The Internet is becoming an integral part of our lives. People are using the Internet for work, for leisure, for research, for news, for entertainment, for home and for health care. Susannah Fox, presented the Pew Foundation survey results to the American Medical Informatics Association on November 16, 2006. In that report she stated: “Our [Pew] current estimate is that 73% of adults in the U.S. go on-line.”  The Pew Foundation Online Health Search of 2006 also found that “Eight in ten Internet users go online for health information..."

Nielsen/NetRatings and WebVisible published results of their own research project on December 13, 2006. They surveyed 2,866 U.S. Internet users regarding their personal search experience seeking local service providers including dentists. An excerpt from the report revealed the following data according to WebVisible ™

“GEO-KEYWORD USE IS POPULAR AMONG SERVICE SEEKERS
Of those that searched for a local service in the past 90 days:
• 51% used a general term to search (“dentist”).
• 49% used a general service term and regional term (“dentist in Cleveland”).
• 23% used a specific business name (“Dr. Bob’s Dental”).
• 19% used a specific service term to search (“root canal”). 

Your prospective patients are looking for dental care providers in on-line searches. If you don’t have a website and another dentist in your neighborhood does, the patient will likely call your competitor. Don’t be lost on the virtual highway. Make it easy for your patients to find you. Reserve your Internet address (URL) and call your website design firm today.

Sources:
Fox, Susannah. (October 29, 2006). Online Health Search 2006. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved January 15, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/190/report_display.asp

WebVisible™. (2006, December 13, 2006). Nielsen//Netratings And Webvisible Study: Measuring A Website’s Ability To Drive Offline Purchases For Small Businesses. WebVisible Press Release. Retrieved January 17, 2006, from the World Wide Web: http://www.webvisible.com/press_center/archives/press_release-nielsen.20061213.php