What’s Hap–PIN-ing on Pinterest?

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

If you spend any time on Facebook or Twitter, you have probably by now at least heard of Pinterest, if not yet noticed a flurry of new activity from friends creating pinboards, liking and commenting on photos, and sharing images from those they are following. It seems more and more people, particularly women, are becoming addicted to a new social media site, Pinterest, with the average user reportedly spending upwards of 98 minutes a month on the site. Now acclaimed as one of the fastest growing social media sites, Pinterest has reached 11.7 million monthly U.S. users, gaining fame as the site that crossed the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history.

Pinterest is a social catalog or virtual pinboard, where you organize and share images from the web about anything that interests you. Users can create as many themed boards as they wish, for example a wedding board, to pin ideas for planning your wedding, a recipe board with recipes you want to try, or a Tech board with gadgets you think are cool. The social aspect is that you can follow other users and browse their boards to discover new things, share your interests and get inspiration. You can also collaborate on boards which can be useful in a work or project based environment. Through sharing images and pinboards, you connect with people around the world with similar interests and ideas.

While a lot of the talk about Pinterest from the social media world is buzz about how the site generates more referrals to retail sites than Google Plus, Reddit and Youtube combined (see the Webpronews article below), it’s not time to necessarily declare it the next big social network to bring you patients. Since the site is entirely image based, it is largely industries that are already using images, such as retailers, photographers, architects etc, that are finding quick success with marketing through Pinterest.

Right now the majority of users are upper/middle class American women, aged 18-34, but given the rapid growth and the portion of “manly” category options suggested on the site (such as Cars and Motorcycles, Geek, Men’s Apparel, Sports, Technology, etc.) the number of men users is expected to grow. In terms of commercial use, users seem to have a firm anti-solicitation sentiment at the moment so only time will tell if and how Pinterest will draw in businesses.

In the meantime, check it out and play around a little to see what the hype is all about. We will be keeping our eye on the new social media phenomenon and will keep you posted on any new developments related to the marketing potential for your practice.

You can read some more about Pinterest in the following articles from:

Webpronews/Social Media

Techcrunch and

Entrepreneur.com

Happy Pinning!

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Big News at Google: Search Plus Your World

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

Although it has been moving in this direction for quite some time, Google search is getting more personal as their most recent format update, “Search Plus Your World” takes a bigger plunge into personalized results than ever before. When logged into your Google account, you now might be viewing “personal results” that are based on your search behavior, social connections, and content that has been shared with you through Google+ all blended with traditional results. Google pulls the private content in your personalized results from a combination of listings from the web, which are boosted by your personal behavior and your social connections, as well as public Google+ posts, Google Picasa photos, or private Google content that was shared with you.

Right now, the results are actually more like “search plus Google+” since personalized results do not include other social media data from sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Flickr due to their respective terms of service which don’t allow for them to share their data with Google. Google does state that they are open to changing this if the other parties agree.

Additionally, Google has been working hard to maintain privacy and ensure that users’ concerns about this sensitive matter are addressed.

Why are personal results good? Google’s answer is that they are more relevant because they are providing you results based on the information and the people you choose to connect to in the first place.

What does this mean for your practice?

Overall this means that it is a good idea for your practice to set up a Google+ account, widen your circles and get active posting content such as articles and photos.  The more people you reach, the more chances you will have to show up on people’s personalized searches. Further, this is yet one more indication that Google is moving deeper into incorporating their social platform Google+ into search results which means that like it or not, you will probably benefit from having a SEO friendly G+ profile (see article below for more information about how to achieve an optimized G+ page).

One important note: make sure that you properly label anything you post so Google will recognize it in a search for those terms. For example, if you post and share a photo of your practice, make sure you name the file with a proper title, including a keyword or two that might be searched for. If you don’t identify your photos, your efforts are lost.

For more information, here is the original blog post by Google introducing the product (along with a video tutorial).

Here is a somewhat lengthy report from Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land about his first impressions of Search Plus Your World.

Lastly, here what Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff had to say about the new feature.

Until we see more about the impact Search Plus Your World will have on online marketing and SEO, for now, we suggest you play around with personal search and see for yourself what the new search looks like.

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Website Building Insights: An OD “Group” Success Story

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

At EyeCarePro, we often get to use our logic and creativity to find the best SEO and web marketing solutions for our clients. Many of our clients have thriving one or two location practices, and these websites are usually pretty straightforward.  But what happens when we have a client with multiple locations with different affiliations, services or specialties, who wants to brand these practices differently? And what if they also want a specialty site? This is where our expertise (and the fun) comes in…

The challenge: Drs. Kopolow and Girisgen came to the EyeCarePro website building team looking for a solution for their group of optometry practices. Based out of the Las Vegas area, the group has a number of office locations, some of which are affiliated with LensCrafters and others with Pearle Vision which they wanted to brand differently. They also wanted to have a page focused on their original insurance plan called VIP. From an SEO perspective this is complicated because each practice requires a different set of keywords for optimal searchability and branding. Our goal was to come up with a way to optimize and maintain proper branding for the related sites.

The solution: To address these key issues, we broke their web “site” into several URLs to get them more bang for their SEO buck and the results were:

Two LensCrafters themed sites each focused on a specific region. (In general we do not necessarily split by location but it in this specific case we decided it was appropriate).

Las Vegas: http://www.lasvegaseyedocs.com/,

Henderson: http://www.hendersoneyedoctors.com/

One Pearle Vision themed site,

http://www.pearlevisionoptometrists.com/

and one for the vision insurance plan VIP: http://www.vipvisionplan.com/.

The sites are divided first into three categories based on the affiliation or theme (LensCrafters vs. Pearle Vision and finally VIP) and then in the case of LensCrafters, subdivided by region.

This solution addressed our SEO and branding concerns. We were able to focus on particular keywords based on the themes of each site so that each site can be stronger for those specific terms. Further, each site has its own design to capture the right branding based on the affiliate or topic.  Additionally, the sites are interlinked, so a reference to the Pearle Vision practices in Las Vegas is made on the LensCrafters Las Vegas site and so forth. This can help with consumer usability and name recognition for the practice.

If your optometry practice has multiple locations with diverse branding needs, interlinking websites might be a great SEO solution for you. Speak to the EyeCarePro web team to find out more about how to get the best results and reach the most potential patients!

Read more on this topic in our Websites Archive.

P.S. The talented design team at EyeCarePro.net just redesigned our site! Check out our awesome new design at www.eyecarepro.net!

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Jason’s Optometric Musings: Creating a Lasting Impression

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

Today we have a special guest blog post from Jason Daniels, EyeCarePro.net’s Director of Business Development. Jason recently visited the offices of Dr. Richard Hults in Ohio and returned with a few valuable thoughts about marketing an optometry practice.

Part of what I love about my role at EyeCarePro is that not a day that goes by where I am not learning something new about optometry and the life of an optometric practice. Sometimes I learn about the frustrations that our clients experience in every day practice life while other times I learn about the pleasures of running a practice.  I learned more as a guest for two days during my most recent visit to Dr. Richard Hults’ offices in Ohio, than I have learned in almost three years of working with doctors every day.

Out of all of this learning there was one aspect that I felt was truly important to share with you here on our blog. Sometimes as professionals it is easy to become overly dependent on marketing to grow the business. Now, don’t get me wrong – marketing is crucial – it is the engine that is driving patients or customers into your office. Marketing is the tool the practice uses to bring patients in, to enable them to have a chance to make an impression on as many new customers as possible. At the end of the day though, it is this very impression that underlies marketing’s success in making the patient return.  A good impression will help your marketing succeed, otherwise… your marketing will flounder.

Here at EyeCarePro we have worked for eight years now trying to fine tune and hone in on the most effective marketing tools for ECPs to use in order to give the best possible chance of having people come into the practice and stay connected to the practice. The keyword (no pun intended) here is “the practice”.  We try to help our clients think about what happens inside the practice. What happens when a patient comes in the door? What impression is being made on the patient? These are the factors that will keep patients coming back.

The true goal of every practice is to make positive impressions on its’ patients. This is the secret to patient retention. The type of positive impression may vary – it could be a strong message of true caring and concern about your patient’s eye health. While in other instances, depending on where the practice is located, the design and physical experience of the office could be a major channel to instill this positive impression. Whatever the case may be, a practice is going to grow because the practice is converting its’ patients into patients for life. Be it a new patient or someone who is coming in after ten years – the growth of a practice will be directly proportional to its’ ability to reach its’ patients while they’re in the office. Reaching them while they’re out of the office is auxiliary, necessary but auxiliary to reaching them and having an impact on them while they’re inside.

A great way to measure the impressionability of the practice and the sentiments of your patients is with a survey. Many customers will be impressed that you care enough to ask them about their experience and will be happy to take a few moments to give you feedback.  Listen to your customers, as they will guide you to improving every facet of the practice that needs guidance. And remember, marketing will get your patients in the door, but a good customer experience is what will keep them there.

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Posted on January 10, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

All About Vision’s New Year’s Tool for ECPs

In the spirit of the New Year, AllAboutVision.com has issued its 2012 Checklist for Better Vision and Eye Health for ECPs to help encourage their patients to make their eyes a priority this year.

Released this week, the Checklist details 21 steps patients can take to achieve better vision and eye health. The steps include advice for improving long-term eye health, visual acuity and comfort, and enhanced appearance.

“We often read about surveys where consumers cite vision as the most valued of their senses, yet time and again, there is a disconnect between what people say and how they act,” said Gary Heiting, O.D., Associate Editor of AllAboutVision.com. “In 2012, we’d like to see people put their beliefs into action with positive steps such as scheduling regular eye exams.”

“Anybody who’s been to a gym in January knows it’s a time when people are thinking about looking and feeling better,” said Liz Segre, Editorial Director of the website. “Yet the same person who wants to drop ten pounds may not consider how the right vision correction can make them look more attractive as well as help them perform better, both mentally and physically.”

The 2012 Checklist for Better Vision & Eye Health can be found at www.allaboutvision.com/resources/checklist.htm.

About AllAboutVision.com:
Online since 2000, AllAboutVision.com is a one-stop source for reliable information on all aspects of eye health and vision correction. The site was founded by eye doctors and eye care journalists who have compiled more than 500 pages of content about eyeglasses, contact lenses, vision correction surgery, eye conditions, and special-interest topics such as sports vision, computer vision, children’s vision, eye nutrition, vision over 40 and much more. AllAboutVision.com served 13 million visitors in 2011.

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A G+ Gift from Google – Multi-manager Accounts Have Arrived!

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Daniel Rostenne

I’ve learned from my spouse that sometimes it is the little conveniences in life that make the best gifts. That’s why I was so excited about one of Google’s holiday gifts this year- the good news that Google+ pages now allow up to 50 administrators to manage a page.

You may be thinking, “Huh? Looks like Santa, or Chanukah Harry skipped over your house this year! What is so exciting about that?”

Nevertheless, I reaffirm my enthusiasm that this function removes a great stumbling block to any business owner wishing to take advantage of G+ for marketing their business, getting their name out there and networking. (If you aren’t sure why someone would do such a thing, check out our last post Will Google+ Change Your Business?).

Whereas until now, a business owner had to very carefully select the one and only manager that would be able to work on the page from his own account, the multi-manager account function means that new possibilities abound for delegating and sharing the responsibilities of maintaining a business page – and you don’t have to give out your personal Google account information to make this happen. Of course, one should still be cautious about who they select to manage the page, making sure they are employees that are responsible enough to properly represent the face of the business.  Still, with more employees active on the business page, there is more opportunity to stay engaged and create a space that truly represents your business and your brand.

To keep all of the managers in the loop, a notification flow will show all of the activity and discussions that take place on the page as well. Now, like Facebook, multiple administrators will be able to access the page and be continually updated to activity, via their own personal Google account.

It’s really easy too! To add a manager, go to manager settings, managers, add a new manager and then enter in the email address of the lucky employee. See the screenshot below.

It’s worth mentioning that along with this update, Google added a few other features to Google+ pages, one of which is an aggregated count of users that have engaged with your page (either by +1’ing or adding it to their circles).  Google’s own blog post on the topic comments on the benefits of this feature in stating, “This way, both you and your page’s visitors can get an at-a-glance summary of who is interacting with your page.” This feature will definitely come in handy in determining where to focus your marketing efforts.

It seems like Google is listening to their users and how they are responding to Google+ and in the way of good customer service, trying to deliver what they want. I for one, am looking forward to seeing what else they pull out of their sack of surprises! Happy New Year!

Here are some screen shots that walk you through adding an administrator to your Google+ Page:

1. Log in and locate:
First Scene
2. Locate and Click “Manage your pages”:
Scene Two
3.On this page, locate and click “Settings”:
Scene Three
4.Choose “Managers” from the left menu:
Scene Four
5. Then start adding admins via email address:
Scene Five
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Will Google+ Change Your Business?

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Daniel Rostenne

Is it a good idea to create a Google+ Business Page for your practice? According to bestselling author, Chris Brogan – absolutely. Chris has actually written an entire book about how Google+ will make an impact on social media and online marketing for businesses called Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything.

In a recent interview with Mashable editors, Brogan explains how Google has some clear advantages over other social media platforms such as Facebok and Twitter. “Google+ has an obvious advantage in search results, presents unique opportunities for brands and is backed by deep pockets, he argues. And all of these factors make it a social media platform that will stick around in a big way.”

In the article Brogan gives a glimpse of some of the major arguments that he details in the book, along with some insight on how businesses are effectively using Google+ in ways that are unique to the newest social platform.

Want to hear more? Here is the article posted last week in Mashable.

And if after reading the article in full, you are swayed to create a G+ page, check out our post about Setting Up Your Practice’s Google+ Page

 

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From the SMO desk: New Facebook Metric – Are Negative Feedback Insights a Positive Addition for Optometrists?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Daniel Rostenne

Some Facebook page administrators are seeing a new addition to Facebook Insights as Facebook rolls out the “Negative Feedback” feature. This metric shows admins how many times users are hiding a post, reporting a post as spam or responding with another negative action to a post. According to a Facebook spokesperson, “We’re showing which page posts get some negative feedback from people because it helps page administrators know what type of content resonates best with their customers, so that they may improve their page posting strategy long-term.”

The question we have is – is this something we really need? Until now, we have used a positive metric to measure post popularity, based on the number of likes or comments a post received. Knowing how many people marked it as spam doesn’t really contribute anything, or does it?

Here’s what Mark, EyeCarePro’s SMO expert has to say about the new feature: “Facebook’s newest metric might just be an exercise in futility. It’s not bringing anything new to light – it may reveal some aversion to a portion of the content we are posting – but, if that’s to help improve our posts, we already know what is most popular/viral. This metric may have made sense when we started but it just seems “late” since we’ve been adjusting our strategies based on the available information – and these strategies are working well for us.”

The other problem with the “insight” right now is that a “negative impression” could be due to a number of actions on part of a user, from hiding a particular post to reporting a post as spam to hiding all posts by this page. Since we aren’t able to determine which of these actions was the cause of the negative impression, this also makes the feature less useful.

If Facebook continues to develop this metric, it has the potential to provide valuable information about how our posts are received, but it seems like right now, Facebook has given us more questions than answers…

We’d love to hear your thoughts about how this metric could be (or fails to be) useful in analyzing the response to your Facebook page posts.

If you want to read more posts on the topic of Social Media, check out our social media archive.

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SEO Talk: The Art of Local Search

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Daniel Rostenne

Small local business owners need to market themselves on the web in a much different way than international businesses do.  Your optometry practice is a local business, and as such, you want to target local Internet users when it comes to your search engine strategy. You want to make the World Wide Web a little less “world wide”.

According to recent statistics by the Kelsey Group, 70% of online searchers will use local search to find offline businesses. As we all know, more and more consumers are turning to the web to find local businesses, yes, even healthcare providers.

Your target audience is searching for an optometrist or optician in your city and therefore you want to focus your strategy on the factors that will contribute to them finding your practice. Here are a few “web locations” to focus on that are known to impact local search results. Remember, it is important to have a broad presence online so we recommend you optimize for as many of these as possible.

Practice Website – Local keywords

This is one of the SEO basics but it is worth repeating. If you want to come up in local search results, you need to use local keywords in your website content, titles and meta tags. Make sure your office location is located prominently and frequently on your site, particularly on the home page. You might also want to include any terms that local patrons might use in a search such as names of a particular area in the city, a shopping center or a well-known main street. If you have an onsite blog, this a great place to increase the frequency of geographic keywords as well.  Mention your location in your blog and this adds another opportunity to be found in a local search.

Google Places Listings

Verifying and optimizing your Google Places listing can give you a big advantage if your site shows up in the Local Listings results at the top of the SERP’s. If your SEO is working you could show up at least twice on the first page of results for a local search term.  It’s also important to verify your listing to ensure that your practice information is accurate and up to date.

Local Business Review Sites

More and more consumers are turning first to local business review sites such as Yelp when selecting a local business. While it is never a good idea to forge a review, you can get creative and come up with some ways to encourage happy patients to write reviews for you (a little incentive never hurt anyone). Further, if you become active on these sites by writing reviews of other local businesses, this can result in reciprocal posting or general recognition by local patrons.

Local Online Directories

Another way to boost your local searchability is to register your site with as many local directories as possible. This increases your chances of being found by local users and often provides inbound links which is a key factor for SEO.

Google+ Business Pages

You may think that Facebook is enough social media for you, but the fact is Google+ business pages have been showing up in Google Places search results. This is huge. This means that Google’s search results are now combining web page, Google Places and Google +  into one powerful local search feature, so it is in your best interest to have a strong presence across the board. Google has even provided a special page for local businesses so be sure to register with the right category for maximum results.

If you have these bases covered, you have a better chance of getting found in a local search and probably even an advantage over much of your local competition!

Want to read more blog posts on SEO? Check out our SEO Blog Archives with a host of other informative articles about getting your optometry practice website to the top of the search engines.

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Say Cheese! New EyeCarePro Website Photography Guide

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Daniel Rostenne

Thinking about enhancing your website with photos or videos? With EyeCarePro’s new Website Photography Guide you get FREE thorough advice and instruction about website photography from our professional web design team! We take you through the entire process of planning, shooting, and selecting quality photos that will draw viewer interest and add a professional touch to your website.

The guide covers everything from do-it-yourself photography tips, to weighing the use of stock photography vs. in house shots. In the Home Page Images and Slides Shows section you can benefit from in-depth professional tips about designing the imagery for your home page as well as an impressive list of suggestions and examples for different ideas to create a captivating and professional-looking site.

We offer suggestions on taking quality Doctor and Staff Profile Photos, engaging Subpage Shots and general photography tips to create great pictures. We even provide guidelines and a printable patient photo consent form to ensure you take the proper measures to request permission before using photos of a patient.

Even if you aren’t actively working on your website right now, this is a great guide to read to consider whether your current photos are really doing their job. With the proper guidance, replacing mediocre shots with magnificent ones, can be easy and can really have an impact on the quality and effectiveness of your website.

While you are there, take a look at the host of other client education Help Documents and How to Videos provided in our customer support section for great advice and assistance on how to maximize your website and online marketing efforts.

Got an idea for another guide you would find valuable? Feel free to contact us and let us know.

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Daniel Rostenne

Daniel Rostenne is a leader in the online optometric community and has made a career of creating and promoting effective web sites for optometric practices. He is a COPE educator, editor of Optometry Web, a regular speaker at eyecare events & conferences and has been widely published in Optometric e-zines. Daniel is an expert in Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Optimization, in particular as it relates to best practices for Optometrists.

Contact Daniel: 866-886-4442 or danielr@eyecarepro.net