Local SEO for Dentists
In the era of digitalization, we understand how important smartphones are and how much we rely on them even for simple queries. The ubiquity of search engines and web practices affects us both as individuals and professionals, and dental practices are not exempt from this.
Until yesterday, dentists were considered a local service, and patients chose them solely based on proximity. However, this is no longer the case. The “proximity” factor now offers significant opportunities in the online world through Local SEO practices for dentists.
Firstly, let’s define SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as all the activities that enable a website, page, image, or other internet resource to be easily found through search engines.
In practice, anything published on the web becomes invisible if it is not “caught” by search engines to be brought to the attention of users.
Local activities are those businesses that have a physical location and are frequented by their customers. Similarly, a dental practice is a physical location visited by patients for appointments, dental treatments, etc.
Just as people search for products and services on the web, they also search for physical locations using search engines on computers and smartphones.
Therefore, the web and search engines are consulted not only to search for generic services available for online purchase but also to find information about a physical establishment like a dental practice.
Local SEO is a set of activities that allow your dental practice to appear among the top results for these types of local searches.
As you may have experienced before, when typing a term on Google that identifies a local activity, the search engine suggests auto-completion with the query “near me.” This means that the algorithms can recognize this type of search through geolocation systems and understand the area we are connecting from (Rome, Milan, Turin, etc.), regardless of whether the user explicitly states it.
Such searches generate results, including Google Maps with a list of highlighted businesses. This is the Local Pack (or local 3 pack, as usually only the first 3 results are shown on the map).
From here, the user can view various information and perform a range of activities:
The user can even use a filter and make selections based on ratings (number of stars from 0 to 5) or opening hours (open now or on specific days).
It’s also essential to consider many other factors: the results are increasingly personalised, i.e., ordered based on our preferences, previous searches, places visited, etc.
In such a complex scenario, it is essential to be aware of the tools that dentists have at their disposal to position their dental practice through local SEO strategies. The two main tools are:
A local SEO strategy for a dental practice begins with creating a “Google Business Profile” (formerly known as Google My Business).
The goal is to improve your rankings among dentists appearing on Google Maps and in local search results. Achieving top positions results in greater visibility, a stronger sense of authority, and consequently, more opportunities for natural clicks to your website, incoming calls, message contacts, and appointment bookings (in fact, for many activities, the GMB profile allows displaying a “book an appointment” button).
Every time we perform a search on Google or Google Maps, we receive a list of results organised by relevance. The page that displays the results is called SERP: Search Engine Results Page, and in the case of local searches, it organises these results based on certain factors.
Relevance indicates the level of match between a local business profile and a user’s search.
So, in the case of searches for terms like “dentist,” “dental practice,” “dental surgeon,” or “dental implants,” only relevant results of dental practices will be shown, and not other types of businesses.
Another positioning factor is proximity to the location from which the search is performed (or the location explicitly specified). For example:
Beyond these first two factors, there are many other factors according to which Google algorithms will organise the results. Based on these factors, your dental practice may be ranked among the top results or on the second or third page. In general, this is called “prominence.”
Prominence refers to the level of recognition of a business. Some places are more well-known in the real world, and search results try to reflect this in the positioning of local search results.
In more detail, prominence is determined by a series of factors:
The fundamental steps to achieve a good position in local searches and appear among the top results in SERP are:
Needless to say, a local SEO strategy must also consider other tools. We have already mentioned:
As you can understand, setting up and following a SEO positioning strategy for local searches for dental practices is an activity that requires skills, time, and perseverance. We want to dispel the myth that everything on the web is free and easy: results are the outcome of hard work, dedication, and strategy.
Your potential patients go through their personal buying journey before choosing a dental practice: the customer experience of a dental patient. During this process, they conduct numerous searches across different platforms, and each of these searches is a unique opportunity for your dental practice to interact with them and maintain a positive image. Taking care of your reputation both in the physical world and on the web allows dentists to create a brand that is consistent in both realms, and this is one of the determining factors when people choose a dental practice. Potential customers need all the necessary information and social proof to make the best choice that meets their expectations.
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