Every suburb has a dentist, and most have several. When someone searches “dentist near me” or “emergency dentist” they’ll usually book with one of the first few practices they see. Dental SEO is about making sure yours is one of them, and that your website turns that visit into a booked appointment.
Fuelled SEO is run by Darren Franklin from Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley. We work with dental practices in Newcastle, the Hunter, Maitland, the Central Coast and across Australia. All the work is done remotely.
How patients find a dentist
Dental searches tend to fall into three groups:
- Routine care. “Dentist near me”, “dentist [suburb]”, “bulk billing dentist”, “child dental benefits schedule dentist”. Location and convenience drive the choice.
- Urgent care. “Emergency dentist”, “toothache”, “chipped tooth”, “dentist open Saturday”. The patient wants an appointment today.
- Treatment research. “Dental implants cost”, “clear aligners”, “teeth whitening”, “sleep dentistry”. These patients read more, compare practices and are often worth more over time.
Good SEO for dentists covers all three. The map pack and your Google Business Profile handle most of the first two; treatment pages on your website win the third.
Getting into the map pack
The three Google Maps listings at the top of local dental searches take a large share of the clicks. Getting there depends on distance from the searcher, your Google Business Profile, your reviews and how well your website supports your listing.
- Use “Dentist” as the primary category, and add others such as cosmetic dentist, emergency dental service or pediatric dentist only where they apply.
- Keep hours accurate, including late nights and Saturdays, which are a strong selling point.
- List your services, add real photos of the practice, team and equipment, and post updates.
- Add your booking link so people can book straight from the listing.
- Make sure your practice name, address and phone match everywhere, including health directories.
Our Google Business Profile package covers setup and optimisation as a one-off. The Google Maps ranking factors guide explains what moves the map results.
Treatment pages
A single “Services” page with a bullet list won’t rank for implants, crowns or whitening. Each treatment you want more of needs its own page.
What to cover on each treatment page
- What the treatment is and who it suits, in plain language.
- What happens at each appointment and how many visits it usually takes.
- General information on recovery and aftercare.
- General risks, set out clearly and without playing them down.
- How fees work, payment plans if you offer them, and how health fund cover generally applies.
- Which dentist at the practice performs the treatment, linked to their profile.
- A booking button.
Pages worth considering include check-ups and cleans, children’s dentistry, fillings, root canal treatment, crowns and bridges, implants, dentures, clear aligners, whitening, veneers, wisdom teeth, sleep dentistry and emergency dental care. Use generic terms in headings rather than leaning on brand names, which may be trade marks.
Dentist SEO and the AHPRA advertising guidelines
Dentists are regulated health practitioners, and your website counts as advertising. AHPRA and the Dental Board of Australia publish guidelines on advertising regulated health services, and every dental practice should read them. In general terms:
- Advertising must not use testimonials or reviews about clinical aspects of care. That affects how you use patient feedback on your website and in other marketing.
- Claims must not be false, misleading or deceptive, and must not create unreasonable expectations of benefit.
- Before-and-after photos need care so they don’t mislead.
- “Specialist” is a protected title. Only dentists registered in a recognised specialty, such as orthodontics, can call themselves specialists.
- Avoid offers or gifts that encourage people to use a health service unnecessarily.
The guidelines are updated from time to time and some points are open to interpretation, so check the current AHPRA guidelines before you publish and get advice if you’re unsure. We write and structure dental content with these rules in mind, but your practice signs off on everything.
Reviews for dental practices
Reviews on Google are a major factor in the map pack, and patients read them closely before booking. Ask patients after their appointment, ideally with a short text or email that includes your direct review link.
Reply to every review, briefly and politely. Don’t confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention any treatment details, because patient privacy applies. And because of the AHPRA rules on testimonials, don’t copy clinical reviews onto your website or into ads. Check the AHPRA guidelines for how they apply to your practice.
Turning visits into bookings
Ranking is only half the job. Once someone lands on your site, it should be easy to book.
- A “Book online” button at the top of every page, and a tap-to-call phone number on mobile.
- Online booking that works on a phone without endless steps.
- Clear information on health funds, HICAPS or on-the-spot claiming if you offer it, and payment options.
- Opening hours, parking and accessibility details on the contact page.
- A “new patients” page explaining what to expect at the first visit.
- Fast load times. A slow site loses patients before they see your booking button. Our technical SEO basics guide covers the essentials.
Show who’s behind the practice
Dental content is health content, and Google expects it to come from qualified people. Team pages with each dentist’s name, photo, qualifications and areas of interest help patients and search engines alike. Put an author or “reviewed by” line on articles, date them and review them regularly.
Multi-location groups need a page and a Google Business Profile for each practice, each with its own team, hours and details. Our local SEO services cover this.
How we work with dental practices
We begin with a technical and backlink audit, then look at which practices rank in your area and why. From there we build treatment and location pages, improve your profile, earn links through manual outreach on real, established websites (no private blog networks) and report each month in plain English.
Expect measurable movement in three to six months and stronger results over six to twelve. Busy city markets take longer. We don’t guarantee rankings.
Dental SEO packages
Our monthly SEO packages range from $1,500 to $2,100 a month (GST incl.) with no lock-in contracts, and the Google Business Profile package is $850 one-off. Our SEO pricing guide explains what affects the cost.
Fuelled Monthly Packages
Month-by-month link building with no lock-in contracts. Links that build authority and ruffle your competitors' rankings.
From $1,500 AUD/mo incl. GST
SEO Domination
Our ultimate enterprise-level ranking packages for the toughest competition, major cities and national SEO.
From $5,600 AUD/mo incl. GST
Google Business Profile
A comprehensive package to power up your Google Profile, essential for local rankings and Maps visibility.
From $850 AUD incl. GST
For everything else we offer, visit our main SEO agency page. Other professional services face similar trust rules; see SEO for lawyers and SEO for accountants.
Dental SEO FAQs
How long does dental SEO take?
Most practices see measurable movement in three to six months, with stronger results over six to twelve. Practices in crowded city areas usually take longer.
Can I put patient reviews on my dental website?
AHPRA’s advertising guidelines restrict testimonials about clinical aspects of care, so be careful. Check the current AHPRA guidelines before using any patient feedback in your advertising.
Do I need a separate page for each treatment?
Yes, for the treatments you want more of. A dedicated implants, aligners or emergency page can rank for those searches; a single services list usually can’t.
Is a Google Business Profile important for dentists?
Very. It controls how you appear in the map pack, which takes much of the traffic for local dental searches, and it lets patients call or book directly.
Do you work with dental groups with several locations?
Yes. Each location needs its own profile and page, and we plan the site so each practice can rank in its own area.
Book more patients through search
Tell us about your practice, the treatments you want to grow and the areas you serve. Call Darren on 0478 928 857, email darren@fuelledseo.com.au or use the contact page.