CATEGORY 106 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST COLUMNISTS By Berris Saultry, Director, Dental Innovations Brushing Up: Why updating your website matters Berris Saultry Website content, like teeth, isn’t always permanent. We’ll see breakthroughs in dental research. New products are being released. Knowledge bases have changed. And when information is outdated, it gets updated. Beyond educational and scientific content, many other things can change over time for a website, from relevant keywords to competitor performance. Failing to keep your website up to date could lead to your website falling behind. Which leads to the question: How often should you update your dental practice’s website? There’s no hard and fast rule for this – even in other industries, when a business updates its website it will depend on what is being updated. In general, a “website update” is any change you make to your website. These changes will fall under three types: u Service information updates u Content tweaks u Content or page refreshes A dental practice’s website and its content are never just “set and forget.” Different types of updates will necessitate their own urgency or frequency. #1 – Service information updates This type of content update includes any changes to your dental practice information and services, such as pricing or clinic hours. You must update these immediately, so any new or existing patients have accurate information. Failing to do so could lead to a patient calling the wrong number, showing up at the wrong time, or even booking a dental appointment for a treatment you no longer provide. You can also – and this is highly recommended – share these updates clearly on your social media pages and email lists. On social media, post more than once to maximise online visibility. #2 – Content tweaks You can get away with tweaking your content only as needed or when an opportunity arises. A “tweak” is any minor change to your practice’s website, such as an updated image or new internal link. Say you’ve recently written and uploaded a blog post about the types of dental crowns. If you have older blog posts on related topics (e.g. the process of getting a dental crown), then you can edit those blog posts to add some anchor text and an internal link to the new one. Other examples of content tweaks would be uploading new professional photos of your practitioners or changing a few words on a service page for tidier writing. They’re not strictly necessary for your website’s performance, but they improve the overall experience and keep things up to date. #3 – Content or page refreshes A full content refresh is a major change, such as rewritten content or revised landing pages. These can be trickier, since content refreshes largely depend on the type of content and the page’s performance. Educational blog posts can contain information that becomes inaccurate or outdated. Keywords can fall off as patient behaviour and searches change over time. Service pages may need to be overhauled to reflect new branding or website copy. Key factors that influence a content refresh include: u Outdated information such as statistics, dental techniques, and care guidelines u Page rankings, such as a page starting to drop in search engine rankings or results u Relevant keywords, which often change to reflect what patients are searching for Several content tools like Google Search Console, SEO Gets, and Semrush can help you analyst if your website is getting less traffic than usual or if it isn’t meeting the right keywords. They also show which pages and keywords are improving or declining. Website audits in particular can help evaluate your website’s performance and key metrics. It’s also good to review your content every 3-6 months to check for any outdated or inaccurate information. Use the data from these content tools to guide your content strategy and update a page accordingly. A well-timed and intentional content update can have significant, positive impact on your website. It could improve a page’s search rankings or even get Google to pull a featured snippet from your content. Don’t leave your website rooted in place Making necessary updates and changes to your website shows search engines that it is active and well-maintained, which can boost your credibility and authority. Updating keywords and information can also signal that your content is accurate, consistent, and trustworthy. That leaves a positive impression on search engines and potential patients. Moreover, these website updates can boost your website’s performance, allowing you to reach a wider audience with potential new patients. Brushing up your website as needed ensures it stays “healthy,” performs well, and doesn’t get rooted in place – but instead keeps up with the changes around it. u If you’d like a professional evaluation and an affordable quote for your website, we recommend reaching out to Zen Dental Marketing, our Dental Innovations partner, who offers exclusive pricing for DI members. Jason Schulz the director of Zen Dental Marketing can be contacted by phone 1300 363 597 or via their website zendentalmarketing.com.au Jason is also offering a free consultation and review of your website, to book a time simply call or go https://tidycal.com/19l05x1/30-minuteappointment If you would like to learn more about how Dental Innovations can assist you save in your practice please email berris@dentalinnovations.com.au or visit www.dentalinnovations.com.au
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