5 Reasons Dentists and Doctors Should Practice SEO

Most business owners understand they need a presence on the Internet to bring in new customers. They keep up on marketing trends and use tips to ensure their audiences are engaging with them. Eventually, this engagement leads to warm referrals and final sales.

However, many dentists lag behind other business owners regarding search engine optimization. They don’t understand the need for “dental” SEO. Here are some reasons why adding SEO to your practice is important.

1. New Patients — The first reason is the most important reason. When you practice dental SEO, you will get more customers. When people need a service, they begin by searching the Internet. Most people don’t use phone books or directories any more. They ask their friends and they search. If you aren’t showing up in searches, you are losing customers and patients. SEO helps patients find you and pick you over the other dentists in your neighborhood.
2. Information — People look to their dentists for information about health-related topics. For your patients to trust you with their dental needs, they have to know that you understand what they need. When you provide tips for teeth cleaning or ways to cure dental pain naturally, your patients will appreciate it. These tips also help you rank higher in search engines and allow you to be seen by more potential patients. Providing this information is crucial to your SEO management plan and to your ultimate goal of new people in your building.
3. Distinction — Because so many dentists are available, you have to show why you are different. You have to distinguish yourself from your competitors. While all dentists offer teeth-cleaning and restoration, you could distinguish yourself through your SEO content. For example, if you have a passion for helping cancer patients, you could write content about your efforts to provide dental care to cancer patients. The SEO would link you, dental care and cancer. You will become the dentist for cancer patients. This will increase your revenues too. Even if you treat others, you market yourself as the dentist for cancer patients to show that you are different from the crowd.
4. Procedures — Some dental procedures are difficult to explain in a half-hour exam. Therefore, you will help your SEO by creating short videos that explain procedures. Your patients can watch them at their leisure and digest the information. Videos rank high in SEO, which would put your practice at the top of the list. You can use whiteboard explanations or animated videos. You might even be creative enough to make interactive videos that draw people to your website. These options show you in a new light, increase traffic to your website and bring customers into the door.
5. Trends — As dentists, you understand how important it is to keep up with changes in dental technology and equipment. You constantly have to have the newest material and procedure to attract new people. You also have to keep up with the latest trends in marketing. That includes SEO. If you fail to stay current with marketing, you will fail to bring in the new patients who will go to the ones they know who uses SEO.

Author: Usman Raza is freelance writer, marketing specialist at SnoringAids and co-founder of Christian Marketing Experts. When not working, he’s probably spending time with his family. Follow him on Facebook @usmanraza40 and Twitter @usmanintrotech