Your Dentist website prepares for relaunch

A total revamp of the Your Dentist website which is located at www.dentist.com.au is currently underway and dental practices are requested to check their details on Australia's only comprehensive internet find-a-dentist service to ensure they are up-to-date.

"Apart from an overall aesthetic makeover of the site, the principal feature we have upgraded is the way the search engine works," said Mr Joseph Allbeury, publisher of the Your Dentist website and newsletters. "In the past, when a member of the public looking for a dentist went to the site, they were presented with a form that allowed them to fill in the blanks.

"The problem, however, was that people tried to search on too much information and would thus not easily find a dentist that matched their criteria. You could literally search for a female Italian-speaking oral and maxillofacial surgeon with disabled facilities and a surname of Smith.

"Now, when you click on the find-a-dentist option, you are asked to simply enter the state you want to search on and then it automatically generates a list of suburbs where there are dentists in that state, so the search cannot fail. Alternatively, you can also search by postcode."

Mr Allbeury said that the popular more advanced searches are still available as an option on the main search screen. The changes simply offer the average person using the site who wants to find a dentist in their local area the quickest and simplest way to do so.

"You can still search for a specialist or a practice that has disabled facilities or an after hours emergency facility or a number of other options, although again we have structured these search options in such a way that it is much harder for a nil result to occur. So far, with the limited testing and focus groups we have conducted, it is working very well."

Every dentist, every practice

The Your Dentist website lists every dentist and every practice in Australia at no cost and tens of thousands of people use the service every month.

"The website has been operating for over five years, so it is very well known to the public and is listed in a prominent place on the majority of search engines, including ninemsn.com.au, Australia's most popular internet portal. In addition, we also have the AOL keyword of Dentist in Australia, so any AOL user looking for a dentist will be transferred to www.dentist.com.au.

"With the relaunch of the revamped website, we will again be investing in a public relations and marketing campaign to promote www.dentist.com.au in unique and effective ways in order to ensure it remains the number one way to find an Australian dentist using the internet."

How to participate

The goal of Your Dentist is to list every dentist and every practice in Australia. There is no charge to have your contact information listed. If you go to www.dentist.com.au and search for your practice and the details are incorrect or are missing, simply call Your Dentist on (02) 9438-5333 to update the information immediately, or email your corrections to info@dentist.com.au - simple!

"There is no charge to be listed on the website or to make changes to your information. Our goal is to make the site comprehensive and most importantly, for the information to be accurate.

"There are too many search facilities on the internet that include out-of-date, incomplete and inaccurate information. We devote considerable resources to ensuring Your Dentist remains as up-to-date as possible."

Mr Allbeury said that the costs to maintain, develop and promote the Your Dentist website were significant. Thus, for practices who want their own webpage and internet address to promote to their patients, an advanced listing that includes more detailed information on the practice, photographs and priority in searches is offered for $200 per year ($100 to Australasian Dental Practice subscribers). Practices using the  Your Dentist dental patient newsletters receive an advanced listing as part of the package.

"The Advanced Listings give dental practices a very simple, cost-effective way to develop a website. We have an application form that requests all the relevant information - you complete this, attach any photos and send these off to us with your cheque or credit card and it is online in a few days. The $200 per year covers any changes to the site including new photographs, which can be sent on email or by post for us to scan. If you go to www.dentist.com.au/demo you will see an example of an Advanced Listings that includes everything.

"You can promote the page directly to your patients or advanced listings receive priority in searches, so your name will always be in a prominent position on the list and thus easily found.