If you are a dentist looking for an edge in your local area, there’s no better way to do it than with the help of search engine optimization. The key is knowing how to do it right.
Let’s start with what not to do: black hat SEO. This type of SEO for dentists isn’t ethical and can actually get your dental practice banned from Google if they find out you hired someone who has been doing this kind of work on your behalf. If a website has been using black hat techniques, their rankings will be penalized, and they will be removed from search results completely.
White hat SEO is the most common type of SEO used by dentists today because it doesn’t break any guidelines and keeps a high level of respectability when dealing with search engines like Google or Bing (remember Microsoft was just recently announced as owning part in Bing). White hat techniques typically involve creating high quality content related specifically towards keywords that people are searching for within certain geographical locations so that those same consumers see those pages first when searching within their area code or city limits–assuming there’s enough competition between other local businesses offering similar services nearby!
An Introduction to SEO For Dentists
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving your website’s position in search results. This can be done by ensuring that your site is easy to navigate and gives users what they’re looking for as quickly as possible. If you have a dentistry practice, SEO may be a great way to bring in new patients who are searching for dental care near them.
The first step in an effective SEO strategy is creating a user-friendly website that provides useful information about your practice and what makes it different from other dentists nearby. The next step is getting people from all over the world to see your website—and remember it when they need dental services like yours. That’s where we come in!
How Search Engines Work
Let’s start by looking at how search engines work.
Search engines crawl the internet by following links on websites, indexing them, and ranking them based on their relevance to a user’s query. They do this by using sophisticated software that can understand thousands of words, phrases and concepts enabling you to find what you are looking for more quickly and efficiently than ever before. To help with this process, here are some tips:
- Use descriptive URLs – URLs should be descriptive of what users will see when they click on a link; they should not contain unnecessary characters or keywords unless those words are part of the website address or have been added as an SEO technique (e.g., www.example-dentist-listings-12345678910-us). If your site’s URL structure is long and complicated then consider breaking it down into smaller chunks (e.g., www./directory/country/city/practice). This makes it easier for search engines to crawl through your website while also making it easier for people who visit your website through organic search results instead of direct links from social media or PPC ads etcetera.”
Local Search Rankings
Local search is the process by which people use internet search engines to find businesses or services in their local area. This is also referred to as “local SEO” or “local marketing.” For example, if you want a dentist in your area, you would type into Google: “dentist near me.”
As a dentist, this is something you should be doing but most aren’t because they don’t know how important it is for their practice.
Ranking Factors
The most important thing to remember for local SEO is that Google has a massive database of information about the physical location of your business. This means that it can use this data to help determine how relevant a particular search query is in relation to your local area.
As such, when optimizing for local SEO, you should be sure to include as much information as possible about your location on your website and in other places where people might find you online. This can include:
- The address of the practice (in addition to postal codes)
- Longitude and latitude coordinates (to ensure accuracy)
- Local phone numbers (and area codes!)
Why SEO?
You are a dentist; your website is one of the most important aspects of your business. It’s not just a place to post patient reviews and schedule appointments; it’s also an extension of your practice. When someone searches for information about dental implants in their area, they’ll likely land on several websites before choosing which one to visit. Even if they have no intention of making an appointment right away, there’s no telling what kind of impression those sites will leave on them—and how much time they’ll spend surfing around before moving onto the next result.
If you’re not taking SEO seriously, then chances are good that other dentists are doing so instead—and that means they could be getting more traffic than you are! So, what can people do? How can dentists make sure their sites rank highly in search results?
Why Local SEO?
You can’t control who comes to your website, but you can take steps to make sure that the people who do come are the ones who want what you offer. You can do this by optimizing your local SEO strategy.
Local SEO is a great way to get found by potential patients in your area, as opposed to national or international searches. Because it allows you to target potential patients near where you live and work, it helps generate more leads than traditional SEO strategies like ranking high on Google’s search engine results page (SERP).
Another reason why local SEO for dentists is so important is that it tends not to be as competitive as national or international campaigns—which means fewer competitors vying for top spots on SERPs. This makes it easier for dentists who are just getting started with digital marketing campaigns and don’t have large budgets yet; they’ll have higher chances of success if they focus their efforts on practicing good local SEO tactics!
Different Types of SEO
Black Hat SEO
In a previous blog, we outlined a few ways you could use black hat SEO to boost your dental practice’s rankings. While it was possible in 2010 and 2011 to buy links from shady websites and have them placed on sites that seemed reputable enough, Google has cracked down hard on these tactics over time. The days where you could simply pay for ranked results are long gone; however, there are still some gray hat strategies that can be used today with careful planning and execution:
- Paying for Guest Posts: This is one of the most popular approaches today because it allows you to get into relevant blogs without actually having to write anything yourself—but it’s also risky because the credibility of these guest posts is often questioned by search engines due to their lack of original content creation (you’re not creating anything unique here). You’ll likely see better results if you do this yourself rather than hiring someone else who will likely use the same strategy as everyone else!
- Directory Submissions: There are many directories out there which allow dentists like yourself submit their site for free; however, many don’t require much work from their users aside from filling out simple forms with basic information about themselves/their business before submitting it online via email link provided by directory owner(s). Since these directories don’t require any real effort in terms how well they rank (or how many visitors they send), don’t expect much traffic unless people actively search through them looking specifically at dental practices nearby yours…and even then chances are slim unless those queries were made directly within said directory itself instead using something like Google Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) where users might find them organically thanks primarily due “relevance” factors such as geographic location severity type etcetera.”
It is important to understand that the majority of black hat SEOs are using techniques that will be penalized in 2022 (and beyond). The SEO landscape is constantly changing, and while there are still opportunities for those who want to try their hand at black hat SEO, it is not advisable. There are many other ways to get your site ranked well on Google and Bing without needing to resort to these methods. Even if you do decide to use them, remember that Google has been actively penalizing websites for these practices for years now—and it’s only getting worse!
- Spamdexing: Spamdexing refers to spamming search engines with irrelevant links which lead back into your own website or sites related/affiliated with yours. This includes the use of PBNs (private blog networks) and doorway pages with no real content outside of being a place holder for search engines so they can index them as related links pointing back at one another.
- Keyword stuffing: keyword stuffing occurs when someone tries too hard when writing about something specific, so they include every possible variation or permutation imaginable.
- Invisible text: invisible text is often called “cloaking” where hidden messages can be displayed depending on who sees them; this method was popularized by movie trailers where the full version would play if you watched through an advertisement first but then switch over after watching said ad.
- Link farming: link farming occurs when someone creates multiple accounts across different social media platforms in order to post links back at themselves from these accounts repeatedly until they become indexed by search engines like Google.
- Doorway pages: doorways are just what they sound like–pages created solely for ranking purposes without any real content beyond keywords used within targeted phrases/keywords related directly towards whatever product or service you offer either now or sometime down road once enough people start searching about topics covered by those exact words/phrases (for example: Dentist).
White Hat SEO
White hat SEO is the most effective and sustainable SEO strategy for dentists.
The white hat SEO for dentists is the best way to get found in local search results and it’s a long-term and sustainable approach that won’t put your website at risk of being penalized by Google. White hat SEO is time consuming, but they’re also worth your while because they can bring you more traffic and better ROI than any other strategy.
Gray Hat SEO
A grey hat SEO is someone who uses a mix of black hat and white hat techniques. This person doesn’t have the intestinal fortitude (or skill) to be straight-up white or black, so they’re kind of in between. Usually, people don’t know where to draw the line between white and black, so they do some things that are definitely not allowed by Google.
There’s nothing wrong with being a gray hat SEO: you just have to know what your goal is and why you’re doing it. If your goal is to rank as high as possible (and not care much about quality), then sure! Do whatever tricks it takes! But if you want long-term success and an ethical approach, then maybe think twice before using certain techniques.
Your SEO Playbook
The importance of a good SEO strategy
If you’re not already promoting your dental services online, you’re missing out on new patients and revenue. When it comes to getting found in search results, your practice may think Google rankings are the only way to go. But there’s more to it than just ranking high in Google: You can raise local search visibility for your dental practice with the right local SEO strategy.
The advantages of having a local SEO strategy
A strong local SEO plan will help you attract new patients from places other than just your immediate area—and who knows? Maybe they’ll become regulars! With all of these benefits at stake, here’s how we recommend choosing which type of SEO will work best for your practice:
What’s Right for Your Dental Practice?
That is a VERY loaded question. One thing we do know, the impact of local and organic SEO work, takes time. Investing in GOOD dental SEO work almost always pays back a good return on investment. With New Patients Inc., you will see every call from Local, Direct, Organic, and Social. We will listen and grade each call. You will not wonder if what you are paying for SEO work is paying you back or not. You will see it and hear it for yourself.
In general, we would begin with Local SEO, then bring in organic SEO work, once it fits into the budget. If it fits into the budget now, get started now.
