When was the last time you picked up a phone book or checked the yellow pages for a product or service? I’d venture to guess that you haven’t in the last few years, or ever if you’re a millennial or younger. If you don’t use a phone directory, what do you think your patients are?
Telephone directories: a thing of the past
Let’s enter the late 1800’s. Imagine not having indoor plumbing, electricity or the technological advances and conveniences of today. People got recommendations by talking to their neighbors. Communication with anyone further away than the town was done by post.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented a telephone.1 Not long after, telephone operators (often teenage girls because boys were considered too rebellious) were hired to route calls through the public telephone system. ” and asking “hey girl” to forward the call to your dentist, doctor or friend.
The first telephone directory was published in 1878.3 A cardboard sheet with the names of people and businesses that had a telephone, it was nothing like the two-inch-thick yellow pages we’ve seen in modern times.
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Fast forward to January 1, 1983, the official birthday of the Internet.4 Before that, computer networks could not communicate with each other. By the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web (the Internet as we know it) was up and running, allowing people all over the world to communicate instantly through messaging sites, e-mail, video chat, and far more. Advances in technology such as smartphones and tablets and the rise of the Internet forever changed the way we communicate, do research, read the news, and even find our dental providers .
Free yourself from phone books
The Internet has changed marketing strategies for all businesses, including dental practices. When using phone books or yellow pages, dentists had the option of simply listing their name and address or paying for a printed ad in the book. Think about your life or your dental practice today. How long have you been using the yellow pages or a phone directory?
But when was the last time you used your smartphone, iPad or computer to search for information? It’s time to move away from solely using print ads and yellow page searches and embrace the internet and its mobile friendly websites.
Get a mobile friendly website
Today, connecting with a dentist is more complex than just asking the operator to dial the number. For patients, it’s as simple as searching for the dentist’s name or location. Once the Google My Business (GMB) listing or website appears, the patient can click to call the office directly from the palm of their hand.
Sounds simple, right? On the front end, it’s simple: for patients. That’s how it should be. Dentists must be accessible to their patients. If it’s hard to get to, or your GMB listing is out of date, or your website doesn’t appear, patients will move on to the next dentist. Therefore, the next step should be to develop a user-friendly, mobile-friendly website with search engine optimization (SEO) designed to attract new patients.
Why does your practice need a mobile-friendly website?
Do you want patients to find you and learn about your practice and all the great services you offer? All the marketing in the world means nothing if you don’t have a website. Patients will research you and do so through your website, online profiles and social media sites. No website means potentially losing new patients.
When a patient searches for a dentist, their website and GMB profile appear in the search. The GMB profile provides patients with some information, such as your schedule, contact information, and reviews. It also funnels them to your website. If you have a social media page, sharing social posts about your practice can do the same. The goal is to drive patients to your website. While these are valuable parts of marketing, your website is the crucial piece. It allows patients to get to know you and then contact you or book an appointment.
What makes a website mobile friendly?
The answer is in the name: a mobile-friendly website can be used with a mobile phone. This means that your content can be read on both a desktop computer and a phone. Patients can easily consume your information, click on links and navigate your website.
A website that is not optimized for mobile devices has very small text. Users have to zoom in and out and scroll all over the page, which makes it much more difficult to navigate and navigate the website. A mobile-friendly design is responsive, meaning that as the screen size changes, so does the content. The content is adjusted to fit the screen in a readable manner.
Your mobile-friendly website should be easy to navigate and consume content. It should include:
Responsive and well-proportioned content Simple navigation menus Clearly displayed calls to action Small blocks of text A simple and clear font instead of fancy script text A search bar for easy navigation Limited use of pop-ups Fast loading content
Half of online traffic comes from mobile devices.5 When patients click to your website through your GMB profile or search results on their phones, what will they find? Is your website attractive and usable on a mobile phone or tablet?
What makes a website user-friendly?
Optimizing websites for user experience is a new trend. What is user experience and what does it mean for your website? While there used to be a big push for SEO and keywords, there is also a focus on user-friendliness of a website.
An easy-to-use website will perform better and can improve your chances of success or converting potential patients. It’s not just the looks that matter (your website should look good), but the usability and navigation of the website should be seamless. Having both will give you an edge over your competition.
A website optimized for user experience should have:
Mobile compatibility Original and strategically planned content Well-formatted content Speed Accessibility for all users Efficient navigation Internet browser compatibility Usable forms and clear calls to action
Consider that 42% of users quickly leave poorly performing websites.6 Is your website attracting patients or sending them away?
It’s time to move with the times. Unless you live alone in a cave, you’ve embraced electricity, indoor plumbing, and modern technology. It’s time to put away the phone directories and your print ads. Update your website to be mobile-friendly and user-friendly and get ready to connect with more potential new patients.
Editor’s note: This article appeared in the September 2022 print edition of the journal Dental Economics. Dentists in North America are eligible for a free print subscription. Register here.
References
Morris J. History of the telephone – ITPA. Independent Association of Pioneers in Telecommunications. Accessed June 9, 2022. Daugherty G. The rise and fall of telephone operators. history 2 Aug 2021. Eschner K. The first phone book had fifty listings and no numbers. Smithsonian Magazine. 21 Feb 2017. Internet History. June 3, 2022. Wikipedia.
Clement J. Global Mobile Website Traffic Share 2015–2021. Statista, February 18, 2022. www.statista.com/estadistiques/277125/part-of-web-traffic-from-mobile-devices
Fitzgerald A. 25+ Web Design Statistics You Need to Know in 2022. 3 Jun 2022. HubSpot.
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