When patients are looking for a new dentist, Google is usually one of the first places they will go. However, a simple Google search for “dentist” yields more than 488 million results. How can you increase the chances of a new patient finding your office? Enter SEO for dental practices.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the catch-all term for techniques that make it easier for Google’s algorithm to rank a website higher on the search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO is a good thing for patients because it means that their search results are much more likely to be relevant (e.g., they won’t search “dentist” and find a veterinarian).
Strong SEO is also good for businesses because it means that more traffic will be directed to their website. Here is a look at how you can use dental SEO to your advantage and increase your number of patients.
1) Conduct Keyword Research at the Outset
When evaluating a dental SEO strategy, the most important part is identifying the keywords that you want to rank for. Since 75% of people only read the first page of Google results, your dental practice will want to be as close to the top of the page as possible. Choosing your keywords wisely and incorporating them throughout your site is the first step to success.
Unlike other businesses, like e-commerce retailers, dental practices tend to be hyper-local, which can make keyword research a bit easier.
When conducting keyword research for a dental practice using Google’s Keyword Planner, we like to first narrow down the search area to the area the practice serves. This helps us ensure that the search volume and metrics are relevant to the goals we are trying to accomplish. By getting hyper-local, we can increase our competitiveness and make sure we are targeting the right audience and not wasting any opportunities.
A keyword like “dental practice,” for example, will have a significant amount of competition.
However, “Miami dental practice” will have far fewer search results.
In the example below, the first few listings on Google are exclusively focused in the Miami region and feature dentists that rank for the “Miami dental practice” keyword. So if you are a dentist based in Miami, this might be a good keyword for you to target.
In addition, you can use keywords that indicate that a patient is interested in taking a specific action, like “root canal dentist” or “veneers dentist.” You can make your keyword even stronger by adding the location (e.g., “veneers dentist in Miami”).
These kind of keywords are also a great great way to target long-tail keywords which are longer, but more specific keywords that give you a better opportunity to stand out in a competitive market. Your keywords should make an appearance in your site title, meta description, headings, sub-headings, and URL. Subscribe TodayEmail Address
2) Manage Your Local SEO with Google My Business
It can be helpful to think of Google as the new Yellow Pages. And like Yellow Pages, all organizations that rely on local clientele should have a local business listing.
One of the best ways to improve your local SEO visibility is to create a Google My Business account. This free account enables your dental practice to list all of your business information, including name, address, phone number, professional photos, description, and business category, for…
