SEO for Dentists

The process for dental SEO services is adaptable from just about any professional services business that we work with. Each campaign begins with a competitor analysis to understand who the other dental practices in your area are and what they are doing to achieve the best SEO results for their businesses. Using third party tools, we can gain insights into on-site, off-site, and technical factors that have been implemented to improve their organic search rankings.

Once we understand your starting point (website health, domain metrics etc.), who your competitors are, and what we need to do to bridge the gap between where you are now, and where you want to be – we can get to work.

SEO is a competition – you are competing against the most successful dental clinics in your area for the best ranking positions and highest visibility in Google. Generally speaking, the more clinics there are in your area, the greater the SEO competition will be.

There are a few reasons why some marketing companies claim to specialise in dental SEO services and not work with other industries:

1. It means that they are not competing with larger digital agencies who have a greater capacity to provide results for their clients.
2. It lulls dental clinics into a false sense of security around the level of service and expertise that they are getting. Whenever you see the word ‘specialist’ you automatically think that they are going to have more industry knowledge and know how. This can certainly be the case with some industries, but when it comes to SEO – this just isn’t the case.
3. Above all – dental clinics will usually have higher budgets than other industries which means that ‘dental SEO specialists’ can charge a higher premium than what they may be able to charge other industries.
4. They can use a cookie cutter approach to repurpose old SEO strategies that they are already applying to your competitors.

At Safari Digital, we know that ranking a dental clinic at the top of Google requires the same skillset, knowledge, and expertise as ranking a law firm, financial services provider, or physiotherapist in Google. Working with a ‘non-specialist’ also means that you won’t be sharing intellectual property with your competitors and can rest assured knowing that your competitors do not have insight into your SEO strategy.

The short answer is that SEO is an effective way to increase organic visibility and dramatically increase the number of leads that you receive through online search. According to the latest data, roughly 71% of all clicks in Google go to the top organic listings. If you are a dental practice that wants to increase the number of bookings that you receive and the quantity of dental patients that you treat, then dental search engine optimisation is an effective way to achieve this.

We follow the same SEO principles that guide each campaign that we complete with companies working in the professional services space. Dental marketing addresses the same principles as local organic digital marketing campaigns, including:

1. Fix and monitor technical SEO issues that may impact rankings
2. Create high quality content that reflects the services being offered
3. Build high-quality, relevant backlinks
4. Build trust and authority by providing valuable content

Understanding your local market and identifying the right keywords to target is an integral step to increasing search engine rankings and achieving SEO visibility.

The time frame to see results can vary from three to six months. Depending on the history of the website, the age of the domain, and previous search engine optimisation work that has been carried out, the timeframe to see results for your dental clinic may be longer or shorter. By assessing your website metrics and current position in the market, an SEO company should be able to provide an accurate assessment on timing.

The cost of SEO for dentists ranges from $2,500 per month all the way up to $10,000+ per month depending on the location, number of clinics, goals, and current website health. The cost of SEO services will be determined based on the following factors:

1. Location of your clinic – dentists competing in a large metro area such as Sydney will face more competition and require a higher level of SEO results to stand out. Dentists with multiple clinics can expect to pay a higher premium.
2. Services offered – most dentists will offer 5-20 different dental services including general check-ups, crowns, professional teeth whitening, orthodontic etc. Each service will require a separate landing page, separate content, and a unique backlink strategy. Generally speaking, the more services that you want to rank for, the more you can expect to pay.
3. Previous SEO work – your website health and previous SEO work will determine the amount of work required to help you achieve results. A website that is already ranking on page 1 or 2 of Google is much easier to work on than a new website or a website that ranks poorly.

The cost of SEO for dentists should be determined based on an individual quote that considers all of the aforementioned factors. We recommend seeking out an SEO company that considers your unique market position before quoting for work. Customised quoting shows a level of consideration has gone into understanding your business and current position.

Yes. Appearing at the top of the search results for relevant industry dental search terms is a guaranteed way to increase the number of enquiries and bookings that you secure. Like any SEO campaign, the number of bookings that you secure for your dental clinic will ultimately be determined by your unique value proposition (USP), pricing strategy, and business reputation.

For instance, a dental clinic that offers competitive pricing, a broad range of dental services, and has a high number of online reviews (social proof) that positively endorse their services will invariably outperform a business that does not have these links.

The latest click through rates by ranking position is as follows:

• Ranking 1 – 31.73%
• Ranking 2 – 24.71%
• Ranking 3 – 18.66%
• Ranking 4 – 13.60%
• Ranking 5 – 9.51%
• Ranking 6 – 6.23%
• Ranking 7 – 4.15%
• Ranking 8 – 3.12%
• Ranking 9 – 2.97%
• Ranking 10 – 3.09%
• Page 2 Onwards – 0.78% Combined