Local SEO is essential for dental practices to attract nearby patients and improve online visibility. With 97% of people using the internet to find local businesses, implementing a strong SEO strategy can increase your practice’s presence and help you stand out from competitors.
Potential patients usually begin the search with general phrases such as “teeth whitening near me.” If your practice appears on top of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) in response to this query, the potential patient will likely visit your website.
This guide will cover six effective tactics to enhance your local SEO and bring more patients through your doors.
What’s the Difference Between SEO and Local SEO for Dentists?
Local SEO focuses on improving your online visibility within specific geographic locations, making your practice more accessible to nearby patients. While traditional SEO targets a broader audience, local SEO helps your practice stand out in local search results like Google’s Local Pack. With 46% of all searches on Google seeking local information, local SEO offers a major advantage in attracting patients close to your dental office.
With a substantial variety of dental clinics in any area, patients aren’t likely to drive too far to visit a doctor. After conducting a local search, 72% of searchers visit a business within five miles of their location. This means practices must rely on local SEO tactics to attract more potential clients to their websites and dental offices.
Since local competition for search terms isn’t as fierce as for global terms, the right approach to local dental SEO makes it easier to put your website on top of the SERPs.
Why Local SEO Matters for Dentists
1. Attract More Local Leads
Local SEO ensures your practice appears in search results when potential patients look for a "dentist near me." With Google’s algorithm favoring local businesses, a well-executed SEO strategy helps you stand out and get noticed by those in your area.
2. Build Trust Through Reviews
Positive reviews not only influence potential clients but also boost your rankings. Patients are more likely to choose a dentist with high ratings, and reviews enhance your Google My Business page’s credibility.
3. Stay Competitive Online
Competitors are likely already investing in SEO. By optimizing your local search presence, you can outrank them and secure your position as a top dental provider in your community.
Key Local SEO Ranking Factors
While Google uses over 200 ranking factors to figure out where your website belongs on the SERPs, the main parameters for local SEO are:
Proximity
Google evaluates how close your practice is to the searcher’s location. The closer you are, the more likely your office is to appear on the first page.
If a user is searching for “teeth whitening near me,” the closest practice to their neighborhood has a chance to rank higher than other dental offices in the area.
Prominence
Prominence shows how well your practice stands out from the crowd. Google checks numerous parameters to evaluate prominence, including backlinks, directories, reviews, and mentions. The more credible and trustworthy the website is, the more likely it is to appear high on the SERPs.
If you already have a strong SEO strategy, your website will likely have prominence. To boost local prominence, you’d have to work on local directories, reviews, and citations.
Relevance
Your website needs to be highly relevant to the user’s search. Accordingly, if a potential patient is searching for “teeth whitening near me,” Google will look for dental websites that offer “teeth whitening” as a service.
To demonstrate the relevance of your practice, you need to make sure that you are using the right local long-tail keywords (e.g., teeth whitening Seattle) in your website content, title tags, and meta descriptions.
6 Local SEO Strategies for Dentists
These six strategies can help you improve prominence and relevance while highlighting your location for proximity ranking.
1. Claim and Optimize Your Google Business Profile (GBP)
One of the most crucial steps for local SEO success is optimizing your Google Business Profile. It's your company’s virtual business card. Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone), business hours, and categories are accurate. Include high-quality photos, a compelling description with local keywords, and actively engage with patient reviews. GBP also allows for a Q&A section where you can answer common questions, enhancing both user experience and SEO.
2. Conduct Local Keyword Research
Effective local SEO requires targeted keyword research. Focus on procedure-based terms like “teeth whitening” alongside location-specific phrases such as “teeth whitening Seattle.” By identifying the right keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush, you can tailor your website content to match patient searches, making it more relevant and improving your search ranking.
With a local keyword search you need to focus on:
- Procedure keywords – dental implants, teeth whitening.
- Specialty keywords – cosmetic dentist, pediatric dentist.
- Location keywords – New York, Seattle.
3. Optimize Your Website for Local Search
Ensure that your website is optimized for local SEO by keeping NAP consistent across pages, using local keywords, and utilizing structured data (schema) to help search engines understand your content.
- NAP Consistency: company details on your website must be consistent with your GBP profile and other resources that patients may check when looking for a nearby practice. Otherwise, you risk confusing and frustrating both the searcher and Google.
- Map Intents to Pages: instead of using exact keywords on your web pages, focus on the searcher’s intent. For example, you need to have a page dedicated specifically to procedure + location and specialty +location keywords (e.g., dental implants New York, pediatric dentist Seattle).
- On-Page SEO: to help Google understand the relevance and trustworthiness of your website, you have to add local keywords to metadata (title tags, headers, descriptions). You should also use specific details (street names, landmarks) in your content.
- Schema Mark-Up: this map of your website should include important information such as addresses, reviews, business hours, and service area geo-shapes. Optimizing schema gives you more control over what Google crawlers see on your page.
You should also use “local business” structured data to give search engine crawlers a clear understanding of your website.
4. Build and Manage Citations
Citations are mentions of your practice’s contact information across the web. Building citations involves finding opportunities (directories, social media profiles) to place your citation.
Consider these citation opportunities:
- Data Aggregators: Yellow Pages, Factual
- Consumer Directories: Yelp, Yellow Pages, Angie’s List.
- Industry Directories: ADA, USA Top Dentists
- Local Directories: local dentist societies, local Better Business Bureau.
High-quality citations on trusted sites can boost your local search performance and help patients find your practice more easily.
5. Create Valuable Content to Gain Backlinks
A backlink is a link from an external website to one of your web pages. The number one result on SERPs has almost four times more backlinks than results two through ten. Publishing informative and localized content can attract backlinks from reputable sites, further improving your search rankings.
To attract organic backlinks, you need to work on a solid content marketing strategy. It involves creating high-quality content that doesn’t just contain relevant keywords but also provides value to the reader and backs the credibility of your business.
Writing blog posts that address common patient concerns or specific procedures can position your practice as an authority and attract links from other websites, which boosts SEO performance. Keep in mind that a practice that runs a blog attracts 97% more backlinks to its website.
6. Encourage Patient Reviews
Patient reviews are critical for local SEO, as they enhance your practice’s online reputation and improve rankings. Google reviews are part of your website’s prominence and relevance ranking factors. Meanwhile, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust feedback from friends and family.
The search giant pays attention to the quantity, frequency, quality, and recency of the reviews. If your practice has numerous recent 5-star reviews, it’s likely to rank high. Encourage happy patients to leave reviews on your Google Business Profile, as fresh, positive feedback helps establish trust and increases the chances of your practice appearing in local search results.
You can encourage Google reviews through:
- Email marketing
- SMS texts
- On-site office signs
You can also use review aggregation platforms to collect Google reviews and post them on relevant web pages.
Quick Steps to Boost Local SEO
1. Create Locally Relevant Content
A blog on dental hygiene tips specific to your region or addressing common local dental health issues can make your website more relevant for local searchers.
2. Gain More Reviews
Encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews on your Google profile and dental directories. Even a few new 5-star reviews can make a noticeable impact on rankings and trust.
3. Optimize Your Website for Mobile
A majority of local searches are conducted on mobile devices. Ensuring your site is mobile-friendly with fast load times and intuitive navigation helps with rankings and provides a better user experience.
The Future of Local SEO for Dentists
While the above strategies are foundational, the future of local SEO involves even more advanced technologies like AI-driven tools. These tools can target thousands of localized keywords simultaneously, offering a competitive advantage over traditional SEO methods. As AI-powered SEO gains popularity, practices that adopt these innovations will have an edge in capturing the attention of local searchers.
Local SEO is one of the most cost-effective and impactful ways to grow your dental practice. By focusing on optimizing your online presence through Google My Business, gaining reviews, and producing localized content, you can attract more patients and outperform your competitors. Start small with these steps, and watch your practice grow as you dominate the local search results.
Frequently Asked Questions About Local SEO for Dental Practices
How long does it take for local SEO to show results?
Local SEO improvements typically take 3-6 months to produce noticeable results. However, some changes, like updating your Google My Business profile or acquiring new reviews, can boost rankings within weeks. The timeline varies based on competition, website health, and consistency in optimizing your online presence.
How important are online reviews for local SEO?
Extremely important. Reviews build trust and are a significant ranking factor in local SEO algorithms. Regularly receiving new, positive reviews can also enhance customer engagement. When potential patients see authentic feedback, they are more likely to contact your practice, book appointments, and even leave their own reviews. Additionally, responding to reviews—both positive and negative—shows that your practice values patient input, creating a stronger connection and fostering loyalty.
Can I do local SEO myself, or should I hire an expert?
You can start local SEO on your own with foundational strategies, but professional services may lead to faster and more comprehensive results. Hiring an SEO expert can provide a more advanced strategy, such as building quality backlinks, conducting in-depth keyword research, and performing technical SEO, which may be challenging to execute alone.
What are the best tools for tracking local SEO performance?
Google Analytics is crucial for monitoring website traffic, while Google Search Console shows how your site performs in local search results. Other tools like Moz Local and BrightLocal can help track local search rankings, manage citations, and assess your online reputation. For more advanced metrics, SEMrush and Ahrefs offer in-depth analysis of keyword performance and backlink health.
How often should I update my Google My Business profile?
Regular updates, such as adding posts or responding to reviews, should be done monthly or as needed to keep your listing active and relevant. Consistent updates signal to Google that your practice is engaged and current.
Updated on October 2, 2024