Did you know that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective and reliable strategies for attracting new patients? Your goal is for your website to be first when someone searches for a keyword such as ‘dentist near me.’ However, in the race to get to the top of Google, there are many tactics that can help (or even hurt) your rankings. Here, we detail the dos and don’ts of SEO to equip you with the knowledge to succeed.
Do:
- Aim for real, 5-star reviews. In an age where people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, having both quantity and quality is key.
- Have one person or team managing your online presence. This helps promote brand consistency, accountability, and ensures you’re getting the visibility you need.
- Blog on a regular basis. Regular blogging boosts your SEO by creating more indexable pages on your website, improving your rankings for particular keywords.
- Have a custom-built website developed. Did you know that your website itself can be geared toward SEO? There are a myriad of behind-the-scenes strategies involved in its development process that can significantly impact your ranking potential.
- Build high-quality, organic backlinks. A backlink is a link that leads people from another website to your own. This includes blogs posted on other sites, optimized YouTube videos, Facebook posts, press releases, and much more.
Don’t:
- Ignore poor reviews. These can undo all of our hard work to get you ranking. Instead, ask us how you can improve your presence to attain a 5-star reputation.
- Pay for reviews. In a similar vein, fake or inauthentic reviews not only look obvious, but Google may also remove them.
- Spread your keywords too thinly. This can water down the strength of your campaign. While there comes a time when you should consider expanding your keywords to speciality cases, insurance offerings, or other aspects of your dentistry, this is typically ill-advised for the first six months of your marketing campaign.
SEO is a constantly-evolving process that, if harnessed properly, can lead to a significant boost in exposure for your dental practice and can ramp up your ROI. If you are interested in building an effective internet marketing campaign through data-driven strategies like SEO, reach out to our team at Identity Dental Marketing. Schedule your complimentary marketing planning session with us today.
