Three Mistakes in Dental Website Content

[Elliot Pearson]

The first thing about communication is that there must be something to communicate. This is broadly referred to as content. It is also erroneous to believe that anything can pass off as content. To make it more accurate, an adjective needs to describe the scope of this noun. And in terms of dental websites, that adjective is “appropriate. As such, appropriate content is more apt than just content. Many webmasters, use content as filler or spam. They take content from a purely self-serving perspective and seek to force feed it to the viewer. This is among the biggest mistakes a webmaster makes. There are at least three big mistakes, and they should be avoided under all circumstances.

 

Generic Greetings and Content

The relationship between visitor and webmaster is that a webmaster needs eyeballs that return and visitors need useable, actionable information. It's symbiotic, not parasitic. When a webmaster uses generic information that does not answer the need of the visitor but expects to gain from the visit, that is a parasitic relationship – offering nothing in return for a visit. Parasitic relationships do not last long and pretty soon, the website is left to obscurity. Give the customer all that he seeks then point him to pages elsewhere in your site that gives him more data on something he seeks. If you give him generic information, he will leave and it’s a wasted opportunity.

 

Being Friendly

Being thorough is an important aspect of website content. Being friendly is not. A person's visit to a website is not with the intention to make friends with the site, it is to seek answers. Being friendly, indirect and pretty much a waste of time, will serve no other purpose than to leave and never comeback. This is a mistake many people make in planning a website, they focus too much on the tone, and being friendly rather than on the content and being accurate. The website will be a lot more productive to have wall to wall facts and being straight to the point.

 

Incomplete Thoughts

In a dental website, it is unwise to leave the patient or reader, hanging. Do not use a title to promise the world, use the introduction to hype the content, only to carry the reader to the end of the article or post only to end it abruptly. The promise of a title and the promise of a sound introduction sets up a person to process the information that is expected. Beginning with one thought, framing it in a certain way then disappointing the reader with a totally different direction, is not acceptable. They are not visiting your site to read Mystery Theater.

 

These three issues must be avoided at all times, especially in professional websites. A medical website is a site where a person is not looking for a friend but for straight answers. It must answer issues the viewer seeks and it must be done in a way that inspires confidence. Never seek to shove information down someone rather seek to answer their need.