How Dentists Can Boost Brand Visibility With GMB Optimization
Digital optimization is taking the world by storm, and there’s no reason for dentists to stay behind the curve!
The biggest challenge for dentists in the digital age is building brand awareness in their local community. When operating in a highly saturated market, losing the patient base to competitors is inevitable—unless you leverage SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
The first step in appearing in Google search results is an optimized web presence AKA a well optimized website/profile that checks all the SEO boxes. If you’re looking for an all-encompassing SEO service tailored for dentists, check out these affordable SEO packages.
The second step is optimizing your site/profile for local search. This includes GMB optimization, leveraging local SEO, and getting positive customer reviews.
GMB stands for Google My Business, more commonly referred to as Google Business Profile or Google Business Listing.
GMB is an important factor in local SEO. It helps your business appear in local search results. This means that when people in your locality search for phrases like “denstist near me” or “dentists in New York [your area], your web page/social media profile/GMB profile pops up in the top results.
So, how do you drive traffic to your dental practice with a well-maintained and optimized GMB listing? Let’s dive into it! Start by watching this video for a simplified introduction to Google business listings.
Marketing Challenges for Dentists
Dentistry is an ever-evolving field comprising a steadily growing number of practitioners every year.
Here are some of the common challenges dentists face when it comes to building brand awareness in the digital space:
- Stiff Competition: Regardless of your location, competition in the dental care industry continues to increase worldwide. There are over 18,000 dentists in California alone, many of whom have their own individual practices. Operating in a highly competitive industry can impede your ability to stand out, making dental marketing a challenge.
- Online Reputation Management: Many dentists create social media pages for their practice. Unfortunately, unverified reviews can ruin your online reputation and harm the legitimacy of your services.
- Lack of SEO Knowledge and Time Constraints: Many seasoned dentists aren’t tech-savvy or digitally proficient. As such, keeping up with evolving Google My Business SEO strategies can be challenging, especially with a dentist’s busy schedule.
You’re in luck, though. With help from our dental SEO experts, you can set up your Google My Business Listing and establish your brand identity online.
Understanding Google My Business (GMB)
Here’s how you can get started. Google a popular dental practice in your locality and see what comes up.
Did you come across something like this?
That’s what a Google business profile looks like. Google listings appear in search results based on your locality. Potential patients in your locality will be able to view it on Google Maps if they search for a similar query in Google (more on this later).
Google My Business (GMB) listings and profiles have one goal: establishing a business’s online presence. Google, the world’s largest search engine, has millions of active users every second. If you want to increase the brand visibility for your dental practice, you need to be visible where potential patients are most likely to see you—on Google!
How GMB Local Optimization Benefits Dentists
GMB optimization involves carefully curating your professional persona on the search engine. It puts all the important call-to-actions and business details in one easily accessible place. This way, you can reach potential patients more effectively, efficiently, and quickly.
Google My Business profile optimization experts agree that Google profiles help dentists manage updated business information, interact with patients, monitor reviews, respond to queries, and get dental marketing insights.
Claiming and Verifying Your GMB Listing
Anybody can make a social media page for a business and make unfounded claims about its services. Social media business profiles don’t go through a verification process, making them far less reliable than a GMB listing. For you to create a legitimate business profile on Google, you need to claim and verify important business details.
Follow this basic step-by-step guide to creating your GMB profile.
Step 1: Claim Your Business
First things first, you need to let Google know the name of your dental practice. Head to the Google Business Profile page and input your business name.
Then, click “continue” and add your business to Google.
Remember, your business might physically exist on the map, but it won’t show up on Google unless you claim it. Search “my business” on Google, select the right location on Google Maps, and claim your business. If your business isn’t already listed, input the relevant information and confirm your business location.
Step 2: Choose the Right Business Category and Sub-Category
Defining the industry your business operates in is vital to optimizing your GMB profile. You can type in one relevant keyword for your business category to access a drop-down list of related categories.
Choose the business category that encompasses your business type as the primary category. For example, you will opt for “Dentist Clinic.” Then, choose sub-categories based on the services you offer, for example, “Cosmetic Dentist” and “Pediatric Dentist.”
Step 3: Build Your Profile
Once Google confirms that your business name is unique, start building your profile. You’ll need to input the following information:
- Location (you can choose multiple)
- Address
- Contact information
- Hours of operation
Providing updated information about your dental practice that is consistent across your online presences is vital for local SEO.
Step 4: Verify Your Business
Lastly, it’s time to verify your business. This can be done in one of three ways: by email, postcard, or phone. Input your current mailing address and wait to receive a verification code via mail in the following days.
Optimizing Your GMB Profile
Creating your GMB profile is usually not enough to boost brand visibility. You have to optimize your Google listing, too, which is a task that anybody who’s not a dental SEO expert would struggle with. Fret not! You can always reach out to a GMB optimization agency like ours for assistance.
Let’s explore the most important aspects to focus on when optimizing your local business listing on Google.
Craft a Compelling Business Description
When you’re done building your business profile, Google will ask you to add a business description before completing the process. This business description can make or break your GMB listing.
Come up with a description that encapsulates the essence of your dental practice. Explain what your business does, what it aims to do, and how it stands out. Even though Google allows a word limit of 750, avoid using generic adjectives or being too wordy. Concise and informative is the way to go!
For instance, if your dental practice is located in Manhattan, NY, your business description could look like this: “[Business Name] is committed to providing exceptional dental care to children and adults in Manhattan, New York. Our experienced and trained professionals offer veneer treatments, dental crown and bridges, root canals, and more.”
Optimize Relevant Keywords
Picture this: you need to describe your business to somebody in just two lines who’s never heard of it. Which words are the most important to include in those two lines? If you thought of words like “dentist” and “dental care,” those will be your keywords!
In the world of dental marketing and SEO optimization, keywords are king. Using location-specific keywords can help you reach customers in your locality.
Incorporating the right, relevant keywords in your GMB profile, posts, and description is essential for ranking higher on the search engine result pages (SERPs). The first 3-4 results for any search query are sponsored by Google, but the other results rank on the first page solely due to effective keyword optimization. The goal of GMB and keyword optimization is to have your dental business rank among the first-page results.
You can use Google Keyword Planner to identify high-ranking keywords in the dental industry.
For professional assistance and expedited results, consider outsourcing the task to our SEO agency.
Leverage Visual Content
Underestimating the power of visual content is one of the worst mistakes you can make when it comes to GMB optimization for your dental practice. Visual aspects like pictures and videos do an excellent job of attracting a viewer’s attention.
Add high-quality pictures and videos of your dental clinic, office, and the tools you use. This will help you showcase your dental business and give patients an idea of what to expect.
You can also leverage Google Business Profile posts, also known as Google My Business (GMB) posts, to incorporate keyword-optimized content and visual imagery in your listing. These typically appear in the “Updates” section of your business profile.
Manage and Respond to Reviews
Adding genuine reviews from previous patients to your Google listing is an excellent way to leverage your credibility as a dentist. Google business listings have a separate ‘Reviews’ section highlighting the reviewer’s name, rating (out of five stars), post date, message, and pictures (if attached). As the business owner, you can manage and respond to reviews using your profile.
In case a review violates Google’s policies or is verifiably fake, you can flag and report it by specifying the policy it violates.
Leveraging the Q&A feature is another great way to optimize your GMB listing. Google allows you to answer sample questions when setting up your profile. Patients can also ask questions, which are often answered by other community members.
Regularly checking your profile for new questions can help you respond in a timely manner.
Highlight Your Services
Google listings feature a ‘Products’ section where you can list the services you offer. A list of services helps potential patients better navigate your listing. You can add prices for each service if you offer fixed rates. Make sure to update the prices on your profile as soon as you revise them.
Analyze Key Metrics
Lastly, but most importantly, analyze key metrics to monitor the effectiveness of your GMB listing optimization efforts.
Keep your listing up-to-date. Regularly check your GMB listing to ensure all information is accurate and update it as necessary.
Google provides insights on how customers found your listing, what actions they took, and where they’re coming from. Use this data to improve your listing and overall marketing strategy.
Put Your Business On The Map (Literally) With Google My Business Optimization Service
If all of this is a bit much for you, get in touch with our team of Google My Business experts. In addition to promoting your brand online, we will also maintain your online presence, which includes updating and managing your various profiles, responding to online reviews and creating tailored Google Maps marketing strategies to help you stand out from the crowd.
So, what are you waiting for? Drive more foot traffic to your business with an optimized Google Maps listing today!
