Google processes over 3.5 billion searches every day. That’s 1.2 trillion every year around the globe. People head to Google when they need to research products, find answers to their questions, or even to find a new dentist.
Search engine optimization (SEO) will help you reach new clients on search engines like Google. By adding dental SEO to your digital marketing strategy, you can boost your brand and expand your reach. Then, you can attract more people to your practice and grow as a business.
That’s just the start! Keep reading to learn more about dental SEO and how it can benefit your practice.
What Is Dental SEO?
Dental SEO is a marketing technique that helps you appear organically in search engines like Google. With organic SEO and white-hat practices, you won’t pay for your top-of-the-page position. Instead, you can appear higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) by creating content for your target audience.
In order to start using dental practice SEO, you need to know your target audience. Are you focusing on children or adults? Are your patients more interested in regular cleanings or advanced procedures?
What are your patients searching for? Think about their main concerns, too.
The better you know your target audience, the more likely you can create content that appeals to their interests.
Then, you can use tools like Google Trends and Keyword Planner to determine what keywords are patients are searching for.
For an effective dental search engine optimization strategy, your content needs to match search intent. When your content reflects what people want, you’re more likely to appeal to their interests and needs. Then, they’ll visit your website in search of the answers they need.
An overall dental SEO strategy involves on-page SEO, off-SEO, and local SEO.
For example, you’ll need to optimize your homepage, services pages, and blog for specific keywords. These keywords should appear in the:
- Page title
- URL
- Introduction and closing body text
- Heading (such as an H2)
- Alt text (of your images)
You should also create a local SEO strategy for your practice by:
- Updating your Google My Business listing
- Keeping your contact information consistent in any online directories
- Asking patients to post reviews online
- Creating local-based content
Google prioritizes websites that create unique, high-quality content that reflects the user’s search intent. Keep that in mind when creating blog posts!
Best Practices
There are a few other best practices you should keep in mind when developing an effective dental SEO strategy. For example, Google uses mobile-first indexing to determine SERP rankings.
Why? For starters, mobile devices account for 60% of all web traffic. People are on-the-go, spending more time on their phones than desktop computers. Making sure your site is mobile-optimized will ensure people can see your site on smaller screens.
Then, they can schedule an appointment from your mobile site.
Try using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to see if your site is optimized.
Google also looks for websites that load quickly. A positive user experience (UX) is important to SEO. Make sure your site is fast, easy to navigate, and easy to read on every device.
A messy, frustrating website will scare off visitors.
Improving UX will encourage people to stay on your site. The longer they stay, the more their dwell time will increase. Higher dwell time and clickthrough rates will boost your SERP ranking.
With these best practices in mind, you can improve the dental practice SEO on your website.
5 Ways SEO Can Benefit Your Practice
Now that you have a better understanding of SEO, let’s discuss how it can benefit your practice.
1. Boost Your Brand Awareness and Visibility
How will patients know to schedule an appointment with you if they don’t even know your practice exists? Dental practice SEO will boost brand awareness, making it easier for people to find you online.
If you’re not on the first SERP of a Google search, there’s a chance people won’t find you at all. Most people don’t look beyond the first page.
A top-of-page position will help you appear in front of every person who searches using keywords relevant to your practice. The more often people see you, the more brand awareness will build. Improving your brand awareness and visibility will help you attract more patients.
The more often they see your website, the more likely you’ll stay top-of-mind, too.
2. Increase Engagement
Remember, more clicks on your website will increase your clickthrough rate, which can benefit your ranking. By creating engaging, interesting content, you can encourage more people to click throughout your site. Then, your ranking will rise, helping you attract more visitors.
Creating content based on what people want will encourage them to visit your site. Then, they’ll find the information they’re looking for.
For example, you can create a blog post about the benefits of different procedures or when to bring a child in for a cleaning. You can also create videos, infographics, or quizzes. Interactive content is a great way to get people engaged on your site.
As you increase engagement, you’re also showing patients you’re there to help.
Then, they’ll visit in person to ask their questions and request one of your services.
3. Get Ahead of the Competition
Dental SEO will help your website appear above a competitor’s. Ranking higher will help you attract potential patients before you get a chance to.
Some dental practices haven’t started using SEO yet. That gives you the chance to steal the prime-time spot before they can!
4. Appear Credible
The higher you rank, the more credible you’ll appear. Google wants to place websites it considers helpful resources at the top of the page. By ranking higher on SERPs, you can show patients you’re a credible resource in the industry.
Then, you can use your optimized content to prove that expertise.
By becoming a thought leader in your industry, you can attract more patients and develop brand trust for your practice.
5. It’s a Cost-Effective Strategy
Many marketing and advertising strategies can become costly. There’s also no guarantee flyers or billboards will generate results.
SEO is a cost-effective strategy. Plus, you can track the data to determine what’s working and what isn’t. By implementing dental practice SEO on your website, you can save money, attract new patients, and make more money in the long-run.
Dental SEO: 5 Ways SEO Strategies Can Boost Business
A dental SEO strategy can help you boost brand awareness, attract more patients, and improve your ROI. By using SEO best practices, you can boost your business and get ahead of the competition.
Ready to attract more patients? Book your SEO strategy consultation with our team today.