Dentists know that good SEO and an effective web presence are important to their business.
In fact, it’s increasingly common for dental professionals to hire SEO agencies—especially agencies that claim to be experts in the dental industry—to manage their practice website, content, and on-page and backend SEO.
If you’re a dental professional looking to enhance your online presence through SEO, you too may be considering 
hiring a 3rd party.
This is not misguided: busy dentists and orthodontists often prefer to focus on running their practice – many don’t have the time to learn and implement SEO.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn the basics. You can! And you should.
Remember that as a dentist, you’re a prime target for SEO agencies, especially those that claim to be experts at Dental SEO and marketing. And if you’re thinking about hiring a 3rd party for your online marketing—whether you choose us or an angecy—you definitely don’t want to go in blind.
We’ve already discussed what to look for in an ethical SEO agency. Today, we’ll teach you about the fundamentals of Dental SEO, so you’ll never be in the dark when it comes to your dental practice website.
Check out our breakdown of what SEO is, what it isn’t, and what it’s meant to accomplish for your dental practice.
What is Dental SEO?
Let’s define SEO before we tackle the specifics of Dental SEO.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is the process of improving your site’s ranking on a search engine, via unpaid (aka “organic”) search results.
Translation: The right SEO techniques can land your site on the first page of Google, which increases the visibility of your business.
Dental SEO is no more complex than any other form of SEO. Dental SEO is merely SEO used for dental websites. When we use Dental SEO, we employ SEO techniques specific to the dental industry—i.e., dental terminology, careful keyword research, patient-centric content, and countless other methods—to meet the goals of the dental practice.
Before you even consider hiring someone to handle the Dental SEO for your website, you should think about your goals. When dental professionals approach us for SEO and online marketing help, we like to sit down wth them and outline these goals together.
Some of our dental clients’ SEO goals include:
- Building their personal brand
- Attracting new patients
- Targeting patients in a certain geographical area
- Increasing the visibility of the dental practice
- Increasing the overall revenue of the practice, via specialized services or new patients
How Can Dental SEO Help My Dental Practice?
Smart and strategic dental SEO—especially when combined with other online marketing techniques—can hugely benefit your dental practice!
Here are just a few of the benefits that Dental SEO offers dental professionals:
- Differentiation. Good SEO helps your dental practice stand out from the competition.
- Connection. Proper SEO can help connect you with your ideal patients, best suited for your practice.
- Expanded reach. Your dental practice website isn’t just a modern form of a Yellow Page ad. With good, strategic SEO, you’ll be able to reach a wider pool of potential patients than ever before.
- 24/7 marketing. A dental practice that uses good Dental SEO (along with other techniques) offers round-the-clock marketing – that means you’re attracting patients even when you sleep!
Plus, let’s remember the importance that good Dental SEO does for your personal brand. Potential patients visit your site for more than just information about your practice: they’re also gettinga feel for you, your personality, and your professional reputation – your personal brand is what ultimately leads patients to contact your office.
SEO Basics that Every Dentist Should Know
Here are a few SEO basics that every dentist should know, especially if they’re looking to hire a 3rd party to help manage their website and online marketing.
While SEO best practices are always changing, there are a few basics that tend to remain the same:
Terminology. The correct keywords and keyphrases, strategically placed in the right places on your site
- Site Authority. Google gives a higher ranking to websites that have established site authority through:
- Time – how long the site has existed
- Backlinks – links to your site) from other websites with established page authority
- Correct implementation of SEO
- Regularly and consistently adding quality content that includes SEO best practices
- The correct use of internal website links and backlinks from websites with established site authority are just 2 of the many important factors about links.
Dental SEO: Defining and Measuring Success
Before hiring help with online marketing, dentists should know some SEO basics, including what SEO is, what it isn’t, and what defines successful SEO.
SEO is
- Using multiple free tactics to increase the online visibility of your business through improved search engine rankings
- An ongoing process that requires monitoring, regular site audits, and updates that adapt to Google’s algorithm changes
- A strategic process, often enhanced by digital and content strategy, and supported by strategic social media efforts
SEO is not
- Paid advertising like SEM (Search Engine Marketing) or Pay Per Click (PPC) ads
- An overnight process – it takes time, and is ongoing
- A guarantee of permanent first-place rankings on Google. Search engines—for a variety of reasons, including a site’s SEO efforts—are constantly shuffling the order of search returns.
- Yes, keywords are important. Having the correct keywords in the right places on your site is paramount, while using them incorrectly can lead to swift penalization (think: banned to page 7) by Google. But keywords are just a fraction of the overall SEO process.
To find out if your dental SEO and web marketing efforts are working, consider what defines successful SEO.
Successful SEO is not defined by
- Increased traffic to your website
- Higher search engine rankings
I know, it sounds counter-intuitive after everything we’ve said about SEO. But it’s true. You’re running a business, not a blog. That means increased web traffic and higher search engine rankings alone don’t define SEO success. These are encouraging factors, sure, but they mean very little if you’re not seeing a tangible return on your investment.
Successful SEO is defined by
- Delivering measurable results that meet the goals of your practice: i.e., X amount of new patients each year, increased visibility for your practice, a stronger personal brand, etc.
Dental SEO: The Best in Online Marketing for Dentists
At CEI, we know Dental SEO and online marketing, and we can help you achieve your goals in the digital sphere.
Check out our Dental SEO and online marketing services, and give us a call when you’re ready to take your practice to the next level in the online world.