Misconceptions About Online Marketing (Pt. 1): Google Rankings
Stephanie Beck
Online marketing offers you so many opportunities, but let's face it: If you don't have an online presence that at the minimum includes a practice website and social media, you're probably not where you want to be unless your target audience is living in the Dark Ages. Let's talk about what you probably don't know when it comes to online marketing and clear up common misconceptions about using keywords, Google rankings, etc., to help market your practice online.
Misconception #1 – I Don't Have to Market My Practice Online
The last thing many chiropractors want to think about is marketing, but it's vital to the health of your practice. Perhaps it will help to think about it this way: As a practitioner, your No. 1 job is to help patients, right? True, but you're a business owner, too, and in that capacity, your No. 1 job is to market your business. Your passion was to become a doctor of chiropractic so you could work with people daily – but until you find those people and keep finding them (and they are out there), your practice and your career won't reach their full potential. That's where online marketing comes in.
Misconception #2 – All Google Ranking Services Cost the Same
In every type of sales situation, there are three options: good, fast or cheap. Obviously your goal is to stay in business for more than 5 minutes, so you can't ever compromise on quality. Whenever you want something done fast, there is always an additional cost. A great example is shipping fees. The cheapest way to ship something is by ground, but it takes the longest. You can upgrade to three-day, two-day or next-day service, but those options always cost more. Even if you are a "prime" customer and are offered next-day air at no charge, it costs extra to be that prime customer or you have to spend a higher amount to qualify for "free" shipping.
The faster you want something done, the more it will cost, pure and simple. This applies to Google rankings as well. Want to be on page 1 of Google for a particular competitive term within 48 hours? Google experts can make that happen; however, the more competitive the term, the more it will cost, because one of the quickest ways to make it happen is paid advertising, creating a ton of content and publishing it to article sites, blog sites, blog review sites, videos and more.
All of those items have a cost because, believe or not, all those people already had other jobs they were paid to do. Expecting to get these services for free or at the same price isn't reasonable.
Can you get to page 1 of Google? Most of the time, yes. How long does it normally take? That's a little more complicated. How much content do you want to pay for and how much do you want to invest in online ads? How competitive is the keyword you are trying to get ranked? One thing is for sure – if someone is saying they will get you to the No. 1 spot on Google for any keyword for $200 or less, you're being set up!
What I mean is, more likely than not, you will pick the wrong keyword; not the one that will get you the best result. Never do that deal unless you're sure you have a true converting keyword your customers are typing into Google when they're interested in scheduling a visit with a chiropractor.
Misconception #3 – All Google Ranking Services Are the Same
Remember, there are good, fast and cheap options with every type of service. The struggle most practitioners encounter when pondering buying decisions is knowing what is really good when it comes to online marketing services – in this case, Google rankings. Most of the time, feelings get crossed when there is a breakdown in communication. It isn't that the online marketer has malicious intent, doesn't know what they are doing, etc. Just like in any profession, there can be charlatans and snake-oil salespeople.
However, sometimes the online marketers get labeled as such unfairly because they are simply delivering a service the best way they know how to deliver it. Or in some cases, it is the interpretation or lack of knowledge on the customer's end that causes the problem.
There are experts that are really good at one portion of online marketing, like getting websites ranked to the top of page 1 of Google. So, a customer thinks that if they pay good money to get quickly to the top of page 1 of Google, their business will explode and they will have more new patients than they ever thought possible.
The fact of the matter is, unless you have a strategic plan to go along with it, that tactical move of paying extra money to get to the top of Google may give you some results, but most likely there will be money left on the table. That Google ranking expert did exactly what they promised; however, was it the best keyword to rank for? Does that keyword match your paying customer's mindset? Are your potential patients typing those exact words into the search box when they are looking to make an appointment? If not, then even though you are ranking at the No. 1 position for that keyword, you may not be increasing your patient base.
That isn't to say that the person providing the service isn't the best at getting websites ranked. They are providing a tactical service. You requested to be ranked for a particular word and that is what they delivered. Now, if this Google expert also asked some questions about your practice, such as "Who is your target audience?" "What are their major health issues?" and "How does your service help resolve those issues?" and offered keyword research prior to ranking, you would likely get much better results for the money.
Make sense? You may have thought Google ranking includes keyword research and ranking for the best terms, but unless specifically stated, that isn't always the case. The bottom line: Do you homework. Make sure the person you recruit to help maximize your Google search rankings isn't just the best person at getting your website ranked quickly; make sure they're the best at helping you determine the most effective keywords that put your website front and center when new patients are searching for a chiropractor online.
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