As many as 46% of all Google searches are location-specific. In other words, when people search for a local dentist, they check online! In fact, 68% of all activity online begins with a search.
Using search engine optimization (SEO) can help more people find your dental practice. SEO for dentists is easy, effective, and likely to boost your ROI.
In fact, 92% of consumers will pick a business on the first page of local search results.
On the fence? Read on to learn everything you need to know about using SEO to market your dental practice today!
What Is SEO?
First, let's cover the basics. What exactly is search engine optimization?
SEO is a combination of digital marketing tactics you can use to increase your website's organic ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a dentist, oral health advice, or uses a relevant search term, your website could appear. Then, the patient can visit your website to gather the information they need.
When adding SEO to your digital marketing strategy, there are four types of SEO you'll need to consider:
On-page
Off-page
Local
Technical
Using all four types of SEO can help you increase your online presence and search engine rankings.
On-Page
On-page SEO refers to the information Google reviews when crawling and indexing your website content.
Search engines constantly crawl the pages on your website to determine who you are, what you do, and what questions you answer. On-page SEO includes:
How old your website is
What's on each website page
The presence of keywords (in headers, URLs, meta titles, etc.)
The length and copy of copy on your site
How fast pages load
The layout of your website
How trustworthy your website is
Whether or not your site is mobile-friendly
How easily bots can access, understand, and index your content
As part of your on-page SEO strategy, you can target specific keywords your patients already search to find your website online. Then, you can write blog content based on their search behaviors. Optimizing a blog post for on-page SEO involves placing the keyword strategically within the post.
For example, you'll need to include the focus keyword in the:
Page title
URL
Opening and closing paragraphs
An H1 header
Body text
Image file name
Image alt text
SEO title
SEO meta description
The SEO title and meta description appear on SERPs. An engaging, relevant title and description will encourage people to click on your content. Increasing your clickthrough rate can help your organic rankings rise.
Off-Page
Off-page SEO refers to tactics beyond your website.
For example, one of Google's top-ranking factors is backlink-building. Backlinks appear on other websites before directing readers to your dental practice website.
Other ranking factors include:
How many links you generated
How you earned the link
The linking site's popularity
How recently you gained the backlink
The linking sites Domain Authority
How the linking site's content relates to your content
If you're struggling to generate backlinks, consider hiring an experienced SEO marketing agency this year.
Local
Local SEO can help you appear in front of potential patients within your area.
You can start appearing for more local searches by claiming and optimizing your Google Business listing. This listing displays your dental practice's:
Name
Phone number
Address/directions
Website
Business hours
Business category
Customer reviews
Recent posts
Photos and videos
Ask your patients to post their reviews on your listing. Positive reviews can boost your credibility, helping you acquire new patients.
You can also target location-specific keywords to reach local patients through your blog content.
Technical
Technical SEO involves the backend of your website, as well as the user experience (UX) you offer. A positive UX indicates your website is easy to use and navigate. If it's difficult to use, visitors will leave, causing a high bounce rate.
A high bounce rate can cause your organic rankings to drop.
When updating your website, make sure it's fast, secure, mobile-optimized, and user-friendly. Appeal to Google's Core Web Vitals to improve the UX, too. Consider investing in website design services to optimize your site for SEO.
The Benefits
Now that you understand the basics of SEO, let's cover how it can help your dental practice. Here are a few ways having an SEO plan can benefit your business.
Generate Awareness
Appearing at the top of a SERP will help potential patients find your dental practice before others in the area. You can generate brand awareness and remain at the forefront of the patient's mind.
When they need dental services in the future, they might recall your brand.
Attract Traffic
Appearing for a range of relevant search terms can help you generate more website traffic. Generating more traffic can further boost your organic rankings.
As you generate more traffic, potential customers will learn more about your practice. They might decide to book an appointment after reading your content and reviewing your services.
Establish Credibility
You can use blog content to demonstrate your experience and expertise in the dental industry. Prospective patients might feel more inclined to trust you with their dental health.
Ranking ahead of other dental practices in the area will help you appear more credible, too.
As a result, SEO for dentists can help you remain competitive.
Otherwise, your organic rankings will drop. You could struggle to reach prospective patients if you're not appearing for relevant searches.
Book More Appointments
Generating more website traffic through SEO can help you book more appointments.
It will take time for another practice to knock your ranking down, too. You can maintain your ranking for years to continue generating leads. Your ROI will improve as a result.
Use SEO for Dentists: Start Attracting New Patients Today
To recap, what is SEO for dentists? It's an easy, effective way to attract new patients to your dental practice. Consider adding SEO to your digital marketing strategy this year.
You don't have to develop your strategy alone, though. Working with an agency could make all the difference.
Get in touch with our team today to learn more.