The Importance of Local SEO for Your Dental Practice

December 13, 2024
, , Dental marketing, internet dental marketing, Local Internet Marketing

Local SEO - Optimize Online Presence for Local Nearby Customers and Boost Offline Business with Effective Strategies. Smartphone on the screen of which local map with red pin markIf you’re a dental professional, you already know that most of your patients come from your local area. But did you know that a large percentage of all Google searches are looking for local information? That means potential patients are searching for services like “dentist near me” or “teeth cleaning in [city].” This is where local SEO becomes crucial to your practice’s success.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO focuses on optimizing your online presence so your practice appears in local search results. From Google My Business optimization to getting listed in local directories, local SEO ensures that your dental practice is visible to people searching for dental care in your area.

Why Is Local SEO Important for Dentists?

Unlike national chains or e-commerce businesses, dentists rely heavily on serving nearby patients. Local SEO helps you connect with potential clients by ensuring your practice ranks higher in local searches. Appearing at the top of search results not only drives more traffic to your website but also builds trust and credibility for your practice.

When done effectively, local SEO can help your dental practice:

  • Increase visibility. Show up prominently in “dentist near me” searches.
  • Attract local patients. Reach the right audience living or working near your practice.
  • Build trust. Reviews and consistent online information boost your reputation.
  • Stand out in the competition. Outshine other local practices with a strong digital presence.

How ProspectaMarketing Can Help

At ProspectaMarketing, we specialize in helping dental practices like yours dominate local searches. We understand the ins and outs of local SEO, from optimizing your Google My Business profile to implementing location-specific keywords that match how patients search.

Our approach goes beyond simply ranking higher. We focus on bringing in new patients to grow your practice. With tailored strategies, data-driven insights, and a focus on measurable ROI, we ensure that every part of your online presence works together to bring in the patients you need.

Take Action Today

Are you ready to take your dental practice to the next level? Trust ProspectaMarketing to build your local SEO strategy. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help attract more patients to your practice. Because when it comes to local SEO, we’ve got you covered.

ProspectaMarketing is an experienced Internet marketing firm specializing in dental practices and the tools of Internet marketing. We help you reach key prospects who are looking for what your practice has to offer. Our unique and thorough approach provides visibility, financial accountability, and ongoing refinement and improvement. You can find out more by contacting Lane Anderson toll-free at 1-877-322-4440 Ext 101, by email using the form on our Contact Us page, or online at ProspectaMarketing.com.

Google Places 3rd Party Reviews Disappear

August 15, 2011
, , , , , internet dental marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

The news from Google that they will not post 3rd party reviews (only links to them) has created concern for many dental practices that rely on local internet marketing. For some time now, we have always recommended having patient reviews directly in the search engines as well as using third party review sites.  Now that these third party reviews have disappeared from Google Places (other than to have a link to them), it is important to have a strategy to get reviews posted directly in Google.  During the past few weeks, we have discussed a variety of approaches with dental practices.  Here are some strategies to consider.

• Some patient reminder systems for dental practices such as SmileReminder and DemandForce can automatically invite your patients to go into the search engines and write reviews after an office visit.  This is a great way to keep a steady flow of reviews coming into the search engines, but there is a monthly cost.

• Send your own e-mails out to your patients with a link to your local listing. We can help you format an e-mail with links directly to your local listings where they can write a review.  Give them some help with instructions.  Contact us if you would like to some help formatting these e-mails.

• Use QR codes to help direct patients to your local listings using their smart phones.   It will make it easy for them to find you, and they can use their smart phone to write a review and share their experience with others.

• Consider a simple reminder such as a business card with the address of your local listing on it that your patients can take home with them.  Make is convenient.

Reviews are gaining more and more attention from consumers, and it is important to pay attention to this area of your marketing.

Internet Reviews – Not to Fear

October 7, 2009
, , , Internet Marketing, Local Internet Marketing, Online Reviews

With the increase in online reviews for dental services and other local businesses, dentists sometimes raise concerns about the lack of control about what is said online. A recent survey of online reviews found that they are largely positive. Like word of mouth, a great experience or a very negative one is more likely to spawn a review.

Here are a few excerpts from a front page Wall Street Journal Article on October 5, 2009 that provide some interesting insights into online reviews.

On the Internet, Everyone’s a Critic But They’re Not Very Critical

Average Review Is 4.3 Out of Five Stars; Jerkface Fights Back and Gets Bounced

By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER and JOSEPH DE AVILA

The Web can be a mean-spirited place. But when it comes to online reviews, the Internet is a village where the books are strong, YouTube clips are good-looking and the dog food is above average.

One of the Web’s little secrets is that when consumers write online reviews, they tend to leave positive ratings: The average grade for things online is about 4.3 stars out of five.

Many companies have noticed serious grade inflation. Google Inc.’s YouTube says the videos on its site average 4.6 stars, because viewers use five-star ratings to “give props” to video makers. Buzzillions.com, which aggregates reviews from 3,000 sites, has tracked millions of reviews and has spotted particular exuberance for products such as printer paper (average: 4.4 stars), boots (4.4) and dog food (4.7).

If the rest of the Internet is filled with nasty celebrity blogs and email flame wars, what makes product reviews sites so lovey-dovey? “If you inspire passion in somebody in a good way or a bad way, that is when they want to write a review,” says Russell Dicker, the senior manager of community at Amazon.

His boss, Amazon’s Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, follows that pattern. He has posted five-star reviews for products like Tuscan brand whole milk and some “ridiculously good cookies” sold on the site. Mr. Bezos’s only non-five-star review: one star for a science-fiction movie, “The 13th Warrior.”

Culture may play a role in the positivism: Ratings in the U.K. average an even higher 4.4, reports Bazaarvoice. But the largest contributor may be human nature. Marketing research firm Keller Fay Group surveys 100 consumers each day to ask them about what products they mentioned to friends in conversation. “There is an urban myth that people are far more likely to express negatives than positives,” says Ed Keller, the company’s chief executive. But on average, he finds that 65% of the word-of-mouth reviews are positive and only 8% are negative.

Some suspect companies goose their ratings. This summer TripAdvisor.com, which averages just above a four, posted warnings that some of its hotel reviews may have been written by hotel managers. But review sites say the incidence of fakes is tiny, and many pay people to delete puffery.Other sites admit they have a positivity problem and are taking novel steps to curb the enthusiasm. One way is to redefine average. Reviews of eBay.com’s millions of merchants were so positive that eBay made 4.3 out of five stars its minimum service standard. Beginning this month, it is switching to a system that counts just the number of one- and two-star reviews. Sellers who get more than 3% to 4% of those ratings could get kicked off of eBay.

Another site, Goodrec, decided to ditch the five-star rating system altogether, replacing it with a thumbs-up and thumbs-down system. Amazon now highlights what it dubs “the most helpful critical review” at the top of its reviews page.

Jeremy Stoppelman, chief executive of Yelp.com, which posts reviews of local businesses in cities around the country, bragged in September that his site’s reviews were more diverse. The average review on Yelp is 3.8. Many assume online reviews are “only rants or raves, resulting in consumer Web sites composed solely of ratings on the extremes,” he blogged. “A broader range of opinions can give consumers a more complete view of a business,” he says.

What can we take from this? Providing outstanding customer service in your dental practice leaves you nothing to fear. Going beyond the expected to make their experience in your dental office exceptional and will likely eventually help you develop exceptional reviews online. Paying attention to your online reputation as a portion of your internet dental marketing strategy also pays off.