Since the world is internet-based these days, many dental practices are turning to Search Engine Optimisation to ensure that patients have access to their services at the tap of a screen. This guide is for you if you’re a dentist and new to SEO. Let us guide you through the process, one step at a time.
Dentist SEO Marketing: What Is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation entails helping your business’s website rank higher in search results on search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. It’s that simple.
However, to have your website rank higher and attract more visitors, you need a quality website that considers basic SEO principles.
SEO for Dentists
Applying SEO to your dental website ensures that your business is visible to prospective patients online. Essentially, more people who search for local dentists will be able to find your practice.
Google captures data to determine which pages rank highest. Here’s what the search engine considers:
- The links contained within a page
- How fast the page and its high-priority elements load
- The depth of information offered on a topic
- When the data was last updated
- If the site is mobile-friendly or not
These factors show Google why your dental practice deserves to be displayed among the first in its search results.
Consider This Before You Optimise: Key Definitions to Know
Here are a few things you need to know before you start implementing SEO as a dentist:
1. Keyword Ranking Position
The best way to determine how high your website ranks for specific keywords is through the Search Analytics dashboard via your Google Search Console account. This dashboard shows you the keywords you are ranking for and their position on the page (e.g. 1 = first result). Once you implement SEO, you should see your positions move down over time to a lower number (for example, position six to position three) for the keywords you’re targeting.
2. Keyword Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
Clickthrough rate refers to the number of clicks your website gets divided by the number of times your website appears in search results.
For example, if your website appeared in search results 100 times and it was clicked 10x, then your CTR would be 10%. Your CTR should increase over time.
3. Top Landing Pages
Identify which web pages attract the most traffic to your website (a landing page). This will help determine if you’re attracting the right visitors to your practice. SEO should work to enhance your site’s most popular pages to turn more visitors into new patients.
4. Bounce Rate
Your bounce rate refers to the number of people who leave your website after visiting the first page. For example, a bounce rate of 50% in a month means that out of 100 visits, 50 visitors chose to go back once they were on your website. A high bounce rate could indicate a poor user experience on your website. Over time, this rate should decrease as you implement SEO.
5. Organic Traffic
Organic traffic refers to the number of visitors who find your website as an unpaid search result. The average organic traffic should be analysed month to month to improve the number of visits, as SEO works to increase traffic to your website.
The Best SEO for Dentists: Why Does It Matter?
Without SEO, no one will be able to find your website. Since the top five search results account for around 68% of all clicks, you want your website to rank as high as possible. More clicks mean more traffic to your website, more leads, greater credibility and more patients for your practice.
The truth is that your competitors are most likely already investing in dental SEO, so you have to get going! SEO is your chance to get in front of prospective patients who turn to the internet to research local dentists.
If your competitors aren’t already investing in dental SEO, you have the fantastic opportunity of attracting more patients to your practice before they even get the chance. Great SEO can prove what you already know — that you’re the best in the business!
SEO Checklist
The entire point of SEO is to optimise your website to ensure it has the best possible search engine ranking, which means showing up on the first page of results. Most people never click over to the second, let alone third or fourth pages. Why would they when Google gives them five to ten intriguing options on the first page?
To ensure you land on the first page, here are five things you should be doing for your dental practice’s website.
1. Do Keyword Research and Determine the Benchmark
Before you do anything, you will have to do your keyword research, building a map that covers all potential search phrases your patients could be typing into search engines like Google.
Then, you should pinpoint key analytics, including rankings, visitors to the site, conversions, and bounce rate, to determine where your website is currently. Use free tools like Google Analytics or more intelligent tools like Ahrefs to understand your dental website’s success and measure improvements as you implement SEO.
2. Set SEO Goals and Create a Content Calendar
Now that you know which search phrases you should be using, you must set up a content plan to cover these topics. You can implement these on your web pages, as well as for ongoing blog content.
Your benchmark data should show where you’re doing well and in which areas you can improve. Whether you’re looking to increase reach, visit, or time on page, decrease bounce rates and improve conversions, be clear about your goals and identify how you’ll measure your success.
3. Optimise Titles and Descriptions
When you start uploading your web pages and blogs, you should ensure that you’re optimising it correctly. Pay attention to your meta titles and descriptions (describing the page), as they should be unique for each page.
This text displays on search engine results pages to give prospective patients an idea of your website. To optimise your page title and meta descriptions, add relevant keywords and include your practice’s city within the copy. Remember that the page title must remain under 60 characters and meta descriptions under 156 for optimal results.
4. Optimise Your Site’s Content and Look at Link Building
Optimised content includes enough keywords for search engines while flowing naturally as you read through it. Assign specific keywords to each page of your site and work them into headings, paragraphs, lists and the page’s call to action.
Furthermore, you should look at link-building methods and check how many links you need to overtake the competition. A good way to do this is to not solely focus on your direct keywords but also consider what people worldwide would type into Google. For example, typical questions people might have about dentists. This will help more traffic come in, which in turn will have a snowball effect on your other SEO efforts.
5. Insert Local Structured Data Markup
Structured data markup is what search engines use to gain more information about your website. It determines the basics of your practice, such as services offered, reviews and trading hours.
Google uses the markup to highlight this information directly onto search engine results pages. Structured data helps your practice shine in search results by highlighting your practice in a ‘rich snippet’, an enhanced Google result listing.
SEO Services for Dentists
If the world of SEO seems too daunting for you to handle all by yourself, why not enlist the services of experts?
Consider how much time it will take to optimise your website and whether you’re up for the task or not. Regarding SEO, results vary based on factors such as the level of competition in the area and where the website starts. For example, someone who displays on page five for “dentist in Perth” may take more time to optimise their website than someone who ranks on page two.
Hand it Over to The Pros
As a dentist, you’re busy. There’s always so much to do, and you often have to prioritise on your patients instead of the nitty gritty marketing requirements your business could benefit from. Therefore, hiring an SEO provider may give you an in-depth understanding of your strategy’s progress. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to ensure you get what you need for your website. As Perth’s trusted SEO agency, we can help. Contact us today to get started!
