Effective Local SEO Solutions: 5 Strategies Tailored for Dentists
It’s 2023, and if you’re not using local SEO services to boost your dental practice or services, you’re hurting your business.
Despite what you may have been told by long-standing practitioners in the industry, word-of-mouth and other old-school methods of recognition simply won’t cut it in today’s competitive market.
With over 202,000 active dentists in the US, what makes your services or business recognizable? You’re surrounded by competitors in your region and need to make yourself stand out in the crowd.
The most effective way to do that is to leverage affordable local SEO services that are tailored to your industry and business.
But with the local SEO industry changing rapidly, how do you know what works for your dental practice in 2023—and in the near future?
Let’s delve into the world of SEO for dentists and discuss some local SEO solutions that can be exceptionally useful for your practice.
Understanding Local SEO Services
Any time someone frantically searches for the nearest reliable dentist in the throes of a toothache, they find one through local SEO.
As a dentist, your website needs local SEO to rank higher for localized searches, given that 46% of all searches are focused on a location.
Users aren’t just looking for businesses; they’re also visiting them to use their services. This is why local SEO is a great way to highlight your unique services, identifiers, and selling points to local customers who are looking for those services via search engines.
It helps you target your client demographic based on geography and places you higher than competing clinics and practitioners in SERPs.
Not only does that bring in more revenue, but it also creates a stronger brand image for your dental practice.
5 Targeted Local SEO Strategies for Dentists
Did you know that 76% of users that search for businesses online are likely to visit them within a day?
This should tell you something. If you’re not using optimization services to leverage local SEO solutions to bring each distressed patient looking to brighten their smile or fix their overbite, you’re missing out.
So let’s talk about some of the top local SEO solutions that are ideal for dentists:
1. Familiarize Yourself with User Intent and Keywords
This may seem obvious—and redundant—if you’re familiar with anything SEO related. But keywords and user intent are the backbone of any successful SEO strategy, local or otherwise.
That’s why you need to perform a comprehensive analysis and search of the keywords and user insights that are most relevant to your business, right down to your specialization.
Once you understand what keywords to use and how to leverage user intent to provide them with greater value, you can begin incorporating these elements across your website, public listings, content, etc.
User intent will tell you what your local clients are searching for when they use Google to find a service. Here’s an example:
or
Some popular local SEO keywords that you can incorporate include:
With continual optimization services and custom keyword strategies, you’ll be ranking higher on SERPs and garnering more traction and attention in no time—just like Smileworks. In less than four years, Smileworks Went from a small startup to a £3.5M turnover, establishing itself as the leading dental practice in Liverpool by leveraging local keywords effectively.
2. Focus on Extensive, High-Quality Local Link-Building
Backlinking is an essential component of local SEO for your dental practice. In fact, it’s one of the most important factors that affect your ranking.
They allow you to create a more well-rounded online presence, a higher domain authority, and establish yourself as an industry leader. The higher the quality of your backlinks, the better your local SEO presence will be.
As a dentist or dental service, you can use backlinking in various ways. Here are a few:
Through a combination of methods, our local SEO services company will diversify the type of backlinks associated with your website and help you gain visibility on SERPs.
Recommended Read: Dentist SEO: The Importance of Backlinks and What Kind of Links to Target
3. Leverage Google Posts and Google Business Profile
As a dentist, you absolutely need to use Google Business Profile optimization services for your practice. Google Business Profiles are one of the most integral local SEO tools available, allowing you to share vital information through highly personalized listings.
You can create posts regarding individual services, business information, contact details, and any other details that are relevant to your target audience. Clients will also be able to see your ratings and identify your business more easily once they know what your business offers.
Here’s a good example of a Google Business Profile that has relevant details about the business:
Google Business Profile also allows you to embed appointment tabs for easier, quicker access and faster conversions, which is a great user-centric feature.
Setting up your GBP would look something like this:
Recommended Read: How to Optimize Google My Business Listing and Leverage It for More Sales
Another thing you should be doing is using Google Posts to your advantage.
This is a free feature that lets you broadcast and share information on a temporary basis. Think Instagram stories but on Google.
You can use it to post promotions, discounts, deals, and other time-sensitive information that may appeal to your audience. Google Posts also allow you to add CTAs and contact information for quick click-throughs and conversions, so it’s worth leveraging.
Don’t forget to optimize local maps too! Your business should be accurately listed and located, easy to access and find, with updated information. Outdated, incorrect information can hurt your rankings and turn clients away.
4. Invest in Local Content Generation for Your Website
It’s taken a while for us to get here, but there’s no way we could talk about impactful local SEO for dentists without addressing one tenet: content.
Unlike the myth and half-baked magic of the Tooth Fairy, Local SEO content is effective, real, and meaningful.
Dentistry is a rich industry, with a goldmine of content waiting to be discovered. Our in-house content specialists work closely with you to develop engaging, interesting, value-adding content that’s focused on local events, local clientele and their pain points, and local offerings that are relevant to your business.
Here are some ways we can help you leverage local SEO content:
These local content strategies will earn you valuable traffic and help you build a roster of repeat customers.
Lastly, improve local SEO and Google listing optimization through patient reviews and testimonials. This is a type of engagement that takes place both online and offline and requires you to step out of your comfort zone.
Encourage your patients and clients to leave reviews on public profiles such as Google, or Facebook and share their feedback. Organic reviews and feedback from clients is a surefire way to boost your rankings and bring in new clients.
While a review like this may suffice, you want something more engaging, authentic, and insightful into the patient’s experience, like:
It may take a while to generate quality testimonials, but it’s an important step in getting recognized. Some tips to generate better reviews are available on Google’s own platform.
You Know the Drill—No, Not That One
Knowing the details and significance of local SEO solutions, you should take action right away to capitalize on their benefits.
Boost your dental practices’ visibility, rankings, traffic, and in turn, revenue with some professional help.
At Search Berg, we offer SEO for dentists, dental clinics, and other professionals within this field.
Our specialists will design customized strategies, optimizing your website, Google profile, business postings, social media, and more, using the latest tools and solutions.
It’s time for the opening move. We’re ready when you are!
