How To Improve SEO Ranking For Your Dental Website?

If your dental website isn’t on the first page of Google, Bing, or any other search engine you use, then you probably want to know how to improve the SEO ranking for your business. 

SEO or search engine optimization isn’t as simple as it used to be. Before, it was relatively easy to manipulate search engine rankings by cramming a ton of keywords (known as keyword stuffing) into your content. Nowadays, however, there is a whole heap of factors that can and do dictate where your dental website is positioned. These include:

• The quality of your website content and the true value it brings to the reader
• The on-page search engine optimization of your site
• Your domain age
• The quality of credible links (known as backlinks) to your site
• Your direct competition
• How good your dental website user experience is – how easy is it to navigate etc

As such it can be a complicated, technical, and lengthy task to achieve the top one or two spots on search engine rankings, particularly when it’s a competitive market like dentistry.

That said, it isn’t impossible and with a few simple tweaks, it is possible to adjust your website for better search engine results, enabling you to get more patients through your door via your dental website.  

So without further ado, let’s take a closer look at how to improve the SEO ranking for dental websites.

Comprehending and making use of keywords

One of the main reasons why your site may not be showing up in the search engines is because it hasn’t been set up properly to accommodate search keywords. Think about it this way… When a potential patient needs to find a dentist they will go to the internet and put a search in for something like ‘family dentist Sydney’ or ‘ Sydney dental implant dentist’. It stands to reason therefore that if you were to fully optimize your website content to reflect these particular keywords, then Google, or whatever search engine you use, is likely to return your site to the searcher as the best possible fit.

For best practise, keywords like ‘dentist + location’ and/or ‘dental services + location’ should be scattered throughout your content and used in the page’s meta title, meta description, and H1 title.

Updating meta tags

Meta tags are the technical name for snippets of content that the search engines see. They don’t appear on the page itself but are short content descriptors that help to tell the search engine what your dental website is all about. Ideally, these should be keyword rich and if done right can give dental websites more credibility and therefore improve search engine rankings. 

As an example – if you happened to be a prestigious Harley Street Dentist in London UK and your meta title read ‘Harley Street Dental Clinic, Premium Dentist in Harley Street W1’ then Google is more likely to return this search for anyone looking for a Harley Street dentist because those are the targeted keywords.

To improve your search engine optimization, always include your keywords in specific SEO elements of your site.  

Google Analytics should be installed on every site and gives you a whole load of information about numbers of visitors, where they come from, and how long they stay on your site. This is great for collecting data so that you know what areas of any current SEO are performing and which need changing or improving.

Don’t forget Google My Business

We’ve recently written a whole blog post on Google My Business and its benefits which you can read (insert link) so we won’t go into too much detail here, but let’s just say that without a GMB profile, you won’t appear in those all-important local search engine rankings results that appear above the organic listings. 

Research has shown 4 in every 5 searchers looking for a dentist in their area will use localised search results as the first port of call. Typically those dentists who don’t utilise Google My Business tend to experience:

• Fewer patient leads 
• Limited patient growth and ultimately
• Less revenue   

Building authority

In essence, if Google sees you as an authority site then this is one sure-fire way to improve SEO ranking. One way to do this is to obtain quality links leading back to your dental website. This may include high ranking websites that have information about dental procedures that your particular dental practice performs. Such as…

• The Australian Dental Association (ADA)
• Colgate
• Dental guide Australia
• Oral B

In addition, if you are a specialist and a referral only dentist you may want to ask your referring dentists if they can add a link on their website leading back to you.   

Remember it’s all about quality, not quantity. 3 or 4 quality backlinks can improve your search engine optimization and therefore your rankings far more than 100 lesser links. 

Add content consistently

So your dental website is now set up and optimized for keywords. Another way you can improve your search engine optimization further is by adding content. Search engines will look favourably on those businesses that continue to add quality content that adds value. This can be done in several ways. You can:

• Beef up existing content to make it the best that it can be
• Add further pages to your dental website – a good idea if you are offering new treatments or services that don’t yet have their own designated page
• Add a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly blog

Whatever you do, if you can keep your content relative and valuable to your audience, then you stand a better chance of achieving the pinnacle of search engine optimization – that hallowed number 1 position.  

So there you have it, how to improve SEO ranking using these top tips. If your dental practice website is struggling to be found online then why not contact the experts at Mediboost on 1300 163 058. We’re one of Australia’s top-rated patient-growth marketing agencies, so why not see just how we can help you. Book a no-obligation consultation today.