Running a successful dental practice isn’t just about providing great patient care—it’s about ensuring local patients can find and trust your services. With the right dental marketing and local SEO strategies, dentists can attract more patients, improve online visibility and grow their practice.
In this article, we’ll cover practical strategies to market your dental services, find new patients and optimise your local SEO efforts to stand out from competitors.
SEO in dentistry.
Dental search engine optimisation (SEO) refers to optimising a dental practice’s online presence to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). This includes improving website content, using relevant keywords, enhancing local SEO for dentists and increasing online visibility to attract more potential patients.
Why is SEO important for dentists?
SEO is crucial for dental practices because most patients start their search for a dentist online. A strong SEO strategy helps your practice:
- Increase visibility: Higher search rankings mean more potential patients can find your clinic
- Attract targeted traffic: SEO helps bring in patients who are actively searching for dental services
- Enhance local reach: Local SEO ensures your practice appears in searches from nearby patients
- Improve cost-effectiveness: Unlike paid ads, SEO provides long-term traffic and visibility without ongoing costs
- Build trust and credibility: Ranking high on Google signals professionalism and reliability to potential patients.
Investing in SEO is an investment in the long-term growth of your dental practice.
RELATED: 6 critical SEO trends to embrace in 2025.
Local SEO for dentists.
Local SEO focuses on optimising your dental practice’s online presence to attract more patients from local searches. This ensures that when someone searches for ‘dentist near me’ or ‘best dental clinic in [city]’, your practice appears at the top of the SERP. Implementing dentist local SEO strategies can significantly increase foot traffic and appointment bookings.
Conducting keyword research for dental SEO.
Keyword research is a crucial step in any dental SEO strategy. It involves identifying the keywords and phrases that prospective patients use to search for dental services online. By understanding what keywords are most relevant to your dental practice, you can optimise your website and online presence to attract more qualified traffic.
How to perform keyword research for your dental website.
Performing keyword research for your dental website involves several steps:
- Brainstorm keywords: Start by brainstorming a list of keywords related to your dental services. Include general terms like ‘dentist’ and ‘dental care’, as well as more specific terms like ‘cosmetic dentistry’ and ‘implant dentistry’.
- Use keyword research tools: Utilise online tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or SEMrush to analyse the search volume and competition for each keyword. These tools can provide valuable insights into which keywords are most popular among prospective patients.
- Identify long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are more specific and often less competitive. Examples include ‘dentist in [your city]’ or ‘dental implants [your city]’. These keywords can help you attract more targeted traffic.
- Analyse competitors: Look at your competitors’ websites to see which keywords they are targeting. This can help you identify gaps in the market and opportunities to rank for keywords that your competitors are not targeting.
- Find keyword gaps: Use keyword research tools to identify gaps in the market. Look for keywords with high search volume but low competition, as these represent opportunities to attract more traffic to your dental website.
Top ranking local dental keywords.
Some of the top dental keywords to rank for include:
- ‘Dentist [your city]’
- ‘Dental care [your city]’
- ‘Cosmetic dentistry [your city]’
- ‘Implant dentistry [your city]’
- ‘Teeth whitening [your city]’
- ‘Dental implants [your city]’
- ‘Dentures [your city]’
- ‘Root canal [your city]’
- ‘Dental crowns [your city]’
What is the best marketing strategy for dental practices?
Marketing for dentists requires a mix of online and offline strategies. Here are some of the best ways to attract new patients:
- Create a professional website: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, fast-loading and easy to navigate. Include clear service descriptions, patient testimonials and calls to action like ‘Book an Appointment’.
- Optimise for SEO: Use relevant keywords like ‘best dentist in [city]’ to improve your search visibility. Investing in dental SEO services can provide a competitive edge by attracting more visitors and converting them into patients.
- Leverage social media: Engage with patients on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok by sharing before and after photos, dental tips and promotions.
- Encourage patient reviews: Positive reviews on Google Business Profile, Yelp, and Healthgrades help build trust and improve search rankings.
- Run local advertising campaigns: Use Google Ads and Facebook Ads to target potential patients in your area.
- Invest in content marketing: Publish blog posts, FAQs and videos on dental care topics to educate patients and boost SEO for dentists.
RELATED: What is the best SEO strategy for small business?
How do dentists advertise?
Dentists can use various methods to advertise their services and attract new patients, including:
- Search engine optimisation (SEO): Ensures your practice ranks well in search results. Partnering with an SEO agency can provide tailored campaigns and expertise in tracking SEO results effectively. Understanding the SEO cost is crucial, as prices can range from $2500 to over $10,000 per month depending on various factors like location and services offered.
- Pay-per-click (PPC) ads: Google Ads and social media ads drive targeted traffic to your website.
- Social media marketing: Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn help engage with potential patients.
- Email marketing: Send newsletters with promotions, appointment reminders and dental care tips.
- Referral programs: Encourage existing patients to refer friends and family in exchange for discounts or rewards.
- Community engagement: Sponsor local events, school programs and charity initiatives to increase visibility.
Optimising for local SEO.
Local SEO ensures your practice appears in searches when patients look for dental services in your area. Here’s how to optimise your local SEO:
- Optimise your Google Business Profile: Ensure your profile is complete with your practice name, address, phone number, operating hours and photos.
- Use local keywords: Include phrases like ‘family dentist in [city]’ or ’emergency dental clinic [suburb]’ in your website content.
- Build local citations: List your practice on directories like Yellow Pages Online, True Local, Healthgrades and Dentist Directory.
- Ensure a mobile-friendly website: Many patients search for dentists on their phones. A fast-loading, easy-to-use site improves user experience and rankings.
- Encourage online reviews: Positive reviews improve local search rankings and build patient trust. Respond to all reviews—both positive and negative—to show engagement.
On-page SEO for dentist websites.
On-page SEO involves optimising your website’s pages to rank higher in search engine results. Key strategies include:
- Using target keywords naturally in page titles, headers and meta descriptions
- Writing detailed service descriptions with relevant keywords
- Including patient testimonials and before-and-after images
- Using internal links to guide visitors to other relevant pages on your site
- Adding alt text to images for better accessibility and SEO.
Technical SEO for dental websites.
Technical SEO ensures your website functions well and is easy for search engines to crawl. Make sure your site:
- Loads quickly: Check speed with Google PageSpeed Insights)
- Is mobile-friendly: Responsive design is crucial for rankings and patient experience
- Has secure HTTPS encryption to protect patient information
- Fix broken links and include an XML sitemap for better search indexing.
RELATED: On-page SEO vs technical SEO: what is the difference?
Off-page SEO for dental professionals.
Off-page SEO helps improve rankings through activities outside your website, such as:
- Building high-quality backlinks
Get listed on reputable dental directories, guest post on industry blogs and gain backlinks from trusted sites - Engaging on social media
Share valuable content, respond to patient inquiries and participate in local groups to build relationships - Guest blogging
Writing for other healthcare or dental websites helps establish authority and improve search rankings.
Need help getting started? List your business on Yellow Pages Online to boost your visibility and connect with more local customers today.
Or take it further with Thryv – a powerful all-in-one platform to help you manage reviews, run ads, automate follow-ups and grow your business while you focus on the work that matters.
