SEO For Dentists: More Website Traffic From Keywords

Having the right keywords is the foundation to any good search engine optimization effort. While it is just as necessary to have excellent content as it is to have quality keywords, you cannot move on to the quality content part until you have chosen the right keywords to target in the first place. So, what constitutes a good keyword?

You want search phrases (aka keywords) that will bring visitors to your site. Essentially, high search numbers with low competition ratio make the best keywords. If you are going to use content marketing to drive traffic to your dental website, you have to start with researching the right keywords. With this vital step, you’ll draw far more relevant traffic to your website.  This is the core goal of SEO for dentists.

Getting Started: Keyword Research

Keyword research will not only show you which keywords are most likely to bring people to your webpage, it will also show you which keywords are most likely to convert page visitors into new patients for your practice. Learning to categorize keywords by how well they convert users will help you write targeted content that doesn’t just fill space on the page.

Start by writing down a list of generic search terms—words or phrases that directly relate to dentistry. These will be your baseline keywords and will be a great place to build off of. You are going to use keyword research tools, either through your favorite online media manager, or through a target service, to expand your list. Then, you will narrow your list by competition.

In order to create your seed list, first think about your ideal patient. Is she a busy mother? A young professional? Children? Who your audience is will seriously affect what search terms you are going to use. Next, take a look at your website using Google Webmaster Tools, to see what keywords your website already uses (even if they are only used unintentionally).

Don’t have Google Webmaster Toosl set up? Contact us and we can help you wth that.

Websites like Soovie can provide you with some suggestions of other keywords to include, and it’s fairly easy to use. All you have to do is type in a keyword and it provides you with the “autocompletes” for that keyword. Utilize this a few times to make sure that you have a comprehensive list of keywords, and then use SpyFu and/or SEM Rush to see what keywords your competitors are using. Don’t spend too much time here or on Soovie, but do spend a little time.

If you are willling to pay a few dollars for the best tool on the market, we use and recommend Long Tail Pro.

Tips For Finding the Best Dental Keywords

Finding the best dental keyword terms for your dental office website should not be difficult and the research itself should not take you months or even days. We have a few tips to help rein in your research and make sure that you are getting the best possible terms, not just a list of some keywords that you can use.

Tip #1

Opt for branded terms. Don’t go generic. When people are looking for a dentist, they are looking for one in their area that has the services that they need. That means that search terms like “emergency root canal in Philadelphia” should not be passed up (if your office is based in Philadelphia).

These terms are specific to your brand and the users that are searching for them are looking for a dentist right now. If your website is near the top of relevant results, you are far more likely to nab them as a patient.

Tip #2

Organize your list. Start with the keywords that are most likely to convert a page view into a patient. Words like “emergency” and “new dentist” usually indicate that someone is looking for a dentist immediately. Carefully examine the keywords you’ve compiled and researched and sort them by topic, and then by conversion likelihood.

Tip #3

Using the Google AdWords research tools, find how many people have searched for those exact terms. There is nothing worse than using a keyword, one that you believed would draw in patients, and finding out that after you’ve already designed content around it, no one is searching for that term. You can use AdWords’ tools to find out if anyone is even looking for your terms, before you implement them.

Tip #4

Start with the keywords that seem most interesting to you. You are a consumer, just as much as a provider of services. The best (read: most useful) content will stem out of something you are truly interested in. Most people believe that they can write any content and stick the keywords in and it will draw site visitors. While this may be true (you may be able to get people to click on your link), you will not convert them into patients, which should always be the ultimate goal.

If you are willling to pay a few dollars for the best tool on the market, we use and recommend Long Tail Pro.

Why Bother with Keyword Research?

It seems much easier just to create a list of keywords (the keywords that you would use if you were searching for something dentistry related), and build content around those topics. And while this may work in a town where your office is the only one and the only point of having a webpage is so that online users can find you, keyword research is vitally important to dentists who have any kind of competition. You want to find the keywords that will not just get you at the top of the list, but will bring more focused users to your webpage.

Gone are the days where keywords cast a wide net, pulling in visitors from all over the internet. As a dentist’s office, you do not want just anyone and everyone…. You want visitors in your area who need your services. Keyword research helps you tailor the content of your webpage to that end.

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