Search Engine Optimisation, more commonly known as SEO has some negative connotations attached to it. A strong SEO campaign over time can transform your brand and solidify your position in the market by placing your website at the top of Google searched. It can become increasingly difficult to maintain prominent search results or even surpass these competitive demands to become recognized online, whether you are an up-and-coming dentist, or have just opened your first dental practice and are looking to increase your patient base, stand out and grow. Research proves that at least 95% of website visitors visit the first list of web pages presented on Google. The concept is very simple, the higher your SEO ranking is, the better the chances of optimized incoming traffic and an improved ranking. That’s all, right? Simple it may sound; however, it is far from it.

SEO is a race against your competitors to maintain the highest ranking of incoming traffic. To win the race, your dental practice website must continue to reach unprecedented heights of SEO activity to stave off competition and be better than all other local businesses out there that are competing for that next click.

The challenge is set. Let’s put it into action. To become an authority in your industry using SEO requires, a clear strategic plan with keywords, semantic keywords, content & links.

Here are five key tips to consider when putting SEO to the test:

  • Focus on Quality

The content you produce is what evidently makes or breaks your business. Online visitors ultimately view websites to look for answers to their problem, and your content must demonstrate the quality of visitors to find the answer. An example, visitors could be looking for a new dental practice, and dental practices are always looking for new patients. Produce outstanding content which makes your dental practice the best choice for new patients. No matter what strategy you use, whether it is SEO or other digital marketing strategies, the quality of your content matters. Ask yourself if your website, the overall presence and the message it sends out to potential patients is credible, relevant and meets their needs the best

  • Create and Update a Blog

To keep your SEO ranking high, your content must continue to be relevant and engaging. By creating new engaging content Google recognises that your website is a source of information and authority and subsequently will improve your website visibility. Having strategic topics in your blog is a terrific way to increase website traffic, ensure that the topic addresses the concerns of the visitor and there are solutions outlined.. Patients are always looking for answers, such as how often they should brush their teeth, or how to look after a Denture. Understand the most researched dental trends and start a blog on it. Keep them creative and relevant to what your audience needs.

  • Use Keywords Sparingly & Strategically

The use of Keywords is what drives SEO traffic, and it cannot be emphasised enough. Optimizing your website with important keywords is essential to keep your ranking as high as possible. Importantly you cannot riddle your content or page titles with keywords because it becomes unreadable and users will disengage quickly.  Use keywords that will allow you to engage your audience and keywords that generate a strong search volume. You can use tools such as Google Analytics to help you identify keywords that your target audience are typing in.

Three popular keywords relating to Dental Practice proven to be prominently used on a Google search include:

  • Dental Reviews
    • Patients searching for dental practices depend on reviews. This helps them to choose the best dental care provider, especially if patients live in an area with numerous dental practices.
  • Dental Service
    • Having content that details the services you provide goes a long way to help your practice stand out. Most, if not all dental practice offers the basic services such as dental cleaning or fillings. But services such as denture repair, root canal treatment and other cosmetic dental surgeries would define what your practice stands for. Highlight your speciality.
  • Dental Treatments
    • How can your dental practice treat a problem a patient is experiencing? What treatments does your dental practice provide that specializes in treating a common dental area? Potential new patients will always search for the treatments to a problem they are experiencing. Make sure your dental practice expands on the treatments it provides and what patients should expect. Trust is key, and patients will always choose practices that deliver the best quality treatment.
  • Use Social Media to your advantage
    • Social Media is the best engaging and communication platform in the world today. Engaging patients through visibility in social media is an essential tool to drive traffic back to your website, proven to boost your ranking. Social Media hasn’t been around forever, so how should it be used to maximise your advantage?
      • Establish Relationships – Social media provides you with the opportunity to create and target your own audience through people responses,  images, results, and general communication to showcase the care and knowledge of your business. Show that you are reaching out to people.
      • Attracting New Patients – Content through your practice website should be exuberated and shared through your social media platforms. Being able to create regular refreshing content relating to your practice attractions more attention and followers to your content. Show off your products, treatments and services, three prominent areas that a patient looks for in a quality dental practice and makes you a more credible choice.
      • Show a personal side – One thing that turns off your target audience is attracting them to your practice on business terms rather than personal terms. Your social media content must warm to your audience showcasing a caring nature. Show that you care about your patients and are not attracting an audience just to promote business.
    • Monitor the activity of your competitors closely – SEO continues to evolve and it’s important that you keep tabs on the efforts made by your competitors to maintain your SEO ranking. As you monitor your ‘prey’, you will notice that your competitors have identified new methods to optimize their pages or search results. Maintain your SEO knowledge and ensure all bases are covered. Keeping to the same SEO activities in the long-term will diminish your ranking. Improvement techniques to optimize your website ranking regularly can be learned using a downloadable tool, semrush is a great tool that allows you to get insights into your traffic and importantly your competitors SEO traffic.