You will find no shortage of dental SEO advice from “experts” in the industry. But we have learned from many dentists that they feel they are paying an exorbitant monthly fee for what they think is an SEO service, only to find that the SEO group is doing nothing (or almost nothing) for that monthly fee. Unfortunately, these dentists are often right in their assessment.
THE THREE MAIN COMPONENTS OF DENTAL SEO
What actually moves the needle when it comes to SEO for a dental practice website? The three main categories of effort that determine the success of your practice’s website in search ranking are technical soundness, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization.
TECHNICAL SEO
Much of the relevant optimization done to your website should be done right at the outset —meaning when it is built. Google looks for things like speed, a clean structure/sitemap, mobile friendliness, and excellent “core web vitals.” Essentially, Google is scanning your actual website and making judgments (determining how high they will rank you) based on the quality of your website’s architecture.
ON-PAGE SEO
Once you have cleared the hurdle of a technically-sound website, now you must convince the search engines that the content on your website is worthy of searchers’ attention. This is where keyword research, excellent writing, and engaging visual content come into play. If you are clearly signaling to Google that you have produced superb content that addresses the needs of searchers and that you have crafted a great user experience for them once they arrive, you will have earned the good graces of the search algorithms.
OFF-PAGE SEO
Google considers hundreds of factors in their ranking algorithm. Other quality websites linking to yours is a strong clue that your website should be considered authoritative. Think of it like a book. If you write a book that you want to be considered the standard in your field, other authors referencing yours (linking to your site) in their own books is an indicator that yours is the authoritative source, yes? Often a dental practice can still rank well in their market without any quality backlinks (other sites linking to theirs) because if the job is done well with the first two categories above, it is enough.
GET TO THE POINT! HOW CAN I RACE PAST MY COMPETITORS WITH DENTAL SEO?
Go DEEEEEP! We have found that writing voluminous, well researched copy about specific treatments while using strategic keywords and then presenting that content in an attractive and intuitive way creates the biggest jumps in search rankings. This is, of course, assuming that the technical components of the website are dialed in.
How big of a jump are we talking here?
We added 2,000 words of copy to the general dentistry page of one of our client websites in a competitive market and saw a 10x jump in their online visibility within a matter of weeks. THAT… is huge!
Now keep in mind that you can’t just write 2,000 words of trash copy. In all transparency, the research and planning take longer than the actual copywriting. Your market competitors must be analyzed to find the chinks in their optimization armor. You must research the keywords that are actively being searched in YOUR market. You need to research the actual questions that searchers in your area are pinging Google with. Then, you must structure and outline the concept of your page factoring these elements. Now you can finally write it.
But just slapping that copy on your specific treatment page won’t get you all the way there. No, no. You must remember that a real person will need to appreciate it. This is where dynamic design and formatting must be deployed to create an immersive and satisfying experience for your site visitors. At LUMN, we call the result of this effort an Optimized Treatment Page (OTP). An yes… if you’re thinking you would like to create some optimized treatment pages but need help, we’ve got the process and pricing down and “optimized.”
SUMMARY
If you want to rank higher, start by building a rockstar dental website that checks all the search engine’s technical boxes. Then pack your site with useful, strategic copy on your specific treatment pages. This signals to Google that you should be the first site their SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) point to when a potential patient queries.
Book your free marketing consult with us to assess your website, market opportunities, and how much of an impact an Optimized Treatment Page might make for you. We’re straight shooters and we respect your time.