Whether you are running a dental practice or are a dentist yourself, you have enough to manage. From patient care to managing the staff, handling your online presence as well can be tricky. Maybe you are even investing in expensive online ads, thinking this is the real deal to getting more online visibility. Well, good news – there is a better way than investing in ads, which, if done correctly, will also save you time and effort. It is called Local SEO, and this is your ticket to showing up where it matters most online – in the search results of potential patients in your area who are in need of a dentist.
Let’s have a look at how Local SEO can help you get more patients without having to invest a lot of money or get stuck in excruciating daily updates.
Why Should I Care About Local SEO as a Dentist?
Imagine this: a potential patient pulls out their phone and types “dentist near me.” Voilà – your practice is right there on the first page. That's the magic of Local SEO. But don’t just take my word for it: 92% of searchers never even bother to scroll to page two. So, if you’re on that golden first page, you're basically the front-runner in a race you didn’t even have to run. But if you're not there? Well, you might as well be invisible.
Paid ads can work, sure. But once you stop paying, this tap turns off fast, leaving you hanging. Local SEO, though? It gets you organic traffic, which is proven to be more stable and sustainable and can even show a higher conversion rate. You will basically only attract people who are actively searching for a dentist and not people who are shown the ad by accident.
Optimize Your Dental Practice’s Google Business Profile
If the Google Business Profile (GBP) were a VIP lounge, you'd want to be in it. This is where the magic happens. It’s how you show up in the Local Pack – the top three businesses that pop up right on top of search results, along with a little map. You’ve seen it, right? That’s where people are looking. And let’s be honest: no one is scrolling through countless pages to find a dentist when there’s one just down the road.
Follow these steps to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile:
- Claim Your Profile: To claim your GBP, enter your business name in Google. If Google already created a profile for you, you will see a button with something like “Claim now” or “Are you the owner?” below the business name and address. Click on the button and complete the verification. If there is no profile yet, create a new GBP.
- Fill Out Every Detail: Make sure you fill in all the details correctly. This includes business name, address, phone number, website, attributes, business category, description, images, social media accounts, opening hours, special opening hours, and service areas.
- Which Images To Add? People like to see what they’re walking into. Got a beautiful dental practice? Show it off. Friendly staff? Post those smiles (pun intended). Show also the surroundings of your dental practice and the front door. It gives people reassurance that they will find you without issues when they actually want to visit.
- Verify: Sometimes you need to complete a special verification. The verification method can vary from a postcard (or letter) being sent to your address up to filming a video that shows that you are actually the owner or in charge of the dental practice (or have at least manager access).
- Google Posts: Schedule daily updates with Google Posts to higher the engagement of your Google Business Profile and showcase your unique selling points. Upload relevant images (of your team, events, procedures, etc.) and add an engaging caption. You can also add a Call to Action (Book an appointment, call now, learn more, etc.) to encourage patients to engage with your GBP. Furthermore, daily Google Posts signal to Google that your business is active and engaging. When inserting the right local keywords (from your keyword research), you further increase your online visibility.
You’re now ready to greet your future patients where they’re looking: right on Google.
Optimize Your Dental Practice’s Website
Local SEO revolves around the GBP, but your website should not be neglected. On-page SEO (which means basically optimizing your website) can also influence how visible your GBP (or business in general) will become. Let’s be honest, people aren’t just searching for “best dentist near me” and hoping for magic – they are also looking for details, especially when it comes to health-related issues. And if your site doesn’t load fast or look good on mobile, those potential patients are gone faster than a kid with a cavity who heard the word "needle."
Thus, let’s take a look at how to optimize your website properly:
- Speed and Mobile Optimization: Your site should be quick and smooth on a phone. Half of your visitors will be on their phones, so don’t leave them hanging with slow load times because they will get frustrated and quickly make their way to your competitor’s website. You can check your website’s speed on PageSpeed Insights.
- Local Keywords: Use phrases like “family dentist in [city]” throughout your website. It’s how Google knows you’re legit and actually located in a specific area. Use a keyword research tool (you can start with Google Keyword Planner, it’s free!) and find potential search queries that have a high volume and comparably low keyword difficulty. You want to target the low-hanging fruit!
- NAP Consistency: Sounds simple, but your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) should be exactly the same across every online platform. No “we’ll fix that later” mistakes here. Google is picky about this, as this is a crucial ranking factor for Local SEO.
- Heading Structure: Google needs to read your page properly, and you can help by structuring the headings correctly. Every page should have an overall descriptive H1 heading and can be further divided into subheadings (H2, H3, H4).
- URL-Structure and Navigation: Make sure you have correct navigation on your page. Structure smaller pages such as blog articles under an umbrella page (overview page) which is easily accessible via the header. Make sure there are no “hidden” pages and that the user does not need to click more than 3 times to get to their desired destination.
- Meta Description and Title Tag: Give every page a descriptive yet engaging title tag and meta description. This will not show on the page itself but on the Google search results and needs to reflect what the page is about. The title tag should not be longer than 60 characters and the meta description not longer than 160 characters.
- Image Optimization: Before uploading images, give them a good file name beforehand. Instead of ezfuheh78.jp use a name with a keyword such as dentalpractice-newyork.jpg. When the images are uploaded, do not forget to give them descriptive alt text so the search engines can understand the content of the image!
A well-optimized website is like having a well-lit sign outside your practice. Without it, you’re just hoping someone stumbles upon you in the dark. The better your website’s health and the more thought-through your keyword integration, the more authority your website will be given in the search results. Remember, you do not want to end up on the second page of the search results where nobody clicks!
We know it can be confusing! Learn here more about the difference between website SEO and local SEO.
Make Patient Reviews Your Secret Weapon
88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. People want to know what others think before they trust you with their teeth. So, don’t be shy – ask your happy patients to leave a review. Especially when it comes to healthcare-related things, people tend to be extra cautious about whom to trust. Not only because healthcare is expensive but health itself is literally priceless!
How to manage reviews efficiently for your dental practice:
- Ask Right Away: Right after a great appointment, when the experience is still fresh. If someone’s smiling after their cleaning, that’s the time. When they make a follow-up appointment at the reception, ensure that the receptionist is asking to leave a review.
- Send a Follow-Up: Email or text reminders work wonders. Include a direct link to your Google Business Profile so it’s easy.
- Print QR Codes: Create a QR code that leads to your Google reviews (or other review platforms) and place them on receipts, flyers, and signs around the waiting room and doors.
- Respond to Reviews: You need to respond to every review that comes in within 24 hours at least (within the hour is even better). No matter how positive or negative the review is, you need to respond and show that you value feedback and are inclined to provide the best service possible. Responding to reviews signals to Google that you are an active business that values its patients. We recommend that you use a review management tool (as included in the Obenan subscription) to automate the review responses. Learn more about our Review Management Tool, and save time and effort while becoming more visible on Google!
In the image below, you can see how to generate the review request link in your Google Business Profile.
Build Citations by Getting Listed on Local Directories for Dentists
Citation Building is very crucial in Local SEO and is even more important than building backlinks to your website (which you might know, is crucial for general website SEO). To build citations, you are creating listings (or profiles) on matching directories such as Yelp, Healthgrades, Yellow Pages, or any local business directory basically. These citations help Google verify that you’re a legit, established business.
How to build citations:
- Check Existing Listings: Sometimes you are already listed somewhere (the same as Google sometimes creates GBPs itself), and you need to claim the listing. We recommend you search all directories for already existing listings of your dental practice to ensure NAP consistency. If you do not claim and update all your listings, you risk inconsistent business details across the web and therefore a loss in online visibility (or no growth – depending on how you look at it).
- Submit to New Directories: Not listed on Yelp or Healthgrades yet? Time to get on it. The more places you show up, the more legit you look to both Google and potential patients. Furthermore, you have a higher chance of being found on various platforms. Patients do not all come from Google; they often also find you directly on the directories.
Citations are like breadcrumbs leading Google – and your future patients – right to your door. Make sure you leave those breadcrumbs and leave them on the right track (aka maintaining NAP consistency).
Learn more about how to automatically get listed on suitable directories and maintain NAP consistency!
Create Localized Content for Your Dental Practice
Google loves fresh, unique, and local content. You love new patients. Let’s make both happen by creating content that’s useful, relevant, and answers the exact questions your future patients are asking.
Here are some content ideas to consider:
- Blog Posts with Local Keywords: Write about dental topics that matter to people in your community, like “Top 5 Dental Health Tips for Families in [City].” It shows you care, you’re knowledgeable, and you will gain topic authority. If your website is ranking well, it will also contribute to your overall visibility on the web.
- Location-Specific Service Pages: If you have multiple dental practices, make sure each one gets its own page. It’s a simple but effective way to tell Google you’re serving multiple areas. Ensure NAP consistency and embed Google Maps on these pages. With this, patients can immediately see where to find your dental practice. Moreover, include location-specific images and write location-specific text to show the unique selling points of each location. You can also describe the different services that each location offers.
- FAQs: It is almost certain that patients will have more or less the same questions before a visit. You can already answer the most common questions on your website by provisioning an FAQ section. This section can show the questions, and the answers will be visible in a drop-down menu. With this, you save space on the website but also provide a lot more information to not only your patients but also to Google. Consequently, you will not only be considered credible and trustworthy, but you will also heighten the chance of being matched with the right search queries – aka you will get more visibility on the web!
Regularly updated content makes you look like a dental expert in your community. That’s what keeps people coming back and will have them recommending you to family and friends!
Monitor and Adjust the Local SEO Strategy of Your Dental Practice
SEO isn’t something you can do once and then never again. To get the most out of your efforts, you need to monitor your progress regularly and adjust your strategy as needed. Sometimes results can show immediately, but mostly they take time to be picked up by Google. Thus, you need to keep an eye on fluctuations and be aware of the big picture.
How to measure your progress:
- Google Analytics: Use this free tool to track your website traffic and see where your visitors are coming from. You can distinguish between direct search, organic search, referral, or paid search. Furthermore, you can examine the behavior of your website visitors on the different pages (for instance, where they click, if they scroll, how long they stay on a page, and the overall pathways they follow on your website).
- Google Search Console: This free tool helps you monitor how your website is performing in search results and provides insights on any technical issues that may be affecting your ranking. You can also examine how your webpages are performing in the search results. If you are getting a lot of impressions but not many clicks, then it is time to update the SEO title and meta description to engage people to click through to your website.
- Keyword Research Tool: Monitor regularly which keywords are performing well and which keywords are not trending anymore. You will need to update your content regularly as search intent changes. For instance, you can adjust the content of your Google Posts in case there are new opportunities arising and tap into potential new keywords earlier than your competitors.
- Obenan: If you are using Obenan, you will get deep insights into your GBP data as we are keeping your data for more than just the regular 6 months. Thus, you are able to compare the data from last year with the current year to really understand whether you have improved or not. Furthermore, we provide great insights into your customer review sentiment with our Emotion AI tool. With this, you are able to quickly understand how your customers feel about your services, and you will receive a 5-step action plan based on the latest reviews on how to improve your service.
Monitoring your SEO performance ensures that you stay on top of your local search rankings and make the necessary adjustments to keep growing.
Results of Dentists Using Local SEO Tools
Incorporating local SEO tools into your strategy can achieve great results!
Here is an example of what you can expect on average with our Obenan local SEO tools for dentists:
- 65% Increase in Online Visibility: Your practice will become more visible to people searching for dental services in your area.
- 58% More Appointments: With better visibility and an optimized GMB profile, more potential patients will find and book appointments with your practice.
- 72% Boost in Website Traffic: As your rankings improve, more people will visit your website to learn about your services and book appointments. *These figures are based on historical client data and should not be considered a guarantee of future sales performance.
The Long-Term Benefits of Local SEO for Dentists
Local SEO is a cost-effective strategy to increase the online visibility of your dental practice among patients in your immediate area. By leveraging Local SEO, you can attract new patients and save a lot of money in the process, as you are getting rid of other marketing activities such as online ads. Local SEO for dentists includes optimizing the GBP, effective review management, citation building, localized content, and Google Posts. With these activities, you can secure a spot in the local map pack without relying heavily on online ads to generate traffic and visibility.
Luckily, you do not have to do it all by yourself. Obenan offers you great support with local SEO tools that basically automate all the tasks we have described in this article. While you can of course perform everything manually, we recommend you integrate local SEO tools into your workflow to save time and simultaneously money. Local SEO tools can, on top, ensure an accuracy that manual updating simply struggles to maintain.
