Local SEO Tips for Dentists

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1. Start with Local Dental Keywords

The first step to SEO is to identify the right keywords. Local SEO deals with a targeted local audience. The aim is to let the local people know that there is a reliable dentist/ dental clinic in their region. The easiest way to identify keywords is through Google search.
Start by entering words like a dentist near me, dentist in *region name*, dental clinic appointment, to see which competitor appears in the top results.

• Identify the keywords that are already there on your website.
• Identify the keywords used by competitors from your region.

Also, track the seasonal trends.

• Are there any time-specific keywords that you can use immediately?
• Is the aim of the keyword to share information or bring patients?
• Do you want patients to schedule their appointments?

Make use of long-tail and short-tail keywords. Use long-tail versions of the primary keyword for better results.

2. Focus on the UX Quotient of the Website

UX is nothing but user experience. When a patient checks the website of a dentist, the person has some expectations. He/ she will want to see the different types of dental treatments offered, along with (at least) a brief description and the approximate price.
The person will want to see proof of experience (such as educational qualifications, experience) and, most importantly, the pictures showing the before and after results of the dental treatment.
But what about local SEO?
You should optimize the content on the webpages for search engines by using the relevant keywords in a meaningful way.

• The content here also includes images, videos, and infographics.
• The FAQs page is very important. Make sure all the questions have answers.
• Remove duplicate content.
• Make sure that the website is mobile-friendly.
• Use more local keywords (but do not overuse).
• Speed up the page load time.

3. Cater the Website Content to the Local Audience (Website Optimization for Local SEO)

Give a strong reason for the patients from the region to choose your dental clinic over others. But before that, the website has to rank at the top for it to be visible to the local audience. Include patient testimonials on the website. Make sure that the patients are from the same region.
Use original images for authenticity. Even if you are using images from the internet, make sure they match the local geographic and demographic conditions. For example, a dental clinic located in Australia is not likely to have an American client base.
Link the website to social media accounts, and be active on selected social media platforms. Share dental tips and advice, and link the posts to the website.

4. Get Listed on Google My Business

Being listed on Google My Business (GMB) is essential if you want the local audience to know about your dental practice and services. The purpose of GMB is to complement the website and bring more visitors. But for that to happen, you should provide all the necessary details.

• The name of the dental clinic,
• The address (with Google Map location),
• The opening and closing timings,
• List down the holidays,
• Contact information (a telephone number & email id)
• Official website.

Give the name of the dentist as well as links to the personal/ professional social media accounts of the dentists.
Make sure that the information is accurate and latest. Also, include which payment methods you prefer. If you share the same details across other platforms, Google will compare them and push up the business for more visibility.

5. Choose the Categories on GMB Listing with Care

GMB has other features that further help boost local SEO results. You can choose two categories to list your dental clinic specifically.

• The first best business category should be the exact dental services you offer.
• The secondary category further allows you to add five subcategories.

Make the most of these by listing the nearest services.
For example, cosmetic dentist, dental clinic, dental implants, are some categories you can choose from the list. Every time the users use the related keywords, the website will show up in the local search results.

6. Ask Patients to Leave a Review (Google Reviews Matters)

Reviews are essential for any business or service. Even a handful of positive reviews can boost the website’s rank by a great margin. However, don’t resort to getting paid and fake reviews on Google. Glowing recommendations don’t always work.
Ask satisfied patients to leave a review instead. Tell them to talk about their experience. Share a direct link with them that makes it easy to write and post a review. When patients review their accounts, it’ll have a much better impact on the Google algorithm. When patients use the dentist’s name in the review and talk about the clinic and services, it’ll also create a positive impact on the audience. Responding to patients’ reviews is also essential. Be prompt, polite, and respond to all kinds of reviews.

7. Verify the Clinic Details on GMB

Do not forget or ignore GMB verification. A verified account has more validity and authenticity on any platform, and Google is no exception. Also, when users see a verification sign on your dental clinic, then it will inspire them to trust your services.
Log into the profile and open the dashboard. It will have the ‘verify now’ option. Click on it and follow the instructions. Make sure that you have merged all the pages (in case there are multiple ones) before verification. It will ensure that there is no duplication and also prevent any confusion.

8. Turn on Schedule Booking from Google My Business Page

The ultimate aim of local SEO services is to bring more business. As a dentist, you want to reach more and more people in the region who need dental services. And reaching them is not enough either. You have to convert users and visitors into patients.
That means you will have to provide them with easy means to schedule an appointment. Sharing the phone number is helpful, no doubt.
But what if no one answers the call? Create a ‘schedule now’ button on the GMB profile.
Allow users to book an appointment in the easiest manner. Link it to a web form where they can fill in the required details. You can check and process the forms and confirm their appointments by sending them an email, message, or by calling them.

9. Add Citations On the Website

A citation is a mention of the clinic name, address, and contact/ phone number. It’s also called a NAP, in short. This information should be easily available on the website. Having an exclusive contact page with these details (and a contact form) is recommended. Also, it is good to mention these details in the footer of every webpage. It will make it easy for patients to know the location but will also help with local SEO.
Will this be enough? Technically, no.
The citations have to be present in various trustworthy and reliable directories and websites to bring more visibility. Check for local directories that exclusively maintain a record of dentists and dental clinics. We’ve got more details about it in the next point.

10. Get Included in Other Local Directories related to Dentists and Dental Websites

Getting listed in GMB will not be enough for the business. Your competitors would be following the same local SEO strategies as you are. If they have a better ranking, then check what else they are doing. Make a list of local and industry-specific directories where you can list your dental clinic.
Remember that not all directories are free. You will have to pay for some. Before you opt for paid listings, be sure that these directories will bring you enough traffic. Do not get listed in every directory. It will cause more harm than good. Also, don’t add to various lists on the same day. Too much activity will make Google suspicious. It might end up blacklisting the dental website for this reason.

11. Add Blogs and Articles Related to the Dental Field

We talked about website content in one of the earlier points. It’s time to explore it in detail. Having services related information is essential. At the same time, providing additional information is also necessary to optimize the content for search engines.
Write and share blogs, articles on the website. Keep them related to dental services. The blogs do not have to be written only by the dentist. You can source the latest information about dental surgeries, laser treatments, from other portals and shared with proper credits. Make sure there is no plagiarism. Google will penalize the website if it finds plagiarized content. The website rank will also decrease. Repeated instances will result in the blacklisting of the website.
Choose trending topics, identify the related keywords, and post a blog about it. Include images for more visibility.

12. Write Guest Blogs (Dental Advice or Tips) to Get a Backlink

Blogs on the website are good. But they are not enough. You will need backlinks from other reputed websites and blogs to get more traffic. Though backlinks don’t directly work on SEO, they do increase the presence of the website on the internet.
When you write a blog about dental care, hygiene, and surgeries, for reputed medical platforms, ask for a backlink to the clinic’s website. That way, people who read the blog will know where to find you. If you can write regularly for medical platforms in the region, it’ll add to your local SEO efforts and boost the website rank.

13. Track the Latest Dental Trends

Trends change, and so do the keywords. The keywords used a few months ago may or may not relevant anymore. If they are not, they will not affect the search engine algorithm. Even if you provide the best dental services, people in your region may not be able to know about your clinic.
Track the trends regularly and keep updating the keywords. Stay up to date with the latest information in the dental field. If there is a new procedure or concept, you can use it to write a website blog. You can share authentic information as a dentist with years of experience.
Also, if the dental clinics in the region offer discounted services, you can follow the same and promote it through the website.
Use trending hashtags (from the region) and keywords to write short blogs and share them to increase website traffic.

14. Don’t Stop when Local SEO Goal is Achieved

So finally, all your efforts paid off, and the website is ranking at the top. Does it mean you will stop working on local SEO? That’s a mistake a lot of people do. The website ranks are not permanent.
If another dental clinic puts in extra effort, your website rank will go as that clinic reaches the top. SEO never a one-time job. It is a continuous process where you constantly update the website, ask satisfied patients to write reviews, maintain the GMB page, and share quality content, along with providing exceptional medical services to the patients.

List of Popular Dental Listings / Directories

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1. Zocdoc.com

Zocdoc finds you the best dentist in your locality. Their website has a huge inventory of experienced dentists across the globe. There you can search for dentists based on city and pin code. Zocdoc will provide you with the best doctors for any healthcare problems.

2. Wellness.com

Wellness takes care of your dental wellbeing. It is an online health directory to find professional doctors & dentists online. They provide you with the list of the best doctors & dentists in town. After going through the list, book an appointment with your preferred one.

3. Doctor.com

Doctor.com is a website that provides you with the facility of teleconsulting. If your problem doesn't get solved via teleconsulting, then you can go through the list of all doctors & dentists and approach them for private practice. They will be able to help you with all dental problems like a root canal, bridging, and more.

4. Dentists.com

Dentists.com specializes in providing you with the best dentist in your locality. Apart from treating you, they provide you with the necessary information on dentistry. They will make sure that your insurance gets covered on every treatment.

5. Dentalclinics.org

Dentalclinics.org is a large community of dental clinics. They connect you with the best dentists in your locality. You will get clinics especially made for kids with them.

6. Everydentist.com

Everydentist.com allows you to find specialists in different fields of dentistry. Based on your need, you get a general dentist, endodontics, cosmetic dentist, and a lot more in your area.

7. Freeclinicdirectory.org

Freeclinicdirectory promises to connect you to the best and most affordable clinics. If you don't have insurance, you can use this site to find the most affordable dental insurance online.

8. Geodentist.com

GeoDentist gives you a list of dentists specialized in different categories. They let you click on your area and browse through the dentists. You will have all the necessary information about them on our site.

9. Adea.org

Adea.org is the American Dentist Education Association. It is an institution that provides the best dentistry programs to the aspirants. A pool of experienced faculties trains the students to create the best dentists in the country.

10. Mercuryfreedentists.com

Mercuryfreedentists helps you to find the best bio-safe dentist near you. They will help you to find the best service for you. Also, they care for the environment and make sure to keep the environment safe.

11. Usa-dentist.com

USA-dentist is a directory that gives you the list of dentists based in the USA. You will find dentists, including family, pediatric, cosmetic, and general densities here. They display unbiased testimonials from patients to help you with your decision.

12. Freeclinics.com

Freeclinics.com provides dental services to everyone: from the uninsured to the underprivileged. You get a list of local clinics for people with different financial background.

13. Freedentalcare.us

Free Dental Care is your directory of nationwide dental clinics. It also keeps you informed about various government dental programs. Also, it provides you services in any dental emergency.

14. Implantdirectory.com

Implant Directory is the one-stop solution for your tooth replacement needs. The dental implant is the most popular form of tooth replacement. You get the list of best implant dentists, based on your zip code. Also, you can search by the doctor's last name if you have someone already in mind.

15. Dentists4kids.com

As the name suggests, Dentists4kids finds you the best pediatric dentists around you. You can get the list of the dentists by entering your city, state or zip code.

16. Dentagama.com

Dentagama is a site where you find a pool of dentists with ratings and reviews from patients. Once you get the list, check the ratings and testimonials and then book an appointment.

17. Dentaltradealliance.org

The Dental Trade Alliance is a trade association. The association includes manufacturers, distributors, and service providers of the dental industry. It includes a large set of traders in North America to improve the state of dental care.

18. Healthprofs.com

Healthprofs let you find the best dentists near you based on your zip code or city. Also, you can select a particular region in the US and browse through the list of the dentists.

19. Deltadentalins.com

Deltadentalins gives you a directory of dentists in your area. It also gives you all the relevant information about dentists. Moreover, it offers you some dental plans that will help your treatment covered.

20. Dentalplans.com

DentalPlans not only finds you the best dentist but also the best insurance plan. DentalPlans is the best place for you to find you the best dental solutions in the town.

Are you a dentist (or) are you looking to do local SEO for your Dental website? Get a free consultation with our experts today!