November 2013: 5 website elements you need to own

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

5 website elements you need to own

To compete in today’s digital marketplace, your website needs frequent attention. This means regular upgrades, redesign and revitalization of your website. Keeping your site current and consumer/search engine friendly helps you maintain good Google rankings.

If you’re like most surgeons, you probably hire professionals to manage some or all of your website marketing and development. But there’s a catch: If someone else owns any of the elements that make up your website, you may find that you’re not the one controlling your online destiny.

Print out the checklist below and ask your website development company about the following elements:

Domain name – Do you own it? Your website’s domain name (e.g., JoeSmith-surgeon.com) is one of the most important branding elements of your marketing program. The longer you keep it, the stronger your brand becomes. It can also affect your search engine rankings. Go to www.whois.sc and type in your domain name. If you don’t own your domain name, this is an issue that must be addressed.

Unique content – Is your content unique? Having your own customized written content is essential to the success of your website. Duplicate content, or content that appears on more than one website, can bury a website in the recesses of the search engine results pages. Trust but verify – Ask your web developer if your content is unique, and then check for yourself. You can do this by copying a couple of sentences from your website, pasting them into the Google search box with quotation marks on either side, and hitting enter. If any matches come up, you may have a problem.

Website design – Ask your developer who owns your website’s design. This includes the layout, images, graphic design and written content.

Artwork – Do you own all of the photos on your website? Maybe not. Many of the images that appear on plastic surgery websites come from catalogs that include a licensing fee. So make sure to ask your web developer who owns your website’s photos and if there are any associated fees.

Flash/other multimedia – If you don’t have access to or ownership of the source code for your Flash and other video files, you may have issues when it comes to transferring your website. If you don’t own the source code you may have to pay a significant fee to have your multimedia files recreated once you redesign or expand your website.

Make sure you own all of the elements that comprise your website and you will control your own destiny. For more information, contact Ceatus today.

Ask the experts

Q What is Google Hummingbird?

A Google has recently replaced its previous algorithm with a totally new one called Hummingbird. The focus of Hummingbird is to better identify the true meaning behind the search phrases of Google users. This dramatic change makes content development even more important for both search engine optimization and increasing traffic to your website.

Back to top

Read about our Case Study of the Month

Events: Maximize Your Internet Strategy

Come by the Ceatus booth for a FREE website evaluation!

American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting

Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans
November 16-19, 2013
Booth 3224

Meet the Ceatus team at Booth 3224 to learn how to maximize your Internet Marketing ROI at AAO in New Orleans!

Greater NY Dental Meeting (GNYDM)

Javits Convention Center, New York
December 1-4, 2013
Booth 5014

See how you can give your Internet Strategy a smile makeover by visiting Ceatus at booth 5014. We look forward to increasing conversion and bringing new patients to your door!

The Cutting Edge Aesthetic Surgery Symposium

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York
December 5-7, 2013
Booth 25, Jade Room

In a New York minute, Ceatus Media Group will be exhibiting at this year’s The Cutting Edge Aesthetic Surgery Symposium. Stop by Booth 25 in the Jade Room to talk to Ceatus Internet marketing experts and get a FREE Internet Strategy Review!

Back to top

CEATUS Case Study of the Month

Don’t Sabotage Your Own Site

All That Glitters Isn’t Gold

Background: A prominent surgeon in Texas was generating significant traffic to his website from Google for a wide range of procedure-related search terms. Over an 18-month time period, Ceatus SEO staff performed a highly successful campaign to increase the surgeon’s website rankings and traffic. By the summer of 2013, Ceatus’ efforts had doubled his organic website traffic to more than 4,000 visitors per month. The surgeon wanted more and he wanted it quickly.

Problem: Unknown to the Ceatus SEO staff, the surgeon contacted a separate SEO company because he wanted more links. The SEO company he contacted ran a “link farm” and the surgeon thought he had hit the jackpot, because he was able to purchase links for very little money. He mistakenly thought the additional links would make his rankings and traffic even better. As with many link farms, all of the links provided contained the same or similar anchor text, which is a red flag to Google that the links are “unnatural.” Unfortunately for the surgeon, this side strategy backfired and he sabotaged his own highly successful SEO program. In October 2013, during the recent Google “Penguin” update, his site was penalized and his traffic fell to 25% of what it had been just a few months earlier.

Outcome: The moral of this case report story: Don’t purchase links and put your site traffic at risk.

Google Referral Analytics Traffic Report

Back to top

Read about our Case Study of the Month

Tech the Halls

Your Ultimate Guide to Gadgets for the Holidays

Samsung Galaxy Gear

Go Go Gadget! You don’t have to be an Inspector, a Knight Rider or Trekkie to own the newest in wearable smartphones — the Samsung Galaxy Gear is here. The new watch smartphone allows you to view notifications, record voice memos, run apps, take pictures, control music, handle calls, play games and record your steps with a pedometer and sync this all to The Galaxy Note 3*.

*currently it’s only compatible with The Galaxy Note 3
Price: $299.99
www.samsung.com

Bose QuietComfort 20

Lose yourself in the first in-ear noise cancelling headphones from Bose — the “Quiet Comfort 20.” It uses dual mics to detect and counter outside sounds, insulating you in a cocoon of your own tunes. However, press a button and it switches into “Aware mode” to allow you to hear what’s going on around you. Get in on a piece of your own little heaven.
Price: $299.95
www.samsung.com

Xbox One

GQ magazine raves by giving it an 8/10 over the PS4, and CNET says “as a set, the Xbox One feels like a modern all-in-one package that knits all your home entertainment together.” With your voice you can change from a Skype call to your Call of Duty game to your favorite TV show and then surf the web. It also allows you to watch movies and add Kinect capability all while tailoring the Xbox experience around the content you already view on TV.
Price: $499.99
www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/meet-xbox-one

Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband

No, this isn’t a slap band wristband but the latest activity tracker from FitBit. The Fitbit Flex is a wristband that monitors and tracks your steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. It also monitors your sleep and wakes you up with a silent wake alarm. PC Magazine gives it a “4 out of 5” ranking over Nike’s “Fuelband” and Jawbone’s “UP.” But what really differentiates it from the others is its syncing capability across most platforms with an unparalleled app/website experience.
Price: $299.99

Google Chromecast

We’ve all said this, “Let me show you this awesome video on my tiny, small, unreadable cellphone and/or tablet and shhh you have to be super quiet.” With the introduction of the Google Chromecast all you will have to say is “look.” Google Chromecast is a small USB device you plug into your HDTV and can stream online video and music to your TV using your smartphone, tablet or laptop. It currently supports Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and Google Play Movies and Music mobile apps as well as select content through the Chrome browser.
Price: $35.00
www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/#netflix

Nook SimpleTouch Glowlight

The world’s newest innovation in reading is now here with the Nook Simpletouch Glowlight. Curl up in bed with your favorite book and read at any hour with the tap of your finger. The glowlight’s brightness is fully adjustable and can be turned off for daytime reading. Now you don’t have an excuse for not finishing your book.
Price: $99.99
www.bn.com

Handpresso Auto

Imagine driving through the countryside on a crisp fall day and you start to crave a freshly brewed espresso drink. If this sounds like you, then look no further than your glove compartment. Simply add cold water to the Handpresso Auto, the ESE pod of your choice and press the button. Handpresso Auto heats the water and builds the required pressure for your espresso. Wait for the 3 beeps and your espresso is ready! Savor delicious, creamy espresso while enjoying the open road.
Price: $199.99
www.handpresso.co.uk/products/handpresso-auto.aspx

iConvert® Scanner for iPad and iPhone® devices

Make a resolution you can keep this year by ridding yourself of piles of receipts, bills and paper documents with the iConvert Scanner. This extremely portable scanner captures sharp, detailed images in seconds and coverts it to JPEG files which it saves straight to your iPad or iPhone. Cheers to no more paperwork clutter!
Price: $149.99
www.brookstone.com/iconvert-scanner-v2-for-ipad-tablets-and-iphone-devices

Back to top

Read about our Case Study of the Month