Ever wonder why your dental website only gets about five to seven visits in a day?
You don’t get it. It looks pretty solid, it’s super informative, and you even had to adopt a few content marketing strategies to obtain more shares on social media. What could be wrong?
Then, you remember this colleague of yours talking about how SEO brought them more patients after just a week. So here you are now, ready to learn everything that needs to be learned about search engine optimization, hoping to get as lucky as your fellow dentist.
This post will give you an overview of SEO for dentistry, why it plays an essential role in dental marketing, and of course, some basic tips and tricks to help you get started.
So let’s begin, shall we?
In a nutshell, SEO is a process that helps your website rank higher in search engine results.
For instance, when someone types “dentist near me,” “local cosmetic dentistry,” or just about any combination of dental terms on Google, a strong SEO strategy is what helps your dental website show up on the top results.
Don’t worry, you won’t be spending a single penny for an ad here!
The higher the ranking, the greater are your chances of generating clicks and driving visitors to your dental website. Of course, your site should contain quality content to ensure that you convert your visitors into new patients.
Back in the day when digital marketing was non-existent, dentists would have to pay thousands to market their practice in the local business directory, TV and radio ads, phone book, or billboards.
Now, it only takes an effective dental SEO strategy for modern dental practitioners to attract potential patients from the internet and boost their business.
Research reveals that the first five organic (non-paid) results make up 67.6% of all clicks. That means that once your dental website reaches this kind of ranking, it will get more traffic, more qualified leads, and YES, more patients.
However, a dental SEO strategy is more than just drawing new patients to your clinic. Think of it as the foundation of a modern online marketing strategy for dental practices. Without it, dentists won’t be able to market their practice successfully in 2021 and beyond.
How exactly can SEO get your dental business to the top? Find out below:
Good SEO tactics can help improve overall website user experience. Better UX means more leads, and more leads tell Google that your dental website is valuable and relevant to your audience.
Here’s a few SEO best practices for dentists:
Why do most people only click on the top five suggested results in Google? Simple - they believe that those who appear in higher positions are always the best and most credible option.
With a powerful dental SEO strategy, you’ll eventually get there. When you do, people will see your website as 100% reliable and trustworthy. Before you know it, they’ll be scheduling a dental appointment with you.
Everybody loves a website that’s pleasing to the eyes and super easy to navigate -and that’s one of the things SEO brings to the table.
38% of users will stop engaging with a site if they find it unattractive. You wouldn’t wanna lose potential dental patients because of an ugly or disorganized site, would you?
53.3% of all website traffic comes from organic search. With SEO by your side, expect a lot of quality traffic coming your way.
Here’s the thing about SEO: It’s an inbound marketing tactic, which means that its purpose is to bring patients to you. It makes it easier for potential patients to find you when they’re searching for a dental office.
Remember, the more traffic your site gets, the more opportunities you have to persuade a reader to book an appointment.
Now that we’ve tackled the benefits of SEO, let’s talk about actions. How can you develop a good dental search engine optimization strategy and ensure that you’re ahead of your competitors? Find out below!
Since your goal is to gain new patients, you should focus more on having a local SEO strategy. The easiest prospects to reach are those who are looking for dental services within your city.
Local SEO marketing is all about increasing your rankings in search engine result pages (SERPs) to attract nearby patients to your dental clinic. It lets you take advantage of increased visibility within your area.
Here’s a couple of ideas:
Using the right keywords is one of the best ways to optimize your dental website. After all, it’s these keywords that lead people to a site that provides what they’re looking for.
Don’t optimize your website simply for dental services, but pay attention to your keywords too. Think of the terms or phrases you’d normally type when searching for a dentist, such as “dental care clinic,” “emergency dental care,” or “laser teeth whitening nearby.”
You can also use a keyword research tool to help you come up with the best keywords for your dental SEO strategy. These tools will give you details about the keywords, like how often they are used, click-through rates, etc.
Creating unique, original content not only boosts your ranking in search results, but it also allows you to educate your audience and encourage them to stay on your dental website.
Will it lead them the way to your clinic, though? Definitely!
But how can one tell if the content’s exceptional? Well, your site should be centered on your patients - answer commonly asked questions, address their problems, and provide solutions.
Two questions you can ask yourself before starting your dental content are these: What type of information would they find valuable? What kind of content are they looking for?
Be as conversational and engaging as possible, and avoid using complicated dental terms.
Nowadays, people prefer watching a video than reading text that offers the same content. Experts are even saying that 82% of all consumer internet traffic will come from video by 2022.
This is why you should consider having videos as part of your dental SEO marketing strategy. Here are five dental video marketing ideas you can use:
Be sure that your video content is informative, valuable, and entertaining. Most importantly, optimize it so that your target audience can find you easily. Oh, and don’t forget to use the right keywords in your video description.
We reckon you’re eager to learn more about dental search engine optimization, so we’ve listed down several questions many dentists would typically ask about this online marketing strategy.
The truth is, ranking #1 for any given search is never guaranteed, although it is possible. You gotta be persistent and determined to get to the top no matter what. Understanding how SEO works for dentists can make a big difference.
In most cases, it takes at least six months to see best results. In your fourth month, however, you might already be seeing some improvements, such as increased traffic and more appointments. Bear in mind that SEO is a long-term strategy, so it will take a while.
To determine if your dental SEO strategy is effective, look at these four data points:
It actually depends on a range of factors. If we’re talking average cost, dental SEO should be around $750 to $2000 per month. If you’re planning to work with a dental SEO expert or a consultant, expect them to charge you $80 to $200 an hour.
Now that you know the ins and outs of SEO, you might be thinking to yourself, “No thanks, I’d rather stick to extracting molars than optimizing a website!”
That’s exactly what we’re going to let you do. Your primary focus should be on providing excellent patient care. We’ll gladly take care of the SEO part for you!
Our team of experienced professionals here at Digital Resource have teamed up with dentists across the US, helping them attract new patients to their practice through a variety of SEO tactics that work best for the dental industry.
If you’re interested to learn more about our dental SEO services, feel free to schedule a consultation with us today. We look forward to hearing from you.
