Dental practice local SEO: Google My Business

dental practice local SEO

Whether you are starting a new dental practice or have been a dental practice owner for several years, it is critical to spend the time and energy to improve your dental practice local SEO.

For those unfamiliar with the term SEO, it’s short for Search Engine Optimization.

SEO is a generic term for all the methods you can use to improve your business’s online visibility and ensure it appears in search results on search engines like Google.

To help you take advantage of this essential business tool, I’ve put together a step-by-step guide to explain the best SEO strategy for dentists.

What is Local SEO, and how does it benefit my dental practice?

  • Local SEO is for any business that has a physical location and serves a specific geographic area. By using key phrases on your website, building links from other websites, and getting online reviews, your business will become more visible on Google when people close to your physical location perform a search.
  • For example, by including key phrases on your website, such as your physical location or the dental services you provide, your business listing will surface on Google’s search engine or Google Maps, increasing your visibility to customers in your area.
  • Besides making sure your website is well optimized, another way to make sure your dental practice ranks at the top of any Google search is to create a Google My Business profile.

What is Google My Business?

  • Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.
  • Listings can only be created for businesses with a physical location that customers can visit or that travel to visit customers where they are. This is why it is so important for local SEO as each profile is anchored to an address, no online services only or remote working businesses can have a profile.
  • It is one of the best tools available for a local business to increase their online visibility and get in front of customers looking for a particular service or item.

Why is it important?

  • It is important because it gives your potential customers all of the information they need to know about your business without having to click on your website. In fact, a report on user behavior found 80% of local searches result in conversions.
Dentist Google My Business example
  • If you don’t have a Google My Business listing, your business won’t appear on Google Maps. This is important to know because 86% of people look up a business’s location on Google Maps.
  • Google My Business is also important because it allows potential customers to read reviews about your dental practice, which has proven to be one of the best marketing strategies out there. 95% of customers are in the habit of reading reviews before deciding to buy something, so making sure your customers have a positive experience and encouraging them to leave a review is critical.

Key points you should complete in your Google My Business profile:

  • Create your profile using your business name – https://business.google.com/
  • Ensure your Phone Number, Email and Address are the same on all your online citations (Facebook, Yelp, BBB etc).
  • Choose the categories and subcategories appliable to your clinic.
  • Select applicable attributes.
  • Add your clinic’s location.
  • Write a business description.
  • Upload photos of your practice both interior and exterior.
  • Answer any questions that people ask on your profile.
  • Respond to customer reviews as they come in – both positive reviews and the negative ones.
  • Add your products and services.

To learn more about other marketing efforts be sure to read my post on 8 Marketing Ideas for your dental practice, make sure to download the first chapter of my book DentalEase – the Essential Guide to Building the Stress-free and Profitable Dental Practice of Your Dreams. The chapter is free to download and will give you even more insight into how to start a successful dental practice.

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