It’s no secret that practically everything is based online these days. Most people typically have their cell phones with them, giving them access to more information than they will probably ever need. And for many people, their cell phone is how they conduct all their business, from online shopping to making appointments. This includes researching dental services.
To ensure your practice is visible to potential new patients, it's vital to concentrate on search engine optimization or SEO. However, it can be challenging to comprehend SEO's fundamentals. With ever-changing algorithms and ongoing report management, the task becomes overwhelming when added to everything else on your to-do list. This comprehensive article aims to explain SEO and the value of effective dentist SEO for your practice.
What is SEO for Dentists?
In order to understand SEO for Dentists, you need to first understand SEO in general. The following terms are essential to understand as you develop an SEO plan with your marketing team.
Google Algorithm: Search engines utilize the Google Algorithm, a highly complex and constantly evolving set of rules and tests, to check and certify how well-optimized a site is for search. In order for the search engine to display the most pertinent and genuine search results, algorithms essentially act as a substitute for the human user.
White Hat/Black Hat: White hat SEO techniques are considered ethical SEO strategies that make a site well-suited for users who are likely to search for it. Black hat SEO techniques lean more toward unethical SEO techniques.
Organic Listings: Having a website that closely matches search phrases isn't enough; the website also needs to "test" favorably with search engine algorithms, which take a number of criteria into account when deciding whether a website is worthy of appearing in search results.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP): A list of websites that appear when a user searches for particular phrases in a search engine. Although search engines utilize rather complex techniques to present the results, they mostly concentrate on matching certain search keywords with websites that have strong organic or paid reach.
Local Listings (7-Pack): Search engines present 4–10 nearby companies that most closely match the search terms. The seven closest and highest ranked businesses that match are displayed.
Bounce Rate: This refers to the percentage of visitors who land on your page only to instantly click "back" to go back to the search results. By doing this, you are letting the search engine know that your site is not what they were looking for. Your website's page rank will suffer if it has a high bounce rate.
Keywords: The terms that make up a searcher's query are known as keywords. Search engine algorithms may potentially rank your site well for the provided query if the same keywords or keyword phrases are used in the content of your website as the search query.
Crawler/Robots/Spiders: No, this isn't a space-age movie. These are all part of SEO. Simple computer programs called crawlers, robots, and spiders browse the internet by clicking on links on websites. When someone searches in a search engine, they create copies of what they find and use their algorithms to index them for speedy retrieval.
Impressions: The number of users who view a page or advertisement; distinct from clicks. The most popular method for measuring and accounting for web advertising makes it significant.
Now that you know the terms let's discuss SEO as it pertains to dentists. Focusing on SEO for dentists increases your ability to rank higher on a search engine result page (SERP) without spending money on advertising.
This sounds simple enough, but it requires a specialized marketing strategy that is unique to dentistry. In other words, you wouldn't want to leave your SEO plan to just any marketing company. You need one that works specifically with dentists and dentist SEO. A marketing group like HIP can give you the most bang for your buck.
The Importance of SEO for Dentists
SEO provides the framework for your digital marketing strategy. And as we discussed earlier, it's all about digital marketing these days. If your practice isn't focused on SEO, it's possible you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to bring in new clients. This isn't the only reason to focus on dentist SEO, though.
SEO Can Help You Build Trust With Clients
When searching for "dentists near me," most people will click on one of the top five practices that pop up. There is a thought process that tells us if these are the practices that are listed first, they must be the best. If you're the best, you must be trustworthy and ethical in your practices.
In addition to this thought, Google backs it up as the more people who click on those links, the more likely those practices are to stay near the top of the rankings.
SEO Drives Traffic to Your Site
In general, the more people who click on your link, the better. Once potential customers are on your site, you want them to interact and stay for a while. This requires engaging contact and a clear, easy to understand format.
SEO is a valuable tool that brings people to your site rather than you going in search of them. They are there because they are searching for dental services. You want to make sure your services are easy to find on your page, so they will get what they need and not click out and go to another dental link.
Effective SEO Is User-Friendly
When discussing dentist SEO with your marketing team, it's essential to understand what customers are looking for. Your page needs to load quickly, be easy to navigate, provide original content, and be mobile-friendly. Remember, more and more users are accessing your site through their phones.
How Much Does Dentist SEO Cost?
Dentist SEO is free digital advertising for your practice. Yes, you may need to pay an agency such as HIP to ensure your SEO marketing is on point, but the return on investment is incredible when your SEO plan is targeted and meaningful.
You want to get the most from your SEO plan. This means working with a reliable, tested Dentist SEO team. A general marketing team may not understand the nuances of your practice or the services you provide. Working with a team that focuses on dentist SEO is key.
How Do You Know Your Dentist SEO is Working?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is thought to be one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies available for dentists. It can also be the one the hardest to quantify. While there are many sophisticated tools out there, they can also be very pricey. Luckily, there are other ways to understand if your SEO efforts are working without additional investment. Before you can quantify your results from SEO, you'll need to have the right tools in place.
Tools such as Google Analytics will be utilized by your dentist SEO team to ensure your plan is working properly and to know what shifts need to be made. Prior to adopting SEO for your dental clinic, HIP will determine the benchmark data for your website. This allows you to monitor the advancement of your campaign relative to its starting point.
Other factors to consider when evaluating success include the following:
Conversions: For dentist SEO, this includes calls, form submissions, online bookings, chatbot conversations, and driving direction inquiries.
Website traffic: Quality and source of your website visitors factors into this component.
Keyword rankings: Consistent monitoring of your keywords and site rankings is vital to your success.
Reviews: Monitoring and interacting with reviews is essential.
Understanding Return on Investment (ROI)
To discover the value of dentist SEO, you need to determine what a new customer brings to your agency. This includes formulating things like the number of patients your SEO strategy brings, the longevity of the average patient, and the cost of the SEO plan as a whole. Consider these factors over the course of a year, and you will have a good understanding of whether dentist SEO is valuable for your business.
Dentist Search Engine Optimization Process
You might be wondering how the Google process works for dentist search engine optimization. The approach is two-fold. Both on-site and off-site factors are taken into consideration.
On-site Ranking Factors
Presence of keywords - have you focused on keywords in headings, meta titles, and descriptions?
Length and quality of copy - it is essential that your information is accessible to a large number of people
Longevity of your site - focusing on a strong site from the beginning means fewer changes and increased longevity
Can search engine robots access, understand, and index your content with ease?
Quick loading - the quicker your site loads, the better.
Mobile friendly - it is essential that your site is optimized for mobile devices.
Length of stay - consider your site like a hotel. The longer people stay on your site, the more comfortable they are.
Website layout - this factors into how long people stay. If your site is hard to navigate, potential customers will leave quickly and find a different site.
Content on your pages - is it accurate, easily understandable, and engaging?
Does your site seem trustworthy? Do you have accurate information?
Off-Site Ranking Factors
What people say about your website is crucial to SEO. The things you and others do off your website can improve your ranking. The number of websites and online locations that connect to or discuss your website is the main off-site SEO ranking factor for dentists.
You can improve your off-site ranking by creating valuable backlinks through both natural links and links created through self-promotion. Marketing created through social media will also increase your off-site rankings. Another way to increase your rankings is to provide guest blogging on third-party sites or by posting in forums.
Consider A Dentist Google Business Profile SEO
Local SEO, often known as directory listings, is a tried-and-true off-page SEO tactic. If done correctly, listing your business in local directories can be crucial for increasing sales, reputation, and rankings, particularly in localized search results.
Localized search results include those where the user directly indicated a location while doing their search, in addition to those that are provided based on the user's IP address or location. Terms like "near me" or "nearby" are typically used in the latter sort of search. Local listings are typically cost-free and can be quite useful.
In addition to increasing your visibility and customers, having your business included in local directories gives you the chance to get a beneficial backlink. On the internet, there are a lot of well-known directories, and you're probably already familiar with a lot of them:
Search for "my business"
Foursquare
Yelp
Regional Index
Even while adding a local listing can seem simple, it's essential for this off-page SEO strategy that you offer the same information for all of your listings. All entries must contain the same company details, including the name, address, and phone number.
While it may seem straightforward, errors like misspellings or abbreviations can have a significant impact on your listings by confusing Google. In the event that this occurs, Google may show the incorrect data or perhaps fail to display your listing at all in the SERPs.
However, when local listings are used properly, they may be quite effective and bring in more business from both domestic and foreign viewers. Now that you know the process let's dig deeper into optimization.
Optimizing a Dental Website for SEO
It is essential to start with a good foundation. Without that, your SEO strategy won't have a chance of gaining traction and being successful. The actions listed below will position you for SEO success.
Then, while still updating and releasing fresh material, you may shift your attention to conversions. Putting everything together that you've learned, follow these steps for optimization.
Examine all of the website's data: One piece of data might not be able to tell you anything on its own, but as you gather more data, patterns begin to emerge. You might not have a problem if a few visitors to your site do not click on your call to action (CTA). However, you might need to make some changes if a significant portion of visitors ignores your CTA.
Traffic statistics and a user activity report aid in presenting a clear picture. For instance, user behavior reports show you how site visitors behave once they arrive. Data keeps track of important metrics like the number of sessions, the number of unique sessions, the bounce rate, and more.
Examine the data for particular trends. You may learn a lot about your audience from referral sources. How do visitors locate your website? Search for websites with higher traffic and conversion rates. Reverse-engineer the success of that page to implement it throughout your website.
Carry out in-depth keyword research: It used to be possible to choose a keyword at random, create a 300-word article, and rank for that phrase the next day. SEO no longer functions in that way.
You can uncover keywords relevant to your business and niche using keyword tools. Use these tools to identify long-tail keywords that correspond to the user intent of potential customers. Consider the purpose of their search and the information they would expect to see on your website.
Create comprehensive and valuable material: Google your main keyword and look at the top 10 results in the SERPs before deciding on the ideal article length. You should focus on the length of your information based on the average.
Not everything is about length. However, it informs Google that you're offering more details. Your chances of ranking higher are better if people read all the way through that page.
Improve on-page SEO: When you're creating particular pages for your website, on-page SEO explains how to optimize it. This group includes elements like meta tags, URL slugs, headlines, and subheadlines.
Your title should contain your main term, preferably right at the start. Additionally, it ought to be used in at least one subheadline and the slug. Aim for between .5% and 2.5% throughout the body copy. To avoid coming out as a keyword stuffer, try to stay away from the higher end.
Include your major and associated keywords in your subheadlines, body copy, and image alt text. Giving context allows Google to know exactly what you're talking about.
Improve off-page SEO: Off-page SEO, often known as off-site SEO, describes the methods you use to externally optimize your website. Your site's SEO can be enhanced by influencer marketing, guest blogging, social media activity, and brand mentions.
Make the website mobile-friendly: You don't want to leave those potential conversions out in the cold, given that more and more consumers are accessing websites using mobile devices. Additionally, Google recently introduced the mobile-first index, so if you prioritize mobile friendliness, you might rank higher. The simplest answer is responsive design.
Page speed is essential: When it comes to SEO and conversions, page speed counts. If a page loads slowly, you'll probably click the "back" button and search for something else. Similar to this, if you're filling out a form and it's taking too long to submit, you'll finally give up.
Your dentist SEO team will monitor how quickly your site loads on all devices and what particular issues you need to address to make it faster.
Obtain top-notch backlinks: Backlinks are a key component in improving your website's ranking. When credible websites connect to yours, Google takes the link as a sign of the authority of your site. Your pages will move up the rankings as you develop a strong backlink profile.
It takes work to obtain quality backlinks, but the effort will pay off. Think about sending emails to bloggers and influencers in your niche. Send them a link to your article and direct them to a page where you've shared some of their work.
Why Should You Use Professional Dental SEO Services?
There are several moving parts that make up dentist SEO. While there are many resources to help you develop your own marketing strategy, working with a reputable dental SEO team might be your best option.
At HIP, we work with you to create the best possible dentist SEO plan for you. There is no one size fits all plan. We work with each of our clients regarding their services, values, and overall needs.
If your specialty is orthodontics, oral surgery, cosmetic dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and periodontics, we're the team to call. We are the ideal solution for creating sustainable development in the face of constantly shifting rules, unstable markets, and changing company dynamics because of our in-depth understanding of these distinctive and difficult areas.
When you engage with HIP, we'll apply the special PARF™ framework to your company for the best possible results, which will frequently be seen right away. With the help of PARF™, we were able to expand reputable orthodontic offices into 8-figure businesses. And we've utilized PARF™ to support fledgling businesses in growing their revenue to $1 million (and beyond) in less than a year and then continuing to grow. A tried-and-true approach that, when you work with us to implement it, expands your practice steadily and sustainably.
We also utilize PracticeBeacon software to make it easier to track the success of your personalized SEO strategy. This software gives you the ability to see where your leads come from, as well as the money expended for those leads. This makes tracking your ROI incredibly easy. The software also provides communication benefits that let you manage the flow of contact in one user-friendly space. This is essential to making the most of your leads.
At HIP, we prefer to think of ourselves as partners in growing your business. We'll assist you in transforming your practice so that you can better serve your patients, empower your staff, and create an entirely sustainable business and way of life.
If you're interested in learning more about our services, contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you.