Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important for the dental industry to attract new patients and retain the existing ones. You might be aware of things you need to do for dental SEO and may also understand the process of optimizing a website to rank on search engines. Some easy-to-implement strategies help in increasing search rankings for your Dental SEO and generating traffic through search engines. Ten such valuable tips have been discussed below.
Emphasize on Local Dental SEO
Most patients use Google Maps to find a dentist near them. Hence, optimizing your Google My Business account is important for showing up on Google Maps. Your goal needs to optimize the GMB account for ranking among the top 3 Google Maps listings.
The first process of optimizing a GMB listing begins by claiming and verifying the listing. Next, you need to fill in information about your business, such as operation hours, services provided, areas served, and practice description. The data needs to be as detailed as possible.
Post on Your Google My Business Account
You rank for more local keywords when you provide more information in your GMB profile. For instance, a dentist having a single review in his GMB profile might rank lower for terms like “dentists near me.” However, by claiming and verifying a GMB account and consistently posting to the account every week, the positions will improve, and it’s expected to rank higher.
Acquiring More Google Reviews
Google Maps consider Google reviews as an essential element for its ranking algorithm. However, only 10% of the factors were considered for each account. Having more reviews than your competitors doesn’t help rank you higher and improves Dental SEO. But you shouldn’t be worrying about your ranking. The thing that matters is that you are in the Google Maps-3 Pack.
Prospective patients click on dental listings appearing on the 1st page, having the maximum number of reviews. Hence, despite not appearing among the top listings, you can expect to get more new-patient phone calls if you have more reviews compared to your competitors.
You should also not ignore other platforms like Facebook to review your services. Encouraging patients to post reviews on Google and Facebook is worth the time.
Publish Custom Content To Boost Your Dental SEO
Irrespective of what you choose to publish on your website, i.e., blog posts, patient testimonials, service pages, etc., they need to be fresh and unique. Google recognizes new content and rewards websites that practice it regularly. Your time to post original content will truly be rewarding in converting potential customers to actual customers.
Integrate Strong Internal Link-Building Strategy
Ranking higher for specific keywords for your practice website and GMB listings, it’s important to send signals to Google about the keywords you wish to rank for. Sending necessary signals is possible through internal website links. They link from one page of your website to the other. Creating an internal links structure tells Google about the critical keywords for your website. For instance, if you wish to rank for dental implants, you should have a custom dental implant service page along with several links throughout the website linking back to it.
Deploy a Solid External Link-Building Practice
Outbound linking points to another website while inbound linking points to your website. You need to connect with industry-specific sites and local businesses for outbound links. Linking to American Dental Association or authentic websites informs Google for relevance within the dental industry.
One important tip to implement for inbound and outbound linking is to link from your website to the Google My Business account and vice versa.
Add Location Pages Linking To Your Website
You should add location pages to your website to rank higher in local dental SEO. It helps describe the areas you want to draw new patients from. A location page would send clear signals to Google, where your GMB account needs to rank in the Google Map, etc.
Develop Mobile Optimized Website
Smartphones are now an extension of what we are. It’s a source to read reviews, news, mails, track schedules, and a lot more. Mobile optimized websites rank better and keep you ahead of your competitors. Prospective patients searching for a local dentist is more likely to search using a mobile device.
Check Your Website Loading Speed
Website load times are considered an essential factor for Dental SEO after the Google Updates in 2021. Factors that often reduce the speed of your website include non-compressed photography, outdated tools, HD videos, slow hosting service, inadequate caching, etc. To check how quickly your website loads, you should be running a speed test using Google’s speed test tool.
Rankings Improve With Better Social Signals
Social signals are generated through your social media accounts. Posting content on your social media accounts engages your followers to share, comment, and like it. Referred to as social media engagement, they send signals to Google about how relevant your content is. Your website is expected to rank higher with more attention and positive feedback.
If you operate a dental clinic in Tampa Bay, FL, and searching for a reliable SEO service provider, contact Affordable Dental SEO. They have been helping dental practices outrank competitors and got the most out of the best dental SEO strategies.