Without a doubt, the health sector has seen an overwhelming demand due to the rise of the pandemic. While many businesses that rely on physical establishments have ended up with reduced output overall, the health sector has been practically flooded with work. However, not all medical practitioners have experienced a surge in demand. There have been a few deemed non-essential (outside from emergencies) that have made it extremely challenging to do their work.
Professionals such as dentists have had to spend most of 2020 unable to do the work they want to do, as it is not recommended for people to go to the dentist for non-emergencies due to the COVID-19 crisis. It created a void that had quite a few dentists rethinking their overall strategy for when things started to get back to normal, including search engine optimization (SEO).
With the new year arriving, things have been more or less returning to normal despite the fact that the pandemic is ongoing. However, it is entirely understandable for some dentists to feel overwhelmed about the competition clamoring for the attention of their customers. It would be a good idea to breathe some new life into the practice by relying on SEO consulting companies to help with various solutions. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to accomplish such a task! Here are some of the most actionable SEO strategies that work for dentists.
Informative articles within the primary website
As a dentist, it is their clinic’s job to ensure that people know about them and are given the necessary information to convince them to give the medical practitioner a try. The use of content marketing — which involves clever use of blogs and articles to get the job done — is wholly recommended, as it can help encourage people to go to the dentist. While most homeowners would likely visit the dentist anyway for dental emergencies, it is also crucial to note that getting teeth cleaned at least once or twice a year is never a bad idea.
How would the dentist convince their potential patients to visit for a regular cleaning? They can accomplish such a task through the use of informative blogs and articles. Currently, the trend involves the use of long-form content, as it has consistently outperformed shorter articles and blogs.
Geo-targeting is crucial for any physical establishment
While having plenty of articles and blogs that are unique and relevant will undoubtedly go a long way to attracting potential patients, there is also the issue of competition stealing the limelight. It can be challenging for a dentist to try to attract a target audience at a national level — mainly due to the fact that the services cannot be rendered online. Considering that the dentist depends on a physical establishment to render services, the best thing to do would be to make use of geo-targeting tactics; something that just about all dental SEO companies recommend. The use of geo-targeting means reoptimizing specific types of content to include references to the town or city in question.
For example, it might be great to have long-form content relating to dentistry and various issues with teeth, though there is always a way to mix it with current local events to help the target audience feel more comfortable with the clinic. If there is a connection with the city’s culture, most locals are more likely to give the establishment a try — especially with a dentist.
The potential of a pay-per-click advertising model (PPC)
The idea of spending money to “buy” visits to the website instead of trying to earn the clicks organically might not necessarily be the preferred method for some dentists, but it is crucial to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. In the case of the PPC advertising model, it involves the advertisers paying the publisher a small fee each time the link is clicked by an online user. It is an extremely efficient method of getting clicks, as it also results in the website appearing in paid search results.
The paid search results are different from organic search results, as the latter is often more challenging to rank higher. With paid search results through PPC, the dentist can breathe easier knowing that their primary website shows clearly. There is also the added benefit of data analytics, where the right keywords and relevant data concerning the online users that have clicked the links can help a dentist formulate a proper strategy with the top dental SEO companies.
When it comes to the primary website, simplicity and subtlety can go a long way
Last but certainly not least comes the topic of the primary website, which can often be a challenging topic for most dentists. Considering that dentists would much prefer to focus on their practice, the primary website tends to be neglected. Unfortunately, in today’s digital age, the primary website is the lifeline of any company. Without the right treatment, the primary website will only serve to push people away. The worst part is that due to the pandemic, people are more comfortable checking online before doing anything else.
To ensure that people are happy with the primary website, ensure that the general design (outside of blogs) is short and sweet. There is no reason to overcomplicate things, as most people tend to appreciate a site that gets straight to the point and doesn’t beat around the bush. Fortunately, it means that any attempt at optimizing a website can be quite easy, as it often involves lessening load times and removing anything unnecessary from the site. It also means making sure that the images are of a high-quality, but not so high that it slows everything down. It takes some time and effort to get the job done, but a focus on simplicity will undoubtedly help ensure that the website is optimized enough — not just for online users, bot for the Google algorithm as well.
Search engine optimization is about ensuring that the company’s website is ranked high enough to be visible to people who use the search engine. The above tips are more than enough to guarantee such a thing for dentists looking to regain popularity this new year.