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A Golden Opportunity for Dentists: More Than Two-Thirds of Internet Users Search for Medical Info Online

July 30th, 2009 · 4 Comments

Today, a Web Exclusive article, “When patients know more than you,” posted on www.DentalProductsReport.com. In it, Senior Editor Noah Levine tells us that a survey by Pew Internet Project reported 75-80% of Internet users look for medical information online.

shutterstock_34086235Question is, does the vast medical and dental information on the Internet educate and inform patients well? Does it make your job as a dentist easier or harder?

That really depends on where patients are getting their information and whether it’s accurate and relevant. Wikipedia, for instance, is a great resource, but you don’t have to be an expert to post information. (Wiki means “what I know is.”) Blogs, too, give the average Joe access to opinions and not-necessarily-factual information.

Levine’s article is a great starting place for you to make a decision as to how you feel about “web-informed” dental patients. However, if you want to make sure your patients are getting the solid, accurate information they need so that they can make informed decisions about dentistry, consider expanding the education center on your dental website.

Share Your Expertise and Get More Web Traffic
TNT Dental, www.tntdental.com, a leader in custom dental website design, hosting, and search engine optimization, offers a library of stock articles that provide solid, easy-to-digest information about many dental procedures and health concerns. The company also offers blogging services and GhostPosts. For dentists who want to publish good educational information for patients AND get more hits on their websites, GhostPosts provide a simple solution. A trained dental writer will compose articles on topics of your choice, then optimize the text for search engines, add a high-quality image, and post the blogs for you. If you’d like to add your opinion and expertise, post your own blogs alongside the GhostPosts as often as you’d like. TNT clients who sign up for a blog receive free, one-on-one telephone training on how to use the blog.

Another great way to get good information to your patients and potential patients is by putting your own recommendations, links to websites you trust and agree with, on your site. A “patient resources” or “favorite links” page can list the sites of your choice, with links and descriptions.

If you’d like to take information sharing a step further, consider joining Facebook. Simple applications will allow you to quickly post any online article to your Facebook page.

Getting Started

Tags: Blog · Marketing

4 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Dianna Huff // Jul 30, 2009 at 10:22 am

    Instead of using stale and canned (re: boring) content, dentists can hire a marketing writer and produce their own fresh and original content.

    This makes their sites stand out and makes the dentist look authentic and real.

    I look at a great many dental sites and most of them look and sound the same. Why? The dentist isn’t using his/her own voice.

  • 2 Erik Cunningham // Jul 31, 2009 at 11:27 am

    Sounds like a good strategy as long as the GhostPosts are unique. Dentists should also consider writing short blog posts about other websites and online dental resources they like as an alternative to creating web pages devoted solely to outbound links.

  • 3 Robert L. Smith DMD // Aug 10, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    I think one of the best ways to share exciting content about dentistry is to use streaming video on your dental practice website. Patients are much more likely to watch a video than they are to read about dental procedures.

  • 4 Dentist in milpitas // Jul 21, 2010 at 3:56 am

    Dental blogs are helpful. Dentists and dental associates should keep their blogging busy too.

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