A solid dental SEO campaign is one that is constantly maintained and which is given the time and attention that it deserves.

One of the biggest problems most dentist offices have is that they do not have enough time to really build a successful campaign, nor to do the research required to really learn what makes a strong, healthy search engine optimization strategy.

What they are left with, then, instead, is a largely ineffective campaign.

This sometimes also occurs after offices have worked with a professional, but have since taken over control of their own campaign.

Here are nine things that are sure to completely ruin your SEO:

1. Using unnatural keywords.

Not only can Google tell when you are writing just to make unnatural keywords fit into your content, your readers can tell, too.

And that means that they are probably going to abandon your website, rather than stick around and eventually make an appointment.

Trying to use keywords that just cannot be naturally incorporated into text is one of the fastest ways to label your page as low-quality.

Write primarily with the reader in mind and choose keywords that can be used naturally.

 

2. Trying to cloak your content.

In an attempt to make their website look larger or more attractive to search engines, some websites will create phantom pages.

These are pages that cannot actually be accessed by a human visitor, but which are logged by Google, in order to help a website rank for a specific keyword.

It sounds like a good idea, right?

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You don’t have to worry about whether or not the content is valuable, because no one will ever read it.

But Google can tell when you are cloaking your content and it is likely to earn you a strike against your website.

 

3. Use duplicate content.

As you might already know, there are two different types of duplicate content.

The first type is content that is simply stolen from another website and pasted into your website.

The other is the same content on multiple pages of your website, even if the content is original to that site.

Google does not like either. In fact, it is safe to say that Google hates both of these types of content.

Instead of doing this, write one hundred percent original content from every page on your website.

 

4. Use spun content.

The easiest, cheapest, and scummiest way to get original content is to take content that someone else has written and run it through a “spinner.”

These are online tools and programs that rewrite the content for you.

Ye be warned: the content will come out the other side original, but it will probably also make absolutely no sense.

Google is really good at identifying this type of content, so don’t push your luck.

 

5. Use irrelevant keywords.

Another way to quickly ruin your dental SEO campaign is to use keywords that are completely irrelevant to your website.

While you might be able to quickly rank for these keywords, once the search engines discover that the keywords have nothing to do with the context, you are going to be left with a very low rank, or possibly, no rank at all.

It is also not a good idea to use keywords that include a trademarked term or idea, especially if it relates directly to your competitors, who could sue you for using their term.

 

6. Exchange links and pay for low quality link placements.

There is a big difference between a natural link and a link that you pay for, either by using a link placement service or by bribing another website with a link exchange.

Google really does not like either of these tactics and will immediately mark those links as spam.

You could seriously hurt your page rank by having even just one link that looks a little bit like spam.

The algorithms used by search engines put a heavy emphasis on the links on your webpage and the links that send people to your webpage from other sites.

Great links can seriously boost your ranking. Bad links will wound and eventually ruin your strategy.

 

7. Distribute a virus.

You probably would never do this intentionally—but if you offer any kind of download (a whitepaper about how to teach your children to brush their teeth effectively, for example), you may be inadvertently distributing a virus, if a malicious program has attached itself to that download.

In order to prevent this from happening, make sure that the security on your website is up to date and if you are flagged for this behavior, contact Google to let them know that you have been hacked and are fixing the issue.

 

8. Wait until your competitor has the top spot.

The time to start a SEO campaign is not after your competitor is already highly ranked—it is before.

Wait too long, and it will be impossible to dethrone them.

The very top link gets the most clicks.

While the second link will still get a fair bit of attention, if you are vying to get as much traffic, and, therefore, as many new patients as possible, you need to start your campaign as soon as possible.

 

9. Provide worthless content.

Your content may contain keywords, but if it is not valuable, then you might as well not have any content at all.

The right keywords might bring people to your website, but if your content is not informative and relevant, your bounce rate will counteract any boosts you might have seen from being keyword optimized.

 

The good new?

If you do not do these nine things, you can protect your SEO strategy and keep it solid and functional.

 

 

 

 

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