By now just about every dentist has come to realize that having a website is practically as important has having a telephone. And I've seen some pretty spectacular, professionally written and designed dental practice websites.

The question now is: How many prospective patients get to see it?

Most people doing an Internet search for a dentist will go to Google and enter something like “Scottsdale dentist” to see who comes up in their area. Or they will go to Google maps, find their house and search for dentists nearby.

If Google doesn't know about you, you're not showing up on those maps, even if you're just a block away.

To be near the top on the list of search results, and to ensure you pop up on those maps, requires some knowledge of search engine optimization strategies, particularly if you're in a large area with a lot of dentists.

If this isn't your kind of thing, hire someone to do it – there are plenty of people out there who can evaluate your website, show you how to track the keywords people are using to find you, and suggest ways to improve your chances of getting favorable Google exposure.

This is one of those areas where a small investment of time and money can bring a geometric return; because if you can master the Google game, you make it easy for the world to find you.



Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Sean Mooring
June 14th, 2012
Getting patients to leave a review on Google is just as important. People will flock to the good reviews. We just finished a contest where we entered everyone who left a new Google review was entered to win an iPad. It generated over 30 new reviews.