Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an online marketing technique that focuses on directing organic or non-paid traffic to your website by having it rank high on search engine result pages (SERPs) for popular keywords and phrases deemed relevant by the website owner. The most common search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) show a list of search results. It is these results that are ranked based on what the search engines deem relevant to the interests of its users. As most search engines do not charge a fee for SEO, any business with a website and/or social networking accounts should take full advantage of it. Many businesses hire an SEO specialist to create content with keywords that are relevant to their target audience. The more relevant the keywords, the greater the chance of a website’s content appearing at or near the top of that search engine’s top results. This is the first step toward getting your dental practice noticed by prospective patients using the internet to find a dentist in their area.

SEO and Your Dental Practice

SEO can be an efficient and valuable way to connect with the ever increasing number of patients searching online for a dental practice. Every type of business has a specific target niche, and online marketing makes it faster and simpler to make contact with those searching for that business’ product or service. Learning the ropes of dental marketing can dramatically improve your practice’s reach, and an important component of effective dental marketing is SEO. Four great reasons SEO is important for the growth of your dental practice:

1) SEO exposes you to the right people

SEO connects you with people who are looking for you at this very moment. A comprehensive dental marketing campaign that includes proper use of SEO will lead people who are searching for dental–related content to your website. A major percentage of internet traffic is controlled by the ‘big three’ search engines, namely, Google, Yahoo, and Bing. SEO allows these search engines to recommend your page to people searching for content within your niche. SEO is like a code or language that makes your site readable or recognizable to search engines. Without it, your company will be lost in a sea of other websites and content.

2) SEO widens your practice’s reach

Aside from attracting prospective patients in and around your practice, SEO allows you to reach a bigger and broader audience. SEO allows you to deliver relevant information about your dental practice, and dental medicine in general. This can be particularly valuable if you offer services e.g. dental sleep medicine, IV sedation, implant placement, or other procedures not offered by your local peers.

3) SEO gives you a better ‘look’ at your audience

SEO can also help you gain insight into what your audience is looking for. By knowing your community’s preferences, you can adjust your offering to be in better alignment with your desired audience. You will know what’s trending by being able to read their reviews for industry-related products and services and judge exactly what the best SEO is for your dental practice.

4) SEO gives you a peek into what your competition is up to

Your dental marketing plan should also involve scoping the competition. By regular monitoring those practices that are consistently appearing in the top results, you are able to gauge what your target audience is looking for and how competitive your content is compared to similar practices. In this way, you learn the tactics other practices use successfully. The ever increasing use by consumers of the internet means ever increasing opportunity to connect with new patients online. A properly configured and professionally managed dental SEO campaign will position you to harness the potential of this powerful practice building tool. To learn more contact AIM Dental Marketing® today.