http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_3b344f2a-a65d-11df-b7a9-001cc4c03286.html

Advertising of this creative nature costs less than many printed newspaper ads and considerably less than a postcard mailing campaign sent to homes.  Few consumers bother reading junk mail anymore and are tired or all the unwanted advertising that arrives in their mailbox.  Who can help reading an ad on the side of a bus while they are driving  down the street or next driving adjacent to it.  How many moms are waiting to put their kids on the bus or off the bus when they get home.  This type of out of the box advertising brands your practice in your local area day after day, while helping the community during tough times.  Phoenix school districts are in big trouble.

Traditional marketing no longer works with today's consumers.  Think outside the box when marketing your orthodontic practice to residents in your area.  Will be interesting to follow up on the results of this marketing campaign a year from now.  I think I will give this practice a call to find out and report back to you at the end of the school year.

Dr Joe Pearson

Not only did the orthodontic marketing promotion contain all the ingredients of a successful internal marketing program for orthodontic patients and external marketing program in the local community, it was then promoted exponentially under the umbrella of the Internet to increase exposure and page ranking for their orthodontic website and blog in Phoenix, Ahwatukee and surrounding areas.

Lisa Ebeln, the marketing coordinator at Pearson Orthodontics, suggested an idea to the team to help underprivileged school kids in the Phoenix area.  Dr Joe Pearson felt is was a great "pay it forward" community project.  What started out as a traditional way of helping others, eventually snowballed into a strategic marketing program that promoted Pearson Orthodontics in local newspapers, television, and on the Internet throughout Phoenix and around the world.

I recommended the architecture of the marketing promotion and the staff ran with it, nurtured it, and let it blossom from there. Their enthusiasm, team work, and follow up every step of way made it work. Kudos to the Pearson Team.

Rather than go into detail, I will let the Internet show what was accomplished.  Lets start with YouTube Channel 5 Local News Video.

The Channel Five Local news posted an article on their website.  Local News Article was printed in papers and posted online.   Joe Pearson was interviewed in promoted in local newspaper and online.  The program was posted on Phoenix Local Facebook Page and on their own Pearson Facebook.  An Internet Press Release was distributed and was picked up World Wide to increase back links to their website.

What started out as an internal marketing community project took on a new life of its own and spiraled into an integrated marketing program that is worth its weight in gold in good will, word of mouth buzz, and free advertising of the highest caliber exponentially.  You can't buy this type of exposure.

Families in Ahwatukee AZ will remember Joe Pearson not only as an orthodontist, but as a good guy who cares about others.  He will reap the benefits of this marketing program for many years to come when parents and families in Ahwatukee are seeking the services of an orthodontist.  It also helped increase his website and blog page rank in Phoenix and surrounding suburbs to promote his practice online.  It was a win… win everywhere.

If you are going to spend the time and money promoting your business, take it to the max whenever you can… especially on the Internet.  This marketing promotion is now found on the Internet 24-7, indefinitely,  There is not better return on investment anywhere for expended time and money.

To summarize, SPEED of your website is now being taken into consideration when Google compares your website to all your competitors when determining page rank.  Not only does SEO meta tags, longevity, number of visitors, and back links (just to name a few) determine your page ranking on Google…. now they are looking at how fast your website downloads when a visitor enters your site.

With the continued growth of the world wide web, the explosion in mobile marketing with cell phones, and the addition of the new iPad using mobile 3G technology, Google is smart and being proactive.  They are encouraging web owners to work with them for a more user-friendly Internet environment and attempting to control the amount of web storage necessary to expedite online search.  There is no better way to grab the attention of website owners and encourage them to cooperate with online efficiency than to penalize them for slow download time, which in turn slows down search.

In addition, the vast majority of websites designs today are not mobile ready for easy viewing on either a cell phone or iPad.  Flash websites or flash headers found in many HTML websites can be a problem due to increased loading time and lack of integration with mobile units.  Also, video is not viewable on mobile units or the iPad unless in MPEG4 format or other formats compatible with 3G technology.

Does this mean you have to redesign your website?  The answer is NO… in most cases.  And if you are currently redesigning your website or creating your first website,  it is important to address these issues NOW while in design stage.

So, what do you need to know or do to remain on the "bleeding" edge of Internet marketing?  Have you tested your website on a mobile unit or iPad to see what it looks like?

Here are a Five Tips  on how to optimize your current site to meet the new Google SEO guidelines and how to ramp up your website for mobile technology and the iPad.

1. Check out your website on a cell phonewith Internet access to see what it looks like. If areas are black or text is overlapping or illegible, your website needs some updating to correct.  In some cases you might require a site redesign or separate mobile website created if you have a flash website. Also, video is not viewable on mobile units or the iPad unless in MPEG4 format or other formats compatible with 3G technology.  If content is missing on a cell phone, it will usually be missing on an iPad also.
2. Remove any flash intros and music on your site. Flash of any kind is not viewable on the majority of mobile units and slows down your website load time.  Most consumers don't appreciate flash intros slowing them down when entering your site or listening to the music anyway.  Just contact your webmaster and ask them to remove it.
3. Flash headers are a problem.  Although they are more engaging than stationary headers, they also increase load time and do not show up on most mobile units.  If your contact information is in a flash header, mobile users can't easily find contact info.  There are different options available to address these issues without going through site redesign, so don't panic.
4. Video slows down websites.  However, if your video is embedded from another video site such as YouTube or stored on a separate server it will not affect the speed when downloading as long as it is in a format that can be viewed on mobile technology.  Most website video is not compatible unless embedded or linked from YouTube.
5. Streamline your written content on pages for faster uploads. Remove all the fluff, bullet point wherever you can for easy reading, combine pages where possible, and delete pages consumers don't use or read.  Bigger is not always better…. One Contact/Location page with a map, phone number etc is all you need. Too many pages on different areas of contact not only confuses visitors, but decreases the speed of your site.

For more information on SEO of your website and how to update your orthodontic Internet marketing program to comply with the exploding age of mobile marketing, contact me for a free online consultation to determine your specific needs to update, redesign or create a new website.

In case you haven't noticed, Facebook has decided that "fans" are no longer called fans.  Personal profiles now have the ability to "like" a page instead of become a fan of a page. With that, it appears as though Facebook hopes to be able to integrate with company websites (ie. yelp, pandora,) using your preferences and personal information to create a more personalized way of surfing the web.  While there are only a few sites that do this now (only a few days since the chagne,) this may be something smaller businesses and practices can use to their advantage in the future. 

This affects you now, in that, your fans are no longer fans, but instead "people who like your page."  It also appears as though all ability to tag pictures, videos and notes is now gone.  There are, however, a few ways around this which need to be researched. Tagging promotes you to all of your "pwly's" friends.  It shows them the picture, note or video that you posted on their news feed.

This is probably only the tip of the iceberg in the changes that have been made or will be made soon.  As I learn more about the changes, I will let you know what I find out.

Let me know how facebook is working for you as a marketing tool and anything you would like to share with others.  Leave a comment belows.

FYI – Stop by my Booth #317 at the AAO in Washington.  Look for the "Yellow Umbrella"  Would love to meet you and discuss your Internet marketing strategies…

They are testing a new program where you highlight your maps listings so it stands out from the others on the list.  Currently it is only available in San Jose, CA and Houston, TX. 

I personally feel this is a great inexpensive opportunity to promote your business.  Those who work with me know I am not big on yellow page ads and PPC programs unless there is no other alternative to find your practice on page one.  I prefer you target your marketing dollars and energy in more effective Internet markting programs since it is reported 70% of consumers will not click on a PPC listing.   Just like printed yellow pages, consumers (especially A patients) are not looking for professionals in the yellow pages on the Internet.

However, this new program is highlighting your business in the first area a consumer zooms into when searching for an orthodontist in your area.  Great way to promote your video, website, or latest marketing promotion.

Keep your fingers crossed it becomes reality,remains reasonably priced and doesn't go up for bid.  Currently it costs $25/mo. Here is what it looks like.

Below is a blog post I found announcing the beta test.  Will keep you updated on how it is going, so make sure your read my future posts.  Sign up for my RSS feed if you want to be notified when all my posts go live with latest Internet marketing updates and information.

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/02/simple-way-for-local-businesses-to.html

Do you think this new program has possibilities as an Internet marketing tool in your area.  Share your comments below.  Would love to hear from you.

Just a reminder I will be at the AAO meeting in Washington at Booth #317 near the main entrance.  Stop by so we can meet.  Just look for the "Yellow Umbrella". We'll be happy to run a quick test on your Internet exposure to see how your are doing.  It will be one of the better stops at the meeting.  Look forward to meeting you.

Push or Pull PR in Orthodontic Marketing

Time for me to get back on the blogging trail. Attendance at Spring Users Meetings was up this year and my lectures on how to market correctly on the Internet was a hot topic.  Lectures were at full capacity.

The light bulb is finally going off for more and more orthodontists on the importance of Internet marketing to build their business now… and in the future.

Many doctors, staff, and consultants were sitting in my lectures testing their sites on their cell phones while I was speaking. Some were surprised to find out they were not found or positioned correctly on Google maps or in natural page ranking when testing their website and social networking sites.  If you are attending the AAO in Washington this year, stop by my booth #317.  Would love to meet you to discuss options if you are having a problem or don't know where to begin evaluating the process.

Now is the time to check it out… You don't want to be the last one off the starting line. It will make it very difficult or almost impossible to catch up down the road with your competitors in local areas. The Internet is hear to stay and your future visibility is on the Internet will be the key to marketing your business externally. Make sure you are set up correctly for optimum rests.

That being said… What is the difference between PUSH and PULL marketing everyone is talking so much about today when targeting today's consumers? I found two videos that explain it well for those what want to understand what is considered the latest marketing tactics by marketing gurus around the world.

Check them out and tell me what you think. 

Below is a more detailed looked at PUSH|PULL marketing with examples being used today.

Find out today how your are positioned on the search engines.  Don't hesitate to contact me for a FREE online consultation to test and evaluate your Internet Marketing presence.

Watch this interview by a search engine specialist on www.primevisibility.com  He discusses how the Internet has changed and what you have to do to be found on the Internet today in your local area.   He discusses meta tags, linking, natural page ranking, and pay per click.  This is a good general overview of how SEO can help you build your practice with Internet Marketing.

Do you think Internet marketing has helped your business?  Do you know if you website is coded correctly?  Leave your comments below and lets start a discussion.

Sunday's Superbowl game yesterday was very exciting for a change.  I enjoy the camaraderie and commercials, just like 47% of Americans polled by the USA today who said they only watch the Superbowl because of the commercials.  49% watch because of the game.  It says alot about what entertains consumers today.  And the best part is…we are all waiting to watch a 60 second or less marketing message.

Google paid 3 Million dollars to air their 52 second ad that you or I could easily create ourselves with royalty free music, Internet access, and software that comes standard on many computers that turns search movements into video.

If you didn't see the video, watch it here.

The buzz on the Internet is "Was it worth the three million dollar cost of advertising during Super Bowl Prime time?"

I look at it differently. It was so simple, created great emotion, and is an outstanding example of why you don't have to be a pro to create your own video.  You can do what Google does on a small budget.

Did you notice that there were NO actors on camera in the ad? NO voice-over? And… there was only ONE PICTURE.  Just words on a computer screen with a good selection of music, right?  

There are many different options to creating good video. You don't need a big budget or professionals videographers… You need good scripting, visuals to tell your story, audio to help stage the moment, and the confidence to "Just do It".

What creates magic in video?  Comedy or emotion.   And this video in 52 seconds said it all creating an emotional response.  

As you are watching the video, it  CONJURED UP in your head visions created by simple words on a screen. What MOVES you is what YOUR OWN IMAGINATION brings to the viewing (Remember falling in love?)…  It means something different to every viewer watching.  The Google Ad was a FAB video.  A phrase coined by Internet video expert Andy Jenkins of Traffic Geyser.

• Feature:Google's search is simple to use.
• Advantage: Google search has the best results.
• Benefit: You can even use Google to find LOVE! (Awwww!)

Tricking people's minds into filling in the "gap" in films and videos is one of the most powerful tools you can use to promote your practice.  So is telling a story about a journey. If you don't want to be in the video because you are uncomfortable on camera, you don't have too! Let photos and "memorable" music tell the story for you. You don't have to promote yourself… let your story do it for you.

If you want to include testimonials and become adventurous yourself, all you hav to do is purchase the "right" inexpensive video equipment.  If you didn't read my blog post on the best new video camera buy out there… here it is!  The You Tube Video was created by who else? Andy Jenkins.  After he gave his seal of approval on this camera on the Internet, Kodak and Amazon sold out in a few days and the black version went up to $279 when back in stock.  Fortunately, I was able to get mine for $150.00. (this price can still be found in colored models)

I purchased and inexpensive microphone for under $30 that works great, a monopod (one legged tripod that is a must for good video) extra battery and memory all for the the camera for under $300.  It produces professional quality video you would be proud to present that will set your practice apart from the others.

For those that are still skeptical and camera shy, here are two examples of video I created in my office without myself on video that can be found on YouTube and Google in the top positions using major keywords orthodontic marketing.  These videos are linked all over the Internet because the content is good, whether you are an orthodontist or any small business owner. They aren't stellar productions but it gets my message across. Figure out what you can do yourself to grab attention and just DO IT in your local area!!  And don't forget… everything start to finish… every piece must be search engine optimized to be found by local new patients….

In the fall of 2009, Google Maps underwent a major update that kicked more than 50% of all local businesses off the maps, including orthodontists… eliminating their free source of advertising….

• Where you one of them?
• How many competitors were affected?
• When was the last time you checked your listing on Google Maps?

The dust is finally settling after a major update that occurred in the Google Local Business Center. With 1/2 billion searches occurring every month in local areas, you can't afford not to pay attention.  Many of my clients are safe, some have lost ground with a few keywords, but a few have disappeared completely with the latest update.    Why they disappeared is still open to speculation. 

I want to caution readers that when taking advantage of any FREE services offered by the search engines, you have no control over your outcome.  Your best course of action is to play by their roles… and then, there are no guarantees. If they opt to change the rules, you are at their mercy. 

Your best strategy is

• Due diligence in educating yourself on latest changes 
• Make sure your vendors are on top of it
• Keep updating your website SEO and Internet marketing strategies when necessary to keep up with latest changes if they apply to you.
• Don't wait for your webmaster to inform you… be proactive

With FREE services, there is no one to call at Google or the other search engines to voice concerns, object to placement, or state your case for consideration.  You can try email, but good luck with that!  When dealing with Google who receives thousands of emails every day, it is my personal experience that when they finally get back to you weeks letter, their response is generic and of little help… no more than an automated response.

Google survives on Pay Per Click advertising.

Google is in the Internet business to make money… Their only source of income is derived from businesses advertising on their FREE services. By reducing the exposure of businesses on the maps, it encourages more businesses to advertise with Pay Per Click.  The update was also an effort to appease current PPC customers upset with FREE listings on the map that competed with their paid advertising.  They considered it a conflict of interest. From a business standpoint, Google was caught in a difficult situation.  Restructuring solved issues.  Reviews on the maps were also restructured, but I will leave that discussion for another day.

So what happen on the Maps in the Google Local Business Center? 

Google restructured local search so when a consumer is looking for a business in your local area, only 7 listings show on the maps instead of 10. In some areas the maps was reduced from 10 – 3 listings.  This was a 70% reduction. Small areas with three listing may now be down to 1.

If you are one of the businesses who were booted, my question is… can prospective new patients find you easily on "page one" in your local area … or are you invisible?  The SEO of your website plays a critical role with the visibility of your website in your city and the surrounding towns targeting patients, not only in page ranking but also on the maps.

The most coveted areas on any search engine are page one, #1 – 3 in organic page ranking below the maps (not the top highlighted area in yellow or on the right column, which is paid advertising.) SEO allows some control over your positioning in page ranking. In addition, it is also important to understand that many consumers do not venture "below the fold", (bottom half of the page) same as when reading a newspaper.  If you are ranked 4 – 10, your chance of someone clicking into your site reduces with every position.  If you are on page 2… forget it.

Only 10 practices can be found on page one for each local keyword, with only one coveted #1 position.   On the maps, only seven practices will be listed, and in some areas only three.  In small towns, it is not uncommon to list only one.  Is it you or a competitor?

Map exposure is worth its weight in gold…

The "Maps" is the first area visitors see when searching in local areas for an orthodontist.   

•  You have no control over what position you are placed on the maps A-G ,
• SEO is not a major factor in how businesses are positioned on the maps.  Just count your blessings if your practice is visible on page one Maps for orthodontic consumer keywords orthodontist, braces, Invisalign, and orthodontics. 

Changes to the “Maps” were HUGE for any local business… 

Don’t be left in the dust by online competitors because you failed to monitor how your website is positioning in your local area.   Whether you do it yourself, or outsource services to Internet marketing vendors,  make sure you accept marketing responsibility and test your website for visibility on the maps… as well as organic page ranking with the top orthodontic keywords consumers use to find your website. 

 If all this is Greek to you, I offer a free consultation for practices who don't have the time or understanding to evaluate.  Feel free to contact me now to set up an appointment via my online webinar service so we can discuss your Internet Marketing options.

I would like you to read the post or watch the video again, but consider it from a different light.  In October I was training on what is RSS.  Today lets talk about how an RSS feed helps the SEO of your Blog.

When subscribers are notified in their RSS reader you just added a blog post and they click on your links to the site to read the post,  it increases your click through rate!

It shows Google you are providing interesting content for your readers.  Written or video content is "King" when engaging the interest of readers on social networking sites.  If readers are subscribed and keep coming back when pinged you justed posted,  Whahlaaaa… more money in the Bank to increase page ranking of your site in the eyes of Google.

The higher the click through rate, the better the chance your blog will make it to page one in your local area if coded correctly.  RSS is just one way to increase the SEO of your Blog. It is also one of the easiest areas to set up and use to promote your site.

As long as you offer content of interest to your subscribers, they will most likely keep coming back.  However, if you are not adding good content, readers will either not sign up after they visit the first time or remove themselves from the feed if disappointed.  Here a Five Tips on what NOT TO DO when creating your blog and blog posts so viewers don't lose interest.

1. Ramble on about what you are doing during your work day.  Readers are looking for orthodontic, dental, or interesting social content viewed from your perspective.  Mix it up! Also, keep in mind that your blog is social.  No more than 20% active marketing of your practice. No one is interested in revisiting an ad.
2. Adding photos without written narrative explaining what is going on and why they should be interested in viewing them.. (the key concept being interesting to others)
3. Unorganized look and feel creating negative emotion.  A visually disorganized blog and navigation, just like your website, causes confusion and loses readers.
4. Using different fonts and font sizes in your posts.  Decide when you start what font and size to use and stick with it throughout for aesthetics.  Its OK to increase the font to emphasize a new idea or introduce a section of content.  However, maintain continuity with the same size font and color when doing so.
5. Different size photos on a page.  Think of your blog as a photo gallery of sorts.  Presentation is everything!  Crop photos the same for a uniform look and insert in a table.  If you have many photos, consider using Flickr or my favorite Smug Mug with a link to your photo gallery.  Photo services make for better presentation anyway.

Your Blog is a representation of you and your practice, just like your website.  With the growth of social networking, it may actually someday become more important than your website.  Who knows what the future will bring. Structure your blog correctly from the start to engage, add RSS, and promote subscription to your blog to patients, their families and friends.

Good News… I suggest you Read this article "Many Cutbacks But Not for Straight Teeth" to start your year off on a positive note.  Even though the article was published months ago, it is still relevant in 2010.

The good news is parents with disposable income, even during tough economic times, feel straightening their kids teeth is still a high priority when it comes to the personal development of  their kids and a good return on investment.  A great smile sends a message to people both socially and in the business environment today.

In a society that places extraordinary value on appearance, orthodontics is increasingly seen as a necessity, not a luxury, and even though the number of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment declined since the start of the recession, many families are going to great lengths to keep tooth-straightening in their budgets.

"The latest figures from the American Association of Orthodontists, compiled before the recession began, counted about 4 million patients younger than 18 in North America in treatment in 2006, up from 2.6 million in 1989. Experts say the number has dropped recently."  I recently heard the population is down as much as 10%  in the past few years which is a double whammy coupled with the recession.

The article also quotes Paul Zuelke and Roger Levin on their take of the current economic environment facing orthodontic practices today and the stats they are seeing around the country with their clients.

All is not bleak.  Hunker down and pay attention to your marketing strategies, customer service, and latest Internet marketing trends to get your marketing message across to prospective new patients.  Now is not the time to cut back on your marketing efforts at the beginning of a new year, but to grease the wheels on an effective marketing program to grab your piece of the shrinking orthodontic pie in 2010.

Like all bad weather, the storm will eventually pass.  When the clouds clear, where will your practice be standing?  High and dry ready to seize the day with all your marketing strategies in place or muddling your way along in low standing water trying to figure out a way to dry off.  If you are still trying to figure it all out or doing nothing, let me help you bring it into perspective.

What do you see happening in your area?  Is the worst over or you do you see the sun starting to come out again. Leave a comment below to share with others or just offer an opinion.

But the truth of the matter is …if you provide a professional service… then YOU are your product.  It isn’t the type of braces you use that achieve the final result; it is your attitudes, skills, and knowledge using different treatment modalities that creates a beautiful healthy smile.  Your ability to sell yourself as a product builds and maintains a successful practice now and for the future. Therefore, your services can be promoted using your blog in much the same way as any other product being sold online.

One of the great things I love about blogs and blogging is the credibility you can build up over a relatively short period of time. You have much more flexibility with a blog than a traditional information website.

1. You do not have to know html code to manage your own blog which eliminates your webmaster
2. You have total access to the back end of your site to easily edit or add new content on a regular basis
3. You can upload photos, audio, and video to your site.  If  you don’t have your own video, you can embed free video from YouTube
4. You can SEO every blog post and page of your site so it is found in your local area on the search engines
5. Plugins or add-ons are available to add flash and cool affects on your site.  You are only limited by your own imagination, time invested, and skill level

Many professionals still believe prospective new patients are not looking online for orthodontic or dental treatment providers.   This belief couldn’t be further from the truth. The monthly reports from the Google Local Business Center are verifiable proof patients are looking for you every day. The question is are you there at the exact time they are looking you… and offering content they are interested in reading or watching on video.

One of my clients Dr. Joseph Porter in Louisiana has allowed me to post one of his monthly reports off the Google Local business center.  If only one new patient per month calls the office to schedule an appointment and starts treatment (very conservative projection) consider how powerful it would be if you had a website and a separate blog to attract and engage new patients to contact your office.  Can you afford not to target this Internet audience?

If you don't have an Internet presence your local area, you might as well be invisible in today's orthodontic market place where the vast majority of consumers go online to research treatment providers whether they are referred to them by their general dentist, friends, or family.  Doesn't matter, they want to check you out first before picking up the phone to schedule an appointment.  This is the way it works today.  The Internet and social networking has changed all rules when it comes to marketing a business today.

The key to an effective blogging strategy is the correct setup of the blog to engage and inform visits which includes SEO, a separate domain name and hosting service from your website, and continually adding new content on a regular basis of interest to visitors so they know you are out there. Blogging is an art and like everything else, in order to do it correctly, training is necessary to learn how to do it yourself or have a basic understanding what is involved to oversee vendors you outsource your services for optimum results and return on investment.

As one of your New Year Resolutions, I want to urge you as a professional, to look into and actually start blogging about your professional services and the benefits and features of undergoing treatment in your practice rather than your competitors.  It could bring in more new patients, make you a published author online, and who knows what opportunities are awaiting once you get the word out on a more personal level to those interested in treatment in your area.  Social networking is the "HOT" marketing medium in today's tech savvy society.

I predict that in the not too distant future, your blog will attract more new patients than your website. Eventually many Blogs will outrank websites on the search engines. Social networking is virgin territory for most professional businesses.  Stake your claim now on Internet real-estate in your local area to gain early positioning in front of your competitors and then maintain it for the long haul.

If it’s the technology and the time required to blog on your own that scares you, let me help clear the fog around blog building for you. 

It works if you work it! Promote your practice and orthodontic expertise through the marketing power of the Internet.

Share your thoughts… do you agree or disagree blogging as a marketing tool is a good option to implement today in to promote your business

Your Internet Orthodontic Marketing Plan has many pieces to the puzzle.   Are you maximizing your email program to increase awareness and promote your practice?

Below are two videos I found that were thought provoking on YouTube related to emailing marketing I would like to share with you. Most of you already have email capabilities integrated with your practice management software through Sesame and Televox on your website. My questions to you is this… Are you maximizing your email  as an Internet marketing tool vs a communication tool to promote your practice?

I find many practices do not have their email set up correctly for practice promotion and most don't use email other than to confirm appointments and send out an occasional newsletter.  It is not because of lack of effort, but lack of Internet marketing knowledge and training to implement ideas.

In 2010, I suggest you kick it up a notch to further promote your business.  However, just like everything else, emailing marketing must be done correctly or your patients will resent the intrusion or opt out of the service.

Two videos I suggest you to watch on email marketing.

Email Marketing by the Book with Joel Book.  He discusses why email marketing works and  a few ideas that are applicable for a professional practice.  The second video discusses what happens if you cross the line, which you don't want to do!

Can The Spam

When creating an effective email marketing campaign its all about the consumer, not you. Send emails your patients would consider content of interest or acknowledging and event on a personal level.

• Appointment reminders
• Birthday or holiday cards
• Latest Contests, winners of contests, and Community Event Announcements – Don't wait for a quarterly newsletter, then its old news
• Emails with embedded video or written content of interest on dentistry, orthodontics, treatment, or specials for both patients and referring dentists.  (Testimonials do not fall into this category)

Internet marketing, like all forms of internal and external marketing used to promote your business, requires a knowledge base to strategize ideas for the best ROI and a skill level to implement.

Don't have the time or expertise to figure out what to do, let me help clear the fog when promoting your practice with Internet marketing.

Watch this video on how "Evian Water" set their video marketing promotion apart from all the other water manufacturers and attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers from around the world to watch their video on YouTube, both in the US and with a separate video Internationally.  They will definitely associate the Evian brand with the baby video the next time they see it.  Mission accomplished…

I understand you do not have the marketing budget that Evian had to create this type of video. But with some imagination, good scripting, and the right royalty free music, you are only limited by your own imagination. Using photos instead of video is an alternative. With great subject matter and a fun spin on things, you can create a great emotional experience so prospective new patients will remember you when compared to other orthodontic treatment providers in your area.

Here is a video created by an orthodontist in Phoenix, AZ. and produced on a free program on his Mac Laptop.

This video promotes his treatment expertise in a fun format that encourages active participation in the practice from patients with a contest. He thought outside the box. What can you do?

Leave a comment below on you thoughts about this type of video production.

You are always asking me what video camera to buy for your practice.  One of my video marketing coaches Mike Koenig tested and is now recommending a new Flip video camera on YouTube. Mike is considered the #1 Video Camera Guru when it comes to Internet marketing video. This camera is a must have video camera for your practice.   It is:

• small
• inexpensive
• very easy to use
• has an external microphone jack (a must in my mind for good video)
• high quality video and audio

Watch this video to find out all the details and why Mike is recommending the camera.

Now I suggest you go online and buy one today… you won't be sorry! You can purchase the camera, extra battery, and case for under $200 while supplies last. 

Here is the link to Amazon but they are out of stock on some options.  Here is the link to Kodak online.  They still have cameras in stock, but not for long… with their $30 off special while supplies last before 12/14/09.

I myself have three different types of video cameras.  HD Video, Standard Video, and the Flip camera when it came out on the market.  I was never happy with the Flip.  I just couldn't recommend it because of the poor audio quality.  Internet viewers will be more forgiving with poor video quality than poor audio. Mike Koenig taught me this.  However, technology is amazing and obviously changing at lighting speed.  Kodak found the solution.  This camera will increase my collection to four.

Go For It…  Make 2010 the year of adding video to your website, blog, YouTube, and social networking efforts.  I recommend you create good video content viewers are interested in watching.  Remember, you are documenting your own personal PR message.  "Perception and Reality" of your practice is online is key to a successful Internet Marketing campaign. Make it a good one… There is more to video marketing than point and shoot.

Leave comments and questions below regarding the new Flip camera.

I spend much of my time these days coaching orthodontic practices on how to write a SEO blog post so it gets noticed on the search engines by readers?

To start, the first thing to consider when you are writing a blog post is how you are going to please both the search engine spiders as well as your human visitors. It isn’t all about SEO and keywords no matter what you may have heard or read.  Google for example is much more interested in you making your articles readable and interesting.  Your click through rate (CTR)  is one of the criteria it looks at.  If readers are immediately clicking out of your blog or don’t return because the content is considered boring or unreadable, it will hurt your ranking.  Your goal is to create fun and interesting blog posts to please both the search engines and readers.

The second thing to consider is no matter how great the content in your blog post, if you don’t add keywords, you’ll find it harder to get free search engine traffic.  When consumers are searching online with keywords, the search engines rank your content based on the keywords, Meta tags, and written content that correspond.

Since the search engines are sophisticated software programs based on mathematical algorithms.  They cannot read the written word, so they have no idea what you are blogging about unless you tell them with SEO (search engine optimized) coding on each of your blog posts.  If there are no keywords in your article to match Meta tags or an anchor text link the search engine spiders deem relevant when they index your blog post, they will bypass your post making it impossible for readers to find you. 

Don’t get carried away with keywords in your posts that make your blog post look and sound weird or artificial.  This is called keyword stuffing. Your goal is to achieve a balance between good content and optimizing your post so the search engines will consider the content relevant and index it accordingly.

Believe it or not, effective blogging is an art! So let’s take a look at 7 ways you can create blog posts to engage both search engine spiders and human readers:

1. Include keywords in your title tag.  The title is the first area the search engine spiders are programmed to look when they come to view your web page. Every time you add a new blog post, it is considered a NEW page to the search engine spiders and they are on alert. If you have your blog setup correctly with an SEO plug-in, it will give you the option of writing a more appealing title for your human readers and then using a manual override for the search engines. How you SEO your blog setup initially is critical to the success of your posts.
2. Use keywords in your headlines that are relevant to your topic.  It will help the search engines find your article and encourage potential readers to click on the link to your post.
3. Content is King when writing a blog post.  Write on topics of interest with a human element.  Blogging is social networking.  Readers are entertaining your insight, opinions and evaluating your personal expertise in any given area.  I recommend blog posts be written on an ninth grade reading level, not on a professional post graduate level they don’t understand or are interested in taking the time to decipher.  If you write as though you are talking to a group of friends or high school students, it will flow better and sound like you are really interested in writing on the topic.
4. Use relevant links in your blog posts whenever possible and link your keywords with an actual word or keyword phrase.I also suggest you write in the first person using “I” when writing blog posts rather than the third person using “WE”, whenever possible. It elicits authenticity which is hard to deliver when writing in the third person.
5. Break your blog article into small paragraphs and/or bulleted points just like this one.  Internet readers skim content.  Readers view content on a computer screen differently than they do on a printed sheet. Bullet points and short paragraphs makes it easier for them to read your post, increasing you’re the chances they will come back and read more at a later date if they find your content interesting.  
6. Throw in video whenever possible.  Readers today relate to video.  Who wouldn’t prefer watching a video to reading a post when trying to get your point across or discuss content of interest?  YouTube and other social video sites are a wonderful source of content.  You are only limited by your own imagination when blogging.  Mix it up and give it a twist you can associate with your content.
7. Always add a thumbnail or photo to your blog post.  Photos add interest to a boring text page and break it up for the human eye to scan easier.  To maintain and aesthetic look to your blog, I suggest using the same size photo whenever possible.

You don’t know… what you don’t know… til you know it!  Hope you found these tips and links of benefit to you.  Leave a comment or question below we can share with others.  Let me know what you want me to write about and subjects of interest in Internet marketing.

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”

My present has always created my future in whatever I accomplished throughout my orthodontic career:

• When I helped create an orthodontic practice management software system with a Zerox computer Geek in 1982 that saved time and improved collections with contract billing. I tried to promote it to other orthodontic practices in the area, but they laughed.
• In 1991, when we brought in a Baby Dolphin Imaging System as a marketing tool to impress new patients, it was almost 10 yrs before someone else in the area followed suit. 
• In 1998, when I set up our first website, the competition didn't come around until six or seven years later.
• In 2005, I coordinated the installation of a fully intergrated paperless orthodontic practice management software program which included digital marketing and radiography.  Patients are very impressed.
• In 2009, now out on my own as an Internet marketing consultant,  the majority of orthodontic competitors in the area are pushed off organic #1 page ranking on Google with a proactive PR Orthodontic Internet Marketing campaign by Get It Straight.

The practice has been #1 in the area for over 25 years and will continue to do so by living in the present… whether I am there as a member of the team or not.

Ride the wave of present time and take advantage of the Internet to become your own PR director for your practice.  The past few years have been rough, but the economy is starting to turn around.  Be thankful. You have weathered the storm!  Now, live in the present and make sure you are maximizing your Internet marketing presence to build your future with new growth.

I found this video below on current music trends on YouTube.  As with everything new and innovative, it will take some time for this to catch on, but the time will come when musicians will produce classical, jazz, pop, rock, hip hop… whatever… with a combo electrical string, keyboard, and wind instrument.  This group I predict will explode into the music culture because they were the first.  They may not ultimately be the best with the learning curve and you may not like it, but they are the first to try and already are creating a big stir.

My second favorite quote…

"It's not the BIG that eat the small, it's the fast that eat the SLOW!"  Jason Jennings

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have much to be thankful for this year, especially you my readers and my clients who understand the benefit of taking full advantage of the Internet. 

Koodos to you…Much success!

This fall, Align introduced  new features in all Invisalign products. New aligner features, along with improvements in Invisalign software and clinical protocols, are designed to overcome barriers to treatment.  The new features are addressing both clinical issues that general dentists have traditionally perceived as challenging in Invisalign treatment, such as extrusions, rotations and certain types of root movements.

Prior to the release of the next generation of Invisalign products, treatment techniques that were once only available to orthodontists with advanced training are now standard on all prescriptions resulting in additional treatment options for general dentists.

I was the first Invisalign case treated at Get It Straight Orthodontics back in 2001. At the time, our practice was told Invisalign would never be offered to general dentists as a treatment option for their patients.  It would be exclusively offered to trained orthodontic professionals.  Over the years, little by little, promises have gone by the wayside and protocols have changed.

Are the new features offered in the Invisalign products just one more way to reduce your piece of the orthodontic pie in your local area?  How do your plan to kick up your marketing program to compensate for the potential loss of more new patients?  Food for thought… 

Obviously, there is going to be much debate on this topic.  How do you feel about the latest Invisalign updates in product delivery to general dentists?  Please share your thoughts and comments below for others to read.

Who would have thought 40 years ago… when the inventors of the Internet connected scientists around the world to share information that in 2009, 25% of the population of the world have the ability to communicate instantly 24/7 from work, home, or driving in their car by computer or iphone.

North America is the most digitally advanced continent in the world.  If you are not on board with an engaging and search engine optimized Internet marketing program, you are missing out on a wealth of opportunity to target prequalified visitors looking for your treatment services.

 This is a world changing and living at warp speed…  It is the norm in civilized areas of the 21^st Century.   Are you and your business keeping up?

 Below is a table of the just released 2009Q3 Internet Statistics

The following table lists the estimated population for each geographic region, the number of Internet users, and the penetration rate  in each region. The expression "penetration rate" (P.R.) refers to the percentage of the population that uses the Internet.

The total number of Internet users for September 30, 2009 is estimated at 1,724,793,741. This represents a 25.5% penetration rate.

Information Gathering and Social Networking Changed the Way the World Used the Internet

Up until 1994, the Web had been viewed as a mainly technical and academic area, but public interest began to grow, and the term “the Internet” was finally coined in 1996. Over the course of the decade, the Internet integrated many of the previously existing public networks, and it was estimated that it was growing by 100% every year in size. Supposedly, the growth has been attributed to the fact that there has been no central administration on the Internet and that protocols are non-proprietary in nature.

It will interesting to see how the Internet impacts our lives in another 40 years. Regulation on blogging has started and who knows what regulations will be in place down the road. All I know is I won't be here to see it… but I am sure it will be mind boggling and an integrated way of life for for most people on the planet at that point in time.

Leave a comment below to share with me and others what you think about the Internet now as a marketing tool and where we will be in the future.

But, depending on which study’s stats you believe, only 17%-32% of RSS users actually know they’re using RSS!  That means that roughly 50 million regular RSS users would say, “Huh?” if asked “what does RSS mean?”

After reading these stats, I decided it was time to at least educate my readers and… I suggest you educate the readers on your blog also to get them to sign up. It will help improve the SEO on your site.

Check out this video which will give you the “skinny” on RSS anyone can understand …

What does the acronym RSS stand for?

RSS (sometimes called RSS Feeds, XML, Atom Feeds or Channels) stands for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary”. The easiest way to grab the concept on how RSS works is to consider what happens when you subscribe to either a magazine or newspaper.  If you subscribe to a magazine or newspaper either online or via your local newsagents, you don’t need to physically go and collect your copy each week - they will deliver it to your door.

In the same way when you subscribe to a blog or a website, you’ll receive automatic updates so you don’t have to remember to visit the site or spend time going back to the site to check whether they have published any new content.  This means you can easily stay informed about what is going on online by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are most interested in.

How do you sign up to a website or blog via RSS?

You may recognize the icon below from sites you’ve visited and probably wondered what on earth it was.  This icon indicate that the site owner is offering you the option of receiving their syndicated content in a format that can be read using what is called an RSS reader also known as an aggregator, that displays RSS or syndicated feed content from web sites you are subscribed to.

This is the RSS icon that most people recognize:

If you want to be able to read syndicated content from websites or blogs, you’ll need a RSS reader or aggregator which will allow you to read the syndicated content from the sites that you have subscribed to.

Here are a few Feed Reader icons that you may recognise:

I personally use the Google reader since it’s free and easy to use.  There are also paid services, but I would suggest to start out you check out the Google reader first.  It works great!

Whichever RSS Feed Reader you use, it will automatically notify you when new posts are published on sites you subscribed to.  To read the content of the RSS feed, all you have to do is click the link – which is usually limited to the headline and a brief description of the newly published blog post. It will take you to a new page on the site where you can read the full story. 

Sometimes the website publisher will only publish part of the feed content to force you to visit their site, but I’ve personally noticed that my subscriptions increase when I opt for publishing the full feed.

Understanding what RSS is all about will help you understand why RSS is so important to you if you are an online blogger looking to increase readers and optimize your site.