If you’re running a dental practice and want new patients, online traffic can be a reliable source. In that case, you will want to focus on local search engine optimization (SEO) to grow your practice.
In general, especially in dense urban centers, it’s crucial for dental practices to be easy to find online. Local SEO includes the practices that ensure your practice tops the list when people look for local dentists online.
One of the biggest parts of local SEO is online reputation management. Getting better patient reviews improves your search engine rankings and influences potential patients’ decision-making processes.
In this guide we will provide a comprehensive overview of Local SEO for dentists, with a focus on reviews and reputation management. We’ll explore the best practices for local SEO in the dental industry. Whether you’re new to Local SEO or looking to refine your existing strategy, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in today’s competitive digital landscape.
Main Takeaways from this article:
- Dental practices need to engage in local SEO to attract more patients, who often look online to find reputable local practices.
- Understanding basic local SEO practices can quickly make a big difference by ensuring that search engines and their users understand who you are and how to find you.
- Local SEO for dentists is closely attached to the dental practice’s online reputation.
- It’s important to employ several best practices to foster a better online reputation as a good dentist and a reputable source of dental health information.
Understanding Local SEO for Dentists
Local SEO is a specialized branch of search engine optimization. Local SEO focuses on attracting more local customers from relevant local searches. For dentists, that means being at the top when patients search for dental services in your area.
Understanding the fundamentals of Local SEO is the first step towards effectively leveraging it to grow your practice.
Online Reputation Management
Reviews are a powerful factor in local search rankings. Search engines consider the quantity, quality, and recency of reviews when determining your practice’s relevance and trustworthiness.
You can encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews to boost your reputation and signals to search engines that your practice is a trusted provider in your area.
Reviews and reputation management are also integral parts of Local SEO for dentists. People are more likely to consider a dentist that:
- They can easily find at the top of their search results.
- Has great reviews that demonstrate trust from the local community.
Google My Business (GMB)
At the heart of Local SEO is Google My Business (GMB).
GMB is a free tool for businesses to manage their online presence across Google. GMB is responsible for your presence in search results of all kinds, including Maps.
There are simple best practices that can give you a fighting chance in local SEO results for very little effort. For example, if you claim and optimize your GMB listing, your practice will show up in the local pack, a highlighted section for local businesses related to the user’s search query.
Local Citations
Local citations are mentions of your practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). Having these citations across various online directories, websites, and social platforms confirms your real, local presence.
Consistency is the key to succeeding here. Any discrepancies can confuse search engines and harm your local rankings. Ensure that your NAP information is accurate and consistent across all platforms.
On-Page Elements
On-page optimization means crafting the content on your website to target relevant local keywords, such as “dentist in [your city]” or “dental services near me.” Including these keywords in your website’s meta tags, headers, and content can help improve your rankings in local search results.
Additionally, creating localized content, such as blog posts about dental health tips specific to your community, can further enhance your local SEO efforts.
What Are the Best Practices for Optimizing Local SEO for Dentists?
Now let’s get into it. These are the basic steps you should take to put your practice on the online map.
Set Up and Optimize Google My Business
If you haven’t yet, start by setting up your Google My Business (GMB) profile. Taking control of your GMB is a crucial step for your practice’s local SEO.
The first task is to claim and verify your GMB listing:
- Search for your practice on Google My Business.
- Follow the prompts to verify that you are the owner or manager.
Once your GMB profile is verified, it’s time to optimize it:
- Ensure that all your business information is accurate and up to date.
- Confirm your practice’s name, address, phone number, website URL, and business hours.
- Make sure your GMB information is correct and reflected in all online spaces your business exists in. Consistent and accurate information helps potential patients find you easily. Consistency also ensures that search engines trust the data associated with your business.
- Upload professional photos of your practice including the exterior, interior, and some members of your team.
- (Optional) Adding a virtual tour of your practice is an uncommon but appreciated way to engage with potential patients.
Remember to regularly post updates about your practice such as:
- Special promotions
- New services
- Health tips
These kinds of posts can also include images and links, driving more traffic to your website and increasing its link profile.
Be sure to both encourage and manage patient reviews on your GMB profile. Positive reviews improve your local search rankings and influence potential patients’ decisions. Respond to reviews promptly and professionally, thanking those who leave positive feedback and addressing any concerns raised in negative reviews.
Gain New Reviews for SEO
Reviews are powerful players in the realm of Local SEO. Your practice’s online reviews serve as a crucial form of social proof. When it comes to local search, Google considers reviews to be user-generated content. User-generated content gives Google a vital indicator of your business’s reliability and relevance.
The goal in this step is to get a steady stream of great online reviews.
Encouraging patients to leave reviews should be a regular part of your patient engagement strategy. To do so, SEO strategies normally call for simple prompts, such as follow-up emails or SMS after a visit.
Generating reviews is a critical aspect of enhancing your dental practice’s online presence and reputation. Your positive reviews boost your credibility and play a pivotal role in improving your local SEO rankings.
How to Generate Reviews
The key to generating reviews is to create a seamless and engaging process that encourages patients to share their experiences. But the timing of the request is crucial; catch your patients when they are still in the high of their positive experience. Provide direct links to your Google My Business profile or other review platforms to make the process as easy as possible.
You can also integrate review requests into your practice’s regular communication channels. Try adding automated emails sent after each appointment. Thank the patient for their visit and gently prompt them to share their feedback.
In-office strategies can also be highly effective in generating reviews. Display tactful signs in your office that encourage patients to leave reviews. Personal interactions often have a stronger impact, so a polite request from a trusted staff member might make the difference.
Lastly, leverage your social media channels to generate reviews. Remember to share patient testimonials, as that social proof can encourage others to share their own experiences. Later, you can try new social media strategies such as raffles and contests that patients can enter by leaving a review.
Using a review generation and management software like Reviewshake can streamline the process of generating reviews. Our features:
- Automate the review request process.
- Automatically track responses.
- Ensure that no patient is overlooked.
Review Management & Responses
Review management and response strategy is all about maintaining the strongest possible online reputation. Dental practices don’t just need to accumulate reviews. Negative and mixed reviews are inevitable in any case; how you handle them demonstrates your customer service commitments to patients.
The review management process can be quite difficult in some cases. You need a multi-channel strategy that responds to all kinds of feedback on all the channels you use. That means regularly checking your Google My Business profile, Yelp, and other relevant review sites.
A better alternative is to use a tool like the Reviewshake Inbox to monitor all your customer communications in one centralized space. That level of convenience ensures that no kind of customer feedback slips through the cracks. The inbox comes with alerts for new reviews or messages and tracks responses for you.
Responding to positive reviews is relatively straightforward but should not be overlooked. When patients take the time to leave positive feedback, acknowledge their effort with a personalized thank you. Express genuine appreciation and mention the specific points they raised.
Responding to negative reviews requires a more nuanced approach. It’s especially crucial to address negative reviews promptly, but thoughtfully. Begin by acknowledging your patient’s concerns and apologizing for their negative experience. After that, keep the communication focused on finding a solution to resolve the issue. A well-handled negative review may even turn a dissatisfied patient into a loyal one.
Track Review Trends
In addition to managing individual reviews, it’s beneficial to analyze trends in patient feedback:
- Are there recurring complaints in negative reviews that highlight your weak spots?
- Are there aspects of your service that are consistently complimented?
You can find answers to these questions in tools like Reviewshake’s Review Analytics.
After collecting data, use it to make informed changes to your practice. This turns your SEO review management processes into some of your best customer insights and provides key opportunities for improvement.
Market Your Reviews
A dental practice that has great reviews should start leveraging them. Reviews are your most important online social proof. They reassure potential patients of the quality of your services.
Start by prominently displaying reviews on your website. Create a dedicated testimonials page where you showcase a curated selection of positive reviews. Highlight specific patient experiences and include their names and photos, with their permission, for authenticity.
Incorporate snippets of glowing reviews on your homepage and other key pages. Ensure that visitors see positive feedback as they navigate your site, building trust from the outset.
You should also showcase your best feedback on your social media channels. Share the most positive customer reviews with your audience and tell their stories.
Use visually appealing graphics and images to highlight your testimonials. Remember that when sharing reviews, you can usually tag the patients who provided them. Just make sure that your patients are comfortable with it.
Engaging with followers through comments and responses can further boost your social media presence and foster a community around your practice.
Of course, incorporating reviews into your advertising campaigns is a must-use strategy. Use your testimonials in your Google Ads and social media ads to add credibility and encourage more clicks. Potential patients are more likely to trust an ad that features real patient experiences. Video testimonials, in particular, can be compelling. Consider creating short videos where patients share their positive experiences. Creating case studies based on patient reviews can add depth to your marketing efforts. Select a few detailed reviews and ask for permission to develop them into full case studies!
Content Management
One key aspect of reputation management is content marketing. Regularly publishing high-quality, SEO content related to dental health:
- Positions your practice as an authority in the field (EEATs).
- Keeps your audience engaged and informed.
Dentally-relevant online content can significantly enhance your online presence. The best content management should include a healthy mix of:
- Blog posts.
- Videos.
- Social media updates.
- Treatment guides.
- Patient success stories.
This kind of content serves a dual purpose:
- It educates your patients.
- It provides valuable information that search engines favor, improving your SEO rankings.
Engaging with your local community is another crucial element of reputation management:
- Participate in local events
- Sponsor community activities
- Host free dental check-up camps
These tactics should boost your practice’s visibility. Ideally, you can get featured in online news publications. Also, when patients see your active involvement in the community, it reinforces the perception of your practice as a caring and integral part of the local area.
Another aspect of content management is maintaining an overall positive reputation online. If you produce valuable content while also gathering good reviews, most searches relevant to your business should bring up positive results. But you still need to:
- Regularly search for mentions of your practice across the web
- Check review sites
- Search social media platforms
- Check your local news outlets.
Address any inaccuracies or negative information promptly and professionally to mitigate potential damage. This is another area where tools and services that provide alerts for new mentions can help you stay on top of your online reputation.
Track and Measure Success
Track the success of your local SEO to understand what works and where improvements are needed. Closely monitor your position with each focus keyword and utilize SEO tools to refine your strategies. With such a thorough approach, content management builds sustained growth for your dental practice.
The first step is setting clear, measurable goals for your local SEO and reputation management initiatives. These goals normally include one or more of the following:
- Increasing the number of positive reviews
- Improving your search engine rankings
- Boosting website traffic
- Enhancing patient engagement on social media.
For many tasks, you don’t need advanced SEO tools like Ahrefs. Many free tools from Google can get you started and even help you thrive with sustained effort. For example, Google My Business Insights is a powerful tool for tracking the performance of your GMB profile. It provides valuable data on:
- How patients are finding your practice
- Number of views your profile receives
- Specific search queries that lead to your listing
- The actions patients take, such as visiting your website or requesting directions.
There are a few free SEO tools you really should be using, such as Google Analytics. They offer detailed information about your website traffic, including the sources of that traffic, the most visited pages, and the behavior of visitors once they land on your site.
Next, identify which local SEO strategies are actually driving your growth. Track your appointment bookings or contact form submissions to see how your content and channels are performing.
More importantly, you need to monitor ratings across all your platforms. Review management software can aggregate all this information for you. Broken down by channel, pay attention to:
- Frequency of reviews
- Average rating
- Specific feedback provided points
This data helps you gauge patient satisfaction and highlights areas for improvement.
Social Media Metrics
Just over half of US dental practices use social media. If you’re not in this group, it’s worth it to get started now on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Social media metrics offer more specific insights into your reputation among different audiences. So, track engagement metrics:
- Likes
- Shares
- Comments
- Follower growth
High levels of engagement indicate that your content is resonating with your audience and that you are effectively building an online community around your practice. Social media analytics tools can provide detailed reports on these metrics, helping you refine your social media strategy.
Patient Surveys
Regularly conduct surveys to gather patient opinions on your practice. Write surveys that persuade patients to provide actionable insights. Then use that feedback to make informed decisions or improvements to improve your patients’ experiences.
Track, Change, Repeat
Finally, regularly review your performance against your initial goals. Are you seeing an increase in positive reviews? Has your search engine ranking improved? Is your website traffic growing? Evaluate your goals against those metrics to determine the effectiveness of your strategies and make necessary adjustments.
Tracking and measuring success is an ongoing process that requires regular attention and adjustment. You can continually refine your local SEO to ensure that your dental practice remains competitive and continues to attract new patients.
Automate Your Review Generation & Reputation Management
One of the best ways to implement a powerful local SEO strategy for a dental practice is to use a review generation & reputation management tool.
Reviewshake can help you streamline review generation and management by:
- Generating new reviews
- Centralizing your ability to respond to feedback
- Preventing negative reviews
- Marketing positive reviews
- Analyzing feedback
Sign up for a free trial and see how Reviewshake can help you take your local SEO efforts to the next level.
