Local SEO is already a narrowed-down strategy as it is. However, if you really want to make the most out of its benefits, you have to actually zero in more. For example, if you’re a practicing dentist, you need to be aware of Local SEO Strategies for Dentists specifically.
Google wants to deliver content that’s as relevant as possible. Since that’s the case, you need to make your content clearer with regard to factors such as location and purpose. For example, is the current topic you’re writing about your treatments more informative or sales-oriented?
That’s just one proven way, though. More or less, these 8 methods should put you on the right track.
1. Research your keywords then optimise them.
Since we’re talking about local SEO, you’ll need to focus on location-based terms. You’ll want to look at how people in your area are conducting their searches online.
For example, do they just type “dentist near me” or is it something more specific, such as “Dentist in Chelmsford”?
- It could be something more exact such as “dentist Chelmsford” for Chelmsford residents.
- Or it could be a variation such as “urgent dental care near me”.
Again, emphasis needs to be placed on knowing your local audience and how they search. After that, you need to know which exact local keywords to target.
It may be futile to target high-competition keywords; at least, if you’re only starting out in building your online presence. Settle for medium to low-competition ones in the start then as you gain momentum and authority, that’s the time to start targeting high-volume keywords.
2. Fill out your online business profiles.
The same can be said for platforms like Yelp. You have to claim your profile if it happens to already exist. It’s not a set-and-forget profile, though, as you’ll have to take the time to update it, because your clients may end up contacting an older, now-defunct email or phone number.
The same goes for inconsistent office hours, especially if you have multiple listings. Keep everything in check!
3. Include the right keywords in your content and aim for relevancy and value.
And, yes, this includes even your Google My Business listing. More importantly, you should be able to correctly categorise them.
Which ones suit an informative blog? On the other hand, what is best placed on a service page? If you’re building a page that’s more concerned with locality, you should know the exact places to target.
Know the terms that you don’t have to include word for word. These include phrases like “near me” since that’s determined by the searcher’s location (as detected by his or her smartphone’s GPS).
Much like SEO as a whole, you can’t compromise on your content’s value. Provide useful and verifiable informational content as unique as possible.
4. Rely on social media marketing and video content.
Social media marketing should go alongside blogging since it allows your post to gain traffic from your followers without waiting for it to rank. You can just post and share them the moment you publish them.
That being said, we highly advise that you start building your social profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram if you haven’t already.
The same goes for video content. Trends reveal that people are engaging more with videos as time goes by. Besides storytelling, answering their questions in person (i.e. conversing with them with your videos, live or otherwise) also imparts plenty of value.
5. Focus on local link building.
Local SEO Strategies for Dentists will unlikely completely divorce themselves from backlinks. More than a handful of these strategies point toward backlinks acquisition and conversion rate improvement.
When we’re referring to local backlinks, we mean those that you get from local places and entities in your target area/s. Again, this requires you to research the local companies and platforms you can reach out to via their respective websites.
Don’t overlook local schools and universities that will be more than happy to give you backlinks. .edu websites have substantial trust and authority, thus, their high rankings in the SERPs (search engine results pages).
6. Encourage getting local, trustworthy reviews.
You’ll need to double-down on going local as much as possible, so you have to target reviews of that nature as well. Pay special attention to the ones being provided on your Google Business Profile.
We need to underscore the word “trustworthy” here. After all, wouldn’t you think it fishy that a specific dental clinic has a perfect 5-star score?
People are smarter now and know to start looking at recent reviews. Stats show that people are more inclined to listen to newer reviews. If you do get bad reviews, you should take the time to respond appropriately.
7. Build problem-solving landing pages.
Of course, it should always have a local scope. For example, let’s say you’re targeting “dentist Bristol”.
It’s important for you to construct a page that would be able to outline the pain points of most people in Bristol looking for dental care. Once you’ve listed them all down, you should explain how your service will be able to address them point by point.
Obviously, this required intimate knowledge of your audience. As you’re creating your pages, know which language to use to keep your content engaging.
8. Capitalise on adding and advertising the safety precautions you conduct.
We can’t deny that there’s still a lingering fear to head to public spaces due to the recent pandemic. If you choose to ignore this fear, you pretty much exclude these meticulous clients altogether, so it’s better to just assuage it.
It’s as simple as laying out all the precautions you do in-clinic and making sure all your clients know about it.
Conclusion
Local SEO strategies for dentists for most professionals should be just a necessity. To be able to rank high on Google for your specific area is not without its bonuses to your reputation, after all. Paired with the influx of continuous organic, targeted traffic, it’s pretty much a win-win situation.
Ultimately, local SEO is a long-term endeavour. As such, you’ll need to know which strategies to consistently rely on. Look no further than the ones we’ve shared here.
