Most dental practices have a Google Business Profile.
Very few have one that is actually working.
There’s a meaningful difference between a listing that exists and a listing that convinces someone to call, and that difference is going to show up directly in how many new patients walk through the door every month.
Here’s the thing about dentist local SEO that does not get said enough: patients who are searching for a dentist are not browsing casually.
They have a toothache, a cracked crown, or a kid who needs a cleaning before school starts. They are ready to book right now. The dental practice that shows up well, that looks trustworthy, and that makes the next step obvious gets that patient.
Everyone else does not.
Tip 1: Treat Your Profile Like a First Impression, Because It Is
A Google Map listing is performing the same function as an in-office front desk representative. Either way, the potential client will be either reassured and confident, or they will look at another choice without hesitation.
There should be complete information listed within the profile. While this may seem like common sense, many dental practices’ Google Listings are actually quite incomplete. Some of the most common omissions include hours of operation which are now obsolete, links to their websites do not exist, and the phone number provided connects to a generic voicemail message and/or the services provided by the dentist are unclear.
The fewer pieces of information that are missing from the list; the less likely there is to be hesitation from the potential client.
Google uses the same names, addresses and phone numbers in order to determine the ranking of local businesses. If these items do not appear exactly as they do on your web site and elsewhere you appear online, well, Google sees this as an instant red flag. Both the computer and the human who’s looking up where you are located find inconsistency confusing.
Add photos to your map listing and continue to add them. Practices with photos will receive significantly more traffic and directions requested than those without. There’s nothing theoretical about this.
Photos of your office, your staff, your waiting room. and even your parking lot can help to reduce the anxiety that comes associated with visiting an unfamiliar dental facility. Many people experience high levels of stress when visiting the dentist.
By showing patients what to expect prior to arriving at your facility; you are providing a level of patient care that begins prior to the scheduled visit.
Tip 2: Get Serious About Reviews (And Responding to Them)
Reviews are the single most powerful trust signal on a Google Maps ranking for dentists. Full stop.
A new patient who is looking at two dental practices with similar proximity and hours is going to choose the one with more reviews (and better reviews at that), and a practice that clearly engages with its patients in the responses. That last part matters more than most dentists realize.
The ask has to happen consistently. Practices that wait for satisfied patients to post their own reviews typically experience very slow and unpredictable growth in reviews.
On the other hand, the top-rated dental offices have systems in place. After an appointment, when the office sends a follow up message via text or email, that message should include a one-click direct link to where the patient can easily submit a review. This method alone will generate consistent increases in reviews over time.
A thoughtful reply to all reviews (both good and bad) indicates to prospective patients that you care about your reputation. It tells them that you pay attention to your patients’ opinions. When a practice has a professional response to a negative review that does not appear to be defensive; it tells prospective patients that your team is mature enough to handle both criticism and committed to providing quality service.
When a practice fails to properly address a negative review, that negative review becomes even worse. That’s why in most cases, a quick and honest non-accusatory response from the practice acknowledging the issue and then inviting the patient to contact the office directly will result in a much better reading for prospective patients than the original complaint.
Tip 3: Use the Profile to Answer Questions Before Patients Have to Ask
Patients ask the same questions repeatedly.
Do you take my insurance? Can I park here? Are you accepting new patients? What do I do if I’m experiencing a dental emergency?
All of these questions and others like them appear in search engines frequently. A Google Business Profile that’s answering those questions will be performing local SEO work for a dentist that many of their competitors aren’t going to perform.
Write down the question and then write down the answer (this is also permitted by Google) and post the two together. The reason why this works so well for dental offices is because pre-populated Q&A with correct and helpful responses are precisely what give patients quicker access to information they seek.
Google recognizes profiles that are more fully developed and useful. Most importantly, the office controls the message as opposed to allowing anyone who stumbles into the office and types whatever they want.
Google Posts is yet another unused tool. Short statements regarding your new services, promotions for new patients, reminders about cleaning teeth before school starts, or even a reminder about new hours during holidays keeps the profile active and up to date.
Google monitors when a profile was last updated. Profiles that haven’t had any activity for eight months look abandoned and unimportant.
Tip 4: Connect the Profile Directly to How Patients Actually Book
All of the visibility in the world does not help if someone lands on the profile and cannot figure out how to make an appointment in under thirty seconds.
If you utilize an online scheduling tool, then the link should appear at the top of your Google Business Profile. If you prefer that customers contact you by telephone, then the phone number must be accurate and your staff must actually answer the phone.
For many dentists, the key to getting more patients through their front door using internet marketing boils down to the final step. Finding patients online is just one piece of the puzzle. Turning that visibility into a patient is another piece of the puzzle and your Google Business Profile is the middle man.
A profile that clearly shows users what they need to do next and provides them with little resistance to complete a task, is really doing something. In addition to showing the correlation between better Google Maps rankings for dental offices and increased revenue, a well designed profile will provide users with a clear direction of action.
As a result, more individuals viewing profiles will ultimately end up making calls or booking appointments. When both parts of the process are functioning properly the entire system compounds.
Putting It All Together Without Adding It to Your To-Do List
Here is the honest challenge most dental practices run into. The tips above are not complicated, but they require consistency.
That means reviews need to be requested regularly. Photos need to be updated. Posts need to go out. Responses need to happen promptly. For a practice focused on patient care, all of that is a real time commitment.
Townsquare Interactive works with dental practices to handle exactly this, managing listings, building review systems, and keeping the online presence active and optimized so the practice shows up well without the dentist having to become a digital marketing expert.
The patients are out there searching.
The question is whether they are finding your practice or the one on the other side of town.