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“Brace” Yourself for Google’s New Bot by Scott Helter

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nBehind the scenes Google has launched (in December) what is known as Google-Bot Mobile and it is now actively scanning your orthodontic practice’s Web site searching aggressively for quality mobile content. A “bot” is commonly known as a software application or program that runs automated tasks through the Internet. These bots perform repetitive tasks that can be complicated or simple, but do so at a much higher rate than possible for a human. This Google robot search engine program is now scanning your practice’s Web site every two weeks. If good quality mobile content is located, then it reports back to Google’s indexing engine that is partitioned separately just for mobile users that are browsing, and Google is delivering its results independently and uniquely from normal Web site results. This means that since mobile searching is dominating regular PC searches, Google wants to give you something specifically formatted for your device. Mobile SEO is now your friend and if you jump on board now you can get ahead of the competition.

The problem is that the majority of all orthodontic Web sites don’t have this solution. Google’s mobile ranking results are now different from the standard desktop Web results. Google’s goal and intent is to provide to those searching, in this case, potential patients, the most appropriate content. With there being five mobiles for every one computer (and growing), the majority of searches are now coming from mobile users. You might be one of those orthodontists who currently invests a lot of money with your Web hosting company’s SEO for your Web sites. While this is still important, you need to keep in mind that the more you spend, the more your competing practice’s will likely spend. You are raising the bar only to get sporadic results. You will now be able to brace your practice’s security with mobile results and this will give you ammunition to aggressively market in your local servicing areas. No longer should you need to even consider outdated methods of marketing such Yellow Pages print/Web services or the expensive AdWords. Most of these should be your very last ditch effort to try to regain your practice’s patient base.

The time is now to get mobile with Google, especially since it is safe to assume that the majority of your fellow orthodontists have yet to come to realize the importance and value of mobile in marketing for their Web sites. You might recall the day when practices didn’t even have Web sites, with the exception of a few smart forwardthinking ones. At that time it was hard to try to figure out how the competitor down the street was building patients at an unfathomable rate. Now emerges the mobile, which is scheduled to dominate indefinitely and even trump standard desktop formatted Web sites – in fact it already has. It’s more than five times that and growing at an exponential rate.

Early adoption of this is very important since Google is all about history. The longer you have shown Google that you have the latest mobile quality content, it’ll give you extra weight above newer competitors who will eventually come on board to realize the power of mobile six to 12 months from now. Follow this advice and you are going to have an amazing advantage and cause late adopters to have what is called a ranking curve to catch up.

Parents of young and teen children are continually using their mobiles, so they’ll be sure to find you and appreciate the fact that you acknowledge this and are meeting their needs. It also allows everyone instant and easy access to connect with your practice. It’s like royal treatment on their phones.

Put your practice in the palm of their hands and make things as easy as a swipe and tap of the finger to reach you. Your practice will be sure to blossom and bloom into the mobile era.

Web sites are slowly becoming obsolete. Each day your orthodontic Web site usage is diminishing and is being accessed much less due to the high volume of usage for mobile phones. Orthodontists should all look to see how their Web site appears on a mobile phone, since your Web site, unless it has a mobile site, is not optimized for a mobile phone. You will likely be very surprised and could be severely disappointed with the aesthetics, slow load times and puzzling navigation.

Quality mobile content refers to solutions that go beyond old technologies of the past, such as basic mobile plug-ins and standard mobile Web sites. These are essentially just compacted versions of a Web site with stripped down images and text that are stuffed into a smaller area of real estate in an attempt to fit a mobile device’s screen. These solutions are not good solutions since they are only pulling or copying content from your Web site to a smaller amount of real estate, which is a three-to-four-inch mobile phone screen. You’ll find some companies starting to offer this service and although it might seem affordable (it runs about $500 on average), it is already outdated in most cases. Keep in mind that a small paragraph or even a few sentences from your Web site looks like the complete series of Harry Potter on a mobile.

Mobile Web sites are like dinosaurs that are now long extinct and there’s a new breed of solutions available in the tool belt of the orthodontist called a mobile app. The investment is a bit more, but again the keyword here is investment. Mobile Web-based apps can generally range from about $2,000-$3,000 depending on the features you request. Mobile apps have features such as scheduling, ability to add custom icons to the home screen of your phone, smile galleries, testimonials, support with phone orientation (portrait and landscape) and more!

A mobile app runs in the “clouds” or from the Web and it is independently built from your Web site, but conveniently integrates without requiring you to modify the Web site itself. It is not something that Web site designers are generally capable of creating, as it requires a separate set of skills. Better yet, it ties in directly to your existing marketing that is already funneling everyone to your Web address. This time though with the mobile app solution, if the patient is on their mobile and they visit your Web site, the mobile app will automatically appear instantly without prompt or download, and with remarkable speed and superior performance. Beware that if you are offered something from your Web site designer or hosting company, it is most likely a mobile Web site and not a mobile app. Mobile app development requires an expert in app technology and the investment is a bit more. However, one converted patient will pay for it.

A mobile app works on any mobile phone such as Droid, iPhone, LG, Nokia, HTC, Motorola and even the iPad, just to name a few! Even better, it’s not cloned or mirrored content, but it’s a custom-created solution that is specifically designed to solve the mobile content problem (and ecstatically communicates to Google’s new bot that your practice has stepped inbounds and is ready to be at the top ranking of Google’s independent mobile results. It’s worth your practice’s weight in gold to investigate this if you plan on competing and surviving for a long healthy journey for your practice.
Author's Bio
Scott Helter has worked as an SEO specialist and Web developer since 1998. He now focuses his energy on the latest technologies for mobile marketing and patient building for the dental and orthodontic industry. He enjoys connecting with doctors and keeping them up-to-date on the most current information and techniques to keep their practices on the cutting edge. He can be contacted at 513-445-2008 or info@promeddevs.com.
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