What Is SEO?

A lot of dentists are a little fuzzy on the meaning of SEO, and why they need it. In a nutshell, SEO (short for Search Engine Optimization) is the generic term for all the tactics you can implement to improve the visibility of your dental practice website online, and to make sure its content appears in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

These tactics range from technical improvements you can implement in the underlying structure your website (these methods are often referred to as on-page SEO), to all the external steps you can take to promote your website (known as off-page SEO) with the goal of raising your website’s visibility (such as social media marketing, link building, etc.).

When you come across the term visibility on our site we are referring to how close to the top of the SERPs your site appears for relevant search phrases in the organic results. And when we say organic results we mean the web pages that that appear naturally in the search engine results, rather than in the paid advertising sections.

One area of confusion is the difference between SEO and SEM (Search Engine Marketing). SEM refers to the practice of driving traffic to your website using PPC (pay per click) ads. While SEM is a valid way to bring relevant visitors to a dentist’s website – especially if you need new traffic immediately – it is also more expensive in the long run. Often the best solution for Internet dental marketing is a combination of both SEO and SEM.

Why Do You Need SEO?

The key to helping search engines index the content of your website is to build a logically structured site architecture, and then provide a clear navigation path. This does not only help the search engines navigate your website, but more importantly it will give potential patients visiting your site a good experience, and encourage them to consume more of your content. Google says they are paying more attention to to user experience in their ranking algorithm, improving your structure is a win-win proposition.

One of the strongest reasons for implementing dental seo is the volume of all site traffic that comes from the various search engines. One study done in 2014 found that 64% of all Internet website traffic comes from organic search results. As a comparison, only 2% came from social media sources, 6% from paid search advertising. With the lion’s share of website visitors clicking sites that show up in the organic SERP’s, it is critical for SEO to be a key part of your dental marketing strategy.

If you are ready to look into search engine optimization for your practice, contact DDSRank for a free site audit today!