Jonathan's Web Marketing Blog

Denver and Las Vegas are windy places today. Denver's even seen a tornado or two. Meanwhile Las Vegas natives have been ready to don jackets as temperatures dip down to a frigid 75 degrees.

LVI is what brought me to Las Vegas yesterday. I've been teaching a web marketing course to their Core III and Core V students. After class today, I talked with a couple of practices in similar situations, but because of their markets, I had different recommendations.

Both practices have small websites that they put up as temporary solutions, but one practice is in Dallas and the other is in Alaska. For the Alaskan practice, I recommended a templated website design with custom content. Their goal is not to show up on the search engines. They just want something to refer patients to that accurately represents the practice. The Dallas practice needs a custom design and search engine marketing because they are in a highly competitive market. In Dallas, just launching a templated website would only be a temporary solution. It would never bring in a stead flow of patients, and wouldn't be competitive with the other practices in the area. The search engine marketing is absolutely necessary in competitive markets like Dallas. Be sure to do some market analysis for your practice before you make any decisions about your web marketing.

My doctor clients will be entrigued by this development in the Google universe. Google Health is a new system for sharing medical records with designated health care providers. People set up their medical records in one place, attached to a Google account, and designate who can view their records. Currently, this has very limited uses as you (the provider) have to sign up with Google as a "Partner" to have your systems integrated with Google Health. So, unless you are a Cleveland Clinic-sized practice, you're at the mercy of your current EMR company to gain access to Google Health. I would imagine that it's only a matter of time before Google creates an online interface for providers (unless it would interfere with them making money from EMR companies as partners).

For now, Google Health is another reason to make sure that all you doctors out there are registered with Google Local. There is a Find a Doctor function built right into the main Google Health interface.

In a webcast on Monday, Google opened up about some of the ins and outs of search including Universal Search.

One of the best/worst things about Universal Search is the way in which the none-text results are filtered in with the traditional search results. If you do enough Google searches, you'll have noticed that occasionally there are Google Local results at the very top and at other times they appear in the middle of the page. There are also Google Images, Video, and News results in the mix depending upon the search. And that's where the rub is: "Depending upon the search".

How how does a computer program, decide when and in what order to display the different kinds of search results that are available? Johanna Wright of Google described it in terms of a "sweet spot of relevance." That's a great way of describing the challenge that Google faces. "It's our job within search to give you what you want," she said. My feeling is that currently, Universal Search results can seem rather random at times, taking up search result space that I would have rather seen given to another traditional result rather than a video or news. By the sound of it, Google has been working on that issue and is rolling out more Universal Search results.

"You'll see a lot more in universal search this year," Wright said. This will mean a lot of new opportunities for Page 1 clients who have diversified web marketing strategies (Video for example). We'll be able to secure even more 1st-page listings.

According to recent numbers released by Hitwise, the number of people on Google (which now accounts for 68% of all search traffic on the web) who are watching video is up from last year by 46%. This means that more people are electing to watch video on the search engines. Whether they are actually looking for video or are just happening upon the video in Google's Universal Search results remains to be seen, but in either case this presents an opportunity for your practice to start building rapport with people on the Internet using video.

Having video on your website is important so that people who come to your website can get to know you and learn more about your practice, but you can make those videos work double duty for you by submitting them to YouTube, Google Video, and other websites that specialize in video. Check out Dr. Sue Wendling's website: www.DrWendling.com. Her video really makes her website pop. We also submitted all of her videos to YouTube. You can see them on Google Video here. Some people call this technique of getting your videos more exposure on the search engines "Video SEO". At Page 1 Solutions, Video SEO is part of our standard search engine optimization process. Because of the increased demand for video on the search engines, at Page 1 Solutions, we include video in all new website design projects at no additional cost.

I posted a blog entry on the Dental Web Marketing Blog. It's about what hard economic times should mean for Internet marketing spending. Check it out.

Every once in a while, it is important to take a hard look at your website's design to see if it is still competitive with the other websites in your area. Don't fall into the trap of becoming infatuated with your website. A website is a constant work in progress. There is always room for improvement, and if you haven't done anything with your website in years, be prepared to scrap it and start over.

In evaluating your website, consider the following:

Who are my top competitors, both in geographic proximity and online in the search engine results?
Even if you're not an overly competitive person, when it comes to marketing, you can't afford to ignore your competitors. They have a say in the Internet user's experience in your market place, and you want to make sure that your say is making a more profound impact than theirs. Competitive analysis of these arguments is critical. If you approach web marketing with a laissez faire attitude, you will lose.

Does my website look at all dated when compared with my competitors?
An outdated website design will reflect poorly on your credibility. When visitors go to Google and are clicking down the page, they will quickly leave websites that immediately appear inferior to the ones that they have already seen.

Do my competitors have any features (ex. animation, video, content, blog) that my website doesn't have?
Added features enhance the visitor experience. People quickly pick up on the fact that one website has video while others do not. Even if they don't actually compare the websites in their minds, they will certainly have a deeper understanding of the practice that puts forth extra effort to educate and to build rapport by including some extras in their website.

Is my website user-friendly for people that have never visited my site? Does it follow the "don't make me think" principle?
Try to imagine that you've never used your website before. Does it still make sense to you? Your website shouldn't require too many clicks and shouldn't assume that the visitor knows what to do to use your website. Keep it super simple.

After looking at other websites in our industry, what does my staff honestly think about the website?
Don't take what they say as gospel, but frequently team members are more passionate about the website than the doctor/lawyer in the practice. This is because the website serves as part of the practice's operations. When you give the staff a voice in the future direction of the website, you'll find that there are either ways in which a new website can make life easy, or ways in which the existing website is making life difficult. Either way, they can frequently point the way to positive change.

How does my website's positioning on the search engines compare to my competitors' listings on the search engines?
This leads into a whole separate kind of website evaluation, but it's closely related to design. If your website design is competitive, but most people are visiting your competitor's website instead of yours because he's front and center on Google while your beautiful website is languishing on page 4, there's a big problem that needs fixing. Your website's positioning on the search engines is also directly tied to how your website is designed, so if you positioning is hurting, it may be time to consult with a search engine optimization firm to see what is holding you back.


So, be brutally honest with your self and, from time to time, turn a critical eye to your website's design. You will find ways to tune up your website, and your website's bottom line will thank you for it in the form of more patients/cases.

Occasionally, I get emails like this one:

Jonathan,

I am thinking of going with Company X.
They do a custom website for about $4000.
Can you compare and contrast your services with theirs?

Whenever I hear of a website design program that is that inexpensive, I encourage the client to ask several questions to find out exactly what they are getting.

Is it really a website designed from scratch to your liking, or is Company X using prefabricated designs?

Do you own the website, or would you just be leasing it from them? Do you own the design, or just the content, or both?

Is the content written from scratch, or is it templated content that will hinder search engine positioning?

How much content do you get? Up to 50 pages? If not, what is the additional cost for more pages beyond what Company X offers? Do they write the additional pages, or do they rely on you to supply the content?

Do their websites consistently show up on the search engines for competitive keyword searches? Is that important to you?

Do their websites include Flash animation at no additional cost?

Do their websites include custom video at no additional cost?

I can certainly appreciate the appeal of only having to spend $4000 on a new website as opposed to $20K, but in the end, you don't want to have to scrap your $4000 website a year later because it isn't performing per your expectations. There are so many other things to consider than price. Web marketing is definitely one of those things where you get what you pay for. It doesn't necessarily mean that it has to be over-priced, but it does mean that inexpensive short-cuts can end up costing you money in the long-run. Just make sure that you know what you're getting for your money. Insist on value.