For dentists, SEO can be a powerful tool for attracting new patients. However, SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, and it may take some time for the results of SEO to become apparent. Nonetheless, SEO is an important part of marketing for any dentist, and it is worth investing the time and energy into SEO in order to attract new patients. In this article, we will discuss how long SEO takes to work for dentists.
SEO for dentists can take some time
By investing the time into dental SEO, you can ensure that they are reaching the largest possible audience and bringing in new business. SEO takes time to show results because it is a complex process. There are many factors that contribute to how well a website ranks on search engines, and it can take some time to tweak all of these factors in order to improve a website’s ranking.
Additionally, Google uses all of these signals, over the course of time to decide where to rank your website. Think of your website’s relationship with Google as a courtship. There are steps involved in a courtship that build upon each other and create trust over a period of time. Google says that it takes 4-12 months for websites to get meaningful results with SEO. That falls in line with our experience as well.
We tell our clients not to expect to rank any sooner than six months, as a general rule. Of course, there are exceptions, but that can go both ways. In some instances, it may take over a year.
When we discuss how long SEO takes to work for dentists, we want them to know that it is not something they should expect overnight results with. However, that doesn’t have to mean there is no accountability. We do our best to show our clients the progress they are making along the way. This way, they can see that they are making strides, even if they are not ranking just yet.
SEO ranking factors for dental websites
The age of your domain is a huge ranking factor in and of itself. A domain that is brand new will take longer to rank than a domain that has been around for years.
There are literally hundreds of factors when it comes to ranking a dental website. How long SEO takes to work can be boiled down into a few different factors though. Here’s some of the things you need to be aware of.
Content of your website
Content is important. How often you publish new content, how long your copy is, etc. As we say in the business, “content is king”. What that means is that if your website has great content, people will want to read it and share it.
Google uses dwell time on your website as a method for determining how relevant your site is for certain keywords. If someone searches for “dentist in Los Angeles” and clicks on your website, but then quickly clicks back to the search engine results page (SERP), Google will take that as a sign that your website wasn’t relevant to what they were looking for.
On the other hand, if someone clicks on your website and spends a long time reading your content, Google will take that as a sign that your website is relevant and informative to the user. That signal lets them know that they should show your page to others who are searching for the same keyword.
So, how can you improve the dwell time on your website? Provide quality content that is relevant to the search queries. By fixing your on-page SEO and adding additional content, you can get your website to rank better over time.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the process of making sure that your website is set up in a way that is easy for search engines to understand. This includes things like setting up proper titles and descriptions, adding alt tags to images, and creating an XML sitemap.
While technical SEO may not be as sexy as link building or creating great content, it is an important part of the puzzle. By making sure that your website is technically sound, you are setting yourself up for success and making it easier for search engines to find and index your content.
Link building
Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to yours. Google views links as votes of confidence. The more votes (links) you have, the better your website will rank. Additionally, higher quality links provide a bigger boost to your website than lower quality links.
Link building can be a difficult and time-consuming process, but it is worth it. By getting high-quality links from other websites, you are telling Google that your website is relevant and trustworthy. This will help your website to rank higher over time.
Budget
How much money you are spending on your efforts can make a big difference. A larger budget towards SEO efforts can help you get more content generated and get you more backlinks.
A smaller budget may mean that you need to be more strategic in your efforts and focus on generating quality content and getting links from other websites. Be careful not to plagiarize or buy cheap links from spammy websites though. That can hurt you more than it can help.
Either way, a higher budget usually means that you can rank better or maybe even faster.
Competition
How much competition you have in your area is a big factor. If you are the only dentist in your town, then it is going to be much easier to rank than if you are competing with hundreds of other dentists in a large city.
The level of competition will also dictate how much money you need to spend on your SEO efforts. If you have a lot of competition, you may need to spend more money in order to rank higher than your competitors. Especially if you are new and they have been around for a while.
Summary of how long SEO takes to work for dentists
Ranking websites is somewhat of a science and it is a process that will take some time. However, it is something that can work well to help you build your business over time. Here’s some of the factors that you need to take into account when judging how long SEO will take to work for a dental website:
- Age of domain
- Content on the website
- Technical SEO
- Backlinks
- Budget allocated to the SEO campaign
- Competition in the area and for the keywords being targeted
As was mentioned previously, there are hundreds of ranking factors, but these cover some of the more important ones. In some cases, these cover multiple factors.
If you want to rank your dental website on the first page of Google, you should get started sooner than later. Laying the groundwork now will mean that you can reap the rewards that much sooner.
If you need help with getting your dental website ranked in your area, contact AdPro4U. Not only can we tell you how long SEO may take to work for your website, but we can help you get the results you are looking for.
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