Wednesday, September 18, 2013

How Search Engine Optimization Affects Your Dental Practice

One of the biggest challenges faced by dental professionals is capturing the attention of prospective clients in an increasingly competitive market. Many dentists have discovered that dental marketing is a primary strategy for drawing in more clientele. Dentists are taking advantage of online marketing to showcase their talents and skills in order to reach more people with ease. Some of the strategies employed include updated and optimized websites, social media, and email marketing, among others.

A study conducted by BrightLocal on consumer behavior revealed an increased number of local searches over the past few years, in addition to the types of businesses being searched for. The findings revealed that 35% of the participants had conducted a local search to find dentists operating in their region within the past 12 months, which is a significant increase compared to 2012. 

Considering that potential patients are progressively using the internet to find local businesses, dental professionals should take advantage of the opportunity to market their websites for better search engine rankings

Importance of Dental Website Marketing
Placing your customized business website on the internet is just your first step to bringing in new clients. Studies show that 80% of business websites are found via search engines. When you use your favorite search engine to find businesses in your region, you will be presented with a multitude of options to choose from. Similarly, your prospective clients will be presented with a long list of dentists who can assist them.

Unfortunately, most people believe that the search results listed at the beginning of the return results are more credible than the others. While this perception does not necessarily mean that these websites are better, your business has a greater chance of attracting prospective clients if it is listed among the first results for a local search. So how can you get your business to show among the top results of the first page?

Search Engine Optimization in Dentist Website Marketing 
The key to getting your dental practice listed in search engine results is search engine optimization or SEO. Marketing experts suggest that the Google, Microsoft Bing, and Yahoo drive up to 95% of search engine traffic, which implies that you need to configure your keyword or keyword phrase in a manner that the algorithms used by these search engines can easily pick up on your dental web content. The process of dental marketing employs two SEO strategies: off-site and on-site. 
  
On-site SEO strategies focus on ensuring that you have relevant page content. One of the criteria used in search engine ranking is relevance of content to the search, which implies that pages with the most relevant content will be ranked higher in search results. This is achieved by using the right keywords in your content in strategic places. The other on-site criterion is site architecture. If your dental website has a lot of flash and limited wordings, then it is hard for the engine to find your content and show it in search engines. 

The primary off-site strategy that is necessary for dentist website SEO marketing is backlinking. You can boost your site’s ranking by getting relevant websites to add links to various pages on your dental website. The more trusted the websites are, the higher your search engine ranking will be.  

Is SEO Dental Marketing Right for You? 
SEO is beneficial for every dentist who wants to attain both short- and long-term goals of a dentist website marketing campaign. SEO is a continuous process that requires you to give the search engine continuous relevant information in exchange for good ratings and consistent new online clients. Learn more about professional internet dental marketing services by contacting Website Optimization.

Website Optimization
3134 SUNNYWOOD DR
ANN ARBOR, MI 48103
Phone: (877) 748-3678
Fax: (734) 661-1331