The Dental SEO Metrics That Matter (and how to track them)
SEO matters… But understanding the importance of SEO is one thing and knowing what to do with your SEO metrics is another. It’s a lot to ask any clinic owner to learn everything there is to know about SEO. It’s a complex topic. But here are the SEO metrics that you really should be tracking, even if you don’t have time for anything else.
1. Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is all the traffic you don’t pay for – in other words, it’s traffic you get because someone searched for a keyword on Google and then clicked on your link. You need to track organic traffic using Google Analytics because it’s a good barometer of your SEO in general.
2. Your Target Keywords
What are the keywords you want people to use to find you? A tool such as Keywords Everywhere is a good place to start. You should look at the monthly search volume and dig into the search results looking for opportunities to rank for them.
3. The Keywords You Already Rank For
How are people finding your website now? The best tool for the job is Google Search Console. I recommend using your existing rankings to capitalize on opportunities at the same time you think about how you can use the traffic you have to get the traffic you want.
4. Backlinks
Backlinks are still a huge factor in SEO. There are two aspects to tracking your backlinks. The first is tracking your own, which you can do using Google Search Console. The second aspect is tracking your competitors’ backlinks using a tool like SEMRush or Moz.
5. Social Media Traffic
You can track your social traffic using Google Analytics, which is free. Pay special attention to the posts and activity that’s leading people back to your website.
6. Voice Search Rankings
Voice search is taking over the world of search. As of 2020, 49% of all searches are voice searches. Mobile phones are still the source of most voice searches, but virtual assistants aren’t far behind.
7. Page Speed
Page speed is a ranking factor. Google has made it clear that faster websites rank better than slower websites. Use Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to identify and fix speed issues on your website.
8. Local Search Rankings
For dental practices, local search rankings are arguably the most important metric to track. Appearing in the Google Maps 3-pack for local searches like “dentist near me” or “dentist in [city]” can generate a significant amount of new patient inquiries.
