Free resource
The dental SEO checklist.
Twenty-five points covering the work that actually moves local rankings for Australian dental practices. The same checklist we run on our founder's practice - no theory we haven't used.
Google Business Profile
For "dentist near me" searches, your profile is the front door - often ranking above your website.
- Claim and verify the profile, with the practice name matching signage and website exactly (no keyword stuffing in the name - it breaches Google guidelines and risks suspension)
- Primary category "Dentist", with secondary categories only for services you genuinely provide
- Identical name, address and phone number everywhere it appears online
- Real photos of the practice, team and rooms - profiles with genuine photos consistently outperform stock
- Services and attributes filled in completely, including accessibility details
- Reviews responded to - including negative ones, calmly and without discussing any patient’s care (privacy and AHPRA advertising rules both apply)
- Booking link connected, and hours kept accurate including holidays
Local relevance
Google ranks practices for a suburb when the site demonstrates genuine local relevance.
- A dedicated, genuinely useful page for each location you serve - not thin duplicates with the suburb name swapped
- Suburb and surrounding-area references woven naturally into service pages
- Embedded map and written directions or parking notes on the contact page
- Consistent citations in the directories that matter locally, rather than hundreds of junk listings
- Local proof where it truly exists - community involvement, local sponsorships - never fabricated
Technical foundations
Technical SEO rarely wins rankings alone, but broken foundations quietly lose them.
- One canonical domain (www or apex, not both serving content) with HTTPS everywhere
- Every page loads fast on a real phone - Core Web Vitals green in Search Console, not just in a lab test
- Unique title tag and meta description on every page, written for the searcher, not stuffed for the crawler
- Dentist / LocalBusiness structured data that matches what is visibly on the page
- XML sitemap submitted in Search Console, no accidental noindex on money pages
- Images compressed and properly sized - dental sites are routinely sunk by 5MB hero photos
Content that earns rankings
Pages rank when they answer what a patient actually wants to know before booking.
- A page per core service (implants, orthodontics, emergency) answering cost ranges, process and recovery questions honestly
- FAQ content drawn from what patients genuinely ask at the front desk
- AHPRA advertising rules respected in every piece of content - see our AHPRA-aware advertising guide
- No AI-generated filler published unedited - thin content now gets filtered, and patients can tell
Measurement
If you cannot see it in a report, it did not happen.
- Google Search Console verified and reviewed monthly, not just installed
- Analytics events for calls, form submissions and booking clicks - so SEO is judged on enquiries, not traffic
- Rank tracking for a handful of terms that matter, checked from the practice’s own suburb
How to use this. Work top to bottom - the sections are ordered by typical impact for a local practice. Most practices we review fail more items in the first two sections than everywhere else combined. Want us to run it against your practice? That is exactly what the free growth plan covers - see also the dental website checklist and AHPRA-aware advertising guide.
Get started
Ready to see what your practice could improve first?
Book a free growth strategy session. We review your website, search presence and advertising, and give you a clear plan - with no obligation.
No commitment requiredWritten findings report includedAvailable within 5 business daysNo offshore support - Melbourne based