Anita Jupp Dental Practice Management Articles


Dental Marketing: Yellow Page Ads
Written by: Anita Jupp
© Copyright. ADEI. All rights reserved.


There are so many marketing opportunities out there in today's dental world. We have the internet, direct mailers, big patient newsletters and even the side of the city bus can be commission for a dental practice ad. With so many options and new ways to spend your money, it's hard to decide where to place your advertising dollars.

What do you do when you're looking for a service in your local area? Chances are, you're going to dig out the phone book and have a look through the yellow pages. This is what many patients do as well. If they move to a new area or are looking for a new dentist, the Yellow Pages is likely going to be the first place they look.

Of course, it goes without saying that it is absolutely vital that you have an internet presence that is optimized for search engines. That shouldn't be neglected as part of your overall marketing strategy since online is the place to be. But the Yellow Pages should still have a primary place in your ad budget. Millions of North Americans turn to the Yellow Pages each month and when they do, they're usually looking to buy.

Cost of Yellow Page Advertising - Is it Worth It?

A small listing the Yellow Pages is relatively inexpensive, and fairly ineffective as well. To be noticed, you will need at least a business card size ad and perhaps something a bit larger - a 4 x 4 is sufficient, a business card size if you're on a budget, and up to ¼ page if you can afford it. . Of course, the larger the ad, the higher the costs and you need to decide if the Yellow Pages is going to give you the best bang for your buck.

Yellow Page ads can range from about $1800 to $15000 per year ($150 - $1250 per month) depending on size, colour and geographic location. Perhaps some big city books are even more. Sure, this can be expensive but let's look at some Yellow Page stats before dismissing their "obsoleteness": Wow! 90% of references buy! Statistics like that are hard to ignore. To give your practice the best chance of being noticed in a highly competitive field, you need to maximize your advertising budget. I strongly believe that a mix of traditional and new media is the way to go. Most of the Yellow Page services also provide online listings in combination with print so even if you don't yet have a practice website (and you should!), at least you will have an online presence with the Yellow Page listing.

Design of your Ad

Be bold! Make sure your ad stands out from all of the others on the page. Use a heavy line to outline or a colour that stands out. But please note that black and white ads are just as effective as colour ads. Studies have been done to see if colour ads are more effective than black and white ads - they are not.

Size matters in the Yellow Pages. Most people look at the bigger ads. They stand out and are easy to read. And display ads have a high impact since 87% of consumers select display ads over listings.4

What do you include in a Yellow Page ad?
  1. A big tag line: You want a heading that grabs attention and lets potential patients know what you're all about. There is no need to be "in your face" or over the top catchy. We're not trying to trick people into calling you but we are trying to get their attention and the ads that do this are the ads that have a big (size) catch phrase. For example:
    • A beautiful smile can be yours…
    • We can create a winning smile for you
    • Dentistry really can be this easy
    • Dental care for your entire family
    • Enhancing your life with a smile
  2. Services you offer: Make sure you explain what sort of dentistry perform, ie family, cosmetic, etc.
  3. Contact information: Always include your practice name and the dentist(s) name. You should also provide your full address as well as the main intersection to your location. You want people to know at a glance where you are. Always include your website address.
  4. Financial and Insurance information: Most ads won't have room for policies but the basics should be there. Are you fee for service? Do you accept assignment? What credit cards do you accept? Get the basics in print.
  5. Emergency Appointments: Some people may be looking for a dentist due to a sore tooth or an accident so you want to let them know that emergency patients are welcome.
  6. We welcome new patients: Always include this!
  7. Other options: If you're in a big city area, you might wish to include additional languages spoken. You might want to include your office hours as well.
Design - Who to hire?

Unless one your team members is a former employee of an ad agency or graphic design form, your best bet is to hire a company that specializes in Yellow Page ad design. There are many of them out there and an internet search will bring up many offerings. Local printers and graphic design firms may be able to help you as well. And the Yellow Page ad reps can also refer you to their graphic design department for layout help.

Finally - as always before executing a new marketing plan, please check with your dental governing body for advertising guidelines as they can vary by province or state.






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1 PCM International. Yellow Pages: Still a must-buy Advertising Medium with 17.2 billion searches
http://elizabethgage.ca/blog/2008/02/28/yellow-pages-still-a-%e2%80%98must-buy%e2%80%99-advertising-medium-usage-grew-to-172-billion-in-%e2%80%9807/

2 PCM International. What Makes Yellow Pages so Successful?
http://elizabethgage.ca/blog/2006/07/01/what-makes-yellow-pages-so-successful/

3 International. What Makes Yellow Pages so Successful?
http://elizabethgage.ca/blog/2006/07/01/what-makes-yellow-pages-so-successful/

4 Advertising Research Corporation 1997, 600 in-person interviews conducted in Toronto, Montreal & the Atlantic reigon, amongst Yellow Pages directory users, age 18-65