6 Steps to Better Dental SEO

Dentistry is one of those fields where people tend to seek out services with a great deal of urgency. Maybe they chipped a tooth playing soccer with their kids, or perhaps they have a persistent toothache that just won’t go away.

But when patients are in a pinch, how do you ensure it’s your clinic’s phone number they’re dialing? The answer is to make sure your business shows up on the first page of Google search results. And to do that, you need to go all in on website SEO.

This comprehensive guide on dental SEO will teach you everything you need to know to grow your brand’s online visibility and ultimately, get more patients through your doors.

What Is Dental SEO?

When people search for a dentist, the first place they typically turn to is Google. They might search for phrases like “dentist near me” or “best dentist in my city.” The search result they will get is largely driven by practices that focus on dental SEO.

Dental SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of improving your online presence to boost your rankings in search engine results pages (or SERPs). SEO tactics involve a combination of optimizing your website and creating online content that helps search engines like Google understand what your business is all about.

Why You Need SEO as a Dental Practice

By implementing dental SEO strategies into your digital marketing, you’ll be able to get more eyes on your brand and drive organic traffic to your website.

Here are some more ways that investing in SEO can give your practice an edge. (Feel free to show this to the people at your practice who you need to convince!)

1. Make It Easier for New Patients to Find You Online

Nowadays, when people run into a dental issue, their first instinct is to pull out their phones and search for services close to them. Your goal as a dental marketing professional is to make sure your dental practice website shows up on the first page of search results.

A strong SEO strategy is an essential piece of increasing online visibility because it makes it more likely that you’ll rank higher on the SERPs. That means when patients search for you, they’ll be able to find your dental practice website and contact you more easily.

Don’t forget to fill out your Google Business profile as well, so that patients can find your clinic’s phone number or email within a matter of seconds.

2. Generate More Leads (That Actually Convert)

One of the best things about SEO is that it increases organic traffic to your website. This is because SEO leverages a blend of content marketing and highly targeted keywords to bring in people who are interested in booking at your practice.

But it’s not enough just to capture qualified leads. Your content marketing efforts should also nurture those leads into conversions who eventually become patients, meaning you’ll be able to grow your bottom line faster than ever before.

3. Get an Advantage Over Competitors

You might not be ranking yet for keywords like “best dentist in city,” but your competition sure is. Investing in SEO means you’re joining the race instead of sitting on the sidelines.

Producing fresh content that’s optimized for SEO can not only help you capture new patients, it also keeps current patients engaged and informed about the services and technologies your practice has to offer.

Plus, creating and sharing content like blog posts demonstrates expertise and positions you as a trusted dental provider. The more value you can offer through your content, the better your patient retention and the more likely that people will refer their friends and family to your practice.

4. Save Money and Time

Compared to traditional advertising methods like billboards and radio ads, SEO is much more cost-effective, especially for nationwide brands.

The power of SEO lies in the fact that it increases the amount of targeted traffic to your website. That means the people who are visiting your website are more likely to be interested in your services, which leads to higher conversion rates and a lower cost per acquisition. That means your practice can enjoy a higher ROI (return on investment) and increased profits flowing into your business.

Aside from saving you a significant amount of money on advertising, generating more traffic through SEO also saves a ton of time. Think about how long it would take to print flyers and hand them out to all the people in your area. For busy teams, that just isn’t realistic.

Save yourself the hassle and use dental SEO to generate more web traffic and new patients instead.

5 Key Parts of Dental SEO

Like any SEO strategy, dental SEO consists of several components that work together to increase online visibility and attract more organic traffic.

Here are the 5 main components of dental SEO:

Keyword research and keyword optimization: This involves identifying the most relevant keywords and phrases that prospective patients might use when searching for dental services. (P.S.: Here’s how to find 100+ great keywords in less than an hour.) Search terms like “dentists in my area” or “dental clinics that offer laughing gas” might be commonly searched by potential patients. Once you’ve figured out the keywords you want to rank for, you’ll want to incorporate them into your website content, meta descriptions, and blog content to give you the best chance of being discovered online.
On-page optimization: This means optimizing the content and structure of your website to boost your position in search engine rankings. This includes things like optimizing title tags, headings, and internal and external links. This makes it easier for search algorithms to crawl and index your site’s content.
Off-page optimization: Effective dental SEO is about more than just your website – it also includes strategies you can use to improve your brand’s online reputation and build authority. This can be done through tactics like white hat link building, listing your business on review sites like Yelp, and sharing links to your blog via social media in order to establish your practice as a reputable service provider.
Local SEO: Whether you manage one practice or hundreds, local SEO is essential for dental practices that want to attract patients through local searches and have their website rank higher. To put your practice on the map, make sure your Google My Business listing is set up and up to date, aim to build backlinks from several local sources, and incorporate location-specific keywords into your content marketing strategy.
Technical SEO: This involves optimizing the technical elements of your practice’s website to improve SEO rankings. It includes areas like page loading speed, mobile responsiveness, and schema markup. While these factors are important for SEO, they also help create a more seamless user experience for website visitors, so it’s worth double-checking that you’re following current best practices.

Together, these five components of dental SEO can boost your online visibility and get more eyes on your brand. The result? Attracting more potential patients and growing your revenue faster.

How to Leverage Dental SEO: A Step-by-Step Guide

Now that you’re familiar with the different components of dental SEO, let’s take a look at how and when to leverage them to best support your business’s growth.

1. Set Up and Optimize Your Google My Business (GMB) Profile

You only get one shot at a first impression. That’s why your GMB profile must be completed and up-to-date.

Google apps, like Google My Business (GMB) and Google Maps, can be powerful tools for boosting local search visibility. Make sure to optimize your GMB profile with accurate and updated information to improve your odds of securing that valuable real estate on the first page of search results.

To make a standout first impression, make sure to also add high-quality photos of your practice (or even your patients if they consent), and post updates to show what’s new and exciting in your clinic. Got a new piece of equipment for making crowns? Show it off! It’s just one more thing to set you apart in the local SEO listings.

2. Implement Local SEO Strategies

For many people, location is a make or break when choosing a dental office.

This increased local competition means more practices competing for similar keywords, such as “dentist near me” or “teeth whitening.” This makes it challenging to rank for these keywords.

However, you can use more targeted and long-tail keywords to outrank competitors. An example of this is “best pediatric dentist in Portland.” Kids’ dentists in Portland will want to show up #1 for this search term. It’s easier to rank for this long-tail term when there are fewer people searching for it than the more generic “pediatric dentist.”

To improve your practice’s visibility in local searches, focus on building local citations by listing your practice in online directories.

Click to claim your listing on:

Another strategic way to get your name out there in your local area? Incorporate location-specific keywords into your website content, blog posts, and meta descriptions. This will help you target local searches more effectively.

3. Create High-Quality Content for Your Blog

Make a lasting impression in potential patients’ minds by regularly publishing relevant and engaging blog content. The best source of content? Your patients themselves.

Think about patient FAQs that you answer daily. For example, you might have a potential patient who wants to learn more about teeth whitening options. You could take that question, and turn it into a longform answer for your blog or social media that compares and contrasts different types of whitening products.

By addressing searchers’ commonly asked questions in your content creation, you’ll ensure your site ranks higher and build trust with your audience. It’s a win-win.

Once you’ve got some quality pieces of content, it’s time to optimize for SEO. Use relevant keywords that align with popular patient searches, and ensure your posts are well-structured with clear headings and subheadings so your content is easy for people to chew on (sorry, we had to).

4. Encourage Patients to Leave Online Reviews

Have a patient who can’t stop smiling about the service they received at your clinic? Encourage them to leave a positive review on Google My Business and other platforms, such as Yelp.

It’s not enough just to have a bunch of rave reviews; you also need to make sure you’re managing them appropriately. Respond promptly to all reviews, both positive and negative.

Taking the time to craft a well-thought-out response to even a not-so-nice review shows the public that you value patient feedback and are committed to providing excellent service.

If that’s not enough, Google has explicitly stated that responding to reviews can improve your local ranking, so it’s worth taking it seriously if you want to improve local SEO.

5. Build a Strong Backlink Profile

Getting your dental website to rank higher on the search results is no easy feat. And guess what? You don’t have to do it alone. Reach out to local businesses, dental associations, and other industry-related websites to secure high-quality backlinks.

Remember: Trust is huge in the dental industry. It is a major determining factor patients consider when choosing a dentist, so the more you can build your authority in the space, the better. Backlinks are also an important ranking factor for Google, as it can boost your website traffic, establish your website’s credibility, and allow search engines to index your content more effectively.

You can also build up your dentists’ local reputation by blogging on other locally known websites and participating in local community events. All of these are great ways to build a solid backlink profile.

6. Use Social Media Strategically

According to a dental industry report conducted by NexHealth, over 80% of respondents use social media to promote their practice, and 41% of booking services are found through social media. From an SEO standpoint, social media is a surefire way to increase your content’s reach. Make sure to optimize your social profiles and link in bio to drive traffic to your dental website directly.

When it comes to building relationships online, social media marketing is one of the best tools in your arsenal. You can actively engage with both current and potential patients on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok.

Repurpose educational content from your blog, share dental care tips, highlight patient testimonials, and offer a behind-the-scenes look at your practice to help people connect with you on a deeper level.

Get SEO Help to Grow Your Practice

A dental SEO marketing strategy can be intimidating when you have other pressing tasks to keep your dental practice running. Working with a search-focused content marketing agency will give you the best shot at improving your search engine rankings, attracting more patients, and growing your practice faster than ever before.

Work with a content-focused SEO agency like Growth Machine to save time and effort, while getting the most out of your online marketing. We’ll focus on driving potential patients to your website so you can focus your energy on patient care.