24 Brilliant Dental Marketing Strategies for 2024

Upscale Digital

• February 21, 2024
• 17 min read
• Blog

Dental practices rely on their communities to help them grow and sustain a steady patient base. You will only appeal to future patients if you establish authority and show that your practice stands above all. The best way to go about this is to use the best modern dental marketing strategies to cut through the competition.

On-page search engine optimization is the best dental marketing strategy. Create strong content with lots of data and authority links to establish your website as useful and trustworthy. You can earn good faith from readers if you include authority links and statistics. This will help you earn backlinks from competitors and rank higher in search results.

Dental marketing also relies on a strong social media presence to reach as many people as possible. Modern tactics like sponsoring influencer posts and running promotions can help acquire new patients. Follow along as we highlight the best dental marketing strategies so you can acquire and keep new patients for years to come.

How Can Marketing Grow Your Dental Practice?

Dental practices are a health necessity. That said, there are countless dental practices to choose from in any city or state. Because of that, it’s more important than ever to cut through the competition and get as much visibility as possible.

People discover dental practices when they search for dentists in the area. The goal of dental marketing is to make sure that your practice ranks higher than competing practices. This is only possible if your site and content are strong, and if you employ the top dental marketing strategies.

1. Prioritize On-Page SEO

Today, dental marketing is only possible with a strong focus on search engine optimization. The direct approach, on-page SEO, relies on you optimizing your content and page to rank high on search results. Through posting highly-researched, valuable content, Google can prioritize your site on the first page of search results.

The best way to achieve this is to research local keywords. Sure, global keywords are useful as well, but local keywords will help your site appear to people who must see it: your future patients. Local SEO research and execution lets you cater to the needs of future patients within your service area.

Structure your site around posts that naturally use local keywords throughout. Make sure to include keywords in headings, titles, and general content. Once you generate more content, you must create internal links between your articles. This makes it easy for search engines to index your site’s information, and it’ll help you rank well.

2. Build a Powerful Website

The strength and structure of your website have everything to do with how well it ranks. When marketing a dental practice, you must consider what your potential patients want to see. A strong site that highlights your dental services will instill confidence that you’re the best option.

Create a services page that highlights what your practice does. This is a great chance to include graphics and videos on the page. Attention-grabbing graphics and videos will hold the reader’s attention. Strong website design lets you show your future patients that they can trust you with their teeth, and ultimately, their health.

You can also take this chance to link to studies and statistics which will help you rank higher. Including verifiable statistics will establish authority, and that helps with search engine results. It will also help other dental outlets discover your site and eventually backlink to you.

3. Optimize Your Site for Mobile Users

Last year, mobile users accounted for 57% of online traffic. Because of that, it would be a mistake to not cater to mobile users as part of your dental marketing strategies. Sites that aren’t optimized for mobile use are hard to navigate on smartphones and tablets, and you may miss out on traffic.

Even small things, such as pop-ups and plugins, affect how well your site runs for mobile users. Have you ever seen a window pop up on your iPhone and struggled to close it or even find the “X” tab? If so, that means the site wasn’t optimized for mobile use, and that’s a deterrent.

Ideally, you should use fewer pop-ups for a mobile-centric site. It’s also important to make sure that windows are easy to read and close without zooming in or out. Page speed is also important as mobile users are used to fast loading times. Make sure the text for your links is big enough that mobile users can easily click on them.

4. Build a Google Business Profile

Google makes it easy to attract eyes to your dental practice with a free Business Profile. A Google Business Profile lets you post your address, phone number, hours, and site link. You can also see the aggregated ratings of all reviews on a scale of 1 to 5.

Google Business Profiles appear when for local searches, such as “dentists nearby”. A profile with lots of information that links to a strong site is likely to rank well. Google bases the ranking on relevance, prominence, and location.

Because of that, the integrity of your website is just as important as where you are within the service area.

5. Ask Patients to Post Reviews

Positive reviews from patients can go a long way in directing future patients to your dental practice. This is one of the easiest dental marketing strategies, and it will boost both your ranking and reputation. While some people post unsolicited reviews, it’s important to encourage your patients to post feedback.

This can be as simple as putting a sign up in the waiting room. Otherwise, you can have your staff politely mention that you appreciate reviews when your patients leave for the day. Ideally, you should ask your patients to post their reviews on your Google Business Profile.

Google accounts for just over 81% of searches, according to a recent survey. Because it’s the biggest search engine, your potential patients are more likely to find reviews there.

6. Create Social Media Accounts

A recent study shows that over 59% of the world’s population uses social media. Neglecting this market is a mistake, so it’s time to make an account for your practice. You may think a dental practice doesn’t need a social media page, but it’s the perfect way to reach future patients.

Create a profile on top social media platforms, like Instagram, X, and Facebook. Include links to your website in the profile, and post at least 5 times per week. The more your post, the more likely your dental practice is to appear on people’s feeds.

That said, you should avoid posting more than 2 times per day. Oversaturation is real, so it’s important to be careful with what and how often you post. Add “follow” links to your website to send site visitors to your social media profiles to acquire followers. Social media marketing will continue to grow, and it’s essential to building a strong base of new patients today.

7. Run Promotions

It’s no secret that countless businesses run promotions to boost traffic. Luckily, dental practices are perfectly suited for promotions. Whether it be a discount or a free consultation, running a promotion will entice people to look into your dental practice otherwise wouldn’t have.

A recent survey showed that only 58% of people in the U.S. visit a dentist yearly. Of course, this isn’t enough, but a promotion can entice even those who typically neglect dental care. This will give them the chance to check out your dental practice, experience your excellent service, and pick you for regular care.

8. Create Unique Giveaways

Much like promotions, giveaways go a long way in reaching people who otherwise wouldn’t consider your dental practice. The giveaway could include anything from free cleanings and consultations to nice electric toothbrushes. A free whitening with a bundle of toothpaste, floss, and plaque removers will make a strong impression on people.

Another option is to give away gift cards to popular local restaurants in the area. You can even include branded merchandise, like reusable water bottles and tee shirts. This will make a positive mark on your community and encourage people to choose your practice for frequent dental service.

9. Engage Your Patients

Today, people go online to engage with businesses and services they appreciate. Whether it be a Google review or Instagram, people appreciate hearing back from the businesses they frequent. As dentists, you help your patients with the services they need, and they appreciate it.

They will appreciate it even more if they hear back from you when they sing your praises. Respond to reviews and comments with professionalism and positivity. Some negative reviews are inevitable, but you must respond to them as well.

This is your chance to defuse the situation and respond to the comment gracefully.

10. Take Out Click to Call Ads

Dental practices are necessary for basic health, but there are many options. Sometimes, your future patients need a little push, and that’s where ads come into play. Click-to-call ads are a great way to jump out and appeal to people who look up local dentists.

You can post click-to-call ads on both Google and Facebook. A “call” icon will appear beside the ad so browsers can quickly reach out and schedule an appointment. This is a great way to cut through the sea of competitors and directly reach your future patients.

11. Start an Informative Blog

You can demonstrate your knowledge and professionalism while reaching many people with a strong blog. People rely on dentists for their skills and expertise. You can easily convey both of these things with a blog that features solid facts and statistics.

Focus each blog post on the services your dental practice offers. For example, you can create posts about teeth whitening, deep cleanings, root canals, and veneers. Include statistics, graphs, videos, and links to studies to establish authority so you rank high on search results.

12. Set Up a Geofence

Geofencing is one of the most promising dental marketing strategies today. A geofence is an invisible field wherein smartphone users will see targeted ads for your dental practice. Focus on geofencing within your service area to reach potential patients.

People within range will see targeted ads online or on social media. You can also set it up to send emails to people within the geofencing range. The growing geofencing market shows that this trend won’t die down soon, and it’s a great way to target mobile browsers.  

13. Sponsor Events Within Your Community

Dental practices rely on their communities to put faith in them. However, you can’t achieve this unless you demonstrate your dedication to your community through acts of service. An easy way to show your love for the community is to sponsor events that the community loves.

Whether this be a popular annual food festival or charity run, people will notice your involvement. This is a great way to earn name recognition and appeal to people within your community. You can even sponsor a giveaway at a local event to earn good faith.

14. Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube is an undeniable force with a projected 933 million viewers this year alone. Visual mediums like YouTube give viewers an up close and personal understanding of topics that are otherwise hard to comprehend. Dental work is a lot to wrap your head around if you don’t understand it, but videos make it clear.

You can create videos that go hand-in-hand with your blog topics, and link to them in your blog. For example, you could create videos that last up to 8 minutes and focus on services like teeth whitening. Not only can your videos generate interest in your dental practice, but you can also monetize them.

15. Audit Your Website

It’s easy to overlook gaps and problems within your website. It’s easier than ever to discover what’s lacking in your website with SEO audit tools. SEO audit tools point out what your website is missing so you can fill in the blanks and acquire more traffic to your site.

For example, an SEO audit can show you that your headings and content are weak. This gives you the chance to restructure your site, add authority links, and add title tags and strong headings. Your site will rank higher if you address these problems.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed if your SEO audit reveals that your site is weak. However, it won’t take long to restructure and edit your existing content and create new SEO-driven posts.

16. PPC Ads Are the Future

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads have gained momentum over the last several years. PPC ads appear with search engine results for related search inquiries. Because of that, you will increase the chances that people discover your dental practice when they search for local dentists.

These inexpensive ads will only cost you money when people click on them. Sure, that’s an investment, but it’s a small one, and it will pay off when you acquire more patients. This will land your dental practice much higher in the search results, and that’s everything.

17. Partner With Influencers

As previously mentioned, social media is a marketing force to be reckoned with. Influencers with massive social media followings can come out of nowhere, and they may just be within your service area. If so, that’s your perfect chance to stand out amongst the competition and reach people you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Look into social media influences from your city or state and explore their profiles. Influencers thrive on paid ads from businesses looking to promote their goods and services. You can capitalize on this by sponsoring posts and videos that encourage their followers to check out your dental practice.

This is a great chance to make a strong impression. You can even include a giveaway or run a promotion that correlates with their videos to acquire more patients. The influencer can also direct traffic to your website, and that is invaluable.

18. Collaborate With Other Sites

Today, you can find many medical and dental blogs that post about popular topics within the field. Chances are, some of them have bigger followings than your dental practice. You can use this opportunity to earn some of their readers and clients if you collaborate with them.

Sponsor posts on their site that include links to your dental practice. This will appeal to people who wouldn’t have found your practice, and it will also give your business legitimacy. Keep in mind that it’s important to collaborate with sites related to medical services.

It won’t make much sense if you suddenly collaborate with a trending fashion blog. Instead, focus on health and wellness blogs that rank high on Google and have a strong social media presence.

19. Keep in Touch With Your Patients

You will only thrive as a dental practice if you keep your existing patients. An easy way to do this is to keep in touch with them and send reminders. This could be via email, text, mail, or phone calls.

The best time to do this is in the fall and early winter. Many people’s benefits are most useful in the middle of the year through late fall. As the year ends, your benefits may not be as generous, and you may have to pay more out of pocket.

Because of that, it’s important to get in touch with your patients long before then. This will encourage them to visit for a regular checkup or cleaning.

20. Acquire Backlinks

A strong online marketing presence doesn’t exclusively rely on your own blog and social media accounts. Instead, you must earn trust with prominent sites through strong content. The “Skyscraper Technique” involves acquiring backlinks from related sites.

In turn, this will direct traffic to your site from other prominent sites and boost your search result ranking. The best way to acquire backlinks is to create blog posts full of stats, graphs, videos, and verifiable facts. Use your knowledge of the dental field to create blog posts that other online resources don’t cater to.

This will help you stand out and rank high for that topic. Look into your competitors that have earned backlinks and create similar content but make it superior. Use your competitors as a template but include more information and statistics to make your site an undeniable force.

21. Use Experienced Writers

It’s hard to create posts that will rank well and generate interest for your marketing firm. One of the best dental marketing strategies is to enlist the help of experienced writers with great track records. They can create posts and examine your site to see what is missing.

A minor investment, experienced writers can boost your ranking and focus on search engine optimization. Professional writers can create strong posts, acquire backlinks, and focus on reputation management for your dental practice.

22. List Your Practice Online

Today, there are countless online directories for medical practices and local businesses. Everything from household names like Yelp to medical directories like ZocDoc can get eyes on your dental practice. Include a link to your site, your hours, and your accreditations to help establish your practice as an authority.

23. Create a Loyalty Program

Let’s face it, we all need dentists. Most people pick a dentist and stick with them. Because of that, it’s important to encourage your patients to stay with you.

The best way to do this is to create a loyalty program that rewards your patients for continual visits. You can include discounts, gift cards to local businesses, and referral bonuses when patients enlist friends and family.

24. Don’t Forget Email Marketing

While social media has overtaken many things, email marketing is still vital. Recent studies show that 95% of people online between the ages of 25 and 44 have email addresses. Luckily, dental practices are primed for email marketing because of the recurring need for dental care.

This should be a key part of your dental marketing strategy as you can reach a huge portion of your market via email. Simply send appointment reminder emails throughout the year to keep your practice in the minds of your patients. This digital postcard will remind your patients that dental care is a yearly necessity, and it will keep them coming back.

Dental Marketing is Essential to Keep Your Practice Vital

A dental practice can only thrive by reaching as many people as possible. Through a strong website, social media presence, and relevance within the community, a dental practice can thrive. It’s important to create strong content via blogs that demonstrate that appeal to your future patients.

The fact is everybody relies on dentists for their oral care and overall health. With all the competition, you must stand out by creating quality content. Through the use of keywords and structured data, you can appeal to many people within your service area to acquire lifelong patients.

Your site should be easy to navigate, and it should include authority links that verify your facts and data. Over time, your strong content will help your dental practice acquire backlinks from competitors. This will help establish your practice as a strong, trustworthy force that ranks well.

Dentists are essential to our health, appearance, and community. With so much competition, it’s vital to prove that your practice has your community’s best interest and health in mind. Proven dental marketing strategies will help you earn and keep new patients. This is only possible with community involvement, a strong website, and knowledgeable, informative posts on your website.