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SETTING THE NEEDLE APART FROM THE HAYSTACK
You’ve taken the first step. You’ve established a Web site for your practice to tap into all those potential patients out there surfing the Internet. You’ve gathered the information, set up a home page and posted the files with your Internet service provider.

Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for the new business to roll in, right? Unfortunately, things aren’t quite that simple.

Granted, there is a giant reservoir of potential patients on the Internet. Estimates at the end of last year ranged from 65 million to more than 100 million Internet users in the United States. Some fraction of this population is bound to reside in your practice area, providing a valuable source of new patients.

The question, though, is how these potential patients will find your Web site among the millions of others out there. Without some help, your Web site will be as inconspicuous as the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Here are two easy ways to publicize your Web site and help connect with the people you want to reach:

– Register with the ADA online membership directory. By submitting your Web address to be included in the online Membership Directory, it will be available as a hyperlink whenever a search of the directory brings up your practice. Users will be able to go directly to your Web site with one click of the mouse, gaining instant access to as much information as you care to provide. With monthly hits topping 3 million at the end of last year, ADA ONLINE continues to be an excellent avenue for reaching a large audience. Go to the home page to register your Web address.

– Register with search engines. It’s estimated that 85 percent of Web users go to search engines to find Web sites. But your new site will not come up as a hit through such popular search engines as AltaVista and Excite unless you register your Web address with them. S ubmitting your information to each one can be time-consuming. Instead, use Register-It, a free service that automates the submission process. A simple registration form queries you for information about your site’s content and automatically submits the information to 12 popular search engines. For more information on Register-It, go to "http://www.register-it.com".

Joe Hoyle, electronic media editor, ADA Publishing Co., Inc., hoylej{at}ada.org

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