Local SEO for Dentists: How to Get More Patients

We wrote about local seo audits for small businesses here.

For many dentists, the biggest challenge with local seo is that there are sooo many dental practices to compete with.  In New York County alone, there are 1,300 dental practices¹. A “dentist near me” query in Google Maps shows these results:

The locations highlighted on the map are just the first few of 207 results, each page having 20 listings save for a couple of them being ads.

The listings on the left have hundreds, if not thousands, of reviews with average ratings of 4.5+.

So how can a new or under the radar dentist build their business using search?

Here are a few tactics for local SEO for dentists.

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Having a Google Business Profile (GBP) is table stakes in a high competition areas like dentistry.  If you haven’t done so already, create or claim your GBP. For detailed instructions, read about how to generate organic visits for Google Business Profiles.  To summarize, the top ranking factors for GBP are:

• Business Name - include keywords
• Categories - primary category matters most, choose up to an additional 9 secondary categories
• Website URL - use home page if you have one location, otherwise the specific location page
• Reviews - ratings score, quantity of reviews and recency of reviews all matter
• Services - pre-defined services impact ranking more than custom services.
• Hours of Operation - you’ll rank better during open hours, but don’t try to game the system by extending hours beyond what they actually are

Additional guidance GBP for dentists

• Get new reviews, all the time
  I noticed that of the many pages of dental local listings, the first page listings all had recent reviews within the last month.  To be competitive, I recommend getting a new review at least monthly if not more frequently. Getting reviews must be a constant activity of your practice. It should be an automated email or text message after the completion of every visit.You could also consider giving an incentive for reviews. At one company I worked for, I swear half the sales team saw one dentist to get 50% off teeth whitening.

• Multiple GBP profiles‍
  If you have more than one dentist at your practice, you can try creating GBPs for each dentist, in addition to your business’s GBP.  Then, for each dentist, specify a different primary category so that you have a better shot of ranking for those related search terms. For example. one dentist at your practice might make use the primary category “pediatric dentist” while the other might use “orthodontist”.
  Sterling Sky has done quite a bit of testing on this and wrote up this article.

2. Optimize Your Website for Local Search

Your website is very important in regards to local SEO strategy. The following is a summary on how to perform a local search audit and optimize:

• Use Local Keywords: Insert regional keyword terms on your webpage content, title tags, H1 tags and meta descriptions, like “dentist in NYC”. Make an effort to use them normally without overloading the article artificially.
• Create Location-Specific Pages: If your dental practice has multiple locations, create a specific page for each particular location that has its own content which contains the keywords describing the location. For example, if you have one location in the Upper East Side and one in the Financial District, you might have two location pages with title tags, “ABC Dental - Upper East Side” and “ABC Dental - Financial District”, respectively.
• Include NAP Information: Include Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) on your website and ensure consistency with other online directories your practice is mentioned in.
• Add a Map and Directions: Ensure that you have a map with directions to your clinic such that patients can easily find you.
• Add Your Credentials: One word - EAT.  Or maybe it’s three words: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.  This is how Google’s search engine and Quality Raters evaluate the quality of content on the site. Medical websites have a higher bar when it comes to rankings, and rightfully so.  Content creators and websites must demonstrate they have EAT. Therefore, each dentist at a practice should have detailed bios of their experience,      along with degrees, certifications, and links to publications and research they’ve contributed to.‍
• Enable Rich Snippets: One thing I haven’t noticed much amongst dental websites is rich snippets. Perhaps this is an opportunity to stand out by adding structured data to your pages. Structured data can enhance your listing in search results with more context and boost your click-through-rate.
  You can use the dental schema to add things like ratings score, aggregate number of ratings, opening hours, etc.

3. Generate Local Backlinks

Receiving local backlinks from credible local websites can improve your authority and SEO performance. Here are some methods that you can use to get local backlinks:

• Get Listed in Local Directories: Reach out to aggregators that list healthcare or other businesses in your geographic region. You can research this by looking at other dental websites’ backlinks. Then, reach out to those directories to see how you can get listed them.
  I used SEMRush to look up backlinks to skydentalnyc.com, which is a local dentist’s website that ranks very well. I was able to find referring domains like ezlocal.com, carecredit.com, birdeye.com, dentistnewyork.us, and 247localdentist.com.
• Sponsor Local Events: Sponsoring community events can earn you backlinks from event websites and boost your visibility.
• Collaborate with Local Businesses: Participate in events or promotions with local organizations and ask them to link to your site.

4. Build Out (Unique and Relevant) Content

If you’re a solo practitioner, you’ve probably got enough going on between seeing patients, billing, filing taxes, and everything else required to run a dental practice.  Creating content is time intensive and can be a full-time job.

That being said, there are some, higher priority content you should have on your site:

• Location(s) Page: have at least one page per location. You can also use these location pages as your website URL in your GBP
• Bio Pages: create a bio page for each dentist on the team to demonstrate EAT
• Service Pages: have detailed pages for each service that you offer.  All title, H1, and meta description tags should include keywords related to those services.
• Patient Testimonials: share patient success stories and testimonials in order to build trust and showcase your expertise. Embed your Google Business Profile Review Ratings.
• Insurance and Forms: inform patients of accepted insurance plans and provide downloadable forms they can fill out in advance of their visits

Blog

A blog can be highly impactful for SEO, but you usually have to produce a lot of quality content which is a lot of work.

However, if you have relevant information you frequently give to patients, consider converting these into blog articles. That way, you are leveraging existing assets (less additional work) while increasing the potential ROI (attract and convert prospective customers). Examples of blog content than can help both current and prospective patients are:

• how to care for implants
• tooth extraction risks
• types of orthodontic solutions

If you are able to produce content, dental-related and local-specific topics could help you rank better within local searches.

• the effect of the NYC’s water on dental health
• Best pediatric dentists in NYC

5. Mobile Performance

Since 57% local searches are performed on mobile devices², it’s important to ensure a smooth user experience on mobile. That means mobile responsive pages, compressed image file sizes, and fast page speed load times. You can read more about this in our article on UX and SEO.

Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze and improve your site’s loading time.

6. Monitor and Measure Local SEO Success

Track your GBP's performance (formerly called Insights). Available metrics are:

• Searches: See which keywords people used to locate your profile
• Views: Monitor how many views your GBP gets, whether from Google Search or Google Maps and from desktop or mobile device.
• Interaction metrics can help gauge how attractive your business is to the users who arrived at your GBP. They include:
  • Clicks to your website
  • Direction Requests
  • Calls
  • Bookings
  • Views of Products
  • Total Interactions
• Track the actions customers take on your listing, such as visiting your website, requesting directions, or calling your practice. These actions indicate how well your listing converts viewers into potential patients.

Keep an eye on your reviews and ratings. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, shows that you value patient feedback and are committed to improving your services.

Use Analytics Tools to better understand how your website is doing on local search. Some local search tools include Moz Local, Bright Local or Yext. These will assist you in managing your local listings, and monitoring where you are locally listed on search engines while at the same time keeping track of what people think about your business on various review sites.

Regularly check your local search rankings to see how well your practice is performing for your target keywords. Tools like SEMrush Local, Ahrefs, or Rank Tracker can help you monitor your rankings over time and compare them with competitors. Understanding your ranking position can guide your local SEO for dentists' efforts and highlight areas that need more focus.

Conclusion

Depending on your geographic area, dentistry can be a highly competitive market with relatively savvy marketers when it comes to local marketing. Implementing local SEO for dentists is essential for growing and maintaining online visibility with local audiences.  Google Business Profiles are optimized are a must-have for any dental practice, but that’s just one piece to the puzzle. Beyond GBP and optimizing it, there are many other steps dentists can take to rank better for local searches: local keyword targeting, service pages, expertise pages, testimonials, backlinks, and more. Be persistent, and over time, you’ll see the payoff.

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References

_{1 Dentagraphics, Pulled July 10, 2024}

_{2 "Local SEO Statistics and Trends: a 2022 Report by ReviewTrackers", ReviewTrackers, November 21, 2021}