Dental implants are not only a great solution for patients who qualify, but they can also be an extremely profitable operation for the dental offices that specialize in them. If you’re looking to attract more of these high value patients into your own practice, then read below to know what you should keep in mind when marketing to them.
What are patients searching for when they are in the market for dental implants?
Patients searching for dental implants are often patients that have become educated on the subject and many have already decided they would like to have the procedure performed to repair some past damage on their teeth. Once patients become aware of the solution, many are often surprised at the cost as it is a relatively expensive procedure for many patients. Many patients then end up searching for dental implant prices online, and call several offices to get an idea of what their prices are. In our experience, over 70% of dental implant searches are patients looking for price. Offices that are able to offer competitive pricing or even better, share their pricing online, will do much better with their marketing than those that do not.
On the other hand, there are many prospective patients who know very little about dental implant and about what the solution could offer them. Many of these prospective patients would search for more top of the funnel keywords such as “smile repair”, “smile design”, “replacing missing teeth”, or “alternatives to dentures”.
What marketing strategies work to attract dental implant patients?
Marketing for dental implant patients is very different than marketing for dental emergencies, as the prospective implant patients often take months to reach a decision and frequently contact multiple offices before deciding on one dentist. Due to this, it is important to have a marketing strategy and content that is designed to target prospective patients in all areas of the funnel and buying journey. This may include some educational content on what are dental implants, then some content on the different treatment options and ways to afford them. This variety of content will also help your practice’s SEO rankings as most dental websites are relatively thin on content.
For patients that are more bottom of the funnel and ready to buy, the best strategy to reach them is to run targeted Google Ads PPC campaigns showcasing an attractive offer. You should have a solid conversion process in place with your front desk staff to ensure you are converting as many leads as possible so that your marketing campaigns can remain profitable.
How can I rank in SEO for dental implants in my area?
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, almost every dentist now is looking to focus their practice on dental implant patients, and as a result of this the dental implant SEO landscape has become extremely competitive. If you want to focus on dental implant patients, then you should decide that as the focus on your practice and understand that you’ll probably have to sacrifice rankings in other procedures as otherwise it’ll be very difficult to outrank the specialist offices that only do dental implants.
Should I offer free initial consultations?
Some dentists have a strong aversion to offering free initial consultations because of bad experiences they have had in the past; however, in our experience, not offering free intial consultations will result in higher patient acquisition costs overall. This is because many offices offer free consultations and it is now considered the market standard. It is not uncommon to have a patient 10+ minutes into a call scheduling an appointment and then end the call when they learn of the initial consultation fee. If you have had bad experiences in the past with patients who don’t convert after coming in for their initial consultation, you should evaluate the following aspects before deciding to eliminate the complimentary initial visits:
- Scree the leads before booking an appointment. Your staff shouldn’t be extremely selective in booking appointments, but you should have a list of basic qualifying criteria so you can avoid patients who will obviously not be a fit.
- Optimize your conversion process. It is a science to convert patients into treatment plans, and in this science will lie your ability to make the numbers work or not. It is important to make patients feel comfortable from the moment they walk in. When you present the treatment plan explain what are “must haves” and what are “nice to haves”. Patients will appreciate the honesty and will often select the office they trust the most. To the extent possible, also offer your patients financing options as this will also increase your conversion rates.