There are many ways to positively affect search engines, and help your dental practice show up higher in local search results. Most of these methods require constant activity – like adding fresh content on an ongoing basis, building up a catalog of backlinks, guest-blogging, networking, etc. etc.
But, not all SEO strategies require constant activity. By paying attention to the fundamental structure of your website, you can help your dental practice climb atop local search result pages.
A Responsive Site is an Absolute Must
Google is the primary search engine used in 77% of every online search. And with Google recently reporting that they are taking a mobile-first approach to index the web it’s important to have a mobile-friendly, responsive website so that you provide the best browsing experience for your online visitors regardless of the device they’re using. Without a responsive website, your search results will suffer.
Click here to learn more about what a responsive websites is, and why this design method is vital to your dental practice.
On Page Elements Affect Search Engines
When Google indexes your website, it scans certain elements to gauge its value relative to the specific query. Two of these elements are meta descriptions and title tags, which tell search engines what your pages are about, and help them properly index your website. This makes them vital for your dental practice.
The quick rundown:
Title tags define the title and subject of any given web page, and are used by search engines as a primary source for determining what a page is about. Title tags are also helpful in letting users determine if they should click through to the page. Title tags are incredibly important to ranking for the keywords you’re trying to target.
Meta descriptions are a quick summary of a given page that appears below the title tag on search result pages. They give users a chance to quickly evaluate the content of a given page and inform their decision to click. While they don’t directly affect ranking, a well written meta description does affect click through rates. More visitors to your website means that Google ranks you higher.
So, when you’re adding a new page to your website, or posting a fresh blog, be sure to accurately title your page, and fill in the meta description. Click here to learn more about meta descriptions and title tags, and how to properly use them in your dental practice.
Website Load Time is Critical
Site load time is the time it takes for your website to fully load a page in a user’s browser. It is determined by the coding and content on your website, and affects how your website shows up on search result pages. In fact, 47% of all online visitors expect sites to load in 2 seconds or less and another 40% of people will abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. These stats illustrate the overall value of site load time, and how it affects your online visitors.
From the size of the images on your pages, to amount of animation you have on the page, there are many things that affect your site load time. If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, then contact your domain host and ask them about a site audit.
How Old is Your Website?
Not only are older websites more vulnerable to hacking and security breaches, they are most likely outdated and out of line with Google’s best practices. If your website is more than three years old, then it can likely be out of date and hurting your dental practice’s online visibility.
Smile Savvy provides comprehensive digital marketing strategies that help your dental practice show up higher on search result pages. Our websites are built in line with the latest practices, and our team can help your practice maintain a beautiful site that attracts more online visitors. Click here to learn more about how Smile Savvy can help your dental practice today.
