How to do (SEO) for Dentists or Dental Services Websites?

Outranking
by Outranking
Updated On: October 2, 2023
How to do (SEO) for Dentists or Dental Services Websites?

Is your dental practice facing difficulties in gaining online visibility? With so many dental services available, standing out in the digital world can be challenging. However, there is a solution: Search Engine Optimization (SEO). On-page SEO optimization is crucial for improving your website’s search engine rankings by focusing on factors such as content quality, internal links, and site navigation. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of SEO for dentists and provide you with valuable tips on how to implement it effectively. According to research, when the blog content on your site is valuable and engaging, your potential patients view your practice as a trusted source. So, let’s dive in and learn how to optimize your dental website for SEO.

A case study on Dental offices gaining higher Google Rank mentions that SEO optimization helped to drive 35% more qualified traffic year over year, similar to various other sectors, optimizing a dental website for SEO purposes can lead to a significant rise in revenue of up to 230%.

Need for SEO for dental practices

Dentists who invest in an SEO strategy can reap multiple benefits such as.

  • Improving their visibility on the internet.
  • Attracting a larger patient base
  • Standing out from their competitors
  • Establishing trust and credibility
  • Maximizing their efficiency and utilization of available means.

The process of incorporating SEO for websites related to dental practice. (Best SEO for dentists)

Step 1: Develop the overall structure of your Dental Practice website by dividing it into fundamental services.

To improve SEO for a dental practice, it is crucial to comprehend the fundamental aspects of the business. Before diving into keyword research, it is important to identify the key areas that connect most with the dental practice’s core offerings. The on-page optimization tool is a valuable resource for improving your website’s SEO by focusing on controllable factors such as content quality, title tags, and internal links. By doing so, the website’s architecture can be broken down into core service areas and their extended list of sub-areas. This will help in developing a plan to improve the website’s SEO. An SEO report will tell you where you need to improve for a better ranking.

Here is an example of how a dental practice’s architecture can be broken down into core service areas and their extended list of sub-areas:

Core Service AreasExtended List of Sub-Areas
General Dentistry1. Teeth cleaning and whitening
2. Fillings and restorations
3. Root canal therapy
4. Extractions
5. Oral cancer screening
6. Gum disease treatment
7. Dental implants
8. Dentures and partials
Cosmetic Dentistry1. Teeth whitening
2. Porcelain veneers
3. Invisalign
4. Dental bonding
5. Gum contouring
6. Smile makeovers
Pediatric Dentistry1. Dental exams and cleanings
2. Fluoride treatments
3. Sealants
4. Fillings and restorations
5. Orthodontics
6. Emergency dental care
7. Special needs dentistry
Orthodontics1. Traditional braces
2. Invisalign
3. Retainers
4. Orthodontic appliances
5. Jaw surgery oral
Oral Surgery1. Wisdom teeth extraction
2. Dental implants
3. Bone grafting
4. Oral pathology
5. TMJ treatment

Breaking down the structure of a dental practice’s website into primary service categories and their respective subcategories can facilitate the identification of pertinent keywords that best describe its offerings. This will help in developing a plan to improve the website’s SEO and drive more traffic to the website.

Step 2: Compile a register of relevant phrases that align with the offerings furnished by your dental clinics.

The best on-page SEO tools for dentists include Semrush’s suite, Keyword Magic Tool, and SEO Writing Assistant. There are three important factors to consider when conducting keyword research.

  1. To optimize your website, it is recommended that you conduct keyword research for every core area and gather a list of relevant and location-based keywords to include in the content.
  2. If you have multiple core areas, repeat the process for each one.
  3. Perform the keyword research step again for each sub-area if there are multiple sub-areas of focus within each core offering area.

To do keyword research for a plastic surgeon or dermatologist website, tools like Semrush or Outranking can make the process more efficient. This is a crucial part of aesthetic surgery SEO.

  1. Use Semrush or Outranking, and input “Cosmetic dentistry” as your core area. For example, For Cosmetic Dentistry, use the keywords, “Teeth Whitening, “Porcelain Veneers” and “Invisalign”.
Screenshot of generated keywords on semrush relating to the phrase "Teeth Whitening"
Which keyword here best represents your Dentist’s Service?

2. To save time and money, it is recommended to exclude irrelevant or outdated keywords such as “charcoal”.

Sceenshot of SEMrush's keyword filters options
Keep your list as refined as possible.

3. Utilize the Keyword Magic Tool to procure the preferred data in CSV file format.

List of keywords relationg to dentists core service areas and corresponding subareas.
You should have a list like this.

4. For every primary service category featured on the dental practice website, a corresponding CSV file containing relevant keywords should be created.

5. Stay organized by combining all files for easier management.

6. Alternatively, we can use Outranking to gather keywords.

7. Your on-page SEO score is a crucial factor in determining your website’s visibility and ranking on search engines.

Step 3: To generate suitable content for patients seeking dental services, organize keywords into clusters for each practice area.

As a dentist aiming to advertise your practice and offerings via a website, how can you ensure that your site ranks highest in search engine results when prospective patients look for dental services? This is where keyword clustering becomes significant.

Keyword clustering involves the grouping of keywords that share similar semantic meaning and intent into clusters. By clustering keywords, you can identify the most relevant and profitable keywords for your website and create an SEO content strategy around them.

Suppose you are a dental practitioner who intends to categorize your keywords. One way to do this is by utilizing a tool like Outranking, where you can upload your keyword list and initiate a new clustering project named “Dental Practice.” After the analysis, the tool will present clusters of keywords that share semantic meaning and purpose.

It’s important to note that keyword clustering and SEO require expertise and experience. You can do SEO yourself or hire someone who knows what they are doing.

Step 4: To prioritize your Dental Practice SEO efforts, create a Content Calendar.

The initial stage in developing and refining content for a dental clinic’s website involves gathering a catalog of key phrases and categories connected to the dental field, like “dental hygiene,” “orthodontics,” “teeth whitening,” and “dental implants.” This list is then used to rank the keywords.

After compiling the list of main keywords and categories, the subsequent action is to expand each category and choose its principal keyword. These topics should be added to a content planner, which can be found on Outranking’s website. Dental practices can create a content plan and schedule by utilizing Outranking’s keyword strategy topics and planner page.

After the list of topics has been created, it’s important to prioritize them. Outranking recommends setting three priorities: High, Medium, and Low. The table below shows how dental practices can prioritize their keywords into these categories:

PriorityKeywords ContainingWhy
HighDental Implants, OrthodonticsThe dental practice can establish itself as an authority and enhance the flow of information by creating valuable content.
MediumTeeth Whitening, Cosmetic DentistryCan place the dental practice among many competitors
LowDental Hygiene, Oral Health EducationIn short, the dental practice can establish itself as a leader in the industry and ensure smooth information flow by creating valuable content.

Step 5: Develop a method for creating content, create SOPs and SEO content briefs, or hire an Agency

For a dentist planning to integrate SEO into their website, it is crucial to establish a clear course of action to guarantee the triumph of your search engine optimization plan. It is important for Dentists to feature appropriate pages on their websites and should develop a comprehensive process for content creation and optimization, consider these three tips from experts:

Screenshot of Outranking's overview page
To ensure your content’s success, outline as much as possible.
  1. By following this approach, you can guarantee that your content is appropriately organized and fine-tuned for search engines.
  2. Creating solid SEO content brief: Before creating any content, it is essential to have a precise comprehension of your objectives. To delineate the intention, recipient group, style, and structure of your content, drafting a content brief can be advantageous. By following this approach, you can guarantee that your content is appropriately organized and fine-tuned for search engines.
  3. Setting up a proper content calendar: Consistent publication of content can be ensured and organization can be maintained with the use of a content calendar. It will also help you plan and ensure that your content is aligned with your overall SEO strategy.
  4. Establishing a streamlined process for handling tasks.: To streamline your content creation process and ensure that all parties involved are aware of their responsibilities, implementing an SEO workflow is recommended. This will help you avoid delays and ensure that your content is published on time.
Screenshot of a customizable SEO workflow available on Outranking.
Keep track of your content every step of the way!

Using Outranking’s content planner can help you implement these tips and ensure the success of your SEO strategy. Outranking’s planner allows you to create a customized workflow and track the progress of your content at every stage. The Kanban view of the software enables you to have a quick overview of the status of your documents, simplifying the process of monitoring your progress. The dental services can hire a copywriter to create original and keyword-optimized content for their website.

Step 6: Craft content for your dental practice website’s service pages and blogs that is optimized for search engines, or enlist the services of an agency to do so.

It is imperative to generate SEO-optimized content for every service page and blog to ensure that your dental practice invests in content that will produce favorable outcomes. Effective optimization of your website’s content can significantly enhance its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), thereby driving more organic traffic to your site. Consequently, this can lead to a rise in both the number of patients’ visits and your practice’s earnings.

Effective optimization of your website’s content can result in a higher ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), which in turn can attract more organic traffic. The SEO Writing Assistant is a helpful tool to ensure that your content is optimized correctly for search engines. This increased traffic can ultimately lead to an increase in patient appointments and revenue for your practice.

Screeenshot of the SEO details for an article titled "SEO for Dentists"
You want to make your content as SEO-friendly as possible.

Outranking provides a wide range of functionalities that involve enhancing various aspects such as title tags, descriptions, outlines, word count, frequently used NLP terms, distinct entities, lists and tables organization, statistics presentation, competitor analysis representation through visualization techniques, media incorporation in addition to internal and external links optimization along with featured snippets. An SEO content editor will help you edit the above features to dentist rank better.

Step 7: Enhance the Internal Link Structure

Enhancing the overall traffic of your website can be achieved by improving the internal linking structure of your existing pages. By analyzing the positions of existing pages, website owners can identify pages ranking between 1 and 10 (top 4-14 positions) for specific keywords. These are the pages with some authority that can be used to borrow authority and transfer it to the page that needs to rank for more keywords. Good SEO content writing will help your dentist rank better on Google.

For a dental practice website, the pages to optimize would be those related to specific dental procedures or services, such as teeth whitening, dental implants, or orthodontics. These pages should have some authority and be ranked between 1 and 10 for relevant keywords.

Screenshot of Dentists Yelp profile
Establishing your Dentists services on sites like Yelp can help build trust and credibility with potential clients.

Outranking can connect to Google Search Console and identify these pages by analyzing the website’s search performance data. Ranking positions can be indicated by the internal linking icon next to URLs that are highlighted in light and dark green colors, which may suggest potential opportunities for internal linking.

Step 8: Obtain inbound links and regional citations for your Dentistry website.

Acquiring local citations and backlinks is crucial for local SEO of the dental practice website. Local citations refer to the mentioning of a dental practice’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. These citations play a crucial role in helping search engines confirm the existence, authenticity, and credibility of dental practice. The greater the number of relevant and reliable websites that mention the dental practice, the higher the level of assurance search engines have regarding the dental practice’s existence, functionality, and accuracy of information.

Based on a study conducted by Moz, citations hold the fifth position in the list of crucial ranking signals for local searches. This means that having accurate and consistent local citations can help the dentist rank higher in local search results.

Dental practices must be listed on local directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Zocdoc as they often appear on top of search results for local queries. This can aid in the online discovery of the practice and help potential patients find a dental provider in their vicinity. Acquiring local citations is an effective way to ensure that the practice has a comprehensive, accurate, and consistent online presence. It is also important to regularly verify and update the practice information on these directories to avoid any mismatch or duplicate listings.

Structured and unstructured citations represent the two distinct forms of citations.

  1. Structured citations refer to the inclusion of the dental practice’s NAP details, which are commonly present on social media profiles and directory listings. When it comes to local SEO for dentists, it’s crucial to focus on both unstructured and structured citations.
  2. Unstructured citations: They are typically found in blog posts, forum posts, or press mentions and provide contextual mentions of the dental practice. However, it’s important to prioritize quality over quantity when it comes to both types of citations.

These four steps must be followed by the dental practice to construct local citations.

  1. One of our Local SEO services is to ensure that your business information is distributed to the top national and local directories, including the primary data aggregators such as Acxiom, Infogroup, and Localeze. These data aggregators distribute the NAP details of the dental clinic to various directories and websites.
  2. Share the content on other primary websites. For the dental practice to enhance its rankings in local searches, they must submit its NAP details to significant websites like Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, and Yahoo Local.
  3. Distribute the content to well-known industry and community websites. Submitting the dental practice’s NAP details to well-known local and industry websites such as Zocdoc, Healthgrades, and Yelp is recommended.
  4. Make an effort to obtain unorganized mentions of your business: The dental practice should try to get mentioned in blog posts, forum posts, and press mentions.

According to BrightLocal’s Local Citations Trust Report, the top citation sites for the dental industry are Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, Healthgrades, and Zocdoc.

A compilation of local citation websites and data aggregators is presented in this table.

Data AggregatorWebsites to Get Citations From
AcxiomYellow Pages, Citysearch, Superpages
InfogroupYelp, Bing Places for Business, Yahoo Local
LocalezeFoursquare, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List
Screenshot of dentist profile on the Real Yellow Pages
Provide as much information as possible about your Dentists Services

Step 9:Enhance the speed of the webpage and improve the user experience of the website.

In 2023, it will be essential for dental websites to improve their page speed and overall website performance to improve search engine rankings as well as user satisfaction. This can result in increased traffic, improved conversion rates, and ultimately, more business. SEO Landing pages have a higher conversion rate and help create a better user experience for website visitors.

To enhance the speed of your website and provide a better user experience, it is recommended that dentist websites utilize lightweight themes such as the dental services theme available on Codecanyon and plugins like NitroPack for WordPress.

Step 10: Utilize Google Search Console to monitor your website’s position in search results.

To improve the visibility of your dental practice on the internet and draw in additional patients, it is essential to connect your website with Google Search Console and keep track of its ranking statistics. This enables you to gain valuable insights into your website’s performance and take necessary measures to improve its visibility.

To interpret the website ranking data and take the appropriate actions, refer to the table below:

GoalInterpretationAction
1. Optimize internal linking websitesWebsites that have their keywords ranked between the 4th and 14th positions on search engine results in pages.Enhance the Pagerank by optimizing the internal linking structure.
2. Build topical authority pagesPages that do not have any keywords ranked in the top 20 positions and do not match the user’s search intent.To rank easily and align with the user’s search intent, it is important to generate new and unique content.
3. Improve underperforming pagesPages with no keywords ranked in the top 20 positions fail to match the user’s search intent.To improve the overall SEO of your dental practice website, it is recommended to either enhance the content of the page or redirect it to a more relevant one.

Step 11: Optimize your Dental Practice’s Local Google My Business account

To optimize a dental practice’s Google business profile listing for local search, they can take the following steps:

  1. Claim and verify their listing to ensure accuracy and control over the information displayed.
  2. Add accurate and detailed business information, including business hours, services offered, and contact information.
  3. Include top-notch pictures of the clinic, comprising its outer and inner areas, as well as the personnel.
  4. Motivate the patients to post feedback on the directory to enhance their visibility and reliability.

Utilizing relevant keywords in both the category selection and business description is crucial for improving search engine optimization. A good SEO description will drive traffic to your website.

Screenshot of Google search results for "Dentists in Washington"
Setting up your Google My Business account can help establish you as an expert Dentist in your area.

Step 12: To establish the framework, formulate a system and enhance material, it is essential to make wise investments in suitable resources.

For a dental practice to thrive in terms of SEO, it is imperative to invest in appropriate tools such as Outranking. Outranking serves as an extensive platform that offers services ranging from keyword research, and content optimization to performance tracking- all under one roof.

To accomplish objectives and generate superior content, team members must engage in effective communication, collaborate efficiently, and assume responsibility. For a successful SEO content strategy, it is crucial to have a cohesive team that produces high-quality content efficiently, and good team alignment can help achieve this goal.

Step 13: Concentrate on the end objective- patient bookings

Most websites focus on organic traffic rather than leads and conversions because organic traffic is the foundation of a successful online presence. The origin of the traffic is search engines and it is both cost-free and long-lasting. For instance, utilizing a brief keyword such as “dental practice” can lead to an influx of irrelevant visitors who are searching for dental schools, products, or other unrelated matters. Conversely, utilizing a highly specific keyword such as “Invisalign dental practitioner located in (city name)” has the potential to attract a much more focused group of individuals seeking dental services.

Assessing a firm’s capability in aiding your dental practice’s SEO

Dental SEO experts

If you are looking for assistance from an agency to enhance the SEO of your dental services website, it is crucial to examine their proficiency, feedback, and achievements. Here are a few pointers that can assist you in making the appropriate decision:

  1. Search for a company that has expertise in the field of dentistry. A good SEO agency will have experience working with websites in your niche and will be able to provide personalized strategies for your business. Ask for examples of their work with dental clients and any statistics on the results they achieved.
  2. Evaluate their feedback and standing. Look for reviews on their website, Google, and social media platforms. A good agency will have positive reviews from satisfied clients. You can also check their reputation on industry websites and forums. With its dominant position in the search market, Google establishes the guidelines for achieving online visibility.
  3. Evaluate their results. If you want to evaluate the effectiveness of a dental SEO service, ask for case studies or examples of how they have assisted other dental clients in enhancing their search engine rankings and generating more website traffic. Look for concrete outcomes, such as a rise in website traffic or an increase in conversion rates.

Several dental practices have collaborated with the XYZ SEO Agency and witnessed substantial achievements. In six months, one of our clients observed a 50% boost in website traffic and an increase of 25% in new patient appointments after partnering with us. Another client saw a 75% increase in organic search traffic and a 20 % increase in online appointment requests within the first year.

We provide Dental SEO services for dentists to enhance their online visibility.

When assessing a firm to assist with search engine optimization for your dental services webpage, take into account the subsequent factors.:

  1. Proven Process and Customized Approach: Look for an agency that follows a proven process and principles that can be applied universally when performing website audits and search engine optimization. There are many SEO content audit tools available online, but a custom website audit done by an SEO expert manually reviewing your site, market, and competition can provide more valuable insights.
  2. When it comes to creativity and innovation, a reliable SEO agency should possess remarkable imagination and inventiveness. Inquire the agency about the innovative tactics that they have employed to distinguish their dental clientele from their competitors.
  3. Real-World SEO Experience: In the realm of digital marketing, specifically SEO, having ample experience is crucial for achieving success. It is advisable to opt for an agency that specializes in dental websites and possesses a considerable amount of expertise in this field, ideally with a practical experience spanning between 5 to 10 years.

The length and adjustability of the agreement.

It is crucial to take into account the length and flexibility of the contract when assessing an agency for assistance with SEO for your dental services website. Provided below are some recommendations that can help you select the appropriate option.

  1. Search for a company that provides adaptable contract periods. A good agency will work with you to find a contract length that fits your needs. For example, if you’re just starting and want to test the waters, a shorter contract may be a better option.
  2. Consider the agency’s approach to customization. A customized analysis and strategy design that caters to the client’s unique competitive position is employed by a good SEO agency, as previously stated.
  3. Search for a company that has expertise in your specific area. If you want a dental SEO agency that can design a creative and innovative strategy, it’s important to choose one with hands-on experience in the dental services industry.
  4. Consider the agency’s communication and reporting. A good agency will provide regular communication and reporting to keep you informed about the progress of your SEO campaign.

Are you looking for an SEO Strategist who can formulate the strategy and address all your urgent queries?

In case you are thinking about enlisting the services of an SEO firm to enhance your digital visibility and increase customer visits, having a robust SEO strategy is crucial. The services of an SEO consultant can prove to be immensely beneficial in this regard. By working with an SEO consultant like Outranking’s SEO consultant and strategist, you can ensure that you have a clear strategy in place before hiring an agency. An SEO consultant can help you with planning, execution, and ongoing optimization to ensure that everything goes smoothly, and you get the right results. The SEO guide provided by our team is comprehensive and effective in improving website rankings. You can hire an SEO manager who can help optimize a company’s website to improve its visibility on search engines.

What is the cost of SEO services for a dentist provided by an agency?

A dental practice can expect to pay an average of $1000-$2000 per month for quality SEO services from an agency. Nevertheless, some agencies may offer lower rates ranging as low as $99 monthly. Partnering with a reliable and skilled agency that can provide tailored strategies and consistent assistance is essential as the pricing of SEO services relies on multiple factors such as the website’s complexity, size, required services, competitiveness in the market, and level of expertise offered by the agency.