5 Helpful SEO Tips For Dentists

In this blog post, I am going to explain to you what Dentist SEO is, why it should matter to you, and at the end, I will provide you with 5 SEO Best Practices to follow for maximum success. SEO is one of the strategies I mention in my how-to generate more dentist leads post, so this one is sure to be a good one! Let’s get started:

What is Dentist SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the marketing practice of making your dental practice easier to find on Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. You do this by “optimizing” or fixing your website pages to make them easier to read and navigate.

Read my SEO beginner guide for more detailed information on how SEO works.

Okay, so here’s an example that can help you better make sense of what SEO is:

Imagine this simple scenario. A girl named Megan is enjoying a delicious piece of candy. As she is enjoying her candy, she suddenly feels a sharp pain in her tooth.

Oh no, she thinks she may have a cavity!

She goes on her phone, goes to Google, and types in “Cavity Filling near me”.

She looks through the first page of search results and eventually clicks on Peppy’s Dentistry. She goes to their website, browses around, and eventually books an appointment.

Within a few hours, Megan goes to Peppy’s, and the dentist there provides her with immediate treatment for her cavity. Feeling pain-free and happy, Megan is sent on her way. Now how did Peppy’s do this?

Simple:

They added “geotag keywords” to their pages to make them more likely to show up locally, and they made sure that “Cavity fillings” was a separate page on their website. In other words, they invested in SEO.

I am highlighting these best practices for you now, but later I will explain how to do these things in more detail.

Why is Dental SEO Important To Your Practice

There are many reasons why you should care about optimizing your pages for search engines, here are 3 key reasons.

1. Dentist SEO leads to more paying customers

2. It can run on autopilot

3. It can help you build authority and trust with your audience

In a 2022 study by Terakeet, they found that:”SEO can reduce the cost of customer acquisition by 87.41% on average compared to other digital advertising”.

and in a 2021 study by BrightEdge, they found that : “SEO generates 1000% more traffic than social media“.

So honestly SEO is the best way to grow your practice, now here are 5 helpful tips to get you started.

1. Target the Correct Dental SEO Keywords

Whether you are doing SEO yourself or having another company do it for you. You should definitely have a list of “keywords” that someone would use to find your dentistry.

These keywords can be a list of procedures, surgeries, or treatments combined with your location.

So for instance, if you are a dentist in Seattle, Washington. Here’s how your keyword list may look, you can use this as a reference when setting up your own list:

Procedure/Surgery/Treatment Keywords:

• Tooth Repair Seattle
• Root Canal Procedure Seattle
• Dental Crowns Seattle
• Porcelain Veneers Seattle
• Cavity Fillings Seattle

As you can see, I combined the services with the location. This is meant to mimic what someone may type in Google, locally. Also, you may want to make a list of general keywords that someone may type in. Here’s an example:

General Keywords:

• Cosmetic Dentistry Seattle
• Dentist Seattle
• Dental Care Seattle
• Dental Office Seattle

Now again, there is no guarantee that someone will type in these keywords exactly, but by having a wide range of keywords you are targeting, you can ensure that you rank for as many search terms as possible.

Now, how can you use these keywords?

1. You can target these keywords when running paid ads.
2. You can create service & blog post pages that contain these keywords.
3. You can seek out magazines, and editorials to get links from

Read my Keyword research guide for more information on how to choose the correct ones.

2. Ensure Your Phone Number and Address Are Visible

How many times do you go to a website for customer service and have to click or scroll forever to find a phone number or an email address?

A lot, I’m sure of it.

If it is hard for a potential patient to find your contact information then the chance of them reaching out decreases.

Because, if they for whatever reason need customer service they need to be able to trust that their needs will be taken care of. Having clear contact information conveys that to them.

So how can you fix that?:

So this is the time when you want to contact your Web Developer and tell them that your phone number, email, and location should be displayed at the top of your website, and in your footer if possible.

Not only does doing this help customers interact with you. It also builds more trust.

In the screenshot below you can see this particular dentistry has their location and phone number clearly shown. Also, the phone number is clickable. So once a patient clicks on it, they will get sent directly to a phone app to make the call. How convenient is that?

3. Create Separate Pages For All Your Services

Imagine how confused a patient would be if they came to your website for “Porcelain Veneers” but on the page, you talked about cavity fillings, dental crowns, braces, dental implants, and tooth extractions.

It would be very cumbersome for a patient to sift through. So if it is difficult for them to find the information they need, they will leave and find someone else! So it is best to make things easier by separating out your service pages.

Below I provided screenshots of two examples. The first photo is what I would recommend doing and the second is what I would NOT recommend doing.

Do this:

In the screenshot, you can see that this dentist has all their services on separate pages, that you can access via the navigation bar. This makes their website super easy to navigate and find information.

Not this:

As you can see in this screenshot, this dentist has all their services on a single page with links. This is terrible for SEO because it confuses people and Search Engines on what the page is about. So again, the best practice is to have separate pages.

4. Speed Up Your Website

It was reported in a study by Computer.org that on average, if your website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, approximately 40% of your visitors will abandon your site. (Computer.org)

So imagine spending money on ads or other paid marketing and customers are leaving before they even get to your website. Three words – WASTE OF MONEY.

To check your website speed you can use a free tool by Google called Page Speed Insights. The tool can tell you on average how long it takes for elements on your website to load and become clickable. It also offers suggestions on how you can speed your website up.

Below I provided a screenshot of a dentistry’s website that I ran through Page Speed Insights. As you can see from the screenshot, this dentistry’s website needs some serious maintenance!

Because it takes on average, 22 seconds for everything to be clickable. So if 40% of visitors leave after 3 seconds, you can do the math on how many patients get to this dentist’s website!

Hint, hint, not many.

5. Track SEO Performance

One of the biggest mistakes you can make for long-term SEO success is not tracking your performance. Imagine if you were on a team and after a loss, you weren’t able to watch game film. Or you took a test and weren’t able to see what questions you got wrong.

How would you know where you messed up and what to do better for next time?

You wouldn’t!

Which means you would be prone to make the same mistakes. The same thing goes for tracking SEO performance.

The best way to track your performance is to again use one of Google’s own tools.

I recommend Google Search Console and Google Analytics. On Search Console you can see what keywords your dentistry is ranking for, as well as the Impressions, Clicks, Click Through Rate (CTR), and Average Position.

Here’s a screenshot of what Search Console looks like:

Now, for Google Analytics, you should check it out for several reasons.

• You can see how long a patient interacted with your website.
• You can see how they found you.
• You can see what they looked at, when they were there.

Here’s a screenshot of what Google Analytics looks like, sorry it’s a bit blurry, but you get the gist!:

As you can see, both of these tools can help you make informed business decisions. Now it’s your turn!

Put These Dental SEO Tips To Use:

So now would be a good time to load up your website and make these changes. Or call up your SEO company, Web Developer, and anybody else who does marketing for you. And check in with them to make sure these things are included in the proper places on your website.

Also, visit our Dental SEO service page to learn more about how our SEO services can help your dental practice grow.