INTERNET MARKETING BASICS

Internet marketing has gotten to the point where it is simply not manageable to do it yourself. Just understanding all the criteria for getting your practice listed is a full-time job. Then to do the work following search engine criteria is another full-time job! Even then, overnight, the criteria can change. This is why to have a successful internet marketing program, it is imperative to have a dedicated service handle this for your practice. Internet marketing is like a race and the sooner you get started the further you will get ahead of your competition. Only 3% of all websites are using any SEO service and this is why now is the time to start.

SEARCH ENGINES

As they say in the business world it is all about "location, location, location" and Google is the location with roughly 80% of all search engine traffic. Plain and simple, being on Googles' local search page will bring you the most traffic. The more times your website is viewed on the first page of Googles' local results, the more traffic will find your services.

Potentially your practice can be accessed 4 ways on Googles' local results page.

The FIRST is through a Pay Per Click area found at the top and at the side of the page. This is a very good tactic to use for quick results and extremely relevant searches.

The SECOND location is in the Google Places section - which is an extension of Google's mapping functions.The benefit being listed here is that it often receives most traffic for local searches.

THE THIRD is something referred to as ORGANIC RANKINGS. These are the most searched and referenced rankings that are presented by search engines based purely on internet prominence, strength of online presence, and credibility - these rankings are not sponsored - often referred to as "natural" rankings.

The FOURTH area is via directories that are devoted to your profession. Professional directories tend to get highly ranked in the organic section and are inexpensive to be on. They also allow you to link your website which helps in your Google Places positioning. As far as being listed on other search engines,Yahoo and Bing recently merged and together they claim about 15% of all search traffic. The criteria for coming up on these engines is similar to Googles' but not exact.

SEARCH ENGINE ALGORITHMS

All search engines use a complex formula for ranking your site which is also known as algorithms. These algorithms are held in secrecy by the search engines and it is only with constant detective work does a search engineer figure these out. Certain factors play a huge part in site ranking such as the number of sites that link back to your site (back-links). Other factors such as keywords in your site, browser titles, meta tags, and reviews play a more minor role. Then to make matters more complex, these algorithms can change overnight. This is another reason why it is impossible to be a doctor and keep up on search engine optimization.

SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Facebook is now getting as much viewer time as Google. Having a business landing page for your practice has become a standard as was having a website ten years ago. To have an active presence that is going to drive patients to your practice, you have to constantly be adding to your page. There are many tricks to getting Facebook exposure and again this is something that many practices choose to source out.