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Dentists all over the world are realizing more and more that SEO is unavoidable in 2020 if they want to gain new business.
It’s simply the way things are done these days: a customer searches for dentist online, and calls the one that shows up near the top of the search results, provided they have good reviews.
It’s not possible to just get your name at the top of the phone book anymore based on your company name. This was a thing for awhile with domain names. But things have moved on from that, too.
Now, getting to the top of Google is prime real estate for any company hoping to gather new customers regularly.
Dental SEO is how that’s done.
On this page, you’ll get a brief overview of why SEO is necessary for virtually all businesses operating in 2020 and going forward, as well as a few tips to get you started if you want to take on your SEO campaign DIY-style.
Dentists all over the world are realizing more and more that SEO is unavoidable in 2020 if they want to gain new business.
It’s simply the way things are done these days: a customer searches for dentist online, and calls the one that shows up near the top of the search results, provided they have good reviews.
It’s not possible to just get your name at the top of the phone book anymore based on your company name. This was a thing for awhile with domain names. But things have moved on from that, too.
Now, getting to the top of Google is prime real estate for any company hoping to gather new customers regularly.
Dental SEO is how that’s done.
On this page, you’ll get a brief overview of why SEO is necessary for virtually all businesses operating in 2020 and going forward, as well as a few tips to get you started if you want to take on your SEO campaign DIY-style.
What is SEO?
What SEO, or “search engine optimization” basically comes down to is any practice done to gain more visibility for a website with the goal of attracting more customers via that online visibility. SEO is the marketing strategy to end all marketing strategies for at least three overarching reasons:
Business owners all over the world think that by having a website they will attract customers, but this is a terribly misinformed attitude. Websites set up correctly attract customers. Websites that are set up badly will only repel them.
- It often encompasses nearly all other marketing strategies, because an SEO strategist may do whatever it takes to get a particular website more visibility
- It takes full advantage of Google, the world’s most powerful tool any business can align itself with and learn to use properly to propel its success.
- On some level, SEO is unavoidable to even those who know nothing about it.
Business owners all over the world think that by having a website they will attract customers, but this is a terribly misinformed attitude. Websites set up correctly attract customers. Websites that are set up badly will only repel them.
What is SEO for Dentists, Specifically?
What does Dentistry SEO really look like, specifically? Well, a lot of the time it can depend on your competitors, your market, and other factors. Generally, for dentists, potential customers want to see lots of good reviews. Beside that, they must be able to find you easily to access those reviews. It is possible that people will scour the Google results to find the perfect dentist that only has amazing reviews and fits all of their ideal needs. It is far more likely that they’ll choose the first one that shows up, and run with it unless there are glaringly bad reviews that overturn that immediate convenience.
So What Gets You Nearer to the Top of the Search Results?
Lots of things! From Schema markup, a specific way to code your web-page to tell Google what your page is about (and add features into the Google search results that guests can access without clicking the link to your site), to proper usage of heading tags, other tags, and internal and external linking, all the way to ensuring your page runs smoothly, quickly, and has clear call to actions, virtually every part of your site has an impact on whether you will be ranked high or penalized and shoved to the back of the results.
SEO is not as simple as it once was. There are a lot of moving parts these days. It’s likely your competitors are already doing these things. It’s guaranteed your top competitor is, and has been for quite some time. They earned their spot at the top of the SERP’s (search engine results pages). You’ll have to earn yours if you want to take it from them.
SEO is not as simple as it once was. There are a lot of moving parts these days. It’s likely your competitors are already doing these things. It’s guaranteed your top competitor is, and has been for quite some time. They earned their spot at the top of the SERP’s (search engine results pages). You’ll have to earn yours if you want to take it from them.
Do Dentists Need to Use SEO in 2020?
Dentists absolutely do need to use SEO in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic especially, a business website is an absolute necessity, and what good is it if nobody can find it or use it?
A website needs to run smoothly, and fulfill all of your customers’ expectations, or they’ll simply move on to your competitor and leave your page with a bad “bounce rate,” which is the Google-measured rate at which people leave your page without clicking any links — a common response to a badly set up website that results in a nice penalty from Google over time if not fixed.
Google wants you to give your customers what they want, and they’ll give you positive and negative reinforcement to ensure that you do.
A website needs to run smoothly, and fulfill all of your customers’ expectations, or they’ll simply move on to your competitor and leave your page with a bad “bounce rate,” which is the Google-measured rate at which people leave your page without clicking any links — a common response to a badly set up website that results in a nice penalty from Google over time if not fixed.
Google wants you to give your customers what they want, and they’ll give you positive and negative reinforcement to ensure that you do.
How Do I Start Doing SEO for my Dentist Website?
So how do you start? With the essentials. Start with the stuff you can do. Then hire out for the rest. It gets quite complex, and fast. Depending on your competitors, SEO just may need to be an ongoing endeavor for your business to stay successful.
It’s simply the way to market these days. Every business needs marketing. SEO is where your budget should be going (for most businesses).
It’s simply the way to market these days. Every business needs marketing. SEO is where your budget should be going (for most businesses).
Some Tips for Dentistry SEO 2020
- Make accounts on Yelp, Google my Business, and Bing Places. Post pictures and add as much info to your listing as possible.
- Add citations by creating more business listings online. Ensure all business info is 100% consistent. It matters.
- If you don’t have a site yet, consult our web design page and request a quote.
- If you do have a site, request a free personalized, expert SEO audit (after you get your own automated one, of course — it’s not as good as a hand-written one, but it’s instant, which is nice). Every good SEO Campaign starts with a high-quality, in-depth SEO Audit.
- What you want is Local SEO. That’s the stuff that’s especially helpful to dentists for search engine optimization in 2020. Do some research.
- Read our in-depth guide on DIY SEO for Business Owners in 2020. It has all you’ll need for quite some time if you want to get serious about your Dentistry SEO.
- Make sure every page has an H1 tag (just one H1 tag). Make it the title of your page, and make the url slug relevant to the title. This is the least you can do to keep Google from getting confused about the purpose and content of your website.
- Lastly, get a budget for content. Content is king these days. There’s no getting around it unfortunately. People Google their questions. They are looking for answers to their curiosity. You’ll need to pay for SEO-friendly blog content that will answer people’s questions and show up in order to solve their problems. This is helpful not only in the situations when people’s searches may result in a sale or a new customer, but in every situation which they may click on your site, because every click to your site (or on your site) shows Google that your site is good. The more this happens, the more they’ll push you up the ranks and that’s when you’re “eligible” to show up for more general terms that people search for when trying to hire a new dentist, like “dentist in my area.” This is why posting content is always good, even for content like “when to wash your dentures” that’s unlikely to gain you a new customer.
Reach Out for Consulting When Necessary
Tustin SEO offers Consulting and Hourly SEO Work for whenever DIY doesn’t cut it. Contact us anytime for help.