If you’ve been involved with marketing your dental practice, chances are you’ve heard of the term SEO. Short for search engine optimization, SEO is the strategies and techniques used to increase traffic to your website by ranking high on search engine results pages organically (non-paid). If you want first-page visibility for your practice without paying for ad space, you’ll need to maximize your local SEO strategies. We’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to get you back on track – and seeing the results you want.
1. Claim Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is your primary online business listing and is one of the easiest and most effective ways to implement local SEO. Your GMB listing shows up on Google search results and Maps and complements information found on your website. Claim or create your profile, then make sure to update your practice name, location, business hours, website URL, phone number, and business category, and write a unique description of your business so patients know your top dental services.
2. Update Your Citation Information
Citations, or mentions of your practice name, address, and phone number (NAP), should be consistent across all areas of your website, including in your contact page and in the footer. Once you have updated your website, move to local, industry-specific, and national directories and make sure your contact information is identical on these listings as well. Quality and consistent citations are important, as discrepancies can harm your visibility on Google.
3. Optimize Each Office Location
If you have multiple practice locations, having multiple location pages is beneficial for SEO, too. While your main website includes doctor bios, list of services, and patient forms, separate locations pages give you the opportunity to highlight top treatments at each additional practice. Most importantly, for the patient and for SEO, each location page should include the unique address, phone number, and business hours of each additional office. Based on a patient’s search, the appropriate office from their location and specific treatment search will show in the results.
4. Maintain Unique Website Content
One of the best ways to help ensure you have a higher organic rank on a search engine results page is through unique content on your site. Pages like the home, services, location, and contact pages, and blogs all give you a unique opportunity to write engaging and educational copy that resonates with your patients. Be sure to incorporate relevant keywords into the content as well to boost SEO for each page to help your whole site rank better on Google.
5. Maximize Your Online Reputation
Aside from a great website and proper local listings, your online reviews are an excellent way to draw patients to your practice. Reviews also improve the ranking of your site, especially through Google My Business and local SEO. Encourage your patients to leave reviews of their positive experiences at your practice. If you receive a negative review, addressing the issue professionally and quickly can help keep your online reputation excellent.
6. Incorporate Relevant Keywords
Keywords are important for ranking your site, but you can go one step further by incorporating regional and geo-targeted keywords. These keywords also incorporate your specific city or regional location, such as dental implants in New York City or dental implants in the Upper East Side, help boost your rank as a local practice on a search engine results page. Focus on optimizing your content pages with these “hiring intent” keywords to improve the SEO of your website.
Need Assistance?
If you are still unsure where to begin or think your current SEO efforts (either from your internal team or from the company you hired) are not working, we’d love to help. Our specialized and experienced in-house dental SEO team has the tools, resources, and know-how to get your site ranking. Speak to one of our practice growth specialists today by calling 727-286-6211.
