Higher visibility in local search results translates into more website traffic and an increase in qualified leads – that’s why local SEO for dentists is a major driver of new patients to your dental practice. An effective dental SEO strategy could see your dental website climb into one of the top three positions on Google’s search results pages.
The Importance Of A Local SEO Strategy For Your Dental Practice
Google is responsible for sending a large proportion of website traffic to dental websites through organic search queries. Patients are actively seeking dentists in their areas, and by ranking for local search queries, you can generate more qualified traffic to your dental practice website.
So What Is Local SEO For Dentists?
It’s a search engine optimisation strategy that enables your dental practice website to rank higher in search engine results pages for search queries that are location-specific. For example, if a potential patient is searching for the phrase ‘dentist near me’, search engines will utilise the user’s IP address to match with dental practices that are nearby geographically.
When local SEO is managed effectively, it has the potential for your site to appear in the top three search results.
Understanding what your local audience’s intent is can boost your dental SEO strategy. Typically, patients want answers to questions like
- How far away your dental practice is
- How many reviews your practice has – and what other people have to say about you
- How they can make an appointment
What Are The Benefits Of Local SEO For Your Dental Practice?
- Generate more website traffic but, more importantly, relevant website traffic that converts into new patients
- Save money and improve your practice profitability and reduce spending on expensive dental SEO campaigns and advertising
- Actively compete with other dental practices in your neighbourhood
- Enjoy a steady stream of new patients and boost your revenue.
How To Do Dental SEO Like A Pro
Get a Google Business Profile
Formerly known as Google My Business, a Google Business Profile is an ideal way for small businesses to get online exposure. This product is optimised to communicate all the essential information patients want to know before they reach out to make an appointment.
It is also possible for Google to create a profile for your dental practice automatically. If this happens, you can claim and verify the listing and take ownership of it. Even if you don’t claim it (but who wouldn’t!?), you should still double-check the information, so patients don’t get inaccurate details.
Pro tip 1: Add an appointment booking link directly in your Google Business profile. Yes, it’s great for the profile to send more traffic to your website, but if you make it easier for the appointment to be requested in one click, there are plenty of patients who would rather take advantage of only having to make one click.
Pro tip 2: Capture the essential info like your physical address, telephone numbers, and operating hours. These are often the kind of details that patients look for when they access a Google Business profile. Make sure it’s all correct and current!
Take Your Reviews Seriously
When potential patients want to trust a new service provider, they turn to online reviews to verify if you are trustworthy. Online reviews constitute a major portion of your dental SEO strategy because they convince new patients that you offer a great service.
That doesn’t mean one lukewarm (or negative review) is the end of the world – to the contrary, patients are also sceptical when a dental practice only has perfect feedback. What’s most important is that any negative reviews are responded to professionally.
Invest In Smart Keyword Research
Keyword research tells you which keywords or phrases to implement in your strategy so search engines can connect your website to user queries. Start off by asking yourself what terms potential patients would type into Google, and then create a list – as a subject matter expert in dentistry who consults with patients, you already have a good idea of how your patients think.
Then, use keyword tools to research and check search volumes. Don’t be afraid to include keywords with lower search volumes: it’s the quality of the leads, not the quantity, that makes the difference.
Take Advantage Of Google Posts
Take Advantage Of Google PostsGoogle posts give you the opportunity to showcase your recently published posts directly in your profile – and, great news: it’s a free feature. Let local patients know about any practice news, special offers, or promotions you might be running. Google Posts gives you the space to incorporate text, images, and calls-to-action – but remember there’s a limit of 1500 characters (which includes empty spaces), so be sure to include the most important details close to the beginning.
Pro tip: Once an offer has lapsed, make sure you replace it, so patients aren’t seeing outdated information.
Optimise Landing Pages For Local SEO
A major component of dental SEO is writing content that speaks to the needs and the search queries of your local audience (your keyword research will help you with this). Use the landing page to address your patients’ concerns and problems. Be sure to include trust signals like reviews and testimonials – and include those essential contact details too.
Don’t Forget To Link
When your dental website’s URLs are listed on other (high-ranking) websites, this is called back linking. Backlinking send signals to Google that your website is authoritative – which will boost your dental SEO. When it comes to local SEO, it’s critical to seek out links to local, high-ranking websites.
Pro tip: Local SEO for dentists is effective when you exchange links with local schools, colleges, clinics, your local Chamber of Commerce, media outlets, and business directories.
Take full advantage of the benefits of local SEO for dentists and invest in professional online marketing services that yield returns. Contact us on 1300 163 058 for a complimentary consultation to discover how to introduce new patients to your practice today.
References
10 Local SEO Strategies For Doctors And Dentists
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/local-seo-doctors-dentists/453799/#close
Local SEO for dentists: give your citations a full check-up
https://www.semrush.com/local-seo/local-seo-dentist/
