THE CHALLENGE
Dr. Nathan Ideus built Ideus Family Dental Care by providing quality care, strong patient relationships, and through word-of-mouth. Over time, that organic approach produced a loyal patient base and consistent demand. However, it also created a new kind of problem.
The practice had grown to the point where Dr. Ideus was working more than he wanted to. With two young daughters at home and a strong commitment to his community, getting his time back was a personal goal, as well as a business one. He knew that continuing to take great care of his patients while reclaiming his schedule would require bringing on a full-time associate.
He also recognized that the practice wasn’t ready yet. While he had enough patients to keep himself busy, he didn’t have the kind of predictable, scalable patient flow needed to support a second dentist. Open four days a week, the plan was to expand to five, with Dr. Ideus working some and the associate carrying the others. That kind of setup requires a reliable pipeline, not just a full schedule.
The practice has several built-in advantages to support growth: accessible opening hours, broad insurance acceptance, and a geographic position that makes it the nearest dental option for patients coming from nearly every direction except south. For many rural patients, there’s almost no barrier to choosing Ideus Family Dental Care once they find it.
Rather than hire first and hope the demand would follow, Dr. Ideus made the strategic decision to build the patient pipeline before bringing on the associate and partnered with Day One to reach this goal.
THE APPROACH
Day One built a marketing system designed around one clear goal: create consistent demand ahead of capacity.
The geography of Dr. Ideus’s practice made this a real opportunity. Located north of the Kansas River just outside of Topeka, the practice sits at a natural access point for patients coming from the north, west, and east. Rural communities stretch for miles in those directions, and for many of those residents, Ideus Family Dental Care is the closest option available. With other nearby dentists aging toward retirement, the window to capture that patient population was open.
Phase 1: Strengthening Local Visibility (Now Complete)
The first priority was making the practice the obvious choice within its immediate service area—a 10-mile radius north of the river. Day One implemented:
- Local SEO targeting high-intent searches in the core service area
- Google Ads campaigns focused on patients actively searching for a dentist
- Google Business Profile optimization to improve local search rankings
- Reputation management, including responding to reviews to strengthen the practice’s online credibility
The goal of this stage was to create a more consistent new patient flow from the people most likely to become long-term patients of the practice.
Phase 2: Expanding Reach to Support the Associate
Once the associate is fully on board, Day One will expand the geographic targeting outward, reaching patients up to a one-hour drive away in communities to the north, west, and east. This phase focuses on:
- Expanded Google Ads reach into surrounding rural communities
- SEO content targeting additional towns and service areas
- A focus on emergency and urgent dental needs; those patients who are willing to travel when they have to
This phase is designed to build a new patient pipeline that belongs to the associate. It should be one that supports their schedule, their skill set, and the long-term productivity the practice needs.
Phase 3: Strategic Expansion into Topeka (6–9 Months Away)
The final phase shifts the focus south into Topeka and the areas below the Kansas River. This is where Day One will help the practice compete for higher-value procedures: cosmetic dentistry, Invisalign, and implants. The strategy includes:
- Targeted SEO into Topeka and surrounding neighborhoods
- Dedicated Google Ads campaigns reaching Topeka-based patients willing to travel for advanced care
- Messaging aligned with the associate’s advanced clinical skill set
Phase 3 is about establishing a new, higher-value patient pipeline and one that supports the associate’s long-term productivity and positions the practice for continued growth.
EARLY RESULTS
Because this is a strategy built around a planned hire, the results are both early and forward-looking. Phase 1 is complete. The associate has been hired and will be starting shortly.
Results we’re already seeing:
- Google Ads performance has been strong, with consistent inbound inquiries from high-intent searches across a larger geographical area
- Visibility within the local service area has improved meaningfully through expanded keyword rankings and local search presence
- New patient tracking has resulted in clearer visibility into where new patients are coming from and enabled ongoing optimization based on performance
Ultimately, new patient flow is becoming more intentional and scalable. Rather than relying solely on existing patients and referrals, the practice is beginning to build a controlled pipeline of new patients within its core market, with expansion planned into surrounding areas. For Dr. Ideus, this represents a shift from reacting to demand to creating it in advance.