Social media is one of those areas of the digital world where people have strong feelings. Whether you think Facebook is the end of the world or is the be all end all, your patients are using it, and so should your practice.  This needs to be outside your personal thoughts about social media and today’s world. That’s why at Advice Media we’ve long advocated for our client practices to be active on the social media platforms your patients and potential patients are using.  Not to confuse these social media pages with any personal pages — these are pages for your practice; they have no ..read more

When the number of searches conducted on mobile devices surpassed those done on desktop in 2015, there was talk of people ditching their desktop computers and everyone working from their phones and maybe a tablet here and there. Laptops would be important, as offices would transform into floating spaces without permanence. The whole idea of the desktop seemed so old school, stuck in the office or the home office, while mobile website interactions were out and about.    That was 2015. Six years later, what are the numbers? Has desktop website usage become minimized, and should ev ..read more

Medical and dental practices are small businesses. As such, you’re always searching for ways to save money, as that directly impacts your profitability.  But there are areas to save money and there are areas where saving a few dollars could be costing you plenty. Web hosting is one of those.  We offer web hosting at Advice Media. Here’s why we think your practice website should be on one of our 90+ servers in North America and around the world.  Don’t get stuck in the loading zone  Low-price, even free, website hosting is usually a come-on to get your site on the server and ..read more

OK. You purchased a new wedge for your golf game online. Now you receive an email from the company every single day. You question the logic of such frequency — how can anyone need that much new golf equipment? It feels like a nuisance, although you don’t go on to unsubscribe from the company’s email.  When it comes to using email to market your medical or dental practice, you’re reluctant. You don’t want to be a pest to your patients.  The truth is, email marketing works incredibly well, and it is anything but hated. Its return on investment is unmatched, and when the patient receive ..read more

Content and websites have had an evolving relationship. In the early days of the web, the standard thinking from ad agencies building out this new media was that bullet lists and limited copy were the only way to fly. The thinking was people online weren’t interested in ready copy; they were only interested in visuals and bullet points.  This made it hard for the search algorithms from Google (launched in 1998) and the other early search engines such as AltaVista (launched in 1995) and Ask Jeeves (launched in 1996) to really understand what a website was all about. To overcome this lack o ..read more

When it comes to growing your small medical practice, few things matter more than your reputation. You can have the most specialized credentials, the most cutting-edge equipment, the most professional staff. Still, unless potential patients know about you and feel they can put their trust in you, it’s unlikely they will be beating a path to your office door. Good doctors have focused on building their reputations within their communities throughout history. The American Medical Association emphasized word-of-mouth reputation-building in its original code of ethics, published in 1847, where it ..read more

The legal industry is tough in many ways, but competition is particularly fierce when it comes to online marketing and reputation management. Law firms of any specialty have to compete for a limited number of clients, which makes every aspect of your online business – from the design of your website to your SEO and more – crucial. Additionally, managing your online reputation is critical, especially given that would-be clients have no shortage of law firm reviews from which to draw early conclusions. But many otherwise successful law practices are missing a big part of online reputation manag ..read more

Over this past year and a half of COVID craziness we’ve all been home and on our computers far more than usual. That time spent can make anyone feel as if they have mad computer skills that may not be exactly the case. That could apply to the world of website design.  Coincidentally your medical practice or law firm needs a new website. Your nephew volunteered to do the job when you saw him at a socially distanced BBQ a couple weeks back.  Hopefully, you just said, “Thanks, but I’m good.” Or, maybe you offered, “I’ll think about it and get back to you.” And then there was nothing but ..read more

Google. Yelp. Healthgrades.Vitals. RateMDs. Patients today have more opportunities than ever to share their experiences and opinions about medical professionals, which means prospective patients have more options to analyze doctors’ online reputations before making that first appointment. It’s a form of empowerment long missing from doctor-patient relations — and one that patients are increasingly happy to use. A 2020 survey by SoftwareAdvice.com found that 71% of patients used online reviews as the first step in looking for a doctor or specialist. Around 40% said they were willing ..read more

When we bring in a new client, they’re all on board with building a new, engaging website. They understand the value of well-written, interesting content. They like the idea of adding video and lots of photos. They like our focus on beautiful design, and they understand the need for the site to be mobile friendly from the start of the design process.  But when it comes to adding a blog, some clients, new and old, don’t see the value.  In this May blog, let’s get into why we feel having a blog is so valuable for your practice website.  Not your personal travel log kind of thing&n ..read more