As potential patients go searching for dental care online more frequently, dentists everywhere are looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. Staying ahead of the digital marketing curve can be a daunting task but one that can offer significant rewards if done correctly. Today, SEO is a cornerstone of any successful digital marketing campaign and is an invaluable tool you should use to gain visibility in search engine results and maximize your practice’s presence on the web. Read on to learn about some effective dental SEO strategies you should consider implementing in 2023!
Create optimized dental content for Google
Creating dental content optimized for Google is a great way to make sure your dental practice’s web pages appear prominently in search engine results. It will also improve the overall customer experience, as visitors to the site will be able to quickly access important information and resources. To create optimized content:
- Start by understanding how search engines work and what algorithms are used to rank web pages.
- Research common keywords related to dentistry and incorporate them into website content strategically.
- Use concise language and limit keyword stuffing to ensure that all your content is both relevant and interesting for readers.
- Compare your dental site with competitors to discover other potential optimization strategies that can help you stand out from the competition.
- Develop the correct heading structure and word counts for your articles.
The way that people used to go about this was to examine the top articles for any given keyword and use them as a template for creating their article structure. However, there is a new method for this that makes it much easier for you to determine the proper structure of an article.
It’s a software called Surfer. Surfer analyzes your targeted keyword and tells you how to construct the perfect blog post. They essentially reverse engineer the blog post winners for that topic. This template makes creating the best blog posts for any given topic, much easier to rank for. It’s practically dummy proof.
How do I write answers to questions in my headings?
As simple and straight-forward as possible. When you answer clearly and concisely like that, Google’s language algorithms pick up on it more easily. That makes you more likely to rank for search terms relating to your article. It also gives you a better chance of winning the featured snippet that is often at the top of Google’s SERP.
Become an authority on all things dental
Anyone can write a great blog article. However, it probably won’t ever be seen, unless it is posted on a site relevant to it’s topical authority. What that means is that you can’t just write one great article on dental care and be done with it. You need to write dozens, if not hundreds of articles on that subject to gain topical authority. Here’s how you do it:
- Start by listing out all of the articles you would need to write on topics related to dentistry (this is often referred to as a topical map)
- Begin creating high-quality articles that are relevant and helpful
- As you build up your content library, it will become increasingly easier for search engines to recognize your website as an authority on the subject
- Make sure you post regularly and don’t forget to share each article showcase them with social media and other relevant sites
- Interlink your relevant articles together, making it easier for Google to crawl and understand what your website is all about
By following these steps, you can position yourself as an authority on all things related to dentistry and gain the visibility needed to stand out from the competition.
Link Building
Building backlinks is extremely important in Dental SEO Strategies for 2023. The fact of the matter is, Google is dealing with an ever increasing amount of content due to AI chatbots and other factors. As a result, backlinks are becoming more and more important in determining who will win in the rankings.
If you think of your website as a high performance race car, backlinks would be the fuel that power it.
Google looks at both the quality and quantity of links when determining website rankings. Quality is determined by the relevance of other sites that link to yours, so focusing on building relationships with high authority websites in your industry can help you gain better backlinks.
E-A-T
Google has recently begun to place a greater emphasis on what is known as E-A-T, or:
- expertise
- authoritativeness
- trustworthiness
This concept is meant to ensure that websites are providing credible and reliable information for readers. In the dental SEO context, this means that you should focus on creating content that comes from well-cited experts in the industry. If your website is seen as a reliable source of information on dentistry, you will be much more likely to rank higher than competitors.
That’s not all though, Google has stated that “it’s largely based on links and mentions on authoritative sites.”
I asked Gary about E-A-T. He said it's largely based on links and mentions on authoritative sites. i.e. if the Washington post mentions you, that's good.
He recommended reading the sections in the QRG on E-A-T as it outlines things well.@methode #Pubcon
— Dr. Marie Haynes🐼 (@Marie_Haynes) February 21, 2018
This should be a big part of your dental SEO strategies for 2023.
Where to obtain links?
Links should be obtained from a variety of quality sources, in a variety of ways. As a general rule, it is recommended that:
- 40% come from guest posts
- 30% come from niche edits (or link insertion)
- 15% come from social media
- 5% come from press releases
- 5% from link exchanges or even directories
It is important to note that this ratio doesn’t have to be exact. It is merely a general guide.
Guest posts are a great way to obtain links because you can create relationships with influential sites in your industry and place backlinks on their website. This is particularly effective if the site has high Domain Authority (DA).
Niche edits, often referred to as link insertion, involve finding websites that are already talking about your topic and adding a relevant link back to your own website. This can be done manually or through tools like Link Insertion Ninja, which automatically locates websites for you.
Social media is another great way to build links. Posting content on social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can often get picked up by other sites and shared with a link back to your website.
Press releases are another way to build links as they can be used to:
- announce new products or services
- attract attention from potential customers
- gain links from other high-authority websites
Finally, link exchanges and directories are a great way to obtain links from relevant websites. Link exchanges involve contacting other website owners in your industry and asking them to link back to your website in exchange for you linking back to theirs. Directories can also be used as an easy way to get listed on multiple websites at once.
Completely satisfy the purpose of the search query
In order to improve the user experience, Google is looking for the content that completely satisfies the purpose of the search query. If a user searches for “dentist near me”, they should find their result right away.
It is important to optimize your pages. Provide detail and make sure that relevant information can be found on the first page of results. Additionally, you should use related keywords throughout your content to ensure that your website is being discovered for relevant queries. Make sure to include reviews and testimonials from satisfied customers. This can help increase the credibility of your website.
In conclusion
By using these dental SEO strategies for 2023, your practice should see a marked improvement in its online presence. If you need help getting started on your dental SEO journey, consider hiring an agency that specializes in the field. We can remove the marketing burden from you so that you can focus on your dental practice.
Finally, remember that SEO is an ongoing process. So, dedicate time each month to implementing strategies geared towards improving organic rankings.