Dental SEO Mistakes You Should Avoid (And How to Fix Them)

Getting your dental practice to show up in Google searches isn’t as simple as just having a website.

There are some common mistakes many dental practices make when it comes to SEO that can hold them back from reaching more patients online.

In this article, we’ll cover the biggest dental SEO mistakes, how to avoid them, and how ACED Digital can help get your practice seen by the right people.

1. Copying Content from Other Websites

• The Problem: Many dental practices unknowingly use duplicate content—often because of cheap content services. This hurts their chances of ranking since Google won’t show the same content twice.

• The Fix: Make sure all the content on your website is unique and tailored to your practice. It should answer common patient questions and focus on topics relevant to your services. It's especially important to match searcher's intent.

• How ACED Digital Helps: Our team writes original content that reflects what makes your practice special while helping you rank for the right keywords.

2. Using Outdated Website Platforms

• The Problem: Some dental practices are stuck with old or proprietary website systems that make it hard to make necessary updates for SEO.

• The Fix: Switch to a more flexible and modern platform like WordPress, which makes it easier to update content and optimize for SEO.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We assist with moving your site to a better platform and make sure everything runs smoothly for both patients and search engines.

3. Not Targeting Local SEO

• The Problem: Many practices forget to optimize for local search by leaving out their city or neighborhood in key places like meta descriptions and titles. This can result in missed opportunities when people are searching for a dentist near them.

• The Fix: Add your city and other local keywords throughout your website, especially in important places like titles, descriptions, and headers.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We specialize in local SEO, making sure your practice gets found by people in your community who are looking for a dentist and your services.

4. Ignoring Your Google Business Profile

• The Problem: Not having a fully optimized Google Business Profile for dentists means you’re missing out on a big chunk of local traffic. Some practices don’t even update their profiles with accurate information.

• The Fix: Take the time to fill out every section of your Google Business Profile, including business hours, services, and categories. Make sure everything is correct and up to date.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We can manage your Google Business Profile for you, ensuring it’s always optimized and helping you stand out in local searches.

5. Missing Internal Links

• The Problem: Many dental websites don’t link their pages together, which makes it harder for Google to crawl the site and for patients to find important info.

• The Fix: Link relevant pages together, like connecting your blog posts to your services or your homepage to your booking page. This helps both users and search engines.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We audit your website and set up an internal linking strategy that makes it easy to navigate for both users and search engines.

6. Slow Website and Poor Mobile Experience

• The Problem: If your website is slow or not mobile-friendly, visitors will leave before they even get a chance to see what you offer. Google also favors faster, mobile-optimized sites in search results.

• The Fix: Speed up your site by optimizing images and making sure it’s easy to use on mobile.

• How ACED Digital Helps: Our technical SEO experts work to improve your website’s speed and make sure it’s mobile-friendly, keeping visitors on your site longer.

7. Inconsistent Information Across Listings

• The Problem: Having different addresses or phone numbers listed across online directories can confuse potential patients and hurt your local SEO.

• The Fix: Make sure your practice's info is consistent across all directories like Google, Yelp, and local dental directories.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We handle citation management for you, ensuring your business information is consistent and helping boost your local rankings.

8. Forgetting to Build Backlinks

• The Problem: Many practices miss out on building quality backlinks, which are important for showing Google that your site is trustworthy.

• The Fix: Focus on getting high-quality links from reputable websites, such as guest posts or local partnerships.

• How ACED Digital Helps: We help you build a network of trusted backlinks that boost your practice’s authority online.

Conclusion: Dental SEO Mistakes You Should Avoid

There are plenty of dental SEO mistakes that could be holding your practice back from getting found online, but the good news is that they’re fixable.

By working with ACED Digital, you can avoid these common pitfalls, get your website in front of more patients, and grow your practice’s online presence.

Ready to get found by new patients on the internet?

Contact us to see how we can help!

FAQs

What are some common SEO mistakes to avoid?
Common SEO mistakes include using duplicate content, not optimizing for local searches, neglecting mobile-friendliness, failing to manage your Google Business Profile, and not building internal or external links. Many dental practices also overlook technical aspects like slow site speed and outdated content management systems, both of which hurt SEO performance.

How much does dental SEO cost?
The cost of dental SEO varies based on the services provided, but typically ranges from $1000 to $5,000 per month. Factors that influence pricing include the scope of work, the competitiveness of your local market, the skill of the SEO specialists, and whether you need ongoing management, content creation, or website upgrades.

How can ACED Digital help with dental SEO?
ACED Digital offers tailored dental SEO services, helping with everything from content creation and local SEO optimization to technical fixes like speeding up your website. We also manage your Google Business Profile and ensure your site ranks higher in local searches, attracting more patients to your practice.

Why is local SEO important for dentists?
Local SEO is crucial for dentists because most patients search for dental services in their immediate area. Optimizing for local keywords ensures your practice appears in local search results and on Google Maps, increasing the likelihood of new patients finding you.

What is unethical SEO?
Unethical SEO, often called "black hat SEO," refers to tactics like keyword stuffing, buying backlinks, or cloaking (showing different content to users and search engines). These practices might offer short-term gains but often lead to penalties from search engines, which can severely damage your online visibility.

Why is SEO so difficult?
SEO is challenging because it involves many moving parts, including content creation, technical optimizations, user experience improvements, and keeping up with search engine algorithm changes. Consistently applying best practices and staying informed about industry updates requires ongoing effort.

What is SEO for dentists?
SEO for dentists is the process of optimizing a dental practice's website so it ranks higher on search engines like Google. This includes optimizing for local keywords, improving mobile usability, managing online directories, creating unique content, and securing high-quality backlinks. It's designed to help dental practices attract more patients online.