[jerf]

How does having a better website presence bring the dentist more money? I'm having a hard time answering that in a way a halfway decent VC wouldn't laugh at, and that includes your putative answer, because you don't need a glorious site to be found via search, just a site.

[smokinn]

When I needed to get my wisdom teeth removed I googled local dentists and found one that had a decent website with an online contact form. I made my reservation through email. The only reason it isn't more common to do this yet is precisely because most websites are complete garbage. (Flash-only with no contact info is particularly common.)

Having a good website will get you a competitive advantage in the market segment I'm a part of. (And my segment, people who don't want to deal with automated call systems or dead trees of phone numbers is growing every day.)

[dodyg]

It really depends on what kind of dentist's ones are. If you are just a run off the mill dentist that takes care of mouth hygiene, then there is little incentive to make better website since you can probably better off doing local neighborhood direct marketing.

However if you are offering Cosmetic Dentistry, each new client can worth thousands of dollars and people will travel from their immediate surrounding to go reach your dentist practice.