Local SEO for Dentists: A Guide for Improving Rankings

You operate in a busy, competitive market as a dentist. With so many vital tasks competing for your attention, you might not have time to develop your SEO strategy. You're not seeing as many patients as you would like either, though. We want to make sure you stay on top, so we will be sharing some dentist SEO tips. You can always reach out to Moriningdove Marketing for advice. We understand the importance of dental SEO and can optimize SEO for dental websites.

Local SEO for dentists will help you draw more patients to your practice and stop you from losing out on local clients. Did you know that 97% of consumers today research local companies using search engines? SEO for dental practices is vital!

Since the Yellow pages are no longer used, having your website appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) might mean the difference between gaining local clients and losing out on important leads. Your rivals will undoubtedly be vying for top rankings and clients given how cutthroat the dental market is.

How Do Local SEO and SEO Differ from One Another?

Are you wondering how SEO and local SEO for dentists differ from one another?

On a local level, the SEO strategy's primary focus varies slightly. 

The main goal of SEO is to increase the prominence of your website in results for queries relating to your field of expertise. The goal of local SEO marketing is to improve your positions in local search engine results pages (SERPs) in order to draw nearby patients to your clinic, whereas traditional SEO boosts your visibility on a larger scale.

Google's algorithms, which include over 200 ranking factors—not all of which Google has disclosed—continue to determine your visibility in local SERPs. Before you become overwhelmed, realize that these elements were chosen with Google's mission statement in mind. Knowing this can help you begin your dental SEO campaign in the right direction.

Rankings based on relevance, quality, and usability are given priority by Google. This means that creating high-quality information that is relevant to people’s search intent should be your main priority, so do not underestimate the importance of digital marketing for dentists!

What makes local SEO crucial for dentists?

Your practice can benefit from greater local visibility thanks to local SEO, so it is important to create a dental SEO strategy.

Because 72% of customers will visit a store within five miles of their location after looking for local companies on Google, this is crucial. That increases both the amount of traffic to your website and to your real location.

Local SEO is the best SEO technique for dentists since it offers quicker results than normal SEO and has less competition for rankings due to location factors.

How does local SEO for dentists operate?

Here are six local SEO suggestions for dentists to get you started.

Do Local Dental Keyword Research and Content Optimization

It may sound intimidating to research keywords for your dental business, but it can be as easy as typing the terms into Google's search bar.

These keywords might serve as the starting point for your keyword research and content strategy because Google automatically suggests related queries.

When conducting keyword research, make an effort to ascertain the user intent by examining the ranking content. Patients should ask if they want to schedule an appointment or if they want more information on dental sealants.

When choosing keywords and creating content, understanding the purpose of a patient's search is far more important than paying attention to the precise phrase. If you want to understand the intent behind a keyword or phrase, look at the material that currently ranks on Google. Google is pretty good at figuring out the intent behind searches.

Create material for your patients that reflects the intent of the keyword after analyzing its purpose.

Don't limit your search to words like "dentist." With general or short-tail keywords, it can be difficult to determine whether users are looking for a definition, details about the dentistry industry, or a specific dental service.

Add some long-tail keywords like "top dentist in Tallahassee, FL" to your mix since general dentistry terms are also more competitive. Compared to more general searches, long-tail keywords are better at revealing the searcher's purpose.

Use a good balance of related terms like "dental implants" and conversational keywords like "how much do dental implants cost?" throughout your content if you're aiming to rank for the phrase "dental implant services."

For an additional local SEO boost, don't forget to include local keywords along with the names of your town and any adjacent towns.

Optimizing the Web Page

You should strategically include the keywords you discovered throughout your research into page copy, blog copy, and backend tags. To be more precise, you should use them properly in the webpage:

Using Title Tags is a Crucial Ranking Component

Though not a ranking criteria, intriguing meta descriptions will encourage potential patients to click on your listing in the SERPs rather than one of your competitors.

Titles of blog entries and the subheadings of pages and posts are examples of header tags.

New URLs: If you wish to include keywords into current URLs, we advise getting in touch with an experienced internet marketing agency first because changing your URLs incorrectly can have negative consequences.

Additionally, you should give the word count on each of your pages another glance. If you sell Lumineers dental veneers, for instance, find out which of your rivals is achieving high rankings in search engine results, and then write well-optimized material that is around 500 words longer than the page of your top-ranking competitor.

Link Creation

The foundation of a healthy link profile is when your site has links pointing to it from high-quality, relevant, and diverse sources. Google views websites with healthy profiles as being trustworthy. Additionally, Google favors rewarding reputable websites.

Producing excellent, relevant content is among the finest strategies to get inbound connections. Other methods comprise:

Getting quoted in online news sources; to do this, keep an eye on information requests from reporters at sites like ProfNet and HelpAReporter.com. You can also do this by posting guest articles on reputable websites that allow you to link back to your website.

UI/UX Website Optimization

Providing a solid UX is essential for any SEO strategy because Google takes user experience (UX) into consideration when ranking pages.

Create content pages with Google's commonly asked questions in mind to start enhancing your user experience. Being helpful and relevant to searches is increased by responding to patient inquiries on a FAQ page.

Produce material as well! Engage in social media and blogging. You'll become a more active member of your neighborhood, and it will boost your reputation. You can optimize your website in the following additional ways.

Track Your Development

Don't quit SEO even after reaching the top spot! This is an essential component of any effective dental SEO plan.

Even if local SEO is less cutthroat than general SEO, all SEO for dental office strategies can take some time to yield results. The effectiveness of your local SEO approach must therefore be monitored, including rankings, traffic, conversions, etc.

If you are worried about choosing the best dental marketing agency then worry no more. Dental SEO is our specialty at Morningdove Marketing will show you just how effective your local SEO approach for your dental practice is. In order to assist you to maximize any SEO plan, we also offer a number of tracking tools.