• Dental Marketing ,
• 13 Nov

Most dentists are really conservative when it comes to internet marketing. Honestly, this makes a lot of sense.

As an industry that has been dominated by the word-of-mouth for so long, it is hard for some people to cope with the fact that everything has changed nowadays.

If a dentist wants to increase their market share, they will have to do much better than simply providing a good dental service.

They have to invest in advertising!

When deciding on a marketing budget, most dental practitioners tend to go with minimal investment. Keep in mind that many new offices have trouble paying off equipment and other initial costs, so the last thing they want is to overinvest in marketing.

Nevertheless, some things need to be done, such as creating a great website.

Today, your website is your digital business card.

When purchasing a product or a service, most people will refer to Google for information before making any decision. This is especially true for dental procedures as they don’t only affect our health, but many clients also fear them.

Your website needs to leave the right impression so that potential patients would visit you in the first place.

It is really hard to give a precise dental website cost. It usually ranges from $1000 to several thousands of dollars. But once you do it right, this will be money well spent!

Let’s see some of the main factors that impact the dental website cost.

The average dental website cost

Due to the fact that the United States is such a big market, it’s hard to find the average price for a dentist site. This is especially true if we consider the fact you can hire a foreign web design company to do this job.

When creating a website, everything starts with the web design fee, which can go as low as $500 to as high as $15,000. Obviously, the difference is enormous, but so is the quality of the website received.

Generally speaking, the average is somewhere around $6,000 to $7,000, but you can also find quality marketing agencies willing to go lower.

Unfortunately for you, website creation is just the first thing you will have to pay.

Most companies will also charge a hosting fee that goes from $50 to $500 per month. While this is called a “hosting fee,” you are mainly paying for regular website updates and maintenance. This can actually be a good deal, given how many things may happen with a site during its lifetime.

The site is ready! What’s next?

At this point, you can say that the process is complete.

Still, most digital marketing agencies offer additional services after website creation.

For example, it makes sense for dental offices to hire a dental marketing consultant to do their digital marketing promotion.

Some of the popular services include SEO for dentists (search engine optimization), SMM (social media marketing), and PPC (pay-per-click). Each one of these can utilize your newly created site to bring even more visibility and attract new leads.

Depending on service and amount of involvement, some things can cost from $500 to several thousands of dollars. On average, these 3 services will cost around $1000 to $2000.

But do you really need these additional marketing services? Can’t you simply stick with website design?

It depends on your goals.

Before we go any further with site creation, let’s take a moment to review your actual needs and how you can reach your goals.

What are your website goals?

First of all, it is necessary to determine your marketing goals as a dental practice. Ask yourself this:

• Will my site play a part in my long-term strategy?
• Can I pay off the dental website cost?
• Are you planning on using the same web design for a long period of time?

It’s important to answer these questions before hiring a marketing agency that specializes in dental clinics.

The needs of dental offices can vary significantly. There are lots of factors that determine this. For example, older companies and newer ones will not be in the same situation.

Dental offices that have been around for a while have a stable customer base and will not need new patients. Instead, they will want to retain their current ones and refresh their brand. Because of this, their investment can be minimal.

In certain situations, you might want to sell additional services to your existing patient base. Or perhaps you’re building a brand from the ground up, and you need as much as visibility as possible in a short amount of time.

Regardless of your needs, it is very important to find a marketing agency that will be able to accommodate. Keep in mind that most digital agencies provide everything from website creation to content creation, SEO, SMM, PPC, etc.

Ideally, you should find an agency where you can get all these services.

If you decide to hire several agencies for various marketing tasks, you will lose a lot of time going back and forth. Another reason why it’s important hiring an all-in-one agency is that their marketing expertise can help you make decisions. On the other hand, if you want to switch up between different marketing options, you can do it all in one place.

The best way to start the whole process is by finding a trusting partner. Together, you can then find the optimal solution for your dental office.

Is the price right?

One of the biggest questions is not how much you’re paying but instead, are you getting a proper service for your money.

While every dental practice wants to get a low price, that doesn’t mean that the service will be good. In fact, you also have to factor the marketing company’s costs in the equation. If you think that a price is too low, then there is a good chance it is and that you’re actually getting worse product than that which you asked for.

Based on our experience, it is much better not to negotiate prices.

Oftentimes, digital marketing clients take things too far in an attempt to bring down the prices. Still, marketing agencies will try to close a client even if they’re getting a minimal profit. However, that doesn’t mean they will have optimal conditions to work with.

Low prices can also be an indication of low quality. But, keep in mind that many marketing agencies are nowadays outsourcing processes allowing them to go much lower than you would expect.

It is also very hard to say whether or not you’re overpaying.

Sometimes, companies will drive the price up just because they have a solid reputation. That doesn’t mean you can’t get the same service somewhere else.

When it comes to website design, you have to come to terms with the fact that a good site will cost you somewhere between $2,000 to $8,000. If you want, you can pay even more, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the quality of service will be significantly better.

The great thing about dental offices is that most of them require a simplistic design compared to some bigger companies. This means that the whole project will be easier to execute and might cost you less.

Website customization

Most dental practitioners will want to have a customized site.

And don’t get us wrong; every dental marketing agency will create a unique site for you. However, the level of customization will impact the bottom line.

As previously mentioned, it is good that dental practices don’t always require complex sites. But, some owners still want something special. That something special will eat away the marketing agency’s time and will lead to additional costs. As the number of web pages increases, so will the final price.

The big issue with some clients is that they all think they are the priority. And while you should get a personal approach from your dental marketing firm, you also have to be realistic regarding how much time they have for you.

Some dental owners will take advantage of this, staying in constant communication with the dental marketing experts. Numerous requests for changes in the design can also affect the final price.

So, keep in mind that, if you want preferential treatment, and a hands-on approach, the price will go up.

How to find an ideal web design company for you?

There are lots of factors that have to be considered when choosing a marketing agency. Funny enough, price is often the last thing you need to consider.

Here are five tips when choosing a website designer who can provide optimal results for your dental clinic:

• Try finding someone who can provide an optimal price (not too high, not too low)
• Make sure to ask for the track record. Focus on dental marketing niche in particular
• Ask for other marketing services; there is a good chance you will need some extra work after the site is done
• Don’t hesitate to use foreign companies. They can often provide a solid service at a lower price
• Make sure to be involved in the process without being too pushy

In summary

Now you know the most important factors that play a role in calculating the dental website cost.

Our dental firm has extensive experience working with dental offices. We have created numerous dental sites that convert very well. In fact, as some of them have amazing designs, there are lots of companies that have approached us afterward, looking for additional digital services.

Even if you don’t intend on becoming our client, make sure to call us if you have any questions or if you want to learn more about website design.

We’d be happy to help!