Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the major buzzwords in online marketing at the moment, and chances are you’ve heard it used, even if you don’t quite know what it means. Put simply, SEO is a series of processes or steps that you take in order to optimise your website’s performance in natural searches online. This may include the use of specific key words in your web content, using social media to boost your page views, and ensuring your content is as relevant and up-to-date as possible. All of these factors and more besides influence the perceived quality of your website, so that when someone searches for a dentist in your area, your practice website will rank higher than websites that aren’t rated so highly by search engines such as Google and Bing.
Times are changing
Before investigating the ways you can improve the SEO of your website, it is worth pausing for a moment to consider exactly how search engines work. It is often easiest to think of a search engine as a program that scours every website on the web and rates it according to a check list of criteria (this is also known as a search algorithm). When a search engine visits your site it will look at your website, it will note how long it takes to load, the quality of the content, how many people have visited your site, and how long on average they spend reading it.
While in the past, some sneaky web designers could manipulate search engine results by using ‘short cut’ techniques such as keyword stuffing and hidden text, today’s search algorithms are closely guarded secrets and are updated on a regular basis to ensure such practises are no longer effective.
Secrets to success
Though the precise details of Google’s search criteria are a valuable trade secret, we do still have a good idea of the things Google and other search engines are looking for when they scour the web. Of the many different criteria we have uncovered by far and away the most important factor is quality. If your practice website is lacking in quality, both in terms of design, and in terms of content, it will rank lower than other websites. This is because quality ties in very closely with something known as ‘bounce rate’ – the percentage of visitors who ‘bounce’ (leave) your site rather than continuing to view other pages within your site. If your website is unappealing and the content is poor, then very often users will know within a few seconds and will instead click away without reading on. The more people do this, the lower your website will rank.
Relevance is also another important criterion. Ask yourself this: is your content relevant to what you do? Does it fully reflect your practice? Does it address the array of questions visitors to your site might have? Again, the better the quality of your written content and its relevance to the reader, the more likely it will rank higher up the Google ladder. You should also consider relevance in terms just how ‘current’ and up to date your website material is. Do you for example still advertise 2011 prices? When was the last time you updated your content? With all things online, content is absolutely key to everything you do with your website as ultimately, this is the reason people visit your website in the first place.
Blogging
So as we’ve established Google likes high quality, relevant content, but it also likes content that is regular. One of the best steps you can take to boost your dental practice rating is to set up a practice blog. Ideally you should be updating this blog every week, using it as a platform to engage your patients in oral health issues and share practice updates and news. You could also then perhaps incorporate patient testimonials, or ‘before and after’ case photos to show the treatments you can provide – anything to draw patients in and encourage them to contact you to find out more.
Support
Good SEO for dental websites is not easy, and it is by no means a simple task to optimise your site to attract the right sorts of patients to your practice. To make the most out of your online dental marketing efforts, employ the services of an experienced company. Not only will an expert team of online dental marketers be able to help and assist you in boosting your ranking in natural (organic) searches, but you will also notice a marked increase in business turnover as a result.
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