For dentists, there’s no form of dental marketing more effective than local marketing:

• Local marketing can mean business, even on the same day. Whenever a prospective patient sees an advertisement for your business, they’ve already been informed that you are a provider of dental services, and that you’re nearby. If they’re in need of emergency dental services, that’s already an incentive to find out more information.
• Local SEO is like an enhanced business listing. A media-rich presentation is important, and local search engine optimization (SEO) delivers that through working with a search engine’s “local map” features. Your office can be featured in a photograph, along with a map, and the option to get directions directly from that listing. This is a pretty big deal; patients won’t have to wade through a homepage to find a “Directions” or “Location” tab. They’ll be able to see it right on the search engine result page (SERP.)
• Local marketing also works well with other forms of marketing. Review sites that cover dental practices, social media posts, and other sources of commentary can all make reference to your business, your address, and your own website. That means that you can reinforce your place in local listings and searches, and get an even bigger signal boost collectively than these sources would provide on their own.
  

Local marketing just works, and it isn’t exactly complicated as to why: Your patients are local too. If your SEO/PPC marketing campaign doesn’t have its primary focus on getting local results, then you’re missing out on some of the most powerful returns on your investment. The question then becomes, how do you capitalize on what local markets have to offer, and what’s new in local online marketing?

Local Content Matters

Google’s most recent update, codenamed “Pigeon,” has placed a greater emphasis on national sites that offer local reviews. That means that your local marketing may need to incorporate more reputation management if it hasn’t already; sites that review local dentists definitely need to be taken into consideration, as should your social media presence. These all play key roles in what users will see when they look for dentists online, or search for your practice specifically.

All in all, the local marketing perspective hasn’t changed, however. It’s about getting your name out, making sure that there is more awareness of your practice, and setting yourself apart from the competition as often as you can while maintaining a higher standard of marketing quality. Dental practices that put a stronger focus on local online marketing can and will see a stronger return on their investment, and less money spent overall as compared to traditional media advertisement.