This blog lists the steps you need for a successful local dentist SEO audit to improve your clinic’s website and become the preferred dentist in your community.
Every treatment begins with a thorough diagnosis. The same concept can be applied to local dentist SEO. If you think your methods have zero contributions to your digital marketing efforts, it’s time to uncover the underlying issues. To achieve that, you’ll need to perform a local SEO audit.
This process involves evaluating your dental practice’s online visibility from various elements. Based on our experience as a local SEO agency, we came up with the crucial steps in conducting an impactful audit. Below is our easy-to-digest guide on performing an effective local dentist SEO audit.
Table of Contents
The Core Elements of Google’s Local Search Algorithm
Performing a local SEO audit will give dentists the peace of mind needed in digital marketing. Audits allow you to determine if your efforts will pay returns in the form of better online visibility, and ultimately, more patients. But before assessing your dental SEO practices, it’s best to learn the pillars of Google’s search algorithm.
The first element is proximity. Think of this as the gap between your dental business and searchers. For instance, whenever someone searches “dentists near me,” the algorithm will favor clinics close to the searcher’s geographic location. This highlights the importance of placing your correct business location on listings.
The next element is prominence, which focuses on how well-known your clinic is—both online and offline. In local dentist SEO, this element is built on a clinic’s online reviews and mentions in local news or blogs. Think of prominence as your way of proving to the algorithm that your clinic is a trusted dental services provider.
Lastly, there’s relevance. It indicates how well your website content matches a user’s search intent. It is the algorithm’s way of ensuring your website appears on relevant searches. To optimize this, a local SEO expert will use local keywords to optimize website content, meta descriptions, and Google Business Profile (GBP).
Getting constant positive reviews with relevant keywords can boost all elements of Google’s search algorithm.
Check Keyword Ranking for Better Local Dentist SEO
Begin your local SEO audit by knowing where you stand in local dentistry searches. You can check the queries your keywords rank for using the Google Search Console. Take note of those ranking below five because these keywords need the most improvement.
Whether you decide to add or tweak existing keywords, remember to run location-specific searches. Why? For starters, this technique gives you an idea about regional variations in search behavior. Doing so will also give you a clearer picture of how your dentistry website performs in the local market.
Do a Local SEO Audit of Your Dental Website
Having your dental website undergo a local SEO audit ensures local patients discover your clinic with ease. To start doing this, look at your individual web pages.
Search engine crawlers like Google and Bing appreciate website content that’s easy to understand (contextually). Hence, for better practices in local dentist SEO, you must check if keywords are present in the crucial parts of your web pages. That includes the page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and even URLs. Be sure also to assess if the keywords are integrated into the content in a way that sounds natural.
Another aspect to check is your website structure. A high-ranking dental website should have an easy navigation path that links related pages. Let’s say you have a blog that talks about dealing with infections at the tooth’s center. Phrases like “root canal treatment” within that blog page should serve as an anchor link for your endodontics service page. Double-check your current internal linking system for possible anchor link additions. Ask yourself if the links are clear enough to guide crawlers in better understanding the relationship of your web pages.
Finally, look out for duplicate content. Overlooking this error in a local SEO audit may cause your organic ranking to go south. It’s better to analyze if each of your page’s content is distinct enough from one another. Ideally, each page should contain branding details that set your dental practice apart from competitors.
Do a Local SEO Audit of Your Google Business Profile
Regular audits of your Google Business Profile (GBP) keeps you up to date with Google’s guidelines. On top of that, it will also help you attract and retain more patients as you increase trust and the chances for engagement.
To do a local dentist SEO audit of your GBP, focus on the details posted on your page. Is the information in your profile accurate? If your clinic changed its telephone number or moved to a new location, make sure your business description is updated. Addressing things like these help match your practice with relevant local searches.
But this mindset isn’t applicable only to GBP audits. Make sure that your business name, address, and phone number or NAP (along with other crucial details) remain consistent throughout various marketing platforms where your clinic is cited.
During a dental SEO audit is the best time to check up on your reviews. It’s always a good idea to reply to all reviews, whether positive or negative. By doing so, you prove to your prospects that you value patient feedback, especially if you offer solutions to complaints. These interactions might sound minimal, but it’s a sure way to boost your local SEO rankings while forging a sense of trust with your community.
Do a Local SEO Audit of Your Social Media Pages
Audits for local dentist SEO are never complete without assessing your social media pages. As a dental clinic, three of the most popular platforms where you can market your dental services are Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Your social media local SEO audit should always include a review of your profile information. Maintaining consistency throughout your social media pages is essential in gaining the trust of your prospective patients. If you want to optimize your profile, try to fill out every field. Also, adding keyword-rich descriptions to your services can help you reach more potential patients in your target area.
Last but not least, regularly analyze your social media metrics to gauge your posts’ effectiveness. For better engagements, take note of which type of posts resonate most with your audience, whether it be educational posts, patient testimonials, or special offerings—and consider publishing more of those.
Run an Analysis of Your Competitors
A local SEO audit isn’t only about improving your digital marketing efforts. It also provides opportunities to learn about your competitors’ SEO performance.
There are many tools available to help you with competitive analysis. To ensure a productive analysis, be sure to hone in on elements like your competitors’ ranked keywords, quality of backlinks, website loading speed, and mobile-friendliness. You may even get content ideas from them that you can expand on for better local SEO results.
Conducting a content gap analysis uncovers topics and keywords your competitors are targeting that you might have missed.
By understanding the aspects your competitors excel in, you’ll know the areas you can improve on. As a result, you can develop a more comprehensive approach to local dentist SEO that’s aware of your local market.
Final Tip for More Polished Dentist SEO Audits
The success of your SEO audit lies in careful analysis and consistency. While this may sound trivial, over time, you may realize that doing audits might be taking up your time and energy.
If you wish to focus more on providing top-notch dental services, your best course of action is to let professionals handle your local SEO audit! Zero Company is a proven purpose driven marketing agency with 20+ years of experience in providing a wide range of services. Throughout the years, we’ve enabled over 2,500 companies to reach their online marketing objectives. If you’re too busy polishing up smiles, we’ll take care of brightening your online presence!
Book a free consultation with us and learn how we can perform an expert local dentist SEO audit for your clinic that incorporates empathy in marketing and brings you better digital marketing results!