So what is boosting another wave of interest in mobile sites? How about the even-greater-than expected glut of iPhone 4 orders this month? Every few months it seems there is another hardware release that boosts the importance of making a good presentation on mobile devices.
This week, Jack Peterson, MD got his mobile site. Click it on your mobile device to see the difference in format between mobile devices and what appears on your desktop or laptop computer.
With millions of new units flooding the market this year, we have seen a steady upward trend in traffic. Most of our SEO clients (who we measure their mobile use as a metric) have climbed up to 5% use and many are over that. The 5% use mark is where we recommend adding a starter mobile site. We have seen no cases of regression where the use number dips back below 5% and all trends are pointing upward.
This is the reason we have been running our starter mobile site special for two months. We are in the last days of the special which ends on Friday, June 25, 2010. For that special, you get additional pages added to your 7-page starter mobile site at no additional charge. The total cost to get this base covered is $1000 for a starter mobile site. The time really is now which is why we put the special in place. Many have taken advantage of the special and we hope many more will before Friday. If you want the starter mobile site special, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Great new web site
Congratulations to Dr. Ahn-Tuan Truong with the redesign of his web site. For years, the East Bay Surgical Arts web site has been one of the most liked among all of our web designs. I show it at at all the meetings and presentations I attend. There is just something about the design that is very attractive.
However, when Dr. Truong called earlier this spring saying he wanted to make his site more search engine friendly, we had the challenge of maintaining the popular aesthetic within some new SEO-friendly programming. And, I am happy to say that we were able to do both.
Redesigns have been popular this year. In the last year, a lot of people have become more serious about their search engine optimization and therefore required redesigns like this. Others have seen their Google Analytics and SEO summaries and realized that their designs needed to be more intuitive for the savvy web user. And, others, well, their old sites just hit the wall and needed a serious refresher. As we turn out these redesigned sites, we have seen a consistent uptick in rankings, visits, length of visit and contacts (both phone and email). If you are stalled in any of these key areas, it is probably time to redesign your site.
If you are interested in redesigning your web site, please let me know. We are running an advertised special on web design (see my blog from two weeks ago) and one unadvertised special. You have to talk to me to get that one... no emails. Phone or in person only. To get the ball rolling, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
However, when Dr. Truong called earlier this spring saying he wanted to make his site more search engine friendly, we had the challenge of maintaining the popular aesthetic within some new SEO-friendly programming. And, I am happy to say that we were able to do both.
Redesigns have been popular this year. In the last year, a lot of people have become more serious about their search engine optimization and therefore required redesigns like this. Others have seen their Google Analytics and SEO summaries and realized that their designs needed to be more intuitive for the savvy web user. And, others, well, their old sites just hit the wall and needed a serious refresher. As we turn out these redesigned sites, we have seen a consistent uptick in rankings, visits, length of visit and contacts (both phone and email). If you are stalled in any of these key areas, it is probably time to redesign your site.
If you are interested in redesigning your web site, please let me know. We are running an advertised special on web design (see my blog from two weeks ago) and one unadvertised special. You have to talk to me to get that one... no emails. Phone or in person only. To get the ball rolling, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Monday, June 7, 2010
This Changes Everything.
That is the campaign slogan for the new iPhone. Yesterday we got a look at it and Apple is right. This changes everything. Let me give you some serious advice that is not based on brand promotion. This is a blog that you will remember for a long time if you are paying attention. If you dismiss it right now because I am talking about Apple technology, you are going to be looking (from behind) as your competitors take the immediate communications advantage of offered by the new iPhone4.
One feature in particular offers you a tremendous advantage in communications and you should take it immediately. It is the FaceTime feature. Video phone calls. If you haven’t seen the promotional clip, watch it here before you go on to read about why you need to be an iPhone-friendly practice.
Video calls are now the new standard in communication. This product launch is going to be very similar to the iPhone launch in 2007 when overnight the standard changed. Certainly competitors are not far behind and the features we see only on the iPhone now will be all over the place. That is why it is absolutely critical that you adopt this technology and use it as soon as it is available. Why? You now have the chance to be more intimate with your patients and prospects and if you don’t use this edge, someone else will.
Look no further than the segment of this commercial where the mother shows the father the ultrasound on a video call. For cosmetic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, this takes those private moments of realization and makes them sharable. And, we all know the shared experience is the most powerful experience of all.
For instance, in cosmetic dentistry, every cosmetic case has an emotional moment. It is the moment when the patient sees their new smile in temporaries. This is the first look at what their new smile of veneers will look like. This is where the patient often cries, hugs the doctor, gets emotional somehow and sees their life change. It is the happy, memorable moment that fuels the experience for 99% of cosmetic patients. It is also a moment that is almost always only shared with a chairside group... the patient, the dentist and the dental assistants. If you are an iPhone friendly office, you can now allow your patient to share the experience with loved ones as it happens. Friends, family... let them all share in the experience. You can now make the experience a shared experience. This influences more people.
For cosmetic surgeons, you all want your prospective patients to bring a friend. When two women shop together, the friend is an excellent reinforcement for the decision to buy. And, in many cases, the friend is a good prospective patient as well. However, shopping in pairs happens way too infrequently for a variety of reasons. As an iPhone-friendly practice, you can bring in the friend. Imagine at the point where a prospective patient is trying on breast sizers, how conferencing in a friend, a family member, a husband or a boyfriend could make a difference.
And, for post op patients with iPhones who are a distance away, imagine how much easier it will be to check in on post-op recovery. Your ability to be accessible just improved. I hope you take it.
These are just two examples of how this one feature can be used to reposition your practice as a great communicating practice. There are many other features of iPads and the new iPhone which can be used to enhance your communication capabilities at your practice. If you are interested in ways that you can improve your communications with these new Apple tools, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
One feature in particular offers you a tremendous advantage in communications and you should take it immediately. It is the FaceTime feature. Video phone calls. If you haven’t seen the promotional clip, watch it here before you go on to read about why you need to be an iPhone-friendly practice.
Video calls are now the new standard in communication. This product launch is going to be very similar to the iPhone launch in 2007 when overnight the standard changed. Certainly competitors are not far behind and the features we see only on the iPhone now will be all over the place. That is why it is absolutely critical that you adopt this technology and use it as soon as it is available. Why? You now have the chance to be more intimate with your patients and prospects and if you don’t use this edge, someone else will.
Look no further than the segment of this commercial where the mother shows the father the ultrasound on a video call. For cosmetic surgeons and cosmetic dentists, this takes those private moments of realization and makes them sharable. And, we all know the shared experience is the most powerful experience of all.
For instance, in cosmetic dentistry, every cosmetic case has an emotional moment. It is the moment when the patient sees their new smile in temporaries. This is the first look at what their new smile of veneers will look like. This is where the patient often cries, hugs the doctor, gets emotional somehow and sees their life change. It is the happy, memorable moment that fuels the experience for 99% of cosmetic patients. It is also a moment that is almost always only shared with a chairside group... the patient, the dentist and the dental assistants. If you are an iPhone friendly office, you can now allow your patient to share the experience with loved ones as it happens. Friends, family... let them all share in the experience. You can now make the experience a shared experience. This influences more people.
For cosmetic surgeons, you all want your prospective patients to bring a friend. When two women shop together, the friend is an excellent reinforcement for the decision to buy. And, in many cases, the friend is a good prospective patient as well. However, shopping in pairs happens way too infrequently for a variety of reasons. As an iPhone-friendly practice, you can bring in the friend. Imagine at the point where a prospective patient is trying on breast sizers, how conferencing in a friend, a family member, a husband or a boyfriend could make a difference.
And, for post op patients with iPhones who are a distance away, imagine how much easier it will be to check in on post-op recovery. Your ability to be accessible just improved. I hope you take it.
These are just two examples of how this one feature can be used to reposition your practice as a great communicating practice. There are many other features of iPads and the new iPhone which can be used to enhance your communication capabilities at your practice. If you are interested in ways that you can improve your communications with these new Apple tools, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Now is the time to sharpen the sword
Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People is one of the most owned but least read books. Nearly every professional I know has bought it or has received it for a gift or both. And, so few have actually taken the time to read it. That means even fewer people have actually put this great advice to work.
Today, I will save everyone some trouble and focus on one of his most important messages. It’s good one for this time of year. Small businesspeople tend to do one of two things in the summer. They either try to take a big step forward, preparing for the next big run once summer schedules are over or they coast through the summer thinking they will make improvements after they are through relaxing. This is just like the fable about the ant and the grasshopper. The businesses that get ahead are the ones who are like the ant and work diligently to get ahead through the easy days. You don’t want to be the grasshopper wishing you had prepared better.
Covey has a great way of putting it. Habit 7 is Sharpen The Saw. This means find ways to renew and improve yourself. Refreshing and renewing in all aspects of your person makes you stronger and more capable. In terms of business, it means making an effort to renew what has grown stale, what has plateaued and what needs a jump start. I have noticed a very strong trend in the improvements most prospects and clients are buying. Most are buying video to enhance their web site and buying mobile sites to increase their visibility. But almost no one is retooling or redesigning their web sites. Bells and whistles are being added and those are good. That sharpens the saw. But, what about the Internet strategies that really need some work? Adding video there is not nearly as impactful as having a much improved site, especially if a redesign makes it more user friendly and search engine friendly.
So, I suggest to things: First... be the ant. Second... be honest about your web site. If you need a new one, sharpen the saw for your business. And, to empower and offer incentive for you to do this, Dog Star Media is going to make a standing offer that is good through August 31, 2010. If you buy a 30-page Flash/HTML web site ($7500), then we will offer four-minutes of web drop video (the doctor speaking to the site visitor on a transparent background) for free. This is a $4800 financial value and a highly significant site upgrade. The HTML/Flash/Video site is the most competitive site out there. It is search engine friendly, makes a high-end impression and is highly competitive with the doctor making a video first impression.
How can we make this offer even better? We will customize payment plans to your convenience. Normally, we break up a web site into three equal payments. But, if it helps you make this step, I will bend our rules and we can work out a payment plan of equal payments that makes you comfortable with choosing to sharpen this saw.
Please let me know if you are interested in our Summer Web Site Special. Free video with an HTML/Flash web site only through August 31, 2010. Get it while it’s hot! If you are interested, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Today, I will save everyone some trouble and focus on one of his most important messages. It’s good one for this time of year. Small businesspeople tend to do one of two things in the summer. They either try to take a big step forward, preparing for the next big run once summer schedules are over or they coast through the summer thinking they will make improvements after they are through relaxing. This is just like the fable about the ant and the grasshopper. The businesses that get ahead are the ones who are like the ant and work diligently to get ahead through the easy days. You don’t want to be the grasshopper wishing you had prepared better.
Covey has a great way of putting it. Habit 7 is Sharpen The Saw. This means find ways to renew and improve yourself. Refreshing and renewing in all aspects of your person makes you stronger and more capable. In terms of business, it means making an effort to renew what has grown stale, what has plateaued and what needs a jump start. I have noticed a very strong trend in the improvements most prospects and clients are buying. Most are buying video to enhance their web site and buying mobile sites to increase their visibility. But almost no one is retooling or redesigning their web sites. Bells and whistles are being added and those are good. That sharpens the saw. But, what about the Internet strategies that really need some work? Adding video there is not nearly as impactful as having a much improved site, especially if a redesign makes it more user friendly and search engine friendly.
So, I suggest to things: First... be the ant. Second... be honest about your web site. If you need a new one, sharpen the saw for your business. And, to empower and offer incentive for you to do this, Dog Star Media is going to make a standing offer that is good through August 31, 2010. If you buy a 30-page Flash/HTML web site ($7500), then we will offer four-minutes of web drop video (the doctor speaking to the site visitor on a transparent background) for free. This is a $4800 financial value and a highly significant site upgrade. The HTML/Flash/Video site is the most competitive site out there. It is search engine friendly, makes a high-end impression and is highly competitive with the doctor making a video first impression.
How can we make this offer even better? We will customize payment plans to your convenience. Normally, we break up a web site into three equal payments. But, if it helps you make this step, I will bend our rules and we can work out a payment plan of equal payments that makes you comfortable with choosing to sharpen this saw.
Please let me know if you are interested in our Summer Web Site Special. Free video with an HTML/Flash web site only through August 31, 2010. Get it while it’s hot! If you are interested, please contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
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