Local SEO for Dentists
Dentists are often presented with the task of providing marketing services for themselves as the economy has forced many to limit budgets and keep marketing in-house.
The online sector is obviously a large realm for many dentists with the goal to come up in the search results for local search.
Most dentists generate most of their leads from the local population and it is rare that a patient would travel more than 30 minutes to visit their dentist.
For this reason it is important to target the area in which you are located and Social Dental Network will provide you with tips on how to do so.
Start with Google
Google Places provides businesses a unique way to present information to both the search engines and to searchers.
The best part about Google Places is that it is entirely free and can have you ranking for relevant search terms in a very short period of time.
Simply visit www.google.com/places/ and follow the instructions to getting your business found on Google.
Be sure to fill out as much of the relevant information as possible.
Google will allow you to describe your business, provide an address and contact information, a website, business hours, pictures, videos and other miscellaneous information.
You have likely seen the Google Places results when you searched for a local product or service with your location setting set to a city.
They come up (often before the organic search but after paid ads) as short blurbs about local dentists in your area complete with the name, website, address, phone number as well as a map where each listed business is located.
Your goal is to get to the top of this list by providing the most information possible.
The “Places” feature is also available through Yahoo and Bing so after you finish your Google Places ad you’ll want to do the same with Bing and Yahoo. Just search for “Bing Local Listings” and “Yahoo Local Listings” and you should be able to find them.
Optimize Your Website for Local Search
Perhaps just as important or more important than your Google, Yahoo and Bing Locals ads are the ways in which you “tell” the search engines where you are located. If you have a search engine optimization (SEO) company working for you your website is likely already optimized.
If not, pay attention. You’ll want to focus the content of your website towards the regions you service.
If you are involved in cosmetic dentistry in Palm Beach you’ll want to reflect that in your Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, footer and pages on your website.
The Title Tag is one of the most important pieces of your website that the search engines use to index your page.
If you are not sure what it is, look at search results and you will see what Title Tags (the blue results) look like.
They are also contained on the tabs at the top of the page.
If you are still confused do some research.
Meta Descriptions (black) are the snippets under the Title Tags that come up in search and help with your click-through-rates.
An example of a good Title Tag and Meta Description is as follows:
Title Tag:
Dentist Palm Beach, FL | Cosmetic Dentistry & Family Dentistry
Meta Description:
The family and cosmetic dentistry practice of Dr. John Doe has been providing dental services such as veneers, teeth whitening, and dental implants for over 15 years in the Palm Beaches.
The Title Tag contains the city you are located and other keywords: dentist, cosmetic dentistry, family dentistry.
The Meta Description provides additional keywords and other relevant info.
The footer is located on the bottom of your website and appears on every page. It should contain your address, phone number, and some useful links.
Making this info consistent with what is in your Google Places ad confirms with Google that the inputted information is correct and should help your local search listings.
Any digital marketing savvy dental practices out there care to share some additional local search optimization insights?
Are there any other dental-specific sites out there that may be advantageous to the neighborhood dental practice?
The above article is a guest posting by cosmetic dentistry association ACE:
The Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) is a community of dedicated dental professionals who strive to provide excellent patient care and who, through education, camaraderie, sharing of information and mentoring both in person and online, help each other succeed in the business of dentistry and life.
