If earning new patients from Google is a mystery to you, and you’d like to learn more about how to attract more patients, this article is for you
There are 3 steps to positioning yourself as a new patient magnet that Google will lift up as the best selection in your community.
1. Increase trustworthiness
Constructing a “reverse-testimonial,” where the patient starts with the objection of what would have prevented them from choosing you as a dentist might seem counterintuitive. After all, most online reviews offered by patients are nothing short of flattery for the dental office.But, there is a problem with these types of testimonials. They are one-sided (like a resume). To see the 6 questions you should ask in order to craft trustworthy “reverse testimonials,” check out this blog post.In order to boost the trustworthiness of your website in both your prospective patients’ eyes and Google’s algorithms, you need to make the message on your website engaging. By starting with the negative aspect of what obstacle would have prevented your patient from choosing you as their dentist, you draw the reader in. When your website is more engaging than other dental websites in your area, this helps you rank well. Google calls this this “RankBrain” algorithm, and it’s a form of artificial intelligence which tells Google which dental websites have the best user engagement. This allows Google to better match searcher intent.
Simply put, when your website engenders trust and engagement, Google knows that they made the right choice in promoting you at the top of search results for keywords such as “dentist (your city).”
2. Increase authority
If a tree falls in the forest but no one hears it, did it happen? Google doesn’t know what grades you earned in dental school. They use one metric above all else to determine if you’re an authority: backlinks.Backlinks are when another relevant authoritative website links to your dental website. I offer the top 3 tips on how you can earn backlinks on my blog.
The fact is, when credible bloggers and journalists link to your website, Google sees you as a thought leader. Someone worthy of being cited as an educational reference.For example, while Google’s algorithms have little ability to guess that Dr. Sneed of Mobile, AL actually taught in dental school, a link from the school he teaches at to his dental website would indicate that he’s some sort of informational resource.Dr. Sneed actually taught some of the younger dentists in Mobile, AL! Without links to his website, Google would have no idea of this authority he possesses. There is no doubt that the Phds who craft Google’s algorithm would see value in the fact that Dr. Sneed is a clinical thought leader. But without links from credible sources, it’s as if that “tree” fell, and Google didn’t “hear” it.
3. Decrease “dead weight” content
Every page on your website is a competitor in Google search. Every keyword is a competition. If you have pages on your website which have no potential to answer your patient’s questions, consider removing them.“Blogging” for the sake of increasing search results is something which used to work by making your website relevant to dentistry. Now, Google’s algorithms are more sentient. They can tell the difference between content designed to help real people, and content which is dead weight.If you want to attract new patients from Google, make sure every blog post and page on your website does at least 1 of 2 things. First, it should answer your patient’s questions (or otherwise build faith in your abilities). Second, it should be link-worthy. This means creating content which supports articles being written by popular bloggers and journalists.
Written by Justin Morgan
Justin L. Morgan is the creator of the first and only SEO course for dentists, known as “The Invisalinks Method.” Justin has earned links from places such as Dentistry IQ, Dentistry Today, Dental Products Report, Entrepreneur.com, CIO.com, Desk.com Salesforce.com, and numerous other thought leadership media outlets. Justin is different from other SEO experts. Justin believes that it’s his responsibility to help you understand what you’re getting from your dental marketing campaign. As someone that teaches SEO to dentists and the marketing companies he hires, Justin ranks #1 on Google for “dental SEO expert.” Justin helps dentists all over the country rank highly for the most competitive keywords on Google, tying SEO efforts to actual production.
