Is your website pushing all the right buttons?

Your practice can have its online presence officially rewarded by entering the Dentistry.co.uk Website Awards.

Creating a quality and stylish practice website has never been more important – especially in the current economic climate and in today’s dental industry.

Recent research reveals that having a website can empowers small businesses to be responsive to the pressure and budgetary constraints many consumers are currently feeling. And that goes for patients, too. Shopping around is a must-do for all consumer-savvy clients-to-be and your practice needs to look good on the web.

A website can go a long way towards marketing a surgery and, if used effectively, can prove to be a highly successful tool in boosting your practice profile and attracting new patients.

Experts believe that in this economy, the only thing worse than not having a website is having a bad one. Whether building your first site or revamping an old one, your presence on the internet is an easy, affordable, long-term way to improve marketing and increase business.

Krishan Joshi, project manager of Dental Focus Web Design who are sponsoring the event, said: ‘Dental Focus Web Design are thrilled to be sponsoring this year’s Website Awards again. These awards are very important in helping the dental profession set and raise standards. It’s also a great way to recognise the hard work and effort that goes into creating a successful Internet Marketing strategy. 

‘If you haven’t got a website already, now is the time to get one. If you haven’t got a 1st page ranking on Google, now is the time to start Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). The web has never been more important!’

Traditionally, dental offices use many different methods of keeping in touch with patients, and a surgery website is now considered an essential addition to this, providing as it does a simple and effective way of reaching busy, potential patients.

Essentially, patients need to be impressed enough by a practice website that they are spurred to make an appointment or recommend it. And the marketing doesn’t stop there. The website can be highlighted on all practice stationery, signage and reminders, and used to show past cases or testimonials even before starting treatment.

In order to stand out, you need to stand for something, and what many dental websites are now doing is targeting a specific patient profile. Every practice has unique patient demographics depending on location, modernity and selection of treatments, and tailoring the website to those requirements is crucial.

Dentistry.co.uk has seen how practices throughout the UK have made vast improvements in their online services/marketing, particularly over the last year. With this in mind, we feel it’s time those efforts were rewarded.

The Dentistry.co.uk Website Awards 2008 are a significant step forward in establishing the importance of an effective practice website.

Practices can enter the awards by visiting www.dentistry.co.uk/webawards. The deadline for entries is 17 October and on 20 November all award-winners will be announced apart from the Best Practice award – which will be announced at the Dentistry Awards ceremony on 12 December.

There are three awards – Best Website, Most Improved Site and Best New Website – available in each of the four categories: NHS, Private, Mixed, and Specialist.

Criteria
When selecting the finalists and winners, the judging panel will be looking for qualities such as the following:
• Look and feel of the site
• Quality of informative content
• User-friendly features
• Whether it makes a good impression
• How it appeals to the right audience
• Real patient cases – relevant pictures and testimonials
• Surgery presentation
• Search engine optimisation
• Technical/video/animation expertise.

Don’t miss your chance to win an award in this growing area of the dental profession.

The Dentistry.co.uk Website Awards 2008, sponsored by Dental Focus Web Design, give your practice its chance to shine. Visit www.dentistry.co.uk/webawards to enter.

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