The Dental CEO Podcast

Direct Mail, ChatGPT Ads & Google: What's Actually Working in Dental Marketing Right Now

The Dental CEO Podcast

Show Notes

ChatGPT just rolled out ads for small businesses, and dentists are already testing it, often with no idea what they're doing.

In this episode, Scott Leune sits down with Bill Donato, founder of DentalMarketing.com, to break down what's actually working in dental marketing right now: ChatGPT ads, Google Ads, AI-powered SEO, and a channel most dentists have written off as outdated: direct mail.

Bill has spent over a decade running marketing for dental practices across the U.S. and Canada, and he pulls back the curtain on where new opportunity actually lives versus where dentists are wasting budget.

In this episode, you'll learn: Why ChatGPT ads are in their "early Google Ads" phase right now, and what that means for cost per click while the window is open The tracking problem almost no one is talking about: why your ChatGPT campaign might show zero conversions when it's actually working What a "conversion event" really is, and why setting it up correctly matters more than your ad copy or budget Why direct mail is quietly outperforming digital ads on a cost basis: one mail piece can cost the same as a single Google click, but reach 20 households The "new mover" mail strategy top practices use to reach families before they've even started searching for a dentist Why mailers boost your SEO and Google rankings, even when the recipient never calls How to build a marketing strategy that layers AI-enabled SEO, Google Ads, direct mail, and ChatGPT ads instead of betting everything on one channel What to do differently if you're opening a new practice versus scaling an existing one, including why marketing should start 3-6 months before your doors open

Whether you're evaluating a new marketing channel or auditing whether your current one is actually delivering, this episode gives you a clear, practical framework for where to invest next.

Connect with Bill Donato: Website: dentalmarketing.com (free marketing analysis available) Email: [email protected]

🎧 Listen now: dentalceopodcast.com 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode: dentalceopodcast.com

More from The Dental CEO Podcast

Oct 19, 2026

The rules of dental student loans just changed, and most dentists have no idea what it means for them.

Oct 12, 2026

Selling your dental practice to a DSO? Some dentists who took part of their payout in DSO equity may end up with nothing to show for it.

Oct 5, 2026

Dr. Divya Patel was two years out of dental school when she made a decision most dentists take a decade to make: open her own startup instead of buying an established practice. In this episode, Scott sits down with Dr. Patel to unpack why she walked away from Toronto's acquisition market and built Pearl Dental Studio from the ground up instead. They break down the real math behind "buying a practice twice," once to acquire it, and again to actually fix it into your vision, and why that math made a startup the lower-risk path for her, not the riskier one. In this episode: Why acquiring an established practice can cost more long-term than building one from scratch What it actually costs to open a five-op startup in Toronto today, and how Canadian dentists access funding How Dr. Patel built a patient experience around comfort and quality instead of volume and insurance-driven case mix What it's like to bet on yourself as a young dentist, before a spouse, before kids, before "waiting until you're ready" starts costing you years Her 2-3 year vision for the practice, including plans for a second location

Sep 21, 2026

Last week's episode challenged the traditional path to retirement. This week, Scott Leune gets tactical: what should you actually be doing in dentistry, right now, at your specific age, to make that philosophy real?

Sep 14, 2026

What if the traditional retirement plan, work hard for 40 years and finally retire at 65, is actually the reason so many dentists end up burned out, broke on experiences, and full of regret?

See all episodes →