seo guidelines and strategies for dental websites

SEO Strategies for Dental Websites

SEO Strategies for Dental WebsitesEvery business struggles to some degree to

find or attract new clients and this can be even more challenging for a dentist office. Well, it isn’t hopeless, but it will require some time and effort to achieve rankings that will provide a stream of new clients to your dental practice. And while we can’t explain everything in detail, we can give you the honest truth and give you our strategy for best practices for Dental SEO Marketing online.

SEO Guidelines and Strategies for Dental Websites – Big Oak Studios, Inc.

http://www.bigoakinc.com/blog/seo-guidelines-strategies-dental-websites/

SEO Strategies for Dental WebsitesIf you’re like many dentists and dental practices,

you probably get dozens of emails every month making claims that they can rank your site on Google.

You can call me (Shell Harris) directly at 804-741-6766 x 101. I am one of the founders of Big Oak Studios, Inc., and we have been providing SEO and PPC support for our clients since 2004.

Here is our list of SEO tactics to increase your organic rankings. These SEO practices will increase your website traffic and expand your number of dental client leads received through phone calls and email. Getting new customers for your dentist office can start today.


http://www.bigoakinc.com/services/seo-services/

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Optimize Your Dental WebsitePage titles, headings, subheadings and content should all be evaluated and then optimized. And what are the best optimization techniques today, can change based on Google’s algorithm at any given time. Of course, there are optimization guidelines to follow, such as including keyword phrases that are relative to each page and making sure each page is focused on a niche. For example, having one page talk about all your practice areas such as teeth whitening, crowns, braces and so on is a bad idea. Each topic or subject should have its own page and should be optimized accordingly.



Optimize Your Dental WebsiteYour dental website's content and HTML code needs to be easy

for search engines to find and index.Your content must be focused and establish your office as an

authority in the dental industry in your area.Include your real address and phone number across your

dentist site.Use photos that are from your office when possible and include

alt tags to describe them.Your offsite SEO factors such as as backlinks and social media

listings should provide authority and trust that Google can apply to your site and better rankings.

Writing blog posts to support your dentistry services is also a good idea, which brings us to our next topic...



Have a Content Marketing Strategy and Blog OftenWriting content that will reach new customers is a talent and knowing what to write can mean the difference between more traffic and a wasted effort. Few things can increase traffic more than a few blog posts that focus on providing customers with answers and the confidence to give your office a call. Blogging lets you talk to your customers and provide your expertise in a conversational tone. This has a much better response than a sales page that gives bulleted facts about root canals.



Have a Content Marketing Strategy and Blog OftenThis new content lets you target keyword phrases other than the standard “Dentist + City” or “City + Dentist” search. Those keyword phrases are the work of your home page. You blog posts can target longer phrases that address the pain points of your customers. Blog posts focusing on long-tail keyword phrases that have less competition and higher conversions. Of course you want to target the main keyword phrases as listed above, but your blog posts give you so many more options.



Have a Content Marketing Strategy and Blog OftenWe like to create tent pole blog posts. These posts provide traffic that supports your site and should bring in new leads and new customers to your dental practice. Writing blog content that is well-researched and has depth is the focus. You want to show your expertise to the reader who could be your customer tomorrow. These posts are lead generators and provide a great foundation for attracting traffic that converts.



Have a Content Marketing Strategy and Blog OftenOf course, saying or writing this is easy, but finding the time and the right topics can be difficult. Do you have the time to write about the topics that bring search traffic to your site on a regular basis? If not, you need to hire someone who does. You can always contact us to help. But someone must write and write consistently. It builds your site and shows your knowledge of the subject and why you are the best dentist in the area. Here are some examples that target what your potential dentists clients may be searching for: Warning Signs of Impacted Wisdom Teeth TMJ Problems and How You Can Prevent Them What toothpaste should you buy?These are actual questions that people are searching for. If you write about it (or hire us) then your site can provide the answer and now you have a higher chance of them contacting your dentist office if they need help. Addressing the problems your customers have should be the focus of your blog posts. Think of your blog as a an FAQ page…on steroids. Lots of helpful advice for those suffering.


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Have a Content Marketing Strategy and Blog Often



Fixing Citations in Directories and Social SitesWhat do we mean by citations? Citations are listings and links back to your dental site that verify and provide signals to Google that you are the business you say you are. If your dentist office is listed in Facebook as Brad Lobell, DDS, Richmond VA., but then you are also listed in a business directory as Richmond Dentist – Brad Lobell, Google sees these as two different business names even though it is the same dental practice. Google wants to see consistency.



Fixing Citations in Directories and Social SitesIt can be even worse if you have moved and have different addresses across the Internet. Your N.A.P. (name, address, phone number profile) should be the same everywhere it is found. This can take many hours to find and update your listings and weeks or months before the correct results are updated across the Internet.



Fixing Citations in Directories and Social SitesBig Oak specializes in making your N.A.P. is the same and this provides important data to ranking algorithm within Google. It is a critical component for Google Local listings, and is necessary to make sure you show when searches are being done for a dentist office by potential clients in your area.



Using Social Media (Facebook and Google Local)Social media isn’t a cure-all and it can be pushy when used incorrectly, but making sure you have an active and up to date Facebook page and Google Local page is an easy thing to do and will help with local search results.



Using Social Media (Facebook and Google Local)At Big Oak Studios, we feel your blog posts are

important to feeding your social sites. All blog posts should be on Facebook and Google+ business page. Both of these social sites provide authority and citations to help rank your site and provide better local listings. Regular blog postings that feed these sites increases their authority which only gives your site more authority and links pointing to your site. This builds inbound links from two sites that Google loves and trusts.

This provides higher rankings and gives you more exposure in Facebook for users who may look for a dentist while in Facebook as well as providing feedback if you use Facebook star rankings.



Customer Reviews are Important for Online MarketingSharing experiences is human nature. Unfortunately

we are more likely to share a bad experience more than a positive or good experience. This can lead to a larger number of negative reviews even if you have many more positive reviews. If you don’t have this problem that’s great for your business. But if you do, this requires some work; contacting your happy customers and asking for positive reviews. In either case you should be monitoring these results, especially within the Google search results. Always ask customers for reviews. If you have 20 or 200 you should keep asking. The more the better.



Customer Reviews are Important for Online MarketingWhen you are trying to attract customers, then every good

review is worth the time and effort it takes to acquire it, especially if you are fighting a number of negative reviews. We can help by coordinating a campaign that targets getting positive reviews and helping you help your customers know where to post them.



Make Sure Your Dental Website is Mobile Friendly (Responsive Design)At Big Oak Studios, we make sure all sites we

build are mobile friendly and have a responsive design. This is essential as Google has made the statement that having a mobile friendly site will affect rankings. And with 50% or more searches coming from mobile devices it is more important than ever to make sure your site displays correctly for visitors looking at your site from a phone or tablet. We can help move your site to a mobile friendly platform if you site hasn't been modified.


http://www.bigoakinc.com/services/responsive-website-design-development/


Make Sure Your Dental Website is Mobile Friendly (Responsive Design)The added benefit of

making sure you phone number is clickable should be overlooked. Your number to your dentist office can be right at the top and just a click a way for someone to call.



Let Big Oak Studios, Inc. HelpIf you have a dental website that needs SEO help, but you don’t have the time or resources, please consider giving Big Oak Studios a call. You can ask for me directly, Shell Harris. My direct phone number is 804-741-6766 x 101. We will provide an SEO audit, which includes:Keyword research and how well you rank alreadyCompetitor analysis – who is ranking above you and whyEvaluation of your website including code and contentEvaluation of your company’s online presence – NAP,

backlinks, social media, and mentions of your dental practice

