Did you know that 97% of consumers today use search engines to discover local businesses? Did you know that 75% of searchers do not go beyond the first page of results?
As a dentist, you’re part of a competitive, fast-paced marketplace. You might not have time to develop a strong SEO strategy, as there’s too much competition for your attention to prioritising. But that might also be limiting the number of patients you see.
Several dentists are now turning to search engine optimisation to boost their ranking results. With an intense search engine optimisation strategy, you can gain more organic traffic and create more business.
Do not fall behind your competitors. Learn more about search engine optimisation and how it can help your dentist practice.
What Is Local SEO for Dentists?
SEO for dentists involves increasing your site’s visibility by making your dental practice appear in search engine results.
While traditional SEO makes your practice in search engine results much more visible, local SEO marketing focuses on increasing your website’s local search rankings to attract patients to your clinic.
For example, if someone types in diverse searches for a dentist near me or any combination of various dental search terms, an SEO strategy puts your practice at the top of the results (or as close as possible).
Your visibility in SERPs still depends on Google’s algorithms, which rely heavily on over 200 ranking factors, some of which Google has not disclosed.
Consider Google’s mission statement as you work on your dental SEO plan. It will be the ideal help for starting to handle how you approach your dental SEO in general.
Importance of SEO for Dentists
The aim is to place your website on the first couple of pages of a Google search. Google ranks above Yahoo and Bing because it’s the most popular web search engine with millions upon millions of searches every day.
This is essential because after searching for local businesses on Google, 72% of consumers will visit a store within five miles of their location. That translates to more traffic for both your website and your physical location.
Executing an effective SEO strategy for dentists can enhance your dental practice’s sphere of influence and provide encouraging new patient leads.
Understanding how to execute an effective SEO strategy for dentists can enhance your dental business’s sphere of influence and provide encouraging new patient leads.
SEO also lets you boost your practice’s visibility in your business area, as opposed to that in your local area. Because local SEO has less competition for rankings, local SEO offers you results faster than standard SEO. It is the optimal SEO approach for dentists.
Benefits of SEO for Dentists
As the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic increased, the focus on local SEO increased as well. Businesses have found that local SEO has been a crucial weapon in their marketing arsenal since that time. Here are some local SEO tips for your dental practice that you may want to adopt for your purposes.
1. Build Trust and Credibility With Patients
Potential patients ought to trust your dental service provider when they make an appointment.
What is the best way to achieve this? You can build up trust by building positive online ratings.
The more positive reviews you garner, the more organic online traffic and people planning to visit the dentist you will get. Remember, Google uses rating as a trust factor for SEO.
2. Drives More Traffic to Your Website
Good search engine ranking increases your audience of potential clients.
As more people see your site, your traffic increases, making acquiring new patients even more challenging.
A carefully developed SEO strategy can help you better your website’s visibility on the web.
3. Provides a Better Website User Experience
SEO’s emphasis is on the site visitor experience.
It gives better usability and boosts traffic.
To create a site that conspicuously appears to be professional and dependable, you can utilize this SEO technique to make an improved website practical experience that will have more conversions, page views, and higher earnings.
How to Optimize Your Practice for Off-Site Ranking Factors
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which stands for any action you take off your website that enhances your standing in search engine results pages (SERPs). Off-site SEO is equally necessary, and it works to complement your on-site efforts.
Here are some helpful tips for a solid off-site SEO strategy.
1. Create Valuable Backlinks
Building backlinks can be vital for high rankings on Google’s first page.
Google is more likely to rank your website higher in search engine ranking if you have more backlinks. There are two kinds of links that can make; natural links and links made through self-promotion.
Their source is natural, and they arrive without the involvement of the site owner. They can be regarded as a sign of trust and endorsement.
Shared links can be attained by sharing your content with a social media influencer.
2. List Your Practice on Local Directories
Another strategy for promoting your dental practice is local SEO.
When you list your course online, you can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, particularly in your local area.
This list doesn’t need to have an internet link to your website, but it must include your name, address, and phone number.
Be aware that your title, address, and telephone number must be identical for each listing to benefit.
3. Build Patient Reviews
Online reviews affect SEO.
Prospective patients look to reviews to learn information about your practice.
Positive reviews may increase a person’s willingness to make an appointment in your facility.
To encourage reviews, ask patients to leave a review and follow up thereafter if they do not.
You can use these reviews on your website as well.
4. Research local dental keywords and optimize your content
Generating useful keywords for your dental practice can be as simple as searching the words in the search bar on Google.
Google automatically returns suggestions for related searches, and you can use these suggestions to launch your practice’s keyword strategy and content development.
5. Build out your Google Business Profile page
You are obtaining a Google Business Profile (GBP) listing that places you on Google search results as a reference for a local establishment.
Note that you must verify the name, address, and phone (NAP) info you include to complete the listing.
You won’t be fully optimized until you submit all the required information.
Include information such as name, address, phone number (if possible), hours, category, website, description (mention your services and describe a unique selling proposition), and your patients want to be relevant to you, and Google won’t show you if you don’t include all this information.
6. Track your progress
Any part of any local SEO strategy, don’t stop search engine optimization even after your rank rises to 1! While local SEO is less competitive than traditional SEO, any SEO technique takes time to show results.
That’s why keeping track of the impact rankings, traffic, conversions, etc., of your local SEO strategy, is key.
Get More Patients With SEO for Dentists
The reality is that dentists cannot afford not to take advantage of SEO.
SEO for dentists can help drive new patients to your practice and rank you higher than your competitors.
If you’re starting a dental practice or want to improve your current SEO plan, we’re able to assist. Blue Cloud Services has been assisting businesses to develop SEO plans for many years.
Don’t put your practice behind the eight-ball.
Book your free SEO strategy call today!