Part One of our SEO Information Series
Excerpt: In this series, we break down the latest findings from SEO experts and distill that knowledge to you, especially how it relates to the dental online marketing space. Our team of experts stays abreast with the ongoing updates and changes that search engines are constantly making. In addition to measuring with our own internal metrics, we have found that the reported trends are in line with our findings. Being an SEO-first focused company, we are proud to have products that inherently are in line with SEO principles and best practices.
SEO is Crucial to Managing a Dental Practice
As the owner or manager of a dental practice, search engines play a crucial role in driving new patients to your practice. From patients using Google Maps to find local dental offices to general queries for terms like “Dentist Near Me,” you want your practice to be the first result over your competition. Developing a website that is well-structured and easy to navigate is only the first piece of the puzzle for ranking well in Search Engines, the rest will come from the often-misunderstood service of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization.
SEO State-of-the-Union
Over the next several weeks, DIGI Search will be going in-depth on SEO to help you make the best decision for your practice. This post will focus on the “State of the Union” for SEO and is based on work from the website Search Engine Journal and their yearly polls of SEO experts. This report shows the key elements of SEO, and where the experts think SEO will go over the next year. Keep an eye on our site for more SEO articles covering individual SEO tasks and the effect they will have on your rankings.
Search Engine Optimization involves several tasks both on the website and off the website to make your site a better option to show in search results. By optimizing your information to make it consistent and easy for Google and other search engines to locate and read, you improve your chances of a first-page search result. Google and other search engines constantly upgrade their algorithms putting a priority on specific information, so it is important that your SEO team keep up with current trends for the best overall site performance.
One of the key factors this state of the union found is that SEO in 2021 is showing more success than in previous years. Websites with an SEO program running are the top driver of new business for practices, resulting in 45% of new business, compared to paid ads which are showing around 25%. This means that a structured SEO plan can deliver greater organic results, and paid search can be used to target highly profitable but smaller demographics.
Another area of focus in the report are the most important aspects of SEO, which include the on-page optimization of the website (H1s, Meta Titles, and Meta Descriptions), the website’s content (including pages on individual services offered), and Structured Data. At DIGI Search, these three elements make up the core of our website SEO, giving your practice the edge over your competition.
Looking to the future of SEO, the report mentions structured data as an element that will become more and more important, as well as the core web vitals (speed and organization) of the site. Google especially will put more of an emphasis on these elements, so if your website is struggling with these, it makes sense to correct the issues now.
Get started with a Dental Website that is built for SEO
If your website isn’t helping to bring in new patients, it may be time for a revamp with DIGI Search. Our team can build you a modern, mobile-responsive website as well as create an ongoing SEO program to help you dominate the rankings in your area. Contact us today for more information and check back soon for even more information about Dental Search Engine Optimization.