The Ultimate Guide to Dental Website Optimization and SEO for Dentists

The U.S. currently has 61 dentists for every 100,000 people. However, the American Dental Association reports this number could jump to 67 dentists for every 100,000 people by 2040. This makes it more important than ever for dentists to lean on their websites and the latest digital marketing practices.

In the near future, dental website optimization is poised to become even more important than it already is. Search engines might not suggest your dental website to prospective patients searching for a new dentist if you haven’t taken search engine optimization seriously.

Learn how to boost your dental practice website’s traffic by using dental SEO strategies and see how Weave’s solutions support dental practices by enhancing their online presence.

Understanding Dental Website Optimization

Approximately two-thirds of American businesses utilize search engine optimization (SEO). It’s a wonderful way for businesses to appease search engines and land near the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

Dental website optimization means SEO for dentists. By employing a solid dental SEO strategy, your dental practice can gain an edge over competitors and show up higher in the local search results provided by search engines.

What Is Dental Website Optimization?

Dental website optimization involves revamping a site to allow it to perform better when it comes to Google search rankings. A strong dental SEO marketing campaign can help bring in more new patients.

Here’s how to implement dental website optimization:

• Identify your target audience
• Perform keyword research to determine relevant keywords
• Create high-quality content containing relevant keywords
• Improve your site’s technical aspects
• Use local dental SEO services

Importance of Dental Website Optimization

Your dental practice might have a longstanding reputation for delivering top-notch dental services. But if you don’t use dental website optimization, your reputation might not take your practice as far as it used to.

All it takes is for another local dental business to invest in dental SEO services to attract patients who would normally turn to your practice. This will make you wish you had done dental search engine optimization sooner. It could even force you to work twice as hard at search engine marketing to overtake competitors after the fact.

Overview of Dental SEO Services

While many business owners, including dentists, invest in search engine optimization, some still shy away from it. Often, it’s because they’re overwhelmed by the steps associated with SEO for dentists.

However, as this guide to expert marketing for dental practices featuring insights from Peter Boulden explains, mastering dental website SEO is paramount for those in the dental industry.

On-Page SEO Strategies for Dental Websites

One of the first steps to optimize a dental website is employing the right on-page SEO strategies. Your search engine rankings may improve dramatically when you do this.

Keyword Research

Using the right keywords in your site’s content is the key to on-page dental SEO. Adding keywords relevant to your target audience can generate organic traffic from search engines.

Google Keyword Planner can help you with keyword research that will resonate with your audience. Other free online tools, like Moz Keyword Explorer, are also useful.

Optimizing Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

The keywords you use on your website to improve your search engine optimization should appear prominently in your site’s content.  These keywords should also appear in your title tags and meta descriptions for content.

Title tags should include primary keywords as close to the beginning as possible and be between 50 and 60 characters long.

Meta descriptions should also include primary keywords and come in at between 150 and 160 characters. Finish them with a strong call to action, or CTA.

Content Optimization

Creating relevant content that provides your site visitors with useful information is the name of the game in SEO for dentists. If potential patients search for “types of dental implants” and you’ve targeted this keyword, your content should tell those considering dental implants all about them.

You should also seek to optimize content on your website by:

• Using the right primary keywords with secondary keywords (closely related to primary keywords) and semantic keywords (variations of primary keywords)
• Including both internal links and external links to reputable sources
• Breaking up content to avoid long text blocks

Google’s goal is to recommend the highest-quality articles when people conduct one of the 8.5 billion searches processed by the search engine daily, and these steps can help you create them.

Technical SEO for Dental Websites

To increase online visibility, you’ll need to focus on improving more than just your website’s on-page SEO. Beefing up your site’s technical aspects should also be part of your dental search engine optimization strategy.

Website Speed and Performance

According to Google’s data, over half of internet users will abandon plans to visit your website if it takes over three seconds to load. This emphasizes the importance of ensuring your website loads quickly.

Google offers PageSpeed tools that can test your site’s speed and show ways to improve it.

Mobile Friendliness

Mobile devices account for over half of internet traffic. Working with the right web developer can help you create a website that is as easy to navigate on smartphones as on computers. They should utilize responsive web design, or RWD, to provide positive viewing experiences on the mobile version.

Secure Websites (HTTPS)

Website security hasn’t always affected SEO for dentists. However, Google’s algorithm now favors secure websites, especially those with web addresses that start with HTTPS.

Secure your site with HTTPS by:

• Purchasing an SSL certificate
• Installing an SSL certificate
• Enabling HTTPS on your site

Local SEO for Dentists

As a dentist, you probably won’t have to worry about trying to generate traffic from different parts of the country when improving your dental website SEO. Instead, focus on your local dental SEO since this should help you attract more attention from those using search engines in your city.

Importance of Local Search Engine Optimization

Studies have shown that one-fourth of people who complete a Google search click on the first link the search engine supplies. This shows why it’s extremely important to use local SEO for dentists as part of your new dental practice website.

If your dental practice isn’t near the top of the Google rankings when people in your city search for relevant words and phrases you’ve targeted after researching keywords, the chances of them visiting your site are low.

Google Business Profile Optimization

A Google Business Profile, or a GBP, is a free tool that can greatly impact your dental website optimization from a local SEO standpoint. When people from your city see your dental practice on Google Maps, they can click on it and get more information, such as your business name, address, phone number, and more.

You can optimize your Google Business Profile by creating a profile, adding the correct information, and putting your company into the right category. You can also encourage patients to leave online reviews on your GBP to improve your practice’s reputation.

Local Keywords and Content

The local keywords you incorporate into your dental website content can make or break your local SEO efforts. These keywords should target those in your community so Google search results will point locals to your site and not sites for other dental practices.

Creating location-specific landing pages on your site is another reliable way to promote your dental services to locals. If a search phrase contains a certain location and you have one of these landing pages, you’re more likely to see your local dental SEO work pay off.

Whatever you do, don’t make any of these cardinal mistakes. If, for instance, your site already ranks well for certain local SEO keywords, try ranking for keywords that aren’t ranking well yet instead of continuing to target the ones providing the most traction.

User Experience and Website Design

Does your dental practice’s site look aesthetically pleasing, and is it easy to use? If you answered “no” to either of these questions, address it through dental SEO services.

Importance of User Experience (UX)

Recent research has revealed that over 80% of people with negative experiences on websites are unlikely to visit them again. For this reason, improving your dental practice website’s user experience, or UX, is of the utmost importance. Do it by:

• Making sure your website pages load quickly
• Strategically positioning call-to-action buttons throughout website pages
• Putting together a custom 404 page to avoid losing site visitors

Website Navigation and Structure

There are several website structures you can use for your dental site. They include:

• Hierarchical: A site that features a homepage, category pages, and subcategory pages and a “top-down” structure
• Sequential: A site that encourages visitors to take a logical set of steps while moving through pages
• Matrix: A site that includes a large number of internal links and gives visitors the freedom to choose their path
• Database: A site that enables visitors to take control of their experience with a “bottom-up” structure

The hierarchal structure is usually the most effective option for dental practices. Your website visitors often begin on your homepage before heading to category pages and subcategory pages.

Visual Design and Branding

If every page on your website has a different look, it won’t feel cohesive. Create a professional web design with consistent branding. Weave offers dental practice branding templates to make this possible.

Content Marketing for Dentists

When you first perform dental website optimization, the content you add to your site should help it appear more often when people conduct relevant search queries. However, you should also establish a content marketing strategy and add fresh content to your site over time.

Blogging and Articles

Starting a dental blog is one of the best ways to provide yourself with a place to add new content. The benefits of blogging include:

• Getting the opportunity to add relevant keywords to your website naturally
• Giving yourself the chance to address issues important to your patients
• Increasing the odds of your site earning backlinks organically

Video Content

Creating compelling video content for your website is another way to connect with patients and share your knowledge. You can use videos to answer frequently asked questions from your patients in a personal way.

You can also take these videos and post them in other places, like social media, to engage with patients further.

Patient Testimonials and Case Studies

About half of internet users say they trust online reviews and testimonials as much as they trust recommendations given to them by family members. This illustrates the importance of seeking online reviews and testimonials from your patients.

These reviews can make your dental practice appear more trustworthy. You might also want to sprinkle in case studies featuring your patients’ most encouraging success stories.

Link Building and Online Reputation

Dental website optimization doesn’t only involve improving your website. It also requires you to work on improving your online reputation through link-building dental SEO tactics.

Building Backlinks

Backlinks are links to your website that appear on other sites. Google looks upon backlinks very favorably. You can earn backlinks by:

• Writing guest blogs for other dental sites
• Taking part in media interviews
• Sending links to your articles to other webmasters

Online Reviews and Reputation Management

More than 50% of internet users admit to writing at least one online review per week. Use this to your advantage by asking satisfied patients to leave reviews for your dental practice.

You should also take reputation management seriously and address any negative online reviews directly. You can show people you’re a dentist who cares by doing it.

Measuring and Analyzing Website Performance

A strong dental SEO strategy for your website should yield local search results. But you shouldn’t just assume you will start generating more organic traffic. Monitor its performance and make updates to ensure your dental SEO strategy works.

Key Metrics To Track

Track the following metrics to gauge dental website optimization success:

• Organic traffic
• Engagement rate
• Conversion rate
• Traffic sources
• Website speed
• Exit pages

Using Analytics Tools

Google Analytics is one of the top tools for those who want to get their hands on important data related to their websites. Read up on dental practice analytics to see what you can learn from raw data.

Adjusting Strategies Based on Data

If the data you obtain from Google Analytics and other tools suggests your engagement rate is low, this could mean you aren’t posting high-quality content that is connecting with your target audience. Based on the data you review, adjust your search engine optimization and digital marketing efforts.

Integrating Weave’s Solutions for Enhanced Optimization

Weave can provide dental practices with integrated solutions to keep patients happy. Use them with your dental search engine optimization strategy to bring in more patients.

Weave’s Communication Tools

Enhancing the communication between your dental practice and your patients is easy with Weave’s communication tools. They can let patients schedule appointments online. They can also remind patients about appointments and connect you with them via phone, email, and even text message.

Enhancing Patient Engagement

Engaging with patients can help your patient retention rate. Increasing patient engagement is as simple as letting patients know you’re available whenever they need you. You can also empower them by requesting feedback.

Streamlining Practice Management

Making your dental practice more efficient can instill a stronger sense of trust in your patients. Weave’s practice management tools can improve your efficiency and help your operation run smoother.

Reach Out to Us for Assistance With Dental Website Optimization

If your dental practice isn’t utilizing a dental SEO strategy yet, this could affect everything from your company’s reputation to its bottom line. The dental SEO cost is worth the investment since it can give dental practices a better online presence and start sending them more patients. Watch this webinar to learn more about utilizing SEO in your dental practice.