Okay, I’m not an optometrist, and I don’t own an eye care practice. I have, however, been in the contact lens industry in sales and marketing for over 10 years, and I know a thing or two about the internet. I’d like to help you spread the word about the quality of care in your practice in a cost effective manner.
Sure, you have a website, but does your website show up where your customers (and potential customers) are searching for information? Google AdWords can help you attract new patients and serve as a friendly reminder for current patients.
How familiar are you with Google AdWords?
Simply put, it’s a paid online advertising option from Google for businesses of all sizes. It’s all about giving patients exactly what they are searching for in Google, such as eye exams, contact lenses, glasses, eye doctors and more. Google AdWords is a perfect option for small businesses like yours because the size of your advertising budget does not matter to Google. You can start small, gain confidence and expand. It’s up to you.
It’s Easy to Get Started!
Option 1:
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You simply sign up for a free Google AdWords account. It’s that simple.
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Watch this short video (1 minute, 40 seconds) to see the importance of the right key words: “AdWords: 3 Steps to Keyword Success”
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Watch this short video (3 minutes, 25 seconds): “Getting Started with Google Adwords”
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Craft your ads and set up your campaigns in your Google AdWords account.
Option 2:
Too busy? Not enough time? No staff available? Find a Google AdWords Professional: use Google Professionals Search.
Exercise: Determine Your Keywords
The first step is to identify the search terms your patients are using to find your products and services. Usually this involves terms (also referred to as keywords or search terms) such as “eye doctor” or “eye exam” combined with place names and zip codes such as “San Diego” or “92109.” This example would lead you to be found by people searching phrases such as “eye doctor San Diego.”
Some variations of your core terms are as follows:
· eye exam
· eye exams
· contact lenses
· contacts
· eyeglasses
· glasses
· optometrist
· optometrists
· eye doctor
· eyedoctors
When choosing location information for AdWords optimization, consider several factors beyond city name and zip code:
If you’re in a particular neighborhood that people might use in search, such as “Pacific Beach” in San Diego, that term should be used as well. If your city’s name is associated with more than one state, you may want to include the state and city in your optimization phrases. For example, instead of “eye exam Albany,” you might want to use “eye exam Albany NY,” “eye exam Albany GA” or “eye exam Albany CA.”
If you need to include the state, don’t forget to account for variations. For example, either “CT” or “Conn” might be commonly used in Connecticut. If your practice is near an adjacent zip code and it’s realistic to draw patients from that area, you might include it.
It’s important to remember that these are guidelines, not unalterable rules, for determining search phrases to optimize. You know your community best, and may have other ideas about which phrases a prospective patient might use with Google.
To help prioritize your keywords take a look at the Google Keyword Tool. With this tool, you can enter your keywords and see Google’s search volume by keyword. This gives you insight into exactly what terms patients use while searching on Google.
Ad Examples:
San Diego Eye Exam? Clearlake Contact Lenses?
Awesome Eye Exams in SD. All Brands Available Now
New patients. Call today! Save up to $50. Buy today!
www.SanDiegoEyeExam.com www.ClearlakeContactLenses.com
(Note: Google prefers when your headline and URL contain relevant keywords. It helps with what Google calls the quality score. Remember to send patients to a web page that is highly relevant to the headline of your ad. In this example – the corresponding website for the San Diego Eye Exams ad is the fictional practice’s homepage.)
Are you advertising your eye exams? Direct patients to a page on your website about your eye exams – not a page about presbyopia. Since Google AdWords operates on an auction basis, the better you are at providing relevant content, the more rewarding you’ll find Google AdWords in terms of costs and traffic to your pages.
Remember, there are two key factors to success with Google Adwords: aligning your ad with the terms your patients are searching for in Google AND ensuring the click-through web page is highly relevant to the terms in the ad. If you follow these guidelines, you will be rewarded with visitors to your website and lower advertising cost.