In order to compete in your local dental industry, you need to understand how to create a sophisticated SEO strategy. With more and more people relying on online research in order to find local services, if your dental website doesn’t rank well or show up in the top searches, then it will be difficult for your practice to grow.
According to surveys, more than 72% of all dental patients will use search engines to do research about practices and 77% will use them before they finalize an appointment.
One of the best things about SEO is that it’s incredibly affordable, especially when compared with the large budgets required by traditional marketing. But, in order to leverage SEO, you have to understand how to apply it to your business — and specifically to your business’s website.
To compete today, your practice has to be visible online. And, smart SEO is all about making sure you’re website is seen.
Ready to develop a better, more effective SEO strategy for your dental website? Here are some of our best tips:
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Don’t Neglect Local Search Listings.
One of the keys to SEO today is creating local business listings. Getting listed in popular directories, such as Google and Yelp!, is one of the fastest ways to boost your website’s visibility. Why? Because search engines pay attention to these listings. For businesses unaware of how SEO works, most have no idea that these listings are so important. So, while the process can be lengthier and more time consuming than you might imagine, it’s worth every minute of work.
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Do Your Keyword Research.
What do people search for online when they’re looking for your services? Which words do they use? Which phrases do they type into the search bar? Understanding exactly which keywords your customers are using, and then making sure you rank for them, is the foundation of smart SEO. For local business like dentists, almost all of your best keywords and keyword phrases will include local markers, such as your city or state. Be sure you find your best keywords, as well as long tail search phrases. The longer your keyword phrases are, the more targeted they are, which means they will be easier to rank for. You can either do the research yourself by harnessing the power of several tools that are available online, or you can hire a professional that can do the research and then deliver you with the data you need.
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Use Title Tags.
Getting into the HTML tags or the meta titles and descriptions will give your SEO an automatic boost. Yes, it’s more time consuming. Yes, it seems unimportant. But these seemingly minor details will deliver your business huge results.
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Get Behind the Camera.
Videos are a powerful tool for your business. When used on your website, they not only instantly engage your visitors, but they also have the power to educate and make your business more personable. Furthermore, search engines love videos. According to some studies, pages with videos on them will rank 50x better when it comes to organic page rankings. If you’re not comfortable being on film, you can still make videos that highlight your practice and its services. Consider taking website visitors for a tour through your office or answering their questions via a well-made slideshow presentation. Of course, having people in the video, especially the dentist or owner of the practice, is the best way to appeal to your audience while keeping their attention.
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Use Your Social Media Accounts.
Making your social media accounts is easy, but using them is something completely different. For most businesses, especially in the dental industry, social media is a nuisance, something that is overlooked and neglected. But, if you’re wanting to improve your website’s SEO, being active on social media is crucial. The more you post on your accounts, the more relevant your business will become in the eyes of search engines. As an added benefit, the more you post, the more visits to your website you’ll get, which will simultaneously boost your SEO.
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Be Consistent with Your Blog.
Like social media, your business’s blog is often something that gets put on the back burner. While it can feel less important than other tasks on your to-do list, the content you publish is actually a huge boost to your SEO. The more content you create, the more relevant you become. And, the more relevant you are, the more likely that search engines will rank you higher. The best SEO strategies incorporate weekly content that is both valuable and keyword optimized. If there are certain searches you want to rank well for, one of the smartest things you can do is start publishing regular content with that phrase in the title, first paragraph, and meta descriptions.
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Make Sure Your Website is Responsive.
Not only do responsive websites work better for your customers, but they rank better too. One of the best reasons to completely redesign your website is to make it as responsive as possible. A responsive website is fast and optimized for all devices, meaning that it looks as good on a huge monitor as it does on a smart phone. It will also function the same or, at the very least, ensure that the mobile experience gives all of the most pertinent information.
Need website design help for your dental practice? The team at FreshySites is here to help!
Get in touch with our expert team today and we’ll make sure your SEO strategy is smart, sophisticated and, most importantly, effective.
