If you’re not converting website visitors into new patients, look at your website copy. The text on your website holds the power to engage and connect with your ideal patients before they have a chance to call your practice. But don’t let that intimidate you.
Even if you aren’t a writer, you can use AI to clear up convoluted messaging, cut down wordy jargon, and position your practice as the perfect choice for new patients. In addition to creating a more relatable and positive brand online, solid website copy improves all areas of your dental SEO. Even Google cares that you avoid writing faux pas and write copy worth reading.
Quick tips for writing better copy
You don’t have to be a professional to identify bad copy—it stands out in the worst possible way. It’s confusing, wordy, and dull. Flip the script on bad writing by looking at your dental website with fresh eyes. Where can you improve?
Make it less complex: Resist the urge to use industry jargon. Even though you offer a professional service that requires technical terminology and medical precision, your copy needs to be understood by those who know very little about dentistry. Use the proper terminology when you need to but simplify when you can.
Be concise: If you’ve ever written a research paper or essay, you might be tempted to approach your website copy the same way, with thorough descriptions, lengthy sentences, and more. Website and sales copy need to be the exact opposite. Get to the point quickly before you lose your reader.
Write how you speak: Again, as a dental professional, you’re probably inclined to write something that sounds like it’s from a medical textbook. Toss that thinking and write how you speak. Read your writing out loud. Does it sound like a medical school professor or a friendly neighborhood dentist?
Focus on the benefits: When you’re trying to talk up your services, it’s easy to fall into a “we” mentality. “We provide” this. “We can do” that. Unfortunately, too much of that type of talk leaves readers feeling excluded. Connect with their needs and explain the benefits of your services.
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Is it safe to use AI content on your website?
There has been some trepidation around using tools such as ChatGPT to write content. Many are asking, is AI-generated copy bad for my website? In Google’s last helpful content update, they indicated a “shift in Google’s attitude toward AI-generated content, making it more consistent with other advice on creating helpful material.” As long as the content is well-written, original, and helpful, Google approves. This pro-AI position means you can strategically use tools such as ChatGPT to understand and improve SEO for dentists, as well as rewrite your website copy with ease.
How to use ChatGPT to improve your website copy
One of the great things about ChatGPT is that you can copy and paste your current website copy and ask for it to be rewritten and improved according to your recommendations. This might take a little practice as you learn how to work with ChatGPT, but it can quickly become one of your best tools for dental marketing.
1. Write custom copy: You should never directly copy content from another website or webpage into yours. This includes directly copying content from ChatGPT. Always put your own spin on it and edit for clarity and precision. You can even prompt ChatGPT to write completely original content, which gets you one step closer to a finished product.
Pro tip: Run your content through a plagiarism checker such as Zero GPT. This will help guarantee that you’ve got original content before you put it on your website.
2. Revamp your mission statement: Writing your mission statement can end up taking way more time than you expect. Mission statements can come off as dry and impersonal. When done correctly, they should encapsulate your personal and professional tone and unique position as a dental professional.
Here’s an example of a generic dental mission statement: At All Smiles Dental, our mission is to deliver efficient, high-quality dental care using advanced technology and evidence-based practices. Our dedicated team is committed to maintaining a sterile and welcoming environment, ensuring patient comfort. We strive to adhere to industry standards and regulations, promoting oral health and wellness with a focus on preventive measures.
That’s about as engaging as a sterile surgical room. We’re going to take that same mission statement and put it into ChatGPT (with a few recommendations). See our prompt and the results in Figure 1.
The results from ChatGPT will vary depending on how you prompt it. For example, you can change the content from fun and approachable to compassionate and understanding, or you can ask ChatGPT to focus on how your practice helps patients with severe dental anxiety. The more information you give ChatGPT, the better the output, as shown in Figure 2.
Play with the tone of voice, number of words, and areas of expertise that you would like to have ChatGPT focus on as you work on your dental mission statement. Check out this article to learn how to write a fantastic dental practice mission statement.
3. Refresh your dental bios: Another space where things can be dry and uninteresting is the bios on dental websites. It’s easy to rattle off a timeline of life events and dental accolades, but you may be missing the purpose of your bios. This is an opportunity to introduce yourself personally and professionally. For some patients, this will be the first place they go to learn more about who you are and what they can expect from you. Why not put a little heart and personality into your bio?
Figiure 3 shows an example bio and how it was updated with ChatGPT, and Figure 4 shows an even better version.
4. Polish your About Us page: Talking about yourself, your practice, and your staff can be tricky. It can sound monotonous and unoriginal. Let ChatGPT infuse a little more life into your About Us page so that you can tell your story in a new and engaging way.
Pages such as your About Us page are great for improving your ranking on Google Maps for local search. Make sure you have all the right information and keywords to push you up in the rankings. See how to rank high on Google Maps.
5. Craft engaging blog content: One of our favorite uses of ChatGPT is creating better blog posts for dental SEO. Some practices don’t blog because they’re short on time and resources. Make the process easier by creating blog content in a fraction of the time by using ChatGPT. Use it to generate ideas, write outlines, or write a first draft that you can edit and polish before publishing. Fresh blog content is one of the best ways for your website to attract more traffic and improve your SEO rankings.
Blogs are a great place to create content that you can use for newsletters, collaborations with other dental professionals and community organizations, and social media posts. Any event, email update, or announcement can also be repurposed into a blog. Don’t let your blog become a dry, dusty corner of your website. Write purposeful blogs that bring value to your website and audience.
Get started by learning how to write great dental blog articles.
Stay on top of the latest content trends: Sometimes the easiest way to stay in the loop with content marketing and AI technology is to work with a dental marketing company. They can help you build consistent, creative content and get AI on your side. Find out how to choose a dental marketing company that matches your practice needs.
Adrian Lefler is a dental marketing expert and the vice president of My Social Practice, a digital dental marketing agency. Lefler regularly travels to speak and educate dentists about dental marketing topics. You can book him to speak on this page. He lives in Draper, Utah, with his professional chef spouse, four kids, and two dogs.
