to answer any questions about website/search engine/social media marketing.

New Product - Dental Numbness

2010-02-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

While at the MOMS meeting, I got the opportunity to be exposed to a relatively new dental product that is gaining some traction in the industry - Dental anesthesia reversal (OraVerse). It deals with the reversal of numbing anesthesia so you don't have to drool, talk funny, or any of the other side effects from having dental work done.

Generally, you will have numbing lasting several hours after treatment, which may effect your going back to work, meetings, talking on the phone, etc. This generally allows patients who still want to go back to work or finish the rest of their day the ability to schedule an early appointment without hesitation.

It is a product by Novalar Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

We discussed the marketability of this product to the consumers and the competitive advantage it may provide to higher-end dental practices that offer it. We also discussed the pros and cons of even giving it away and when to do that.

Good Stuff!

By the way, if you want to look into OraVerse, contact Rick Ornelas at ornelas@novalar.com.

Meeting of the Minds 2

2010-02-04T03:44:00.000-08:00

I also wanted to add the my previous entry and mention that I also met with another one of my favorite clients, Dr. Ken Mogell, a cosmetic dentist in Boca Raton.

As always, we had a candid discussion about several issues, discussed updates to his website, and agreed to develop an annual strategic plan for his online marketing for his practice. We had a great, yet very productive time.
----------------------------------MOM Group Photo--------------------------------

Meeting of the Minds

2010-02-04T01:47:00.000-08:00

One of our high-end dental clients, Ron Konig, DDS. (a Houston cosmetic dentist) recently offered me the opportunity to sponsor a meeting of some very accomplished and successful dental professionals who refer to their group as "Meeting of the Minds".

I was given the opportunity to present a course on marketing to today's new "e-Patient". It was designed to be a one-hour course, but the interaction with this online-savvy group of dentist expanded the dialog to over two and a half hours. I felt as though I monopolized their meeting, but they insisted it was what they wanted and that it was a very productive use of their meeting time. I have to say I also walked away with some "gems".

We later went to dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant. It was a great time and I got to spend some time with a group of pretty dynamic individuals.

Online community advice vs. marketing and advertising

2010-01-11T05:06:00.000-08:00

The pendulum has swung the other way!

For years, online consumers have been innundated with marketing messages as the Internet evolved from a primarily information exchange medium, to one dominated by advertising and marketing. The medical industry is by no means an exception.

However, with the growth of social media and online communities, as well as the exponential increased influence of consumer reviews and opinions, today's E-Patient has much more decision-making resources beyond medical advertisements and self promotional brochure websites to guide and influence their medical decisions. Most see this as a good thing for the consumer. But it doesn't come without a cost and added responsibility.

I recently ran across a video that gave unique perspective to the responsibility of online communities when dispensing medical-related advice, and consumers searching for medical information and guidance on the Web.

http://scienceroll.com/2009/11/26/most-creative-presentation-ever/

Quality medical marketing and dental website design firms should take extra care, but also take pride in our services by ensuring we help and guide our clients present helpful information for distribution on the Web.

Ten Most and Least ReTweetable Words

2009-12-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

This year, author and self proclaimed “social media and viral marketing scientist,” Dan Zarrella put together lists of the 20 most and least ReTweetable words and phrases. They are not necessarily surprising, but are important to keep in mind when using Twitter as a marketing tool. After all, ReTweets are easily the most valuable aspect of Twitter. Here is a sampling of the top ten words that Zarrella has on his lists:

10 Most ReTweeted Words

You
Twitter
Please
ReTweet
Post
Blog
Social
Free
Media
Help

10 Least ReTweeted Words

Game
Going
haha
LOL
But
Watching
Work
Home
Night
Bed

Click here for Zarrella's complete top 20 lists

More About Blogging

2009-11-16T16:19:00.000-08:00

I have posted previously about the need for online marketers to invest in blogging. It is probably the single most effective thing you can do yourself to drive more traffic to your site, get more links to your site and get more pages indexed by the major search engines.

I just stumbled upon a fairly recent article that was posted on the hubspot.com website. They actually did a study of more than 1,500 websites to validate these ideas.

Their study showed that websites for companies that regularly blog got 55% more visitors to their website than the static websites that did not.

The websites that blog also showed that they got 97% more inbound links from other websites than their non-blogging counterparts.

Lastly, the sampling showed that the blogging websites had 434% more indexed pages than websites that do not. (link to full article)

The below are some examples of websites that effectively leverage blogging strategies:
Las Vegas Cosmetic Dentist
Drug injury lawyer
Chicago Lasik Surgeon
Washington DC plastic surgery

If you don't have a blog incorporated into your website, contact us, or someone who can. Then start blogging your way to more online traffic, visibility, and credibility.

Using Negative Reviews to Your Advantage

2009-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

There’s no question that social media has become a vital part of any practice’s marketing strategy, and while it has provided great opportunities, it has also presented unhappy patrons more than enough chances to publish negative reviews. Many of our clients have expressed concerns about their clients or patients expressing dissatisfaction online, which is keeping them from using social networking sites to market their practices. Don’t let it. Instead, face these reviews head on.

You may feel tempted to do anything you can to bury a bad review, but the truth is, a negative review is actually an opportunity to make yourself or your practice look even better.

By responding to these types of reviews promptly and publicly, you are showing people that you are professional, care about your clientele, and that you are committed to providing the best service possible. Try apologizing to the person for their bad experience (whether they’re right or wrong) and go above and beyond to turn the situation around. Kill them with kindness. Use the unhappy review as an opportunity to prove your commitment to excellence.

If the review site doesn't allow you to respond publicly, you can still try to reach out the person, either directly or through another social networking site, such as Facebook. Also, encourage your happy clients to write about their experiences online, especially on sites that already have negative reviews.

Bottom line: people are talking about you online, whether you are participating or not. Being afraid of negative reviews is more of an argument to join the social networking wave, not to avoid it. By responding to reviews, you will not only save a relationship with a current client, but you may just find yourself with a few new ones.

Comment of the day

2009-11-06T06:28:00.000-08:00

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."
—Anne Bradstreet

Physics doesn't lie. It is always faster, more abrupt, more traumatic to fall, than to pick yourself up. It's called Gravity!

Most businesses and consumers have experienced this while we are in the midst of what is recognized as a slow economic recovery. There are lessons learned here that should be recognized by professional practices that will help you weather current and future adversity, so you can continually welcome prosperity.

1. Don't Be Complacent (Definition –adjective; pleased, esp. with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect)

2. Don't be wasteful, frivolous, or over-extend your resources.

3. Constantly manage your resources. Stop procrastinating and plug the leaks in your personnel, product offerings, services, etc. that is silently bleeding your business, productivity, and profitability.

4. Always be looking/prospecting/marketing for more business. Don't depend on the just one stream to fill your schedule, and keep developing more of them. At some point, any individual stream will diminish and eventually dry up.

5. Surround yourself with "go-to" team mates. In the midst of crisis and adversity, your greatest assets (key personnel) will rise to the occassion. Make sure you recognize who they are and give them the latitude to increase their contribution, and reward them.

Go out there and make it a good day!

Speaking in Houston

2009-11-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

One of our clients, Houston cosmetic dentist Ron Konig, asked me to participate in a dental meeting (Meeting of the Minds) that he his hosting in January.

Each member is in a different city/state and we share all ideas, marketing info, business info, and technical information. The meeting consists of approximately 20 leading-edge dentists, including Ken Mogell, a Boca Raton cosmetic dentist, who is also a Page 1 Solutions client.

I will be presenting a course on building and marketing a Social, Relationship-focused website and managing your online reputation.

Looking forward to putting this information together and presenting it.

Breaking News - Google and Twitter Agreement

2009-10-22T06:35:00.000-07:00

Looks like Twitter finally found a way to make some money - Google (what else!!). Google just announced that it has struck an agreement with Twitter.

With the agreement, Google will now add to its results real-time updates from Twitter - "Tweets". See the below example when you Google "Lasik web marketing":

Not sure how this will end up. In fact I can envision "tweets" mucking up search results! But that is beside the point.

This is simply another example of the direction the Web is going - Giving more control and power to the people. Reviews, personal comments, testimonials, complaints, etc. are all a growing part of the online community and search marketing.

The good news, for those that really take this to heart, is that it will force you and other businesses to be better - Better service; better results; better products; better communicators with clients; etc. Your online reputation will demand it.

Embrace accountability! You can make this a positive and turn it into an opportunity, or you can ignore it and have your business suffer, without you really knowing why, until it's too late.

Today's Effective Websites: It's about the user . . . and you!

2009-10-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

As recently as a few years ago it was appropriate, even expected, that your website look, read and function merely as an "online brochure." Stock photographs and cookie-cutter copy that could be found on hundred of other competitor websites were more common than not.

As the Internet came to become a more focused advertising and marketing media, "advertising and marketing experts" pushed clients to focus solely on the visitor - Create copy that was promotional and compelling; use imagery that's engaging and high-impact. Designs were built to "WOW" and impress visitors. Practices were told to look at their website like advertisements - "It's not about you, it's about them!"

Today, the Internet, and more accurately, online users, have changed. Users are wanting to buy, but not be "sold." They are more effective navigators of websites and much more savvy online shoppers. They are also more skeptical to online advertisers and gimmicks.

For example, an independent study indicated that visitors were less likely to click a call to action button that included "Free," and more likely to click on one that used "Instant."

Online users also use the Web as a means to "get to know" providers and businesses, before they even contact them. And let's face it, people choose a provider, not because they are the "best" (they have no way of knowing that); they choose someone that they like, trust, or have some rapport with.

Social media websites have clearly demonstrated that today's online users are no longer voyeuristic and utilize the Web for relationship-building purposes. It's critical your website leverage this change.

Thus, your website needs to focus on the visitors, but understand that they want to know about you and your practice, as well. Your website needs to have custom photos and images of you, your staff, your clients/patients, your office/facility. You will also want to include elements such as custom videos, blogs, testimonials, etc. too.

Some sample of effective websites that address this issue:
Dallas plastic surgeon
Raleigh personal injury lawyer
San Diego lasik surgeon
San Diego cosmetic dentist

If you have not updated your website in last year or two, you should probably consider incorporating these concepts.

Is Your Site A Trusted Website?

2009-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Over five years ago (2004), Yahoo released information about how it indexes information, including what it called TrustRank. TrustRank is a set of algorithms that Yahoo, and other search engines use provide its users with higly relevant search results.

Contrary to some common belief, TrustRank does not only rely purely on the total number of links that point your website. It also takes into consideration the credibility, or "authority" of those websites and is intended to combat spam forms of linking in the search results.

Even though Google doesn't refer to TrustRank, and has its own form of measuring (PageRank), the majority of SEO experts are quite confident Google uses the same strategy to provide better results for its users. In other words, it isn't about just getting more links pointing to your website. It's also important that you get links from the right type websites so that your website is a "trusted" site in the eyes of Google, Yahoo and Bing.

So how do you become a trusted website? There are a number of ways, and too many details to go into in just one blog entry. Come back tomorrow for the first installment to what you need to consider with building a "trusted" website.

Google Reader

2009-09-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

Google Reader is not only a fantastic tool for organizing your blogs, but it can also help with your Internet marketing strategy. Keeping in mind that Google tends to favor its own services in regards to its organic listings, it is a good idea to subscribe to your blog (which is part of your website) via Google Reader. The more links that Google sees pointing to your site, the better.

At Page 1 Solutions, we follow all of our clients' blogs on Google Reader so we can keep with their happenings, as well as aide in their SEO efforts. If you have any questions about Google Reader, or SEO, please feel free to leave a comment below, or contact us.

Dental Meeting - ICCMO

2009-09-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Spending the day at the International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics (ICCMO) meeting at the Interlocken Resort.

One of our clients, Boulder cosmetic dentist and TMJ specialist, Mark Birnbach, spent time discussing his blogging strategy and leveraging social media as a patient referral medium. We have a plan set and will be leveraging his website as part of it.

We'll let you know the impact at a later time so be sure to check back later!

Google Launches Sidewiki

2009-09-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Google's blog just announced that they are releasing a new tool as part of it's toolbar called Sidewiki.

Like Wikipedia, it is aimed at leveraging the collective knowledge of online users/visitors to add to the information on a given topic for others to see and benefit from.

Sidewiki allows visitors of a website to see and post comments and additional insight to give people who visit that page at a later time more feedback on the page and topic. It allows visitors to "chime in" on the topic and expand the information to include more than one perspective.

Not sure how well this will work (it does require downloading the Google Toolbar and updating it with to include Sidewiki), or what other unforseen ramifications may come as a result. Like most things that are built with the intention of improving the users experience, there are foces in the online community that tend to manipulate or use them in a negative manner.

If you are a service provider marketing on the Web, like a cosmetic dentist, a lasik surgeon, a plastic surgeon or an injury lawyer, this may have an impact on the growing business of online "Reputation Management" if it does get a lot of consumer penetration. We'll have to watch it closely.

Did You Know 4.0

2009-09-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share this great video from YouTube user xplanevisualthinking. Not only are the statistics and facts in this video compelling, they are backed up by a long list of credible sources.

Subscribe to Page 1 Solutions on YouTube!

Strategic Link-Building - Develop credibility by not having "bad neighbors"

2009-09-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

It has become common knowledge for even the most novice search engine marketer that incoming links to your website is an important algorithm in search engines' (particularly Google's) indexing strategy.

However, in order to ensure your incoming links do in fact enhance your credibility, you need to make sure the links that are pointing to your website are relevant websites. For instance, if you are a Las Vegas cosmetic dentist, having links from a relavent cosmetic dentistry website, like www.the-cosmetic-dentistry-directory.com, are relevant "votes of confidence" in your website and helps search engines recognize that you are "local" to the Las Vegas market.

On the down side, having the wrong links point to your website can hurt your listings more than helping them. Search engines see lots of links from irrelevant websites much like stuffing the ballot box and that the votes do not actually represent confidence in your website. These can be seen as "link farms".

In addition, if you have links from a website that has a very checkered history with the search engines, you could also get penalized. Having "bad neighbors" or "hanging out with the wrong crowd" is as relevant to websites as it is with life in general.

Here is a link to an online link-checking tool to check if you are associating with questionable websites or in proximity to "bad neighborhoods".

"Engagement Objects" and SEO

2009-08-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

At the 2009 Search Engine Symposium (SES) in San Jose, Bruce Clay, a long-time, highly regarded and recognized expert in the SEM industry was interviewed and touched on the subject of video and "engagement objects," and the changes Google (and likely other SEs) are making to their algorithms. (view video) Some interesting points:

1. For some time, Google has used 120 different variables in its algorithm to rank, organize and index its listings. With the goal to expand its index using "universal search" (adding more items to index beyond just website or pages, like images, graphics, maps, video, etc.), it is believed that the variable will expand to 200+.

2. With this expansion, it is believed that many of these universal search items, like video, will significantly influence your website's listings. The more engagement objects that Google recognizes, the better your listings.

3. At some time in the near future, it may be possible that if you do not have video or other engagement objects, you will not get top listings, period.

Below are just some examples of using engagement objects:
San Francisco Lasik Surgeon
Baltimore Personal Injury Lawyer
Buffalo Dentist
Denver Cosmetic Dentist
Seattle Plastic Surgery

Economic Recovery - Hone Your Negotiation Skills

2009-08-25T08:25:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, the Dow surpassed the 9,000 point level and did not immediately plunge. Investors did not simply cash in on short term returns and we are seeing the Dow rise to over 9,500.

Regardless if you believe or don't believe that the economy is recovering, we can all agree that the recovery is different than what we were used to. Today, there's fewer stretches of smooth steady growth, and more peaks and valleys; less "take it or leave it," and more "give and take."

The good news: there is more opportunity for small business owners to negotiate in all aspects of their business: vendors, products, employees and even clients/patients.

The key to success is to hone those negotiation skills. I recently heard about a book by Jeanette Nyden, called Negotiation Rules! A Practical Approach to Big Deal Negotiations.

Nyden focuses on three core negotiation skills.

-Making trade-offs, rather than concessions

-Making effective counteroffers, rather than saying no

-Planning for all conversations, rather than winging-it

The take away here is to stop looking at your sales/marketing process as "business as usual," and start taking steps to better leverage the changing business and consumer marketplace.

Twitter Etiquette

2009-08-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

Twitter is a great branding and web marketing tool, if used properly and strategically. When jumping on the Twitter band-wagon, be sure to consider the following:

• Give, give, give! The more information and resources that you are willing to give away to your followers, the more likely they will be to trust you with their business. Spend time building that trust before you try to advertise or sell to your followers.
• Be relevant. Consider who your audience is before you send out a tweet. They likely don’t want to know that you’re grabbing coffee, or what you’re having for lunch. This is annoying spam that is irrelevant to your purpose for marketing on Twitter.
• Only use hashtags if they are relevant to the subject of your tweet. It is incredibly inappropriate to include hashtags that are popular, yet irrelevant, in an attempt to increase your visibility. You will lose followers.
• Be sure to give credit to others. It is perfectly fine (and encouraged) to copy any tweets that other users have sent that are also relevant to your followers, but be sure to include “re-tweet” or “RT” along with the original tweeters username.

And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @Page1Solutions

More on Targeting The Right Keyword Phrases

2009-08-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

In recently talking with a dentist, the question arose as to whether or not it made sense to target his major metro city (Philadelphia), even when his office is located in an outlying, upscale suburb.

I suggested he include the major city in his keyword strategy (ex. "Philadelphia cosmetic dentist"), but he was concerned that people in the "city" wouldn't come out to his practice. There are a couple of reasons why I still recommend he consider including the major city in his strategy.

1- Consumers search for "local" service providers using the major city in their searches, even though they may not live exactly in the "city". For example: Google statistics indicate that many searches that include "Philadelphia" are done by consumers that live in the surrounding metro area and suburbs. See for yourself.

2- People looking for and researching highly important or expensive services are willing to go farther than down the block to work with someone they trust and have a lot of confidence in. If you offer services or a level of quality that others don't, people will drive to secure your services. The key is to ensure your website and correspondence with visitors effectively communicates those differences.

So whether you are Philadelphia Injury Lawyer or an Allentown cosmetic dentist you may want to consider Philadelphia in your list of target keyword phrases.

If you have questions or other thoughts, comment below.

Search Engine Keywords

2009-08-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

The next few entries are going to be devoted to keywords in your search engine optimization and marketing strategy.

To start, choosing the right keyword phrases and prioritizing them is the foundation to your success.

It is no secret that the vast majority of service providers are local, and that you should start with keyword phrases that include some localized keywords. For example, rather than target open-ended keyword phrases, like "cosmetic dentist," focus on phrases like "Las Vegas Cosmetic Dentist" (the link will take you to a Las Vegas dental practice to use as an example).

One question that does arise: "If my practice is locate outside of a major metro city in an outlying suburb, does it make sense for me to target keyword phrases using the the large city?"

I believe the answer is: It depends. Seriously. Whether to use the major metro city will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: 1) how far out you are, 2) the type of services you offer, 3) if there are any geographic barriers, 4) the value of your services 5) the affluency of your area, and even 6) the travel habits of people in the surrounding area.

For instance, a high-end, cosmetic/tmj dentist in Piedmont, CA admits that he gets a lot of patients because he is high on the Google search for "San Francisco cosmetic dentist," even though his office is located across the bay from San Francisco.

Choosing the right set of keyword phrase does take some time and research. But don't make too many assumptions. You may be leaving a lot of important exposure to your competitors.