You want to grow your dental practice, and you’re ready to start using SEO to attract new patients. After all the dental industry can be very competitive. Having your dental site on page one of local search rankings is extremely valuable and can bring in more business. To grow your practice you need patients searching on Google and other search engines to find you at the top of the listings.
So how does SEO (search engine optimization) work, and how can it help your practice? Keep reading to learn more about dental SEO, and how it can help you find new patients and grow your business.
Define What SEO is and How It Can Help Dentists Grow Their Practices
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an effective way for dentists to generate leads and expand their practice. The goal o any dental SEO program is to boost search engine rankings for your dental office and help you find more dental patients.
Think of dental SEO as a type of digital marketing campaign for your dental business. To gain more website traffic you need to understand how the search engines work and what SEO strategy will get you to the top of the search results for valuable relevant keywords.
SEO has a lot of different elements to it. This includes everything from on-page optimization, backlinking, SEO audits, technical SEO, meta tags, and a lot more. However, SEO for dentists doesn’t have to be complicated to understand.
What it really all comes down to is creating and sharing quality content. Just think of SEO as essentially the process of creating search-engine-friendly content that focuses on things prospective patients actually want to know about. By creating high-quality content based around relevant keywords that people are actually looking for in the search engines, you’ll be able to get more traffic for your dental website. The higher your dental site shows up in the search engines, the more potential patients you’ll find. It’s that simple.
With the help of a qualified SEO Agency, you can leverage the power of dental SEO to put your practice at the top of search results, helping you get noticed and grow your patient base faster than ever before.
Many dental practices can really benefit from search engine optimization, and a good dental SEO agency will know exactly how to create results for you.
What Are the Benefits of Dentist SEO
Dentist SEO can be a great investment for dental practices looking to expand the reach of their online presence. Quality dental SEO services can help your practice increase its visibility across search engines, driving more potential patients to your website and generating more interest in your dental services.
Best of all, dentist SEO can help deliver a steady stream of qualified leads directly to your dental business. Investing in dental SEO services is an effective and cost-efficient way to grow your dental practice.
What is the Best Dental SEO Marketing Strategy
Having really good search engine optimization is critical to any dental practice that wants to bring in new prospective patients. Content marketing is the basis of all real SEO marketing. Content marketing is a powerful SEO strategy that can help dental practices maximize their visibility. That means higher rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) and more qualified leads.
You start by creating content around keyword-rich topics relevant to the services offered by dentists. You also want to optimize existing web pages for better rankings in organic searches.
For example, if your dental office is trying to sell more Invisalign then you need to start generating quality, relevant content about that. Maybe blog posts about the pros and cons of Invisalign, or you could write a blog post about the most common questions people have about it.
Start with Good Keyword Research
Before you jump in and start creating blog posts, there’s something you need to know. Google estimates that over 80% off all keywords bring in very little traffic (less than 10 searches a month). They also estimate that less than 1% of all keywords account for over 40% of all web traffic. WOW! So that means you better be 100% sure about what keywords you targeting. That’s where keyword research comes in. A good dental SEO company has the tools and experience to find out what words and phrases people are actually typing in on the search engines. This is critically important so you don’t waste your time chasing after worthless keywords (AKA, junk keywords).
So with good keyword research combined with the right content strategy, your dental practice will be able to get to the top of the search engines.
However, if your SEO strategy isn’t focused on content marketing then it’s not going to work. Another big pitfall is if you’re dental SEO company is using dangerous “black hat” techniques. More on this later in the article.
Other Areas to Keep In Mind
In addition to content marketing, other SEO strategies such as link building, directory listings, and local SEO can help boost a dental practice’s visibility in localized areas, further increasing the chances of new patients finding it. Taking advantage of all of these methods is essential for dental practices that want to grow their business through SEO.
Beware of Using Shady Black Hat SEO Strategies
Black hat SEO techniques are methods of trying to trick or “game” the search engines. These strategies go against the guidelines set out by major search engines, such as Google. Using “black hat” techniques can range from keyword stuffing to creating doorway or link-wheeling pages, and are designed to manipulate a website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). These are just a few examples of the endless number of black hat SEO techniques.
While they may offer a short-term boost in rankings, black hat dental SEO can ultimately lead to the long-term damage that has the potential to completely ruin a website’s reputation. That’s why it’s important to ONLY use white hat SEO tactics. Search engines are smarter than you think and are very good at spotting these types of tricks. It’s not worth the risk and you should always make sure all your dental SEO stays clear of any shady black hat strategies.
White hat SEO includes creating original and high-quality content regularly, optimizing existing webpages for better rankings (on-page SEO), and leveraging link-building strategies to create a network of authority websites pointing back to the dental practice website. White hat SEO is also important because it ensures that your content is seen by real customers rather than just bots and search engine crawlers. Also when you use black hat search engine optimization you risk getting penalized by Google and that will really hurt your ranking.
Remember, There Aren't Any SEO Shortcuts
By investing in quality dentist SEO services from an experienced and reputable company, you can ensure that your dental practice achieves better rankings on search engine results pages. Through white hat SEO tactics, you can maximize the reach of your online presence and bring more potential patients to your website.
It’s important to remember that SEO is not a one-time fix but rather an ongoing process of optimizing your practice for search engine algorithms to consistently generate a steady stream of qualified leads directly to your dental practice. Investing in white hat dental SEO services is the right way to grow your dental practice.
What Type of Dental Website Will Work for My Dental Practice?
There are many different types of websites and platforms to choose from. Ultimately, which one you pick doesn’t matter to your dental SEO campaign that much. However, be aware of some proprietary systems and dental website services as you may have far less control over your dental practice website. Some of these systems prevent you from making many different types of changes (or make you pay to have them done).
Many “dental website” services don’t allow you to take your website with you if you decide to switch to another company. Imagine spending all that money only to lose your dental website. You’d have to start over from scratch. The best advice I can give you is to make sure to get a WordPress website. WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world and is used for all types of websites. In fact, it’s estimated that over 40% of all websites (not just dental websites) worldwide are built with WordPress.
WordPress is also the most SEO-friendly and allows you to customize your website with plugins. Also, it’s very affordable and easy to maintain. That’s why we recommend WordPress for building dental websites that are SEO-friendly and help build a solid online presence for your practice. Having a WordPress site will make your dental SEO a lot easier in many ways.
Are Google Ads Better Than SEO For Growing my Dental Practice?
Google PPC ads are an online advertising tool that enables businesses to create and display text, image, or video-based advertisements on the Google search engine results pages (SERP). This is an effective way to drive more traffic to a website since users looking for search terms relevant to the business will see the ad. When a user clicks on a PPC Ad, the business pays for each click. Thus the name PPC (pay-per-click).
Google Ads is a great way to get more traffic to your website quickly. However, it isn’t necessarily better than SEO in terms of long-term ROI. On one hand, SEO will help you build an organic presence and create a steady stream of qualified leads over time. One thing to keep in mind is that Google Ads can be expensive. Unlike with SEO, once you stop running PPC ads, you stop getting website traffic.
Overall, SEO and PPC Ads are effective tools for growing any dental practice. The key is to find the right balance between both types to grow your dental practice.
How Does Backlinking Fit Into My Dental SEO Program
Once optimized content is in place, building backlinks will help improve the website’s visibility on search engines. Digital marketing can be combined with dental SEO to maximize the findings of new patients. Getting started with dental SEO is a straightforward process. It does however requires dedication for your dental practice to get the results you’re looking for.
How Can Social Media Help Attract New Patients
Search engine optimization (SEO) for dentists is important but you shouldn’t overlook the power of social media. Social media platforms offer an amazing opportunity for dentists to create and share content in an eye-catching format, expand their reach across demographics, and build relationships with their patient base.
On one-hand search engines do consider social media links to be of lower quality than other types of backlinks (mainly because they are so easy to get). However, good quality social media content can really bring in a bunch of direct traffic.
When it comes to using social media effectively to promote dental services, the key is understanding your target audience. Then just create content that resonates with them. You can also add some nice hashtags to boost your social posts’ visibility!
Common FAQs About Dental SEO
What is Guest Posting?
Guest posting for dental websites is an effective way to get your brand in front of a new audience. If done right it can help your search engine rankings. Guest posting involves the process of creating content for another website, to gain exposure to their readers. This content can be anything from blog posts, articles, and reviews do I know if my dental SEO efforts are working? You should definitely use guest posts as part of your overall search engine optimization strategy.
How Much Does SEO Typically Cost?
Dental SEO programs can vary in cost. A good dental SEO agency will create a custom SEO strategy for your dental website. Individual dental SEO companies have rates that can vary considerably. When you factor in the average patient lifespan cost and average lifespan value of each patient, then SEO is well worth the investment.
Is SEO a One-Time Setup or an Ongoing Monthly Program?
Dental search engine optimization is essentially an ongoing monthly digital marketing program designed to get you to the top of the search engine result page. Dental practices should expect an SEO campaign to typically last around 6-12 months.
What's the Best Way to Optimize My Dental Website for Local Search?
This is called “local SEO”. Getting found in local searches is the goal for all dental practices. The best strategy to improve your local search rankings is to: build your overall domain authority, continually produce quality relevant content, and also specifically target “geographic” keywords. For example, keywords like “Dentists Phoenix” could be targeted in your SEO campaign. Dental practices need to build good Local SEO into their overall strategy. Dental search engine optimization isn’t easy but by including some locally targeted keywords, you’ll get better results.
How can I use social Media to Improve Dental Practice's Website Ranking?
Social media is an incredibly powerful tool for dental practices looking to get to the top of Google search results. This can be part of your SEO strategy but social media alone likely won’t be enough to create the results you’re looking for.
Social media should be part of your dental SEO campaign. You can use tactics such as hashtags and cultivate relationships with influencers. However, you still need to focus on creating content that resonates with the target audience. You should also engage with user comments. By crafting and sharing content that speaks directly to potential patients dentists can use social media to drive more traffic.
Can My Dental Website Still Be on Page One of Google without SEO?
Yes, you can use paid Google Ads (PPC ads). This can put you at the top of the non-organic search results and also on Google Maps results. However, these tend to be very expensive and can be cost-prohibitive for many dental practices. However, the dental industry is very competitive and without either SEO or PPC ads it’s very unlikely you’ll make it to page one of Google Search Results. Overall many dental practices find that a good search engine optimization strategy is a more cost-effective option over PPC ads.
What Makes Dental Search Engine Optimization Different?
Your SEO agency needs to take into account the unique needs that dental practices have. The overall SEO strategy needs to help target the right type of new patients. Also, the need to really focus on local SEO is just one of the many things that make it different from other types of businesses.
Will Dental SEO Results Create Higher Search Engine Rankings?
Yes, dental SEO is a fantastic way to bring in more prospective patients who find you on the top of the search results (AKA Google search). By having a good SEO strategy that focuses on creating quality content (and other white hat techniques) you can see a big improvement in your search rankings.
How Does Mobile Optimization Impact My Search Engine Ranking?
Dental SEO marketing has to take into account how people are visiting your website. These days it’s estimated that more than half of all web traffic is on mobile devices. So to rank well in the search results, your dental practice’s website must be designed to work well on mobile devices.
Monitor Your Progress and Adjust Your Tactics as Needed
Monitoring your progress is an important part of your dental SEO campaign. After all, how will you know if it’s working if you don’t track your results? Then if something isn’t working, try readjusting your tactics.
Keeping track of your search engine rankings, website traffic, and such will help you determine whether or not you are seeing the results you’re looking for. The best way to do this is with Google Analytics. It’s a free service that Google offers. You just install a small piece of code on your website and then you can track who’s visiting. It gives you lots of useful data like, how many monthly visitors you got, what pages they looked at, and for how long.
Final Thoughts On Dental Search Engine Optimization
With the right strategy and dedication, you can continue growing more new patients for your practice – without worrying about wasting precious time and resources on ineffective methods. You’ll need to know if your dental practice’s website is moving up in the search engines each month so you can adjust your SEO strategy as needed.
Call the Dental SEO Experts at Scottsdale Website Design
If you’re a dentist looking for more patients, SEO can help. Getting to page one on search engines can help bring in a lot of new patients. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can attract new visitors to your site and grow your practice.
However, SEO can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why it’s important to partner with an experienced SEO agency that can help you implement the right strategies and track your progress over time. As dental SEO experts, we know how to build SEO rankings for your business.
Scottsdale Website Design offers free SEO consultations to help dentists get started on the path to growth. Contact us today to schedule yours.