Dental SEO is the work that helps a practice’s website show up when people in its area search Google for a dentist or a treatment. It covers the site’s pages, how quickly and cleanly the site loads, the practice’s Google Business Profile, and mentions on other real websites. Done well, it builds pages you keep for as long as the site runs.
Marketing for Dental is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
What dental SEO work actually covers
A dental SEO company is not selling one trick. It is selling a list of jobs, done in an order that suits your site. A useful proposal names the jobs your site needs first and explains why. Most of them fall into four groups.
| Group | What it means for a practice |
|---|---|
| Technical | Google can reach and read every page: the site loads quickly on a phone, nothing is broken, there are no copies of the same page under different addresses, and a site map lists what matters |
| Content | One clear page for each treatment you offer, each new patient question you hear, and each office you run, written for people first |
| Local | The Google Business Profile for the practice and for each public-facing dentist, with the same name, address and phone everywhere |
| Mentions and links | References from real local and professional sources, earned rather than bought |
Each group feeds the others. A page about implants that loads slowly on a phone loses readers before they reach the booking form. A profile on Maps that points to a thin website gives searchers little reason to choose you. Seo for dentists works when all four groups move together.
Pages for the treatments you want more of
Most practice websites have one services page that lists everything in a line each. Search does not work that way. A person looking for clear aligners, a crown, a full-arch restoration or a child’s first visit types a different search for each, and a page that answers that one search in plain words has a far better chance of being shown for it. Dental seo services usually start here: one page per treatment you want to grow, written so a nervous patient understands what happens and how to book.
Those pages must stay truthful. The ADA Code of Professional Conduct, which binds ADA members, says no dentist shall advertise or solicit patients in a manner that is false or misleading in any material respect. A treatment page describes the treatment and the visit. It does not promise how a smile will look afterward, and it does not call the practice superior to others unless that can be backed up.
What Google says about SEO, in its own words
Before you read any proposal, know what Google itself publishes. It says it costs no money to appear in Google Search results, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. It says it does not accept payment to crawl a site more often or to rank it higher. And it says no one can promise a top ranking on Google.
Google also warns owners to beware of SEOs that claim a special relationship with Google or advertise a priority submit. If a pitch for dentist SEO opens with either of those, you can stop reading. Its SEO Starter Guide puts it simply: there are no secrets that will automatically put your site first.
Meeting the rules is not the same as a ranking
Google says that even when a page meets all of its requirements, that does not mean Google will crawl, index or show it. Good SEO raises your chances. It cannot fix a position, and any proposal that says otherwise is telling you something Google says no one can promise.
Google is just as clear about what not to do. Its spam policies name buying or selling links for ranking purposes, keyword stuffing, doorway pages that target many cities only to funnel visitors to one page, and pages turned out in bulk to manipulate rankings no matter how they are created. For a dental group with several offices, that last point matters: each office page needs its own real content, its own dentists and its own directions, not the same text with a new town name.
Want a dental SEO plan built around the treatments you want to grow?
The ADA rule on SEO, and why it is good news
Some dentists worry that paying for SEO sits badly with their profession’s ethics. The ADA Code addresses it directly. It says dentists may use services to increase the visibility of their websites, a technique generally known as search engine optimization or SEO. It adds that the website must be truthful and that any SEO techniques used should fit the ADA Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.
In practice, that lines up neatly with what Google rewards. Google says its ranking systems are designed to favor helpful, reliable information created to benefit people, and not content created to manipulate rankings. Honest treatment pages, real photos of your own office, clear answers to the questions patients ask and accurate details about who practices there serve both the ADA rule and Google’s guidance.
One more rule shapes the words on the page. The ADA Code lets a dentist announce a specialty only in the recognized specialties, such as orthodontics, endodontics, periodontics, pediatric dentistry or prosthodontics, and only where the dentist meets the educational requirements. A seo dental page written for a general practice should describe the treatments offered without claiming a specialty title the dentist does not hold. State dental boards set their own advertising rules as well, so the practice has the final say on wording.
Where patient privacy comes in
Most SEO work never touches patient information. Some of it can. Under HIPAA, using patient information for marketing generally needs the patient’s written authorization. A before-and-after photo, a story about a patient’s treatment, or a list of patients used for a campaign all raise that question, and so do tracking tools on pages where patients book or ask about care.
An agency should never be the one deciding these points. Tracking tools on a dental website raise HIPAA questions, and the practice decides with its compliance advisor what runs. A careful proposal says which pages carry forms or tracking and leaves room for that review. Our guide to HIPAA and dental marketing sets out the rule’s own definitions.
How dental SEO fits with your other marketing
SEO is slow to build and lasts. Ads are quick to start and stop when the budget stops. Most practices end up running some of each, and a plan should say how they share the work. Google Ads for dentists can fill gaps while new pages grow, and the search terms that bring bookings through ads tell the SEO side which pages to write next.
The Maps side of search is its own discipline. Google ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and popularity, and a complete profile with genuine reviews is part of that. The page on local SEO for dentists covers practitioner profiles and the office listing in detail. And every page an SEO plan adds sits on your website, so the build of the site matters too: see dental website design for what a fast, clear practice site holds.
How to judge a dental SEO company
Google publishes its own list of questions to ask anyone you might hire for SEO. They work well for a dental SEO agency too, and a good one will be glad to answer them in writing.
- Can you show me examples of your previous work?
- Do you follow the Google Search Essentials?
- What kind of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?
- How do you measure your success?
- What’s your experience in my industry?
- Will you share with me all the changes you make to my site?
Add a few questions of your own that come from dentistry. Will the pages describe treatments without promising outcomes? Who checks the wording against the ADA Code and your state board’s rules before it goes live? Will any tracking tool on the site be listed for your compliance advisor? Will the domain, the website, the Google Business Profile and the analytics stay in the practice’s name, with the agency added as a user?
Red flags in a dental SEO pitch
- A promised position on Google, or a promise of a set number of new patients.
- A claimed special relationship with Google, or a priority submit.
- Links for sale, or link packages that never say where the links come from.
- Dozens of near-identical town pages for an office that serves one area.
- A fee per new patient. The ADA Code generally does not let a dentist pay another person or entity for the referral of a patient, so marketing should be bought as marketing, not by the head.
- Review schemes that offer patients something in return for a review, or that ask only happy patients.
Tell us about your practice and get a written dental SEO proposal.
What a dental SEO proposal should spell out
A proposal is worth reading when it is specific to your practice. Expect it to name the treatments it would write pages for, the technical problems it found on your site, the state of your profile on Maps, and what you will see each month. Expect it to say plainly who owns what. Expect it to leave out any claim about rankings or patient numbers, because Google says no one can promise a top ranking, and a careful dental SEO company will not pretend otherwise.
If you would rather buy a set monthly SEO plan than wait for a custom one, the agency’s two plans are on the dental SEO pricing page. Either way, asking for a proposal is free and you never have to hire anyone.
Questions practices ask
What is dental SEO?
It is the work of making a dental practice’s website and Google Business Profile clear and useful, so Google can show them when people nearby search for a dentist or a treatment.
Can a dental SEO company put my practice at the top of Google?
No one can promise that. Google says no one can promise a top ranking and that it does not accept payment to rank a site higher. An agency can improve your pages and profile and follow Google’s rules.
Is SEO allowed under the ADA Code?
Yes. The ADA Code says dentists may use services to increase the visibility of their websites, known as SEO, as long as the site is truthful and the techniques fit the Code.
Do I need a separate page for each treatment?
For the treatments you most want to grow, usually yes. People search for each treatment separately, and a clear page that answers one search has a better chance of being shown for it.
Does dental SEO involve patient information?
Usually not, but photos, patient stories and tracking tools can. Using patient information for marketing generally needs the patient’s written authorization under HIPAA, so plan those parts with your compliance advisor.
Should I pay an agency per new patient?
No. The ADA Code generally does not let a dentist pay another person or entity for the referral of a patient. Buy SEO as marketing work with a clear scope.
Who owns the website and profile if I change agencies?
You should. Ask that the domain, the site, the Google Business Profile and the analytics are in the practice’s name from the start, with the agency added as a user.