You’ve probably heard of search engine optimization (SEO) in passing. Somebody said you should think about your SEO, and maybe you thought, “that’s for savvy digital marketers, not for me.”
Before you dismiss SEO, there’s a statistic you should know. 53.3% of website traffic happens because of organic search. That means more than half of all the people who view a website do so because they found the business on a search engine.
The more you can make your website visible on search engines, the more website traffic you’ll get. The more traffic you get, the more likely it is that you start getting new patients into your dental practice. Managed SEO services can provide you with the visibility boost you need to show up on the front page of search results.
This post will reveal all the advantages of investing in SEO services from a dental marketing company. Reading through this post should provide you with all the knowledge you need to realize the business benefits of dental SEO.
Increased Website Traffic
Any good local SEO agency should know how to provide you with an increase in website traffic. If you search for “dental practices near me” right now on Google, consider what comes up.
If your dental practice’s office doesn’t come up on the top of the search page, it’s unlikely that anybody is finding your website. The first step to getting more website traffic is to make sure your website is appearing at the top of the search engine results page.
The best dental marketing agencies will help you appear at the top of the search results page for multiple keywords. Whether someone is searching for “dentists near me,” “best dentists in town,’ or “top-rated dental practices,” your website will pop up.
The best part is, you don’t have to pay for ads every month or splurge on fancy new marketing materials. All you need is a little professional help with keywords and technical SEO best practices.
Improved User Experience
Google and other search engines use certain criteria to place websites at the top of the search results page. One factor is your website’s usability. Search engines don’t want to send their users to websites that provide a subpar experience.
Websites that rank on the front page tend to have clear navigation, an intuitive user interface, and quality graphics and images. If your website doesn’t have those attributes, it might be time to think about investing in a web design company that has SEO expertise.
Increased Online Visibility
As any good business owner knows, the first step towards attracting more patients is making sure people know about your business. You wouldn’t open up a new dental practice without putting a sign out in front of the office. The same rule applies to your business’s digital presence.
You can’t expect to get more patients through your website if you don’t have any online visibility. A strong SEO strategy is one of the best ways to improve your visibility.
SEO efforts will ensure that people find your website when they’re searching for dentists. Some SEO agencies can even help you gain visibility among people who aren’t even looking for dentists at the time. As a result, your name will be the first thing those people think of when they do need a dentist.
Improved Local Search Rankings
There’s a difference between standard SEO services and local SEO services. Dentists operate as local businesses, which means you need to attract patients who live in the area your practice serves.
Local SEO agencies can help you focus on keywords that mention the neighborhood, city or state in which your office is located. There are also other pieces of your practice’s online presence to consider beyond just your website.
For example, your business name should be appearing on review sites. Your practice’s social media pages should also appear in search results. Every business should also have a plan for its Google My Business listing.
This is the listing that appears on the right side of the search results page when somebody searches for your dental practice. The Google My Business listing should have accurate information about how to get in touch with your practice.
Agencies that specialize in local SEO will be better suited to serve your dental practice’s needs than a company that isn’t familiar with local SEO best practices. A local SEO agency can help you optimize all aspects of your digital presence to ensure maximum visibility.
Increased Brand Awareness
The more people are aware of your brand, the sooner they’ll think of you when they need dental work. Whether you’re just starting or you’ve been running a dental practice for years, it’s always a good time to start building your brand awareness.
SEO can help you build that brand awareness. Even if someone doesn’t click on your website when they see your name in the search results, they’ll still see your name.
That means your dental practice will be among the first dental practices they think of next time they look for a new dentist. SEO can be part of a broader digital marketing strategy that includes social media management and paid advertising.
The more you can get your brand name out there through organic social posts, SEO content, and ads, the more likely it is that you’ll boost your brand awareness.
Higher Quality Leads
Not all patients will provide your dental practice with the same value. Some patients come in for simple cleanings once per year. These patients provide your business with income, but not as much as some other patients.
Some patients need expensive cosmetic care. Your digital marketing efforts should help ensure that you’re able to attract these types of patients to your office. Patients who need cosmetic work are more valuable, from a business perspective.
Other patients want to bring their entire family to your dental office. That means you’ll get revenue from three or four patients instead of just one. A strong digital marketing agency can help you attract entire families to your dental office.
Managed SEO services can help you target valuable keywords such as, “cosmetic dental work near me,” or “family dentists in my town.” This is one of the advantages of managed SEO services as opposed to direct mail marketing or billboards.
SEO companies can help you target a specific set of patients who can provide the maximum amount of revenue to your practice. Of course, SEO services can also help you bring in the average patient that simply needs regular cleaning services.
Cost-Effective Marketing
Marketing should be seen as an investment, not just a business expense. When you spend money on marketing efforts, you expect to be getting new patients and revenue in return.
You wouldn’t hire a new dentist for your practice if you didn’t think it would help you serve more patients and earn more income. By the same token, you shouldn’t spend money on marketing unless you can see that it will help you drive new revenue.
The great thing about SEO is that it’s easy to track how much revenue you get from your SEO efforts. A good SEO agency will show you how organic traffic from search results turns into new patients.
All it takes is the ability to track leads through your website. The agency will be able to prove to you that they’re providing you with a return on your investment.
SEO is also a much more affordable form of marketing than paid advertising. Paid advertising requires that you increase your ad spending to compete. This approach can turn into a never-ending cycle of spending more money.
Long-Term Marketing Success
SEO is an effective marketing tactic because it produces sustainable results. While ad spending requires constant spending, SEO builds on itself.
As search engines recognize your website on the front page, more people will click on your site. The more people that click on your site, the more likely it is that search engines continue to keep your site at the top of the search results page.
Important Benefits of Managed SEO Services
Unlike other forms of digital marketing, SEO can continue working long after you’ve stopped paying for services. If you build a strong SEO strategy with the help of a managed SEO professional, the process should continue driving website traffic for you for years to come.
When you’re ready to move forward with a team of managed SEO professionals, get in touch with the marketing experts at The Diamond Group.
