The dental SEO guide to rank higher on Google Maps

Your Google Company Profile (GBP) is your listing on the Google Map. The info does not arrive from your web-site. Most apply entrepreneurs are not conscious that they can use dental Website positioning approaches to optimize their listing and assistance it rank higher. Finally, that listing will maximize local recognition and boost apply progress.

Why is your GBP important to new-client movement?

Most new clients use Google Maps to discover a nearby dentist. The prime 3 GBP listings are on the first webpage of the research outcome. You may get the lion’s share of new-affected individual phone calls if you rank in the top rated three listings. But optimizing your GBP listing is much more than just clients finding you it truly is also about being selected.

Clients who grow to be informed of your observe via any other advertising approach, this sort of as billboards, paid ads, or mailers, will typically check your GBP listing for much more info ahead of contacting or scheduling. Regardless of whether you like it or not, your GBP listing weighs heavily on dental promoting effectiveness and it’s exactly where Search engine optimisation for dentists begins. 

How to optimize your GBP

This dental Search engine optimization manual discusses how to optimize your GBP listing and how to optimize your internet site to enhance your GBP rankings. Ahead of paying a great deal of time optimizing, you should really see how well you now rank. You can do this by examining your current Google Maps rankings. How your apply ranks on Google Maps is locale-centered. This implies your listing ranks increased or reduced on the map based mostly on exactly where someone lookups. The further more away a person is from your practice when they look for, the less most likely your listing will rank substantial on the map. 

The problem becomes, “How considerably from my observe place are people in a position to come across my listing on the to start with page of the Google map?” A person way to response is to travel all over accomplishing queries from your telephone and checking to see how large your listing displays up. But who has time to do that? Enter Google Heat Mapping! 

The image down below displays how a apply ranks for the keyword “dental implants around me” in their region. Each one of the colored dots is a research result. It truly is as if you ended up standing at that place, pulled out your mobile phone, and searched “dental implants near me.” The quantity on the colored dot is exactly where the observe listing shows up on the map. The lower the amount, the superior. If the quantity is 1, 2, or 3, you’re on the front webpage of the Google map.  

 Each key word will make a various warmth map. The image beneath is the exact apply as earlier mentioned but for the keyword “dentist.” Observe that the follow ranks somewhat diverse than for dental implants. Request your exercise warmth maps

  

Now that you know how well you rank, you can optimize your listing for substantial-benefit people and solutions.

1. Find, assert, and validate your listing

Go to Google and look for the identify of your practice. If you are logged into a Google account which is the owner or manager of your GBP, you can expect to see editing abilities in the look for results. Down below is an image of the outcome when I searched for “My Social Observe.” I was logged into a Google account which is a manager on My Social Practice’s GBP. Discover an modifying panel at the major of the research results.

If you do not see the modifying segment, you might be not logged into the correct Google account, or your listing has not been claimed. To see if your listing has been claimed, all you require to do is simply click on the button circled in purple in the image down below. If your listing has been claimed, you may see a partial email handle for the electronic mail that is the proprietor of the listing. If not, you will be prompted to declare the listing. If you have any problems, contact our Google maps optimization group.

2. Confirm your NAP and types

Once you have entry to your listing, you’ll want to make certain that your identify, handle, and cellular phone (NAP) are proper. Google features some recommendations on how to identify your listing. The principal group of your listing is essential for rankings. Pick out your main category from Google’s predetermined list of dental groups. Below is a current checklist of all dental types.

If you happen to be a normal dentist, your primary group really should be “dentist.” A common slip-up is to use “dental clinic” as your principal classification. I strongly propose against this since incredibly number of sufferers search for the key word “dental clinic.” If you might be a professional, decide on your specialty as your primary category. 

You can also opt for more types our advice is to opt for as few as achievable, two to a few at the most. This is a great instance a general dentist who provides implants and also has an orthodontist on team would select “dentist” as the most important group, “dental implant provider” as the secondary classification, and “orthodontist” as the 3rd group.

3. Include dental expert services

Google enables you to listing as several companies as you’d like. Click on the edit providers button and a pop up will look where you can increase or edit products and services. I counsel adding as many products and services as doable because Google will use the info in your companies section for the search phrases. If someone lookups for “Invisalign dentist in close proximity to me” and you you should not have Invisalign shown as a service, you may perhaps not exhibit up. There is no limit to the quantity of solutions you can insert, at least not a limit that we’ve observed.  

4. Insert all 20 provider places

From the modifying panel, click on on Edit Profile < Location < Service Areas. In the service area panel, you can list up to 20 service areas. The best practice for this is to look at your Google Heat Maps and add service areas where it’s moving from green to yellow or orange, which is where you’re losing rankings. It doesn't make sense to put in high-density locations miles away from your practice if you're not ranking in the neighborhoods closest to your practice. The goal is to expand your reach on Google maps by sending signals that are on the edge of where you’re currently ranking.

5. Post a minimum of twice a month

GBPs allow for posts. It’s like posting to a social media account. When you post, you’re allowed to include a link. The best practice is to link to an offer on your website, new blog post, service page, or social media account. Below is an excellent example of a Google Business Profile post for Sweet Smiles Family & Cosmetic Dentistry that links to their sedation dentist service page. Links are the way that Google and other search engines connect information. Links from your GBP to your website and vice versa are a helpful way to connect the dots, make things easy for Google, and improve your link profile.

6. Acquire new Google reviews

Acquiring consistent Google reviews helps your listing rank. Even Google has stated that a business’s review profile impacts prominence, a critical ranking factor. Most importantly, a great Google review profile will convince patients searching for a dentist to choose you instead of your competition. Digital marketing is all about being found and chosen. Acquiring more Google reviews is a chosen strategy.

The best practice for obtaining more Google reviews is to run a short-term Google review campaign with your team. Make it fun. Set a monthly goal to get 50 to 150 reviews or more and offer a great prize for reaching the goal. Don’t be afraid to invest some money with the prize it will pay off tenfold. Download this complimentary Google review campaign kit if you want some materials to kick off a campaign.

Once you’ve ended your short-term campaign, turn on automation. Automating your Google reviews will send a text link to patients after they’ve checked in, asking for a review. If you don’t have an automation, get it. Don’t stress about sending the link to everyone and potentially getting a bad review. You’ll get 95 great reviews to five poor ones. Frankly, if you’re getting more negative reviews than that, you have a bigger problem than a few bad reviews. Embrace negative reviews as a way to improve your dental care. 

How to improve Google map rankings with your website

Although the information on your GBP listing does not come from your website, Google uses the SEO strength of your website to support your Google listing in Maps. The better your website ranks, the better your listing will rank. Here are six essential ways to improve your website SEO and resources.

1. Fix technical website errors

Unless you have a super sharp web nerd on your team, this is where a dental marketing company can help. Technical errors involve things that mess with Google’s crawlers and devalue a visitor’s experience on your website. Technical issues include slow page load times, broken links, SSL and HTTPS, nonmobile optimized sites, bad Java script, incorrect metadata, and 404 pages.  

To see how well you’re doing with technical SEO, run a technical SEO analysis, which will give you a graded score. You want A grades on your analysis above 90% is the goal. If they could be better, call your website design company and ask them to help you get a passing score.

2. You must have custom copywriting

Custom and original content stands as a cornerstone in digital dental marketing. The fundamental reason? Search engines, including Google, place a high premium on unique content. A search engine’s primary objective is to deliver the most relevant information to consumers. When a dental practice updates its website with custom content, it signals to search engines that it is genuinely trying to provide unique value to its local patients. As a result, search engines interpret this as a reliable and authoritative information source worthy of a high ranking.

3. Blog more than your competitors

When you update your website with blot posts, search engines take notice. Fresh content signals that a website is active and invested in providing value. This elevates the site’s ranking and positively impacts the rankings of its associated GBP. But how frequently should a dental practice blog? A helpful starting point is to analyze your competition. While the quality of content remains paramount, understanding the volume and length of competitor posts can guide practices in shaping their content strategy. For instance, if local competitors post 800 word articles biweekly, it’s a clear gauge for a practice to match or beat the amount and consistency.

4. Have an awesome internal link strategy

An internal link is on your website and it links to another part of your website. Google looks at links to understand what a dental practice is most interested in promoting. For instance, if you want to attract new dental implant patients, you must let Google know. You do this by creating a robust and custom dental implant service page with lots of internal links to the page.

A link from your home page to your dental implant service page is a must. In addition, you should regularly write blog articles about dental implants and link to the dental implant service page. When Google crawls your website, it will see that you are creating content focused on dental implants, and your rankings for that service will improve. 

Pro tip: Use artificial intelligence to help you with blogging. Software such as ChatGPT can be extremely helpful in creating the first draft of your article, which will speed up your writing process. Always check for incorrect information because AI does not fact check. The algorithms are built on predictive models and patterns that often create “hallucinations,” nonfactual information.

5. Have an even better inbound link strategy

An inbound link is one from another website to yours. A good example is a link from the ADA to your website. Some of the strongest inbound links that you can create are through guest blog posting. An example is writing a blog post about your relationship with the endodontist you refer cases to. You write the post and send it to your endodontist to be published on their website. Not only do you get a link back to your website, but the patients of the endodontist will be introduced to your dental office by the post. 

The key is to get links from local, industry-relevant, and high-value websites. A link from the ADA or the AACD is a big deal because they’re some of the highest-value websites in the dental industry. But don’t scoff at getting a link from a colleague’s dental website, a local business, or a local media outlet. These are hyperlocal, relevant, and have a direct and significant impact on ranking on the Google map. 

Pro tip: Post updates to your GBP and link to your service pages or blog posts. See the Sweet Smiles Cosmetic & Family Dentistry example above linking to their sedation dentist service page. This linking tactic makes it easier for Google to recognize what you specialize in and strengthens the bond between your Google map and website rankings.

6. SEO optimize your website images

Search engines primarily use text-based information to interpret and rank web content since they can’t inherently understand images. Metadata, including alt text and image title, aids webmasters in conveying the significance of images to search engines, enhancing website ranking in search results. 

Optimizing your images to help with dental SEO involves choosing the correct file format and compressing images so they load quickly. Each image should have a filename relevant to the page it’s on. For example, the image on your “dental implant” service page should not be titled “IMG_837” rather, it should be “dental implants in (your city).” Look at the file names of the images in this article about best dental website designs. To see the file name, right-click on them as if to download them. All the images have dental website design keywords. 

Dental SEO guide conclusion

Dental SEO is no longer an optional dental marketing strategy—it’s necessary. In a world where patients turn to Google Maps before scheduling, it’s paramount to ensure that your dental practice stands out. From understanding the nuances of you GBP to optimizing your website for higher map rankings, each step can significantly influence your online visibility and, consequently, your practice growth. 

Remember, it’s not just about being seen it’s about being chosen. Embrace these guidelines and employ the strategies mentioned and watch your dental practice soar to new heights on Google Maps.