How to Get More Dental Patients and Keep Existing Ones

On this page, we’ll tell you which strategies will attract new patients and help you build relationships that keep them returning for routine care and treatment. If you need help launching your digital marketing campaign, contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our dental marketing services!

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1. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing to reach local patients

One of the first steps (and quick wins) you can take to attract more dental patients online is to claim and optimize your GBP. As a dentist, you have potential patients who live in your area.

When people conduct searches like “dental clinics near me” or “[city] dental practice,” your GBP listing may appear in the local SEO 3-pack, which is a box with three GBP listings displayed prominently in the local search results.

How to optimize your GBP listing

Once you have claimed and verified your GBP listing, verify that your dental practice name, address, and phone number are correct. You can then proceed to:

1. Add additional contact information, like your email
2. Write a short blurb about your practice
3. Add photos that showcase your staff and office
4. Verify that your practice’s website or online booking appointment page is attached to your listing

For example, a short GBP description like, “Family-friendly dental practice in Los Angeles offering preventive care, cosmetic dentistry, and same-day emergency appointments,” gives local patients a quick snapshot of what you offer and why they should choose you.

Optimizing your GBP listing is one of the best and quickest strategies for getting dental patients because it helps you put your practice in front of locals searching for a dentist in your area.

It also makes it easier for existing patients to find your phone number, hours, and directions when they’re ready to schedule recall visits or follow-up appointments.

2. Use search engine optimization (SEO) to help your practice rank in relevant results

SEO is the process of optimizing your dental website in search results to help potential patients discover your practice. When people find your dental practice in search results, they’re likely to check out your dental practice and book an appointment.

Think of SEO as a long-term strategy for acquiring new dental patients. Here’s how to get started with SEO for dental clinics:

Optimize for relevant keywords

Start by choosing the right keywords for your pages. Keywords trigger your website to appear in search results.

Conduct keyword research to find relevant terms. You can use keyword research tools, like KeywordsFX, to help you find the right terms. As you conduct keyword research, focus on long-tail keywords. These keywords contain three or more words, like “dental office in Los Angeles.”

These keywords are best for your practice because you reach the right searchers. If someone searches “dental office in Los Angeles,” you know they’re looking for a dentist in the Los Angeles area. On the other hand, a generic search like “dental” or “dental office” doesn’t tell you much about what the user wants to find.

Once you have your long-tail keywords selected, it’s time to integrate them into your site. Don’t overuse them, as it leads to keyword stuffing. Integrate your keywords where they fit naturally within your text to drive the best results.

Speed up your site

Users don’t want to wait for your pages to load. If your pages take over three seconds to load, more than half of people will abandon it.

To avoid this SEO blunder, check your site’s speed with Google PageSpeed Insights. This tool will show you how quickly your site loads and provide suggestions for improvement. Some common recommendations include:

1. Reducing redirects
2. Using browser caching
3. Optimizing image files

If you aren’t sure how to make these optimizations and improvements, you can always invest in page speed services or SEO services from a digital marketing company like WebFX. That way, you can rest assured that a team of experts is optimizing your website’s backend as you focus on running your dental practice.

For one, Hurst Pediatric Dentistry has seen a 3,872% increase in sessions from its SEO efforts. As a result, it has increased its appointment requests!

Make your site mobile-friendly

SEO is one of the best strategies for getting dental patients, but it won’t be helpful if your website doesn’t provide an excellent experience for all visitors. That’s because 61% of users are more likely to convert when a business has a mobile-friendly site.

To make your site mobile-friendly, integrate a responsive design. Responsive design ensures your site adapts to all devices to deliver an optimal experience for potential dental patients.

A mobile-friendly site also makes it easy for existing patients to quickly book their next cleaning or check test results on the go, which supports long-term patient retention.

3. Run pay-per-click (PPC) ads to help reach more qualified patients

PPC advertising for dentists is one of the best strategies for reaching your patients because it puts your practice at the top of the search results relevant to your business. PPC works for dental practices of all sizes — whether you’re operating a small clinic or a bigger dental practice.

That’s because PPC lets you target only the people you want to reach based on your budget. You won’t have to compete with other dental clinics in areas you’re not serving or target people outside your area.

Considering 46% of page clicks go to the top three PPC ads, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to drive valuable leads to your dental office’s site.

Here’s how to get more dental patients with PPC:

• Hire a professional and reputable PPC agency: Optimizing a PPC campaign can take much work — from strategizing and executing to optimizing your campaign. A PPC agency can do the heavy lifting for your campaigns and have all the necessary tools to track how your PPC efforts are helping you acquire new patients.
• Select your long-tail keywords: Keywords trigger your ad to appear in search results. You want to focus on long-tail keywords because they drive more credible traffic and have a lower cost per click (CPC) due to less competition. You’ll get more from your budget by choosing these types of keywords.
• Set your bid amount: Your bid amount is the most you’re willing to pay when someone clicks on your ads. This amount is flexible and can be changed as needed.
• Create your ad copy: Your ad copy is what your audience sees when your ad appears in search results. You’ll want to write ad copy that shows how your dental practice is relevant to their search. Take advantage of features like ad extensions to help you create a more compelling ad.
• Create your landing page: Your landing page is what your audience sees once they click on your ad. You’ll want to create a dedicated landing page for your ads to ensure your potential patients only get information relevant to your ad and move them to inquire or book an appointment with you.

For example, you might target a keyword like “emergency dentist in Austin” and pair it with ad copy that says, “Same-day emergency dental appointments in Austin — call now to book,” leading to a landing page with a simple form and click-to-call button.

When you combine PPC with other dental marketing strategies like SEO and social media, you create more touchpoints with both new and existing patients.

4. Create a functional website to provide your audience with helpful information

Your website is the heart of your dental practice. Regardless of your strategies to get dental patients, your website is likely the first interaction many patients will have with your practice.

That said, if you want to know how to get new dental patients, invest time building a beautiful website that convinces them to book an appointment with you. After all, 94% of people cite web design as the reason they mistrusted or rejected a website.

Make a great first impression with your dental web design by following these proven tips:

• Choose a design that reflects your dental practice: When you design your dental practice, you want to ensure you choose a design that fits your business. It will help you build brand familiarity with your audience and help them understand who you are.
• Make navigating your site easy: You don’t want users to struggle finding information, so you must design simple navigation. Use broad headings and subcategories to make it easy for your patients to find the necessary information.
• Use call-to-action (CTA) buttons to guide users: CTA buttons guide users to the next step. Whether you want your audience to schedule an appointment, view your services, or contact you, you can use these buttons to guide them to those actions.

For example, you could place a “Book your cleaning in 60 seconds” CTA button in your header that leads directly to your online scheduling form so new and existing patients can quickly grab an appointment without calling your office.

You can also use your website to retain patients by featuring a patient portal, online bill pay, and educational resources that remind them to come back for preventive visits and follow-up treatment.

5. Run social media ads to reach more interested patients

Social media advertising is one of the best strategies for getting dental patients because it allows you to reach people who haven’t discovered your practice yet. Social media ads appear in users’ newsfeeds and blend in seamlessly for an optimal experience.

To get started with social media ads for your dental practice, start by selecting your platform. Choose one or two social media platforms that your patients typically use:

• Instagram
• X (formerly Twitter)
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

Once you select your platform, you can start running advertisements for your business. To get the most from your social media advertising, follow these best practices:

• Know your target audience: Social media offers advanced targeting, making it easy for you to reach people most interested in your dental practice. From age to gender to occupation, you can refine your target audience to ensure you’re reaching the right people.
• Use compelling visuals: Visuals will help draw people to your ad and get them to engage with your content. You can use photos, videos, and graphics to help you craft eye-catching social media ads.
• Monitor your ad performance: Monitor your ads’ performance to ensure they’re driving results. If your ads aren’t driving the results you desire, test to see if you can create a more compelling advertisement.

You can also use organic social posts to support retention by sharing before-and-after photos (with permission), preventive care reminders, and patient success stories that keep your practice top of mind between visits.

When you pair these efforts with targeted social media ads, you create a consistent presence that helps increase patient volume in your dental office over time.

6. Engage with your community offline

Use offline methods, such as engaging with your local community, to reach more patients. Here are some ideas:

• Participate in local health fairs and school events
• Sponsor a sports team
• Offer free dental screening or other services at community centers or relevant events

At the event, encourage them to follow you on social media by posting your page URL or a QR code directing them to your page or website! You can also invite current patients to these events, which gives them another chance to interact with your team and strengthens their connection to your practice.

7. Encourage patient referrals

Did you know that consumers are 90% more likely to trust, buy, and book an appointment with a business recommended by their friends? That said, encourage satisfied patients to refer their family and friends to your dental clinic with a referral program.

Offer a reward to your current patients with every successful referral. A reward can be as simple as a gift card or a discount on their next appointment.

Though small, the rewards show that you value them as patients and their effort to refer a friend. This gesture nurtures your relationships with your patients and fosters loyalty as you show how much you value them.

A thoughtful referral program doesn’t just help you get more dental patients — it also gives your current patients one more reason to stay loyal to your practice. For example, you might offer existing patients a $25 account credit when a friend they refer completes their first appointment, plus a small thank-you gift for the new patient.

Pro tip: Make it easy for your patients to refer friends by providing a referral link or card. Over time, these word-of-mouth referrals can play a big role in increasing patient volume in a dental office without relying solely on ads.

Partner with WebFX to get more dental patients

Acquiring and retaining new patients is no easy task when you have a dental practice to focus on. If you need help marketing your dental clinic, team up with WebFX.

We’re a full-service digital marketing agency with over 98,500+ hours of dental marketing experience. Our team has helped dental and health practitioners generate $33.8M+ in revenue.

We’re pumped to help your dental practice attract more patients. We’ll take the time to learn about your practice, competitors, budget, and patients so we can craft a custom solution for you.

Contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist to get started!