Google helps Consumer Guide to Dentistry grow

Oct 24, 2010

Consumer Guide to Dentistry experienced its second record-setting traffic quarter of 2010, according to Ceatus Media Group, the online publisher of consumer health information portals that produces the website. The largest traffic spike occurred in September, the same month as the introduction of Google Instant, the company noted.

In the third quarter of 2010, Consumer Guide to Dentistry served approximately 450,000 unique visitors, a 40% increase over the third quarter of 2009, according to Google Analytics. More than 92% of visits were generated from search engines (75% of which deriving from Google search).

Online publishers were unsure how the introduction of Google Instant would affect traffic to larger educational portals such as Consumer Guide to Dentistry, David Evans, Ph.D., CEO of Ceatus Media Group noted in a press release. Traffic growth for this site appears to have benefited from the updated Google search feature.

"It is more than mere coincidence that Consumer Guide to Dentistry had its biggest traffic month of all time in September, the same month that Google Instant launched," he said. "Our dentistry publication is the most comprehensive consumer oral health site online, and Google Instant's response has further emphasized this."

Google Instant is a search enhancement designed to provide users with better, faster search results. Rather than inputting a query and hitting "search," Google Instant allows users to view search results in real-time, as words are typed into the search box. More important than the estimated two to five seconds this saves per search is the fact that it helps users refine their searches through smart predictions that adjust to every keystroke.

Google Instant also refines the search process by providing long-tail suggestions that help consumers pinpoint the exact nature of their search.

Consumer Guide to Dentistry features more than 150 pages of dentist-reviewed content, with articles on a variety oral health topics, including veneers, teeth whitening, dental insurance, TMJ symptoms, and extractions.