Dental Website SEO In 2021
An analysis on trends & keywords
Finally, 2020 is on its way to a close! 2021 couldn’t come any quicker!
That means we can go back to normal right? We all know that is a far cry from the truth, but it doesn’t stop the 2021 trend reports, like the one provided in this blog.
In this blog, I will be focusing on high-volume keywords that will drive traffic to your dental website. I will also cover a key trend that will give you insight into how the patient journey has been affected by the Coronavirus. Are you ready? Let’s go!
What are keywords and why are they important?
Keyword, now officially in the Oxford & Merriam-Webster dictionaries, is described as an informative word used in an information retrieval system (Google) to indicate the content of a document. How is this relevant to your dental SEO strategy? Because your website needs to be relevant to patients when they are searching for a dental practice. You (or your dental marketing agency) needs to choose keywords that patients are researching and asking questions about and that will be used throughout your website. This way, you will generate more traffic to your website, resulting in more appointment requests and phone calls.
What keywords should my dental practice use?
Your practice must identify the keywords patients and prospects use when searching for you online. You can use Google Ads Keyword research tool (free) or you can use a paid version such as Ahrefs or SEM Rush. There are many strategies and a science behind keyword research (long-tail, low competition, high competition, etc.), but in this blog, we are going to give you a guideline.
There are three simple and important considerations when choosing keywords: local branded searches, local non-branded searches, and service-based searches.
- Local Branded Keywords
Local branded search keywords are ones that include your name and have your brand associated with it. For example, this could include the doctor’s name or the practice name in any number of variations. It will be important to optimize your website with a focus on these branded terms as a basic foundation to your SEO strategy.
- Local Non-Branded Keywords
Local non-branded keywords are subject to common phrases the community uses to find a dental practice (not necessarily any practice in particular). Maybe they are looking for a new dentist (more on these trends in the next section). When a prospect is looking for a dentist, they will type keywords into Google like “dentist near me” or “dentist in [city]” or “best dentist” or “new dentist.”
- Service-Based Keywords
Service-based keywords are exactly as it seems and are important when a prospect or patient is researching services that your practice offers. Popular service-based keywords include “dental implants,” “emergency dentist,” and “family dentistry.”
When your website is optimized with the correct keywords, your website will begin ranking for important terms that will drive relevant traffic.
In the chart below, you will see the top 20 dental keywords (as of writing this blog) that are getting the most volume (traffic) from highest to lowest in North America. You can use these as a guideline, but it is highly suggested to work with an SEO specialist to determine the keywords that are most relevant to your practice in your area.
Trends In 2021: Keyword “NEW DENTIST”
The pandemic has created many changes in business and life. Some practices were not prepared for the overwhelming changes in closures, re-openings, scheduling, PPE, etc. This has caused patients to reconsider their options for which dental practice they will use for all their dental needs.
How do we know that? We did the research! And it’s important that you know about the results.
Google Trends has a tool that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages. It uses graphs to compare the search volume of different queries over time. Knowing that patients may be looking for new dental practices as a result of the pandemic commotion, we tested the keyword “New Dentist.” You can see that there is a rise in searches since March when the pandemic started.
As we are all well aware, the pandemic has also created challenges for many businesses in all verticals. Restaurants and entertainment business have suffered terribly. Dentistry has also had their share of difficulties, however we are realizing that the dental industry is resilient.
The ADA has announced in September 2020 that, on average, practices were back to 75% of production year-over-year. But news to celebrate is that Patient NEWS clients who continued to stay focused on operations which included a sound marketing plan with Patient NEWS are back to 100% of production!
Check it out! The data below comes directly from our clients’ practice management systems, amalgamated by our business intelligence software Practice ZEBRA.
Your marketing plan has never been more important than now. Our work is cut out for us as the world works at fighting off this virus, but with a great SEO strategy and targeting the right keywords, your practice will show up when a prospect is looking for a new dentist.
To make sure you’re first in line, contact Patient NEWS today. Well provide you with a FREE Web Audit so you know exactly where you need to pick up the pace to be at the front of the pack. Together we can make a big impact and increase production and profits.
We will help you grow your practice, starting today! Call now.