Dental Ad Ideas Guaranteed to Attract Patients

This guide features a collection of dental ad ideas that will help bring in more patients and grow your practice.

See how these ad ideas lead to more of the right patients for dentists throughout the US.

The proof is in the results

Know your digital advertising terms

The marketing and advertising industry is notorious for jargon. Here are a few concepts that are helpful to understand as you develop your dental ad strategy.

• PPC: Pay-per-click (PPC) is a type of online advertising where you pay a fee each time one of your ads is clicked.
• CPC: Cost-per-click (CPC) is the fee you pay each time one of your PPC ads is clicked.
• Remarketing ads: This method of online advertising allows you to show targeted ads to those who have previously visited your site.
• Display ads: A text, image, or video-based advertisements that encourage a user to click-through to a landing page.
• Native ads: Paid ads that match the look, feel, and function of the media format in which they appear. Unlike display ads, native ads don’t really look like ads. They often appear as promoted listings, content recommendations, or in-feed ads on social media.
• Landing page: The page a user is led to after clicking on an ad. The purpose of a landing page is to provide all the necessary information regarding a product, service, or offer, including next steps for getting in touch or scheduling.
• SEO: Search engine optimization is the process of ensuring your website ranks high in search engines for relevant keywords and phrases.
• SEM: Search engine marketing is the process of earning traffic and visibility from search engines (like Google) through paid and unpaid efforts.

Dental advertising ideas that get results

You might be surprised by how many of these tactics don’t involve a paid campaign!

1. Take advantage of keyword opportunities

Search results listed on the first page of Google get 95% of all web traffic. With that in mind, you should be hyper focused on strategies that move your practice onto that first page. To do that, you need to become a pro at keyword research.

The mistake many dentists make with keyword research is sticking to the basics. Of course you want to rank for keywords like “dentist,” but don’t stop here. Think about what unique value you offer and how that can help diversify your keyword list.

For example, there are often great keyword ranking opportunities for dentists who offer:

• Emergency services
• New patient specials
• Evening and weekend hours
• Financing options

Don’t know anything about keyword research or what to do after you’ve identified a keyword opportunity? We can help with that. 

2. Focus on local SEO

There’s obviously no point in ranking highly for keywords if the people finding your site aren’t even located in your city. That’s where a local SEO advertising strategy comes in. 

This advertising strategy optimizes your online presence with the goal of attracting local patients at the exact time they’re looking for a dentist online. Local SEO varies from what many traditionally think of as SEO, and involves a variety of tactics: 

• Claiming your Google My Business account and adding your practice to Google Maps
• Making sure your practice is listed on citation sites and online business directories
• Managing reviews by responding to positive reviews and requesting removal of reviews that don’t meet Google’s guidelines
• Building relevant and high-quality links to your site from other websites (called backlinks)

3. Run Google Ads campaigns

Google Ads are a powerful advertising tool. This strategy gets your practice in front of patients who are ready to schedule an appointment now. Google Ads offers a variety of advertising tactics including:

• Ads that appear within Google search when someone searches for certain keywords
• Ads that help you re-engage people who’ve previously visited your site

Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. Setting up effective campaigns takes time, skill, and experience knowing what works and what doesn’t. Work with a PPC expert to maximize your budget and get the best results.

Tips for writing compelling Google Ads copy

• Leverage keywords when possible
• Be specific and truthful
• Speak to an emotion, problem, benefit, or solution
• Include a call to action

Ask yourself:

• Why would I click on this ad?
• Does this make sense or is it just a bunch of keywords stuck together?
• Does my landing page reflect the promise set in the ad?

4. Test different display ad sizes

There are over 10 Google Ads display ad sizes and dimensions. Not only that, but ad sizes often result in  click-through rates and therefore different prices.

You’ll need to test a few campaigns to see which sizes and designs give you the best results. For example, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, a smaller ad size might be best. However, compare this to a larger display ad dimension that may cost more but will likely get a higher click-through rate.

As you’re creating the messaging for your display ads, refer back to the tips we described for writing Google Ads copy. However, there are a few other things to keep in mind:

• Keep copy short and to the point
• Use your brand’s colors
• Choose engaging images
• Always include a call-to-action

See how The Winning Smile Dental Group promotes 1 message in 5 different display ad sizes:

5. Create social remarketing campaigns

Facebook is one of the most popular platforms for running remarketing campaigns for dentists. 

Remarketing ads are the best way to reach out to patients who you already have an existing relationship with. This could be a current patient you’re hoping to bring back in for a checkup or someone who’s visited your site in the past but never converted.

See it in action! 4 examples of effective dental Facebook Ads

This ad highlights new safety measures in response to COVID-19 and features an image of the dentist in PPE.

Another COVID-19 response ad. This ad highlights the practice’s virtual appointment services.

This ad does a great job of showcasing one of the benefits they offer — free second opinions!

This is a general brand awareness ad with the goal of being informative and describing service offerings.

6. Design a user-friendly website

So many dentists don’t give their website the attention it deserves — especially considering it’s one of their biggest forms of advertising! 

Your website is your chance to showcase your practice and provide the information your patients (and potential patients) are looking for. Mess this up, and you risk losing out on countless new patients. Worse, it undermines all your other advertising tactics.

Make sure you understand what patients are looking for in a dentist’s website and then audit your site to see how well it’s meeting those needs. Is it time to redesign your website?

Get Inspired: See the year’s Best Dental Websites

7. Drive rankings and traffic through content marketing

Website copy is the backbone of your online advertising strategy. The content on your site helps you rank higher in search engines, communicates what makes your business unique, and encourages visitors to take action.

Content marketing strategies, like keyword-optimized web pages, FAQ pages, blog posts, newsletters, and more will help increase your search engine rankings and send more traffic to your site.
No cutting corners! Using copy-and-paste content on your website causes your rankings to suffer and leads to a poor user experience on your website.

8. Attract new patients with glowing reviews

Good reviews (and lots of them) are one of the best advertising tactics for dentists! Not only do good reviews help you rank higher in local searches, they also build trust and credibility.

But don’t just hope for the best — you need to actively encourage your patients to leave reviews. The easiest way to do this is through a reputation management software, like BirdEye or Podium. We talk all about this strategy in our Guide to Getting More Patients With Dental Reputation Management Software. 

More ideas! 4 worthwhile offline dental advertising tactics to try

9. Direct mail

The old-school method of mailing physical flyers and leaflets to community residents can be useful — especially in smaller towns and cities. After all, one study shows 81% of people read or scan their mail daily. However, because this method allows for less targeting options, and larger up-front costs, than an online ad campaign, you should carefully consider your return on investment.

10. Outdoor & transit ads

In smaller cities, billboards, bus ads, elevator ads, and other outdoor signage can be an interesting opportunity. This type of advertising strategy can be beneficial as a long-term awareness campaign (most billboards require a 3-12 month commitment). This strategy also offers one of the lowest ‘cost per thousand’ rates in advertising. Whether or not it results in a high ROI, though, is a gamble.

11. Community involvement

This is our favorite offline dental advertising tactic, and we highly recommend taking advantage of it. Getting involved in your community — whether it’s sponsoring or attending events, raising money for local causes, donating time, or something else — can be very beneficial. It gives you the opportunity to build relationships in person and engage in some word-of-mouth and direct marketing.

Just make sure to establish a social media presence where you can continue to engage with the community and build your brand after an event has ended.

12. Enroll in a teeth whitening program

Dentists throughout the country use “free whitening for life” promotions as a successful strategy for attracting new patients and building loyalty. There are several ways you can implement this type of program, but the easiest way is to work with professional teeth whitening product company. We recommend partnering with Celebrity Smiles Club.

Celebrity Smiles Club offers high-quality, easy-to-use teeth whitening kits to dental offices around the world. Enrolling in their reseller program gives you access to:

• Both in-office and take-home whitening kits for patients
• Turnkey marketing materials to help market the whitening services
• Patient enrollment forms
• And more

Pro tip: Once you’re enrolled in a teeth whitening program, make sure you use the online dental ad ideas mentioned in this article to promote your teeth whitening special offer!

Bonus: A few general advertising tips

• Always be tracking. A smart dental advertising strategy always includes tracking and measuring results. If you aren’t doing this, you won’t know what’s working or what needs to be adjusted.
• Know your value. What’s compelling about what you offer? What makes you different from any of the hundreds of other dentists in your city? Know what makes you unique and use it within your advertising. 
• Take an integrated approach. Focusing all your time and attention on just one part of the equation won’t get you the results you want. To be successful, you need to take an integrated approach. 
• Work with an expert. You should have someone on your team dedicated to managing your advertising strategy. If you don’t have the skills in-house, work with an agency that specializes in dental marketing and has the experience to get you results.