One of the most important factors in a successful digital marketing strategy for a dentist’s office is relevant, high-quality content that addresses the questions and concerns of your ideal patient.
But how do you determine what questions your potential patients are asking search engines?
You might be surprised to learn that the questions potential patients are asking online are probably the very same ones they are asking of your staff in the office. However, conducting thorough keyword research can help you in answering even more of the questions your prospective patients are asking–and highly detailed questions at that. Keyword research can help you build the type of website that compels web visitors to engage digitally with your office, and provides instant authority and credibility to your dental practice.
Here are four ways that keyword research improves your dental practice’s digital marketing efforts.
1. Keyword Research Can Help You Optimize Your Content For Search Engines
In the early days of SEO, keyword density was the main tool in use to get your website ranking with search engines, but today that method is no longer effective. What this means for you is that you do not have to cram every single variation of words like “teeth,” “dentist,” and “dental” onto the content on your website. In fact today, if you’re still trying to stuff as many keywords as possible into your website, it could actually be damaging your websites’s rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).
No one outside of Google’s developers know the details of their complicated search ranking algorithms. But, everyone knows (because Google repeatedly reminds us) that the quality of your content is a very important ranking factor.
If you create top-quality content by addressing searchers concerns, it is highly likely that keywords will occur in natural ways as you write. Writing this way affords your website a much better chance of ranking well in search results when compared to websites that just repeat the same keywords or phrases over and over.
Another added benefit of keyword research is that it challenges you to start thinking about keywords in a different way for your dental practice.
When you start understanding the value of high-quality content in Google search rankings, along with understanding how people actually conduct searches for information online – your focus will naturally shift from the wrong ways of thinking about keywords (“Which keywords is Google looking for? or How many times do I need to repeat certain keywords?”) to a much better way of thinking about keywords (How do my patients talk about their case or problems?” What information is a potential client looking for?”).
2. Keyword Research Can Help You Determine Engaging Topics For Your Dental Office’s Website and Blog
Comprehensive keyword research will help you determine which topics your potential patients are interested in learning about. This information can help you develop and execute a content strategy that is focused on developing relevant, high-quality content that answers potential patients’ questions.
When you’re analyzing keywords and topics, it’s helpful to know how people actually search for information online.
People usually utilize a search engine to find answers to complex and specific questions.
For example, a potential patient’s search queries about root canals might include phrases like:
“What causes a root canal?”
“How much does it cost to get a root canal fixed?”
“Does it hurt having a root canal?”
“Can someone get their root canal fixed if they have no insurance?”
Your prospective patients might not know they require a dentist yet, and they may not know what services you offer. So, don’t limit your analysis to basic keywords like “Root Canal Dentist.” It is also worth noting that a majority of your potential patients will not be searching in dental jargon, but in layman’s terms, so aiming your content that direction will attract even more prospective patients to your dental office’s website.
Thinking about how your potential patients ask questions online can help you produce the kind of engaging, relevant content that is more likely to be a result for their search engine queries. Content that addresses these types of concerns can also catch prospective patients’ attention in search engine results and make them more likely to click through to your dental office’s website.
Additionally, by focusing on the needs of your potential patients, the keywords will flow out organically as you are writing.
To learn more about how to figure out the types of questions your prospective patients are asking, see our blog post, “How to Write Content for Your Dental Office’s Website Potential Clients Will Actually Read
3. Keyword research can help you write patient-focused content
Keyword research will also enable you use patient-friendly words and phrasing in your content.
Your prospective patients most likely don’t have a dental background, and they probably wont be searching in dental jargon online.
To continue with the root canal example, a potential patient may not use the words “root canal” or “root cavity” or “orthodontist” in their search engine queries. They may not know what those terms are, or they may use non-dental terms to describe their meaning.
During your keyword research, ask yourself: “Would I use this term if I wasn’t a dentist?” If the answer is no, consider the underlying issue or problem that a prospective patient might be trying to solve and the kind of language they might use to describe that problem.
Conducting a few Google searches of your own might prove helpful as well. Search for related terms to your practice area(s). See what Google automatically suggests as potential search terms while you are typing your query. Look at what appears in the “People Also Ask” and “Searches Related To…” sections of Google’s search results. These are helpful gauge of the search terms that patients are actually using to ask questions similar to your practice area(s).
As a result, this can help you build informative content that provides real answers to their questions, using vocabulary they can understand, and are already using to initiate their searches.
Our blog article, “5 Things To Ask Yourself When You Write A Blog Post For Your Dental Office?”offers more tips about writing useful patient-centric content.
4. Keyword research can help you focus on what works
Writing patient-friendly, high-quality content for your dental office website is the single most effective way to increase the visibility of your website in search engine results (SERPs).
Learning the basics of dental SEO and how to properly utilize keywords can also help you avoid ineffective and potentially harmful tactics like keyword stuffing that can be detrimental to your website’s rankings.
Let AdInfusion write the content for your dental office’s website
AdInfusion makes it simple to write and publish content for your dental office’s website.
We understand that some dentists are too busy to write their own content, or they just plain don’t want to, which is why AdInfusion offers content marketing solutions for dental practices of any size. Our content experts are well versed in how to use content to drive potential patients to your practice, and we have contributed to some of the most successful practices in the state.
AdInfusion writes unique and highly effective content for dental websites and blogs that considers how your patients search and think. The result is superb content that not only educates potential patients, but compels them to take action.
Contact us today to learn how quality content can boost your dentist office website’s traffic and conversion rates!
