A fundamental part of your success as a dental practice is showing up on Google when a patient searches for a new dentist. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) provides the visibility you need–and one way to start is by developing a monthly blog for your practice. 

In fact, here at Whiteboard Marketing, our clients who integrate both our dental blog and SEO services see an average of 25% more website traffic. Here’s why your dental practice needs a blog, and how to get started with a posting strategy.

How Blogs Help Your Dental Practice Search Engine Optimization

A blog displays your “expert” knowledge and authority to both your patients and search engines, which is invaluable for showing up on Google. Websites with a dedicated blog see a 434% increased amount of indexed pages on search engines such as Google. This is good for your website because it provides more content for search engines to crawl and therefore understand the dental services you offer and the authority you have on the topic(s).

Internal linking is a ranking factor for Google and having a blog supports your service pages, providing them with more authority and searchability as well! 

How Google Sees Your Blog

A page is indexed when Google has “crawled” the page and analyzed the content on it. If a page is crawled by Googlebot and stored in Google’s index, it can be shown as a result of relevant searches.

If your blog posts are crawled, indexed and viewed as valuable to Google, they will help with the organic real estate you earn when a patient makes a search query. This means you’ll increase your chances of showing up more often on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) because Google can display your blog in search results if the topic is relevant to a patient’s search query. Blogs should be optimized just like your website to increase visibility.

Google also prioritizes showing sites that are frequently updated. Each time you post a new blog on your website, Google sees it as “fresh, unique” content.

How Patients See Your Blog

Blogs provide patients with a place to get crucial information about everything from the dental procedures you offer to the benefits of developing healthy oral habits. This helps your overall practice, as it positions you as a credible, trustworthy, expert industry leader. 

Sometimes, new patients like to read about a potential issue before the visit.  Blogs provide an additional resource for educating your patients.  

How Blogs Help Your Bottom Line

Just like how your website is one of your most valuable dental sales tools because of its ability to convert patients, blogs can be a sales tool for your practice, too. Blogs have the ability to increase conversion rates and generate more leads for your business.

Tips for Your Dental Practice Blog Strategy

Set your dental practice blogs up for success with these tips.

Add Your Blog Directly to Your Practice Website

Make your blog easy for patients to access on your website, so both new and returning visitors can read your content. One way to do this is to add it to your navigation menu. 

Write an Appropriate Length, Timely Blog

Our posting standard is each blog should fall within 800 to 1,000 words. However, the length of a blog post is determined by the topic being written. There are times when the topic calls for long, detail-oriented content that includes charts and infographics. Other content is intended to be short, sweet and to the point.  

The best question to ask yourself while writing is, “Does my blog meet the need of the searcher’s query?” Are they looking to learn how a dental implant is placed into the mouth step by step or are they looking to know simply what a dental implant is and how it can help them? 

You also need to blog frequently and consistently and aim for two blog posts per month. This goes back to what we mentioned above about keeping your website and its content fresh. A newer trend amongst bloggers is revamping old blog posts.  Sometimes old information just needs a little update on industry standards.  

How to Develop Your Practice Blog

Like any marketing strategy, blogs require a consistent investment of time and resources if you want to see a worthwhile return. You must have a manageable, sustainable plan of how you’ll get your blog up and running and updated on a regular basis.

Of course, dentists can do this themselves, but it is the best strategy to include all services such as keyword research to choose the best topics. Our SEO service provides this for your business.

Identify Your Blog Topics

A common response we hear when speaking with dentists about starting a blog is “What will I write about?” The thought of trying to brainstorm and write 24 different topics for a year’s worth of blogs may sound overwhelming. It’s really as simple as evaluating your frequently asked questions or using your keyword research to guide you as the topics are chosen.

Ask your staff what the most common questions are that patients ask them. Consider the most common questions you receive from referring dentists, too. After you have all your responses, compile them into a list and create your blog topics from here. You can write your blogs as the answer to these FAQs–which patients are Googling along with asking your team.

Plan Where Your Content Will Come From

Remember, a steady posting schedule requires a steady flow of content. 

• Write Blogs Yourself

If you have enough time, you can create your own blogs each month. The key factor here is making sure you have enough space in your schedule between seeing patients and managing your practice.

• Ask a Team Member to Write Blogs

Is there a member on your team who’s interested in writing and blogging? Have them serve as your designated writer each month.

• Invite Guest Bloggers, Like Referring Dentists or Vendors

Invite those you work closely with to write for your blog, especially if it is a topic where they are an expert. Don’t forget, you can do this for them too. This invites the opportunity to generate inbound links, which is another ranking factor. 

• Hire a Writing Service

Outsource your monthly blog writing to a professional writer. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to provide your writer with monthly topics and post the content to your website.

• Have Your Marketing Agency Write Your Blogs

Work with a marketing partner that offers blog writing. Your partner may even handle all strategy aspects, like creating monthly topics for you, coming up with a posting strategy and optimizing your blogs with SEO standards.

Optimize Your Blog for the Most Views

Use these tactics to get as many eyes as possible on your blog and website.

• Structure Questions or Headlines for Voice Search

Almost half of internet users are using voice search, so title your blog the way people are asking questions on Google.

• Add Links to Pages Within Your Website, and Link to Your Blog Page Throughout Your Website

Links connect relevant topics across your website, drive web visitors to other pages on your site and help Google see your content as credible since it is referenced across pages. 

Promote Your Blog to Patients

Utilize platforms you already have in place to get your blog to patients. This includes adding your blog to your patient newsletter and sharing new posts across your social media channels. 

Need Help Developing a Blog for Your Dental Practice?

At Whiteboard Marketing, our content strategists, SEO experts and copywriters help clients through the dental blog process with our keyword research, optimization best practices, content writing and thorough analytical tracking. Contact info@whiteboard-mktg.com for more information.

Written by Anna L. Davies, Digital Marketing Specialist at Whiteboard Marketing, with assistance from Jana Leu, SEO Manager.