Monday, May 20, 2013
Fresh, custom content on your website is not only important, it is necessary to stay competitive online. Having a regularly updated blog not only helps your search engine results, but also can give your practice authority as you become an industry thought leader.
Here are some practical tips to help you get the most out of your dental practice blog.
Planning Topics
Thinking of topics can be one of the most daunting parts of keeping your blog updated. Don’t let it discourage you, though. Your topics are all around you. Write down questions patients ask when they are in your office and turn them into posts. Discuss how you are handling difficult cases, adding new technology, or offer helpful hints for your patients. If you sponsor a local sports team or participate in a community event, write a quick blog about it. Your blog is a place to show you are not only an expert in your field, but you are also involved and in tune with your community.
Be Interactive
Interaction with your followers is one of the easiest ways to give yourself another advantage over other dental websites. By allowing readers to comment on your blog posts, you open a new door to communication and education for current or potential patients. You can provide further clarification in your posts and earn the trust of your readers by taking the time to respond to their comments.
Adding Images
Don’t forget to add relevant pictures to your posts. While Google, Bing, and Yahoo cannot “see” pictures, you can optimize them by giving them alt-attribute tags, captions and strong file names. Then, those images not only add an aesthetic element to your blog, but they show up in search results.
Video Blogging
Videos are an easy way to build trust between you and your viewers. Don’t be afraid to add the occasional “vlog” (video log) of yourself in place of your normal blog posts. Allowing viewers to “see” you adds more credibility to your practice from a human perspective, and you can optimize each video to show in search results as well. You don’t even need to host these videos on your site. If you upload your videos to YouTube, you can easily place them on your blog by adding the embed code provided under the “Share” section of your video.
Social Media
Finally, share, share, share! Spend a few minutes setting up an account with a scheduling program such as TweetDeck or HootSuite so links to your posts are automatically shared with each profile. Make it easy for your readers to share your posts by adding social media buttons to your posts (using a plug-in or a service such as addthis.com). This encourages your readers to quickly and easily link your posts to their social media profiles. By attracting more readers and expanding your reach, you will be able to achieve better search engine results.
In Conclusion
Keep your blog updated for maximum results. You don’t need to use stuffy, formal language. Instead, write similarly to how you would converse with your patients. Your blog should be inviting and easy to read and understand. The more presence you have online, the more the search engines will pick up. Have fun with it.