The power of SEO for your dental practice
Search engine optimization, or SEO as it's more commonly known, is a great way to gain traction for your dental practice. The practice of optimizing your content for search engines is relatively simple if you know how to do it and more importantly, it's the most effective way to ensure that your practice can be found in web searches. By working with a knowledgable dental SEO agency, you can take the guesswork out of optimizing your web content and focus on what matters most — your patients.
What is SEO?
SEO is a method for improving the way that search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing rank a website. This method incorporates several practices that help practices position their online presence in a way that garners more views, which can lead to higher sales and a better online relationship with potential clients.
Several techniques are used to optimize a website for search engine indexing. That includes:
Localizing content
Link building
Keyword incorporation
Taking advantage of analytics and reporting
Responsive, user-friendly web design.
The Benefits of Dental SEO Marketing
Whether you tackle SEO for your own website or employ the help of a dental SEO agency, the benefits of ensuring that your website appears high on the list of search engine results can't be discounted.
Some of the most notable benefits of dental SEO marketing include:
A higher rate of organic clicks
Increased traffic to your website
Improvement in your practice's credibility
Inexpensive promotion on Google and other popular search engines
Reach with your target audience
A better Return on Investment (ROI) when compared with other marketing tactics
Greater online presence.
Working With a Dental SEO Agency vs. Handling SEO Internally
Handling SEO internally might seem like the most cost-effective solution but that's not always the case. Updating content to work with ever-changing Google algorithms, and staying on top of Google Analytics and reports is time-consuming and if you're not experienced with SEO, it can be a complicated process. Spending time on SEO also takes away from the time you have to take care of other important day-to-day tasks, as well as patient care.
At Growth Friday, our team of SEO experts is pleased to provide dental SEO marketing services for practices just like yours. Our team can deliver impressive results while ensuring your marketing efforts stay on budget and on schedule. We focus on providing managed local SEO for small dental practices and other small businesses that incorporates customized, turn-key solutions and local content strategy to target prospective patients in your geographic area.
SEO Tips
If you are working on your own website, it's important to take the right approach to SEO. The process goes beyond simply adding a few keywords to your content. It involves a large scope of smaller tasks that work together to help site visitors better navigate your site, which is one of the key factors that Google and other search engines analyze when determining where to rank your site in search engine results.
Of course, it's also important to have a secure website that protects the privacy of your patients and other visitors. With the right SEO content, user-friendly web design, and secure browsing and booking, along with following the tips below, you'll be well on your way to a higher search engine ranking.
Keep the Language Local, Concise, and Descriptive
Descriptive language is an important part of writing web content that's going to be favored by search engines. Instead of using complicated dentistry terms, it's important to use words that anyone can understand and to write conversationally so that the reader feels as though you're speaking to them.
Furthermore, local language goes a long way in helping get your dental practice's website to the top of the search results. Don't be afraid to mention a few local neighborhoods, discuss known landmarks or even mention the local climate.
Write Evergreen Content
Your credibility and trust can be negatively affected by outdated content. Instead of trying to add up-to-date information to your web pages regularly, it's easier to approach your SEO content by writing evergreen web pages with content that can be interpreted as current for an extended period of time.
Use a Variety of Keywords
Keywords are the bread and butter of SEO. When a client searches a specific phrase or word online, websites that feature that same phrase in the right concentration are more likely to show up at the top of the results.
Using a mixture of shorttail and longtail keywords, that is, keywords with phrases of two to four words, as well as those with five words or more, is the best way to ensure that your website responds to all types of consumer behaviors.
Ask for Patient Reviews
Having a high volume of online patient reviews can work wonders for your dental SEO marketing goals. After treatments are complete, ask your patients to take a moment and review your practice on Google, Facebook, or Yelp.
Keep Your Site Simple
Having too many videos and other multimedia can slow down your website and make it difficult for some visitors to navigate. A user-friendly design that features clean lines, clear graphics, and an easy-to-navigate menu or sitemap is the best way to provide a positive user experience for those who visit you online.
Additionally, make sure all web pages on your site are complete with easy-to-digest content and that all links are functioning as they're supposed to.
Use a Blog to Keep Patients Up-to-Date
A blog is a great way to continually add content to your website without performing regular updates to your web pages. Consider working with an agency that can blog on your behalf, or take time once a week to write a short blog post that provides valuable information to your patients and other visitors.
Take advantage of Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is a great way to gain exposure for your practice. This free tool helps you use Google Search and Google Maps to verify details about your business and help potential patients find your business online.
Getting Started
If you're ready to get started with search engine optimization, book a discovery call with Growth Friday to learn more about how we can help to better position your company online.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dental SEO Marketing
What is Dental SEO Marketing?
Dental SEO marketing is the practice of improving the online visibility of your dental practice’s website in organic search results on Google, Bing, and other popular search engines.
Why do Dentists Need SEO?
A well-balanced marketing strategy that includes SEO will typically out-perform a marketing strategy that just relies on one form of marketing channel (E.g. paid advertising). In addition, SEO is one of the few marketing channels that actually gets cheaper per customer acquisition over time.
