Geo-Targeted Ads For Dentists

For a local business like a dental office, a marketing campaign doesn’t need to reach out to a massive audience. The dental services you’re offering will be limited to a relatively small number of people living near your practice. That’s where geo-targeting comes in.

Digital geo-targeting is a form of paid search marketing to steer traffic to a website, with advertisers bidding on keyword phrases that target their audience. It’s also known as local pay-per-click (PPC) because you pay the publisher whenever a local patient clicks on your ad.

Geo-targeted ads are usually associated with major search engines like Google (Google AdWords), Yahoo and Bing, although social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter also provide geo-targeting advertising, as do YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest.

Geo-targeting enables more sophistication and personalization than was ever possible in traditional media, and with the proliferation of mobile devices, it has never been more powerful.

While geography is a key element in creating a targeted, customized marketing campaign, the information you provide to prospective patients is also important. Providing pertinent information to these individuals gives you the best chance of them coming into your practice, which will increase your return on investment from your promotional campaign.

Any marketer will tell you that location is a vital element in targeting an ad campaign. In conventional media like local print newspapers, local geo-targeting is implicit. In the digital world, however, you can’t assume that your message will reach the right people – your prospective patients.

How Geo-Targeting Can Boost Your Marketing Campaign

Effective geo-targeting has been shown to double the performance of marketing campaigns, including paid search ads.

Geo-targeting can be used by dental offices to deliver information via web or mobile to potential patients in their local area, utilizing location details about those individuals. Consumer intent is evident most of the time in search queries, and location is a commonly included term as people narrow their searches by including the name of a town or city (i.e. Dentist in Seattle).

Geo-targeted ads based on search history information enable you to deliver location-specific content to potential patients, even if their tracked location doesn’t match the physical location of where they were searching.

For instance, if someone in Massachusetts is frequently searching for information about homes for sale or rent in California, it’s a fair bet they’re looking to relocate – and will need the services of a local dentist in California.

Location history of a prospective patient provides a lot of information specific to that person, which professional marketers can use to gain insight into how best to target these individuals and give them relevant, responsive, location-specific information, even if they’re currently in another area.

Geo-location can also be used to predict demographics about prospective patients in your area. Knowing your practice’s target audience and matching it with where they live or work helps you find those most interested in your particular dental services.

For instance, if your practice specializes in pediatric dentistry, you might want to fine-tune your geo-target marketing to hone in on young families. On the other hand, if your dental office focuses on periodontal treatment, you’ll benefit by targeting an older audience.

Why Landing Pages Are Important in a Geo-Targeted Ad Campaign

Landing pages on your dental website play a crucial role in a geo-targeted ad campaign. If a potential patient arrives on your site and doesn’t immediately find what they’re expecting, they’re highly likely to look elsewhere (or bounce off your site).

Conversion rates a generally lower for ads with generic site landing pages. Depending on the range of dental services you offer, you may need to have different landing pages to match each geo-targeted ad to correspond with the reason that individual was targeted.

Ideally, you also need to have different landing pages if your practice has more than one location in a particular region. This allows you to navigate potential patients to the closest location, with easy-to-read contact information and interactive maps.

Geo-Targeting and the Ascendancy of Mobile Devices

The use of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones is overtaking laptop and desktop computers.

A 2015 study by the Local Search Association (LSA) revealed that 60 percent of American adults turn to their tablets or smartphones when searching for information on local services and products.

In the U.S., mobile phones represented 41 percent and tablets 8 percent of website visits as of September 2017.

The CTR (click-through rate) for geo-targeted display mobile ads is higher than the industry benchmark, and healthcare paid search ads are the top performers.

The Local Search Association says most consumers are willing to share their location details if they believe they’ll get something in return.

This consumer base will be particularly receptive to search results and ads specific to their location, and geo-targeting will be increasingly critical as the use of mobile devices grows and location data becomes more accurate.

The ascendancy of mobile devices makes geography one of the most effective means of targeting potential patients. With today’s digital technology and the location data available through mobile devices and social media, geo-marketing is more potent than ever and increasing in capability and reach.

Targeting the Right Dental Patients

For dental practices that depend on proximity of their potential patients, geo-targeting provides a highly-effective platform to get your message across to the right people.

Geo-targeting enables you to make the most of your advertising budget: you won’t be squandering money on clicks from people outside your target area, and you’ll increase the chances that the individuals clicking on your ads are actively looking for the sort of dental services you provide.

Studies have indicated that proximity – more than cost or quality – is the main consideration when people are searching online for local services or products, and geo-target marketing continues to get more sophisticated, offering greater capabilities.

It’s Complicated!

Location-based technology is opening up a whole new world of possibilities for local businesses like dental offices.

But it can be complicated, as new capabilities constantly emerge in using location data for mapping and analyzing customer segments to inform decision-making and target potential leads.

We can help with that! As a Dental Marketing Company, we are experts in the field of digital marketing and focus exclusively on dentists. Let us show you an amazing return on your Geo-Targeted Ad Campaign, so that you can focus on what you do best… Dentistry!

Give us a call today!