We all know online reviews are having a big impact on our businesses... but why?  To answer that question, you also have to ask, why is word of mouth so effective?

Online reviews are like word of mouth.  Only an online review has the potential to do broad and lasting good or damage, depending on the content.   To get to the...

I‘ve seen some recent articles published that show that a growing number of consumers are beginning to think online reviews are not accurate and are unfair.  Other 2013 studies show that consumers are relying increasingly on online reviews in their decision making.  Taking both of these factors into consideration shows the huge...

Congratulations to Lawrence Desjarlais, MD in Michigan on the launch of his new web site at drdesjarlais.com.  

This custom designed web site has Dr. Desjarlais‘ personal touch on look and feel.  All Dog Star Media sites are custom designed for the client‘s tastes.  This site is content-managed allowing Dr....

Where do you point the finger when your marketing fails? If you are a cosmetic dental or medical practice, chances are you are not even looking in the right direction. Brace yourself... the biggest area of failure is probably occurring in your sales communications.

My 18 years of marketing experience tells me there are two kinds of small...

We are making a change in our Social Media program to benefit your search engine rankings.  That’s right... social media and SEO in one sentence.   Actually, that‘s good especially if you are in both of our programs.

The change we are making is to link more content back to our clients’ web sites from their social...

Congratulations to Greg Stagnone, MD and his team at The Plastic Surgery Center of Dallas on the launch of their new web site cosmeticsurgerydallas.com. Dr. Stagnone’s new site was built with many considerations in mind including protecting his valuable search engine rankings, including his #1 ranking on the term Cosmetic Surgery Dallas,...

Closed Loop Marketing is a method of marketing that traces productivity and conversions from the point of first contact all the way through the closure of a sale. It requires specific technologies and... now here is the hard part... specific management and supervision to make corrections and adjustments to improve using the data that is generated.

F...

Congratulations to three of our most loyal clients on the recent redesigns of their web sites.  They are:

David Buck, DDS, Seattle, WA: http://www.tmjseattle.com

Jay Appurao, MD, Lafayette, LA: http://www.labellecosmetic.com

Carlos Pou, MD, San Juan, Puerto Rico: http://www.instituto-orbitofacial.com

Each redesigned their sites to support changes...

I’ve said it many times in this blog but SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be confusing and therefore can often be sold in a smokescreen. Our program at Dog Star Media focuses on traffic because that is what matters to you. It is also the one thing you cannot replicate or falsify or mask the lack of when it comes to search engines. ...

When you get a bad review on a public review site, it has numerous possible effects. Most people spend their energy being angry and offended at the bad review and they try to get it removed, which is a futile effort. Review sites will not take down reviews they deem legitimate, regardless of opinion.  The trick is fight it with positive...

Dog Star Media offers four Essential Marketing Programs that form the basis of a solid marketing strategy for a small business, specifically a cosmetic medical or dental practice. The Essential Programs are:

Search Engine Optimization - SEO is one of the most misunderstood and therefore underutilized ways to promote your web site. Our SEO program...

Congratulations to School Spirit Pays on the launch of their new web site this week.   The new site is a redesign by Dog Star Media and is designed in our recommended content manager software, Joomla.

SchoolSpiritPays.com takes advantage of some of the many extensions we can build into a Joomla site.  On the front page you can see...

Dog Star Media is proud to announce a new service beginning May 1.  For years, we have been asked to find an affordable way to help develop sales and marketing communication skills in your key staff members.  Now, as a new offering under our coaching program, we offer a self-paced Staff Productivity Development Training.  This...

If you are opening a new office, chances are you are considering a new web site, as well. For many doctors, this is a natural step. You’ve made a big investment in a new space and you want to show it off properly. In many cases, a new office and location is expected to lead to a strong surge in new business. And, part of developing that...

We’d like to congratulate Dr. Jennifer Chou and Dr. Karen Hake on the launch of their newly designed web site for The Smiley Tooth Pediatric Dentistry. With a fun and colorful approach to pediatric dentistry, the new site is lively and perfect for the image of a caring dentist who is great with kids.

There are a lot of practices redesigning...

Unrealistic expectations are one of the biggest hurdles a business owner needs to cross when making decisions about marketing a web site online. There are many companies selling search engine optimization services that make promises that can easily be interpreted as a promise to make you #1 on the highest trafficked terms. Some even offer...

Nobody wants to go through the process of redesigning their web site but sometimes it is critical for business.  There are always good reasons to consider doing so including outdated design, outdated programming, a stale approach, increased competition, etc.  But all of those reasons are taking a back seat to the two most sweeping issue...

If you feel left out, you are not alone. Clearly, Social Media is the most important emerging media out there simply because of the groundswell of use. Where there are a lot of people, specifically a lot of people organized by a technology, there is a tremendous opportunity to convert that mass into business. So, if you are poking along making...

A misunderstanding of how User Generated Content works can be devastating to a practice or business. You can define User Generated pretty simply.  It is anything written by an Internet user. This includes opinions posted on review sites and social mediums. And, when one person writes a bad review, it can influence many, many people.

Perhaps...