Dentaltown November 2017 - 76

Get your contact info
ducks in a row

Anticipate the
needs of your
audience and
you'll deepen
your relationship
with your existing
clients by
providing valuable
information, and
prove to potential
new patients
that your dental
practice is staffed
by quality experts
in dentistry.

Crossing your T's and dotting your
I's consistently can score major points in
the ranking game. Has it been a few years
since you conducted an online audit of your
business information? Better check in with
the biggest online directories to make sure
all your listings are correct. A quick sweep
of Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, the BBB and
Facebook (plus any other social outlets you
may have) will cover most of the places your
audience will find you.
Remember, Google doesn't act alone; it
relies on other online directories to gather
your business information. If, for example,
you have an old phone number on your
Facebook page that doesn't match what
you've got on your other business pages,
you'll be flagged and likely drop below your
competitors in search rankings. A little due
diligence goes a long way, especially if you
have multiple practice locations.
Consistency also matters now more
than ever thanks to the "internet of things"
revolution. Voice search technologies such
as Google Home or Amazon's Echo allow
users to find you faster than ever before-as
long as you're among the first results these
devices find to relay to their users. One-fifth
of all Google searches were made this way
last year,1 and in moments of urgency
(say, a child's tooth getting knocked out in
a basketball game) you want to make sure
you're found first.

Give searchers what
they're looking for
While keywords are no longer the primary SEO factor influencing where your
business ranks in a search, content continues
to be crucial to your website's success. And
the creation of that content is not a "set
it and forget it" proposition-it requires
constant attention to shape it around the
needs of clients.
When users land on your site, they should
be able to find exactly what they're looking
for, right away. Chances are they're not typing
the exact name of your dental practice into
their search bar; they're likely searching for

NOVEMBER 2017 // dentaltown.com

answers to things like symptoms they're
experiencing, a procedure they're considering,
or product recommendations such as a
toothpaste brand or electric toothbrush.
If your site holds the answers to these
organic search questions, you're more likely
to be found in relevant searches. Use your
Google insights to see search trends and learn
what type of content is earning the most
traffic-then, design a content strategy around
those key topics. Anticipate the needs of your
audience and you'll deepen your relationship
with your existing clients by providing valuable
information, and prove to potential new
patients that your dental practice is staffed
by quality experts in dentistry.
Having a user-friendly, mobile-ready
website is also a key factor in helping your
website dominate the search results page.
Visitors should be able to find pertinent
information such as location and phone
numbers without having to click through
multiple pages. Part of your digital audit
should include an independent assessment by
an outside reviewer to make sure the navigation
is logical and everything (links, articles, maps,
etc.) is in working technical order.

Plant the seeds of change now-
then wait for your SEO to bloom
SEO algorithms are ever-changing
and often secretive. While you may not
always know exactly what the engines are
prioritizing, you can be sure that plugging
content with irrelevant terms or slacking
on consistencies between online media
directories will only serve to give competitors
the advantage.
Remember that changes you make may
not show their effects for several months
or more.4 The rewards of smart SEO take
consistent, ongoing effort. Remain patient
and trust that you're doing the work that
will get you noticed by the right customers
when they need you most. ■
References
1.
https://www.godigitalmarketing.com/learn/blog/brand-building-the-seo-shift-has-anything-really-changed
2.
http://searchengineland.com/new-model-seo-ranking-269419
3.
http://searchengineland.com google-reveals-20-percent-queries-voice-queries-249917
4.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshsteimle/2015/02/07/howlong-does-seo-take-to-start-working/#cc2858e464c8

https://www.godigitalmarketing.com/learn/blog/brand-build http://www.searchengineland.com/new-model-seo-ranking-269419 http://www.searchengineland.com https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshsteimle/2015/02/07/how http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown November 2017