Time Out: The Importance of Local SEO for Dental Practices

Google estimates that roughly 73 percent of all online activity is searches for local products and services, with nearly half of all Google searches having local intent.

In 2017, the most common way consumers found out about a small business for the first time was through online research. According to published research, the internet now beats even word of mouth as the most likely source of new customers for local businesses (37 percent versus 35 percent).

If your dental website doesn’t show up in local search, or if you’re not appearing on the first page (‘above the fold’), then users will be less likely to choose you. As one pundit put it: ‘If customers can’t find you there, you effectively don’t exist.’

Your dental business can’t rely just on patient recommendations If you’re not paying attention to your local SEO, you’re seriously eroding your fortunes online and masking your business from a substantial source of new customers.

What is local SEO and why does it matter?
Local SEO helps businesses of any kind promote themselves online to local customers within a geographic area—in your case, potential patients. If Google senses local intent in a search query, it will serve up results with local companies. The inclusion of geographic factors in a search query—even if this amounts only to ‘near me’—means that organic SEO isn’t enough to rank.

One of the unique things about local SEO is that there are two different ways to rank:

1. The local pack. Includes the top three Google Map results for a local search.
2. Localised organic ranking. Traditional SEO, with a geographic/local focus in terms of keywords and backlinks.

What influences where and how you rank are quite different, but broadly speaking, Google determines relevance, distance and prominence.

The only two factors in your control, therefore, are relevance and prominence, given you can’t change where you are based. Enter local SEO. Thanks to Moz, we can take a granular look at what constitutes these factors ,and we quickly learn that it’s the same eight factors for both types of ranking, the only difference being how each are weighted. (See graphic below for more details.)

If you want to improve your ranking in one, either or both, and benefit from the added visibility your business will receive in terms of local search results, then having someone manage your local search is a no-brainer.

The next question: What can be done to improve your local SEO?
Here are some of the most pertinent steps you should take to improve your local SEO:

• NAP citations (name, address, phone number). NAP errors cost your business eyeballs. Ensure your business’ name, address and phone number are the same across all of your online assets: your website, social profiles, and Google My Business/Bing listings.
• Local directory listings. Claim and verify all listings on local directories, including Yelp, SuperPages, Foursquare, Yellow Pages, Thomson Local, Scoot, etc.
• Reviews. Reviews are key in local SEO. Devise an approach to regularly solicit reviews and leverage social media to garner, publish and respond to more reviews—the good and the bad.

Focus on mobile. Prioritise the mobile experience and enable click-to-call. Google will rank you better if you do.

Localised on-site content. Relevant on-site content is key to any SEO, but if your local SEO includes unique geo-targeted service pages, including maps with your location, this will support your local search ranking.

• Build local backlinks. Focus on local listings with the highest organic ranking. These are usually the sites that show up right below the local pack on Google.
• Schema mark-up. Local business schema (tags and microdata added to your HTML) gives search engines a clearer supply of local information about your business, and will improve the way search engines read and represent your page in search engine results pages.

Local SEO is a must for local businesses
If you’re not doing SEO effectively—and that includes local SEO—then you are greatly limiting a significant stream of potential new patient enquiries. If Google can’t see you, or if you’re not doing the things Google expects of you to signpost your presence and authority, then your customers won’t find you, either. Managing your online real estate—which includes directory listings, citations and review—is key to boosting your visibility and local search ranking.