The role of voice searches in dental marketing
It is something that almost everyone has seen someone doing and was once more of a gimmick. Taking out a smartphone and saying ‘hey Siri’ and then asking for information about something to then be given the top search results from a search engine.
Nowadays, this has become so common that it is affecting the way people search online for, well, everything! So, websites that are looking to compete online with their marketing will now need to be adapted to this popular search option.
At Dental Focus Marketing, we have noticed this trend and are incorporating it into our dental marketing plans. So, when you contact us and need to have your website made over or your marketing plan updated, we will look to incorporate this to help your website continue attracting patients. Great!
But how exactly has voice searching changed the dental marketing landscape? Read on to find out!
Page 1 isn’t enough
As part of our dental marketing strategies, our team at Dental Focus Marketing has spent nearly 20 years looking at ways to optimise web pages to get onto the first page of search engine results.
However, with the increase in voice searches and a lack of looking at search engine results, people who use these options will rarely even see two different options. So, content and websites that we oversee need to be equipped to answer queries directly and quickly, as scrolling and page 1 of search engine results are becoming less significant.
Adaptation of content
Most people who use voice searches are asking questions.
So, let us suppose that someone with a rather bad toothache takes out their phone and says, ‘hey Siri, where is the nearest emergency dentist?’
This is already different from the traditional typed search via a smartphone or keyboard for ‘dentist near me that offers emergency appointments.’
Indeed, it has been noted that when someone is talking, rather than typing, they tend to use different language and speak in longer sentences.
The content on the websites that we oversee has to incorporate more natural language patterns and appear more chatty.
Consider the answers to the two previous searches; ‘hey, Siri, where is the nearest emergency dentist?’ ‘The nearest emergency dentist is 10 yards from your location.’ Now, think of the outcome for ‘dentist near me that offers emergency appointments.’ and ‘the nearest dentist that offers emergency appointments is…’ Which of the two responses sounds more natural?
So, long story short, we will make over your website to have content that sounds more like the former and not the latter!
Local searching
The internet and searches due to voice searches are becoming something of a screenless interaction. As stated, people are not using websites to scroll and are looking for everything with minimal interaction with their phones.
It has been noted via research that users are more likely to look for a service using voice search when they are out and about, making local searches more of a priority.
Our team will aim to ensure that any marketing plan we have with your surgery emphasises local searches to help you to attract people looking for your services in the nearby areas.