Eyeworld

Google Ads Digital ads are an effective way to at- tract website visitors. When business- es think of digital ads, they are often thinking only of those that appear on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). However, Google's advertising service helps marketers connect with people at every step of the consumer journey. Today this service, which was recently rebranded from Google AdWords to Google Ads, is designed to help businesses pay to place ads on SERPs as well as videos, websites, and apps. To aid those placing ads on websites and apps, Google works with a network of 2 million websites and 650,000 apps. All of these ad types work to attract leads, grow online sales, encourage calls from potential patients, and increase brand aware- ness. With so much relying on ad effectiveness, Google Ads includes resources that allow advertisers to fine-tune campaigns. One of the most helpful is the Keyword Planner, which helps advertisers identify popular keywords. For those already using Google AdWords who may be worried about how the brand shift could affect campaigns, Google assures that its new Google Ads platform will have the same features and network of AdWords, with a few additions. It will not impact current campaign performance, navigation, or report- ing. Instead, Google says it "will help advertisers and publishers of all sizes choose the right solutions for their businesses, making it even easier for them to deliver valuable, trustworthy ads and the right experiences for con- sumers across devices and channels." This update could prove useful to new and veteran advertisers alike, but it will hold little benefit for an ophthalmic business without online venues to direct potential patients to where they can engage with the business. A website's role in this has already been established, but social media's massive and connective influ- ence cannot be overlooked. Social media In an age that celebrates "self expres- sion," social media is a crowd favorite. Websites are perfect for putting a busi- ness's best professional face forward, but they are especially useful for inspiring visitors to engage with the people behind the business on social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are some of the most commonly used digital conversation starters. They are especially useful for ophthalmic businesses as they allow a practice or ASC to share its personali- ty and interact directly with potential patients while maintaining control of those digital conversations. One of the best ways to maintain that con- trol, outside of careful social media account oversight, is through reputa- tion management software. Reputation management Reputation management is becoming increasingly important, as health pro- viders continue to build their overall web presence. After a patient's experi- ence, for better or worse, the business never knows what they might say about it on a review site. Furthermore, there are so many review sites on the internet that it is hard to keep track of every review. That is where reputation management comes in. Sophisticated software allows businesses to track reviews across all review sites on the internet and receive notifications via email as soon as someone writes a review about the business. This is important because the sooner a busi- ness can respond to a negative review, the more likely the individual is to forgive, or even remove the review. Even responding to a positive review is beneficial as it shows initiative and acknowledgment. Some reputation management software specializes in health provid- ers, collecting data from all known medical review sites (Yelp, Web MD, Healthgrades, etc.), Google reviews, and social media platforms. It com- bines the reviews into one overall grade/score for the business. Fur- thermore, those scores can be bro- ken down into scores for individual doctors or locations. A perfect online presence is not realistic, but with rep- utation management, businesses can proactively protect themselves and respond when needed. Conclusion It is important to remember that setting up a website, Google Ads account, Facebook page, or reputation management is only 10% of the job. An effective comprehensive digital management strategy is always active and adjusted based on analytics. Visitors to a stagnant website can sense the lack of effort, whether it is from an old design or outdated copy, and they will not stay long. Google Ads must be managed and watched to ensure budgets are kept and keywords are still drawing click-throughs. A Facebook page or other social media account that has not been posted on in months is presumed inactive and unengaging. Reputation management sites will not do much to protect a business's reputation if it is not man- aged. Before investing in these tools, a business must commit to a strategy and be prepared to follow through with the required work. Whether this requires approaching a third-party specialist or hiring someone in-house, be prepared to regularly flex all four digital marketing muscles to achieve maximum ROI. OB Chase Rabourn is the digital marketing manager at Medical Consulting Group in Springfield, Missouri. He can be contacted at crabourn@medcgroup.com. William Rabourn is founder and managing principal of Medical Consulting Group in Springfield, Missouri. He can be contacted at bill@medcgroup.com. About the authors September 2018 • Ophthalmology Business 11

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