If you’re looking to bring more patients into your dental practice, you need to be implementing a local SEO strategy. Local SEO involves optimizing your website to rank higher in local search results and show up in local searches on Google Maps. At New Wine Digital, we helped dentists get more appointment bookings with our SEO and online marketing services. Continue reading to learn more about local SEO for dentists and how to improve your visibility in local searches.
Local SEO for Dentists: What Is It?
SEO is the process of making your website more search engine friendly. It typically involves link building and optimizing your content with target keywords. Local SEO uses the same process as standard SEO, but focuses on local keywords so that your business shows up on Google Maps and in local search results. Local SEO is essential for dentists who are trying to stand out from their competition because it helps your dental practice reach and build trust with more local patients.
How to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO
Step 1: Research Local Keywords
Local SEO for dentists begins with keyword research. To determine which keywords you want to rank for, consider which words and phrases people use when searching for the dental services you offer, or answers to common dental questions.
Conducting your own search on Google is a free and simple way to learn which keywords to target in your content. For example, if you search for “emergency dental services” on Google, many high-ranking results include “emergency dentist.” Some related searches that Google suggests will include key phrases like “emergency dental services near me” or “near (your location).” Based on these results, the keywords to target on a page detailing your emergency dental services would be “emergency dentist” and “emergency dental services in (your location).”
Step 2: Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Even if you haven’t claimed your business profile, Google likely already has a listing for your dental practice. A business listing on Google is the box of information that appears next to a Google Search result and is attached to a pin on Google Maps.
If you don’t claim your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), you won’t have control over the address, phone number, and other information that Google lists about your business. Google finds this information online, but does not always update it when it changes, making it difficult for patients to contact your practice.
Claiming your Google Business Profile gives you control over this information and allows you to optimize it for local searches. Although Google is the most popular online business directory, you should also claim and optimize your listings on other free directories such as Yelp, Bing Places, Facebook, and Yellowpages.
How to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile:
- Enter the name of your dental practice or choose “add your business to Google” on the Google Business Profile Manager.
- Choose a relevant category for your business, such as “dental practice,” “emergency dental care,” etc.
- Add your address, phone number, and website, then double-check that the information is correct.
- Follow Google’s instructions for verifying your profile.
- Write a description of your dental practice that includes local keywords such as “cosmetic dentist in (your location).”
- Include your business hours and set up bookings so patients can easily make appointments.
- Add high-quality photos so new patients know what to expect.
- Encourage and respond to both positive and negative Google reviews.
Step 3: Write Easy-to-Read Content
A good local SEO strategy includes optimizing and updating your content. Whether it’s your home page or a blog post, all of the content on your website should be well organized and easy to read. Optimized content helps keep visitors on your website longer and helps search engines like Google understand what your content is about and how high to rank your web page in search results.
Here are a few tips on writing readable, well-optimized content:
- When choosing blog topics, consider a searcher’s intent to ensure that your content answers their questions and meets their expectations.
- Choose a primary keyword to be the main focus of the web page and make it clear what your content is about. Don’t forget to include other related keywords as well.
- Break up the content using header tags (H2s and H3s) to make it easier to understand.
- Include backlinks from authoritative websites to help establish credibility.
- Incorporate links to relevant pages on your own site to help search engines understand your website’s structure.
Local SEO Services for Small Businesses
If you want to see long-term benefits from your local SEO strategy, you’ll need to consistently create fresh content and regularly monitor and update your website. At New Wine Digital, we understand that running a dental practice leaves you little time for website management.
We offer a wide range of local SEO and other digital marketing services for dentists. With our help, you can turn your full attention to your current patients while we optimize your website to attract new ones. Call us at 480-516-1819 today to get started.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (6/15/2022). Photo by Ozkan Guner on Unsplash