Building an online presence for your business is essential to marketing, and dental clinics are no exception. Dentists should optimize their websites to improve their online visibility, especially when people turn to Google to look for dental services near them.
This is where dental search engine optimization (SEO) for dental practice comes into the picture. These methods aim to propel your dental website to the first page of the search results.
Key Takeaways:
- All about dental SEO
- Why dental SEO is important
- The techniques for making your website rank one on Google
Table of Contents
What Is Dental SEO?
Dental SEO is making dental websites visible on search engines and increasing their rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs) so they can get organic traffic. The process covers on-page and off-page optimization for the dental practice’s website to climb the first spot of the SERP when potential patients search for dental-related keywords.
Why Is SEO Important for Dentists?
Aside from increasing search engine rankings and organic traffic, a solid SEO strategy helps position your dental business as a trusted authority in the field. Statista said the monthly search volumes for “what is a root canal” and “how much do braces cost” between June 2018 to July 2019 were 32,700 and 31,700, respectively.
Your dental clinic needs to appear on the SERPs for these searches to get more website visitors and prospective patients from your area.
Get Started with Dental SEO Marketing
It’s time to step up your strategies with these tips for a dental SEO campaign:
1. Do Keyword Research
SEO just wouldn’t work the way it does without keywords. This research identifies the words and phrases people use for search queries on Google search. In your case, you need to search relevant keywords in the dental industry to make your website visible to more patients looking for dental services.
Come up with a few terms that people usually search for, like “dental implants” and “teeth whitening.” When you’re done with your list, use a keyword research tool to gather data on the search volume of your keywords and how they fare against the competition. Targeting the keywords related to your industry in your content gives you better chances at higher SERP rankings.
2. Focus on On-Page SEO
To rank better, you need to improve every web page. This is where on-page SEO takes the spotlight. It’s optimizing your pages to improve visibility. Implement these on-page SEO tactics on your website:
Compelling Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
Title tags describe the page content that search engines will understand and run from 50 to 60 characters. Meta descriptions summarize the page and should be up to 160 characters long.
Follow the optimal length of these two, keep them straightforward, and include target keywords. A well-written title tag and meta description may help in a website’s click-through rates.
Simplified URL Structure
URLs don’t need to be complicated. Search engines understand simple, descriptive, and concise URLs. Include the target keywords in your URL and review it once again to see if it’s short enough for the users to understand.
Use Header Tags
These tags structure, organize, and improve the readability of your content. Use H1 for the article title, H2 for the section titles, H3 for list names, and H4 if you have any information left to organize. The header tags help search engines understand the hierarchy of your content. Incorporate target keywords in the headings as well for high chances of ranking.
Create High-Quality Content
High-quality and informative content plays a huge part in making a dental website SEO campaign work. You can create various content for your website, such as blog posts, pillar posts, and landing pages.
In creating written content, you should:
- Use the target keywords naturally. Read your sentences aloud with the keywords to make sure your writing doesn’t sound awkward.
- Stay away from keyword stuffing or using the same keywords in almost every paragraph. This makes your writing seem forced. Use different keywords in a few paragraphs to help your website rank higher.
- Aim to provide valuable content by researching your topic well. Read articles and related content to bring more substance into your content, especially if you’re writing a blog post.
- Keep your writing short and simple. When using technical terms, provide its simplest explanation to give clarity to your readers.
Make sure every part of your content is polished before you publish it. Schedule the posting of your content so your patients can have some valuable information to read while they’re on your website.
Optimize Your Images
Image optimization is another factor for high SERP rankings. Large images slow down the website and will cause your rankings to go down.
Put descriptive file names and alt tags on your images for better accessibility to the visually impaired and provide background about the image. Resize your images as well to speed up loading time.
Create a Mobile-Friendly Version of Your Website
A mobile-friendly website gives your SEO campaigns plus points and improves user experience. Nowadays, more people are using smartphones to look for dental services, so your website should be responsive and accessible by phone. Hire a web developer to create a mobile version of your website to maximize web traffic.
3. Pay Attention to Local SEO
Local SEO for dentists is essential in being visible online within their area. It lets you stand out in your locality and attract local patients to come to your clinic.
It is essential to know the importance of local SEO for your dental clinic. All of us when we look for an establishment such as a dentist in this case, we look for one close to us. Since proximity is an important factor, we must take care of our presence. It wouldn't be convenient for us if someone searched for "dentist near me" and our clinic didn't appear. And that’s why we need to take care and invest in our local SEO.
Some of the benefits that local SEO provides are: Enhanced Online Visibility, More Foot Traffic, Targeted Web Traffic, Reduced Advertising Costs... And many more, if you are interested in delving into the benefits of local SEO read this article.
To achieve these benefits. Improve your local SEO with these techniques:
Signing Up for Google Business Profile
This tool lets you put your business listing on Google. Once you sign up for this, you can ensure that your clinic appears in the local search query for dental clinics and on Google Maps. Just give your clinic name, kind of practice, business hours, phone number, and website for patients to quickly locate you.
Sign Up for Online Directories
Online directories like Yelp and ZocDoc give additional exposure to your clinic and allow search engines to verify your clinic’s information. Sign up for these so patients can easily find your clinic when they need dental service.
Create Localized Content
Research common dental problems in your area and make blog posts, landing pages, and articles about them. The content should address these issues and have relevant keywords in place, making your site more visible in the local search results.
4. Build Backlinks
Backlinks are the links from other websites that lead to your website. These are important factors in ranking for SEO as they improve your site’s authority and online visibility.
These are some tips for acquiring high-quality backlinks:
Content Creation
Creating and sharing content related to the dental industry that other websites can use as links increase backlinks. This content can range from research studies to educational videos, listicles, and blog posts, as these websites see you as a reputable and legitimate source.
Guest Blogging
Email other dental industry professionals and offer your guest blogging services for their dental practice website. This helps you showcase your dental industry knowledge and writing skills. Put backlinks to your website within your guest post as well.
When guest blogging for dental SEO services, always remember to write in their style. Your topic should be something unique but still related to the dental industry. Follow the editorial guidelines the editor might send you before writing your guest post. Proofread your written content before sending it to the editor.
Local Partnerships
Strike a partnership with local businesses, other healthcare providers, and dental associations for collaboration. Create marketing content and promote each other’s services for a limited time. This helps expand your reach and create more backlinks to your website.
5. Encourage Patients to Leave Online Reviews
Positive feedback boosts your clinic’s reputation, builds credibility with the locals, and improves your local search rankings. You can ask for the patient’s permission to leave their reviews on a separate tab or a Google form that directly links to your Google Reviews page.
Respond to good and bad reviews to show that you care for every feedback and are committed to providing the best service possible. Use a professional yet friendly tone in responding to feedback.
6. Track Your SEO Efforts
Monitor and measure how your dental SEO strategy performs online to find out if it works and determine any areas of improvement. Track metrics like conversion rates, organic traffic, and keyword rankings using Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Once you get the data, analyze which areas of SEO you need to focus on and refine over time.
Common Seo Mistakes In Web Design For Dentists
SEO mistakes are common on websites. It is important to note that this is not something that can be done all at once, it is an ongoing work that must be updated to changes in the search engine algorithm. If you don't do this, you could make technical errors that will affect the visibility of your site. For example, not optimizing your site for mobile devices or not including a "meta tag" that describes the content of each page.
Some of the most common errors are:
- Lack of relevant keywords in the content. It is important that the content of the site includes keywords relevant to the service offered, such as “dentistry, implants” and “orthodontics.” You should not use word opportunities that are not relevant to your intent, just as keyword overloading can affect your site's SEO, using keywords that are not relevant enough can also affect. Sometimes people try to include as many keywords as possible in their website content instead of focusing on creating useful and relevant content. This can negatively affect the website's ranking in search engines.
- The content is not updated. Content must be updated regularly so that it remains relevant and useful to the reader.
- Use of low quality images without ALT tags. Images are important to improve the user experience on the site. It is important to correctly tag images with relevant keywords and clear descriptions.
- Website design can also affect SEO. A common mistake is using a clear URL structure. The URL should be simple and easy to understand for users and search engines. It is advisable to include relevant keywords in the URL to improve SEO.
- Lack of header tags. Headers help users and search engines understand the structure of website content. It is important to use tags to structure site content and ensure relevant keywords are included in headers.
- Lack of a mobile-friendly website is a common mistake in website design. More and more people are using devices to search for information about health services. Therefore, it is important that the website is easy to navigate on mobile devices. A mobile-friendly website can also boost SEO.
- Using poor quality external links can have a negative effect on your site's ranking. You need to build good relationships with other sites by exchanging links, sharing content or with your local communities.
Work with Us for Your Dental SEO Marketing
In today's digital connectivity, your dental clinic needs more exposure to get new patients. Leave it to us at SEOLeverage to improve your online visibility and let your website visitors know of your top-notch dental practices!
We don’t offer a single solution to every SEO problem. We take the time to analyze your website—content and backlinks included. Once we see the gaps, we devise solutions to solve every problem.
SEOLeverage’s 20 years of experience combines tools and effective SEO services to make local dental SEO work for you. We’re committed to staying ahead of the competition and improving your website and content.
With SEOLeverage, you can rest assured that our SEO services can make a difference to your dental business. Schedule a call with us today, and let’s make dental SEO work!
