Local businessesDentists playbook
Outpost covers the website side the careful way: treatment pages that answer real questions, reviewed before publishing, and how AI assistants answer patients.
01 · DISCOVERY
New patients search Google and Maps for 'dentist near me', a specific treatment (implants, aligners, emergency) or a dentist who takes their insurance, then compare ratings, reviews and photos. Insurance network directories and booking sites like Zocdoc and Healthgrades add another path, and word of mouth from friends and family still matters a lot.
A search or referral, then the Maps pack, a look at reviews and the practice website (insurance accepted, location, hours, the dentists), sometimes a booking site, then a call or online booking. For big treatments, patients research cost and options across several visits to the site.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
Google lets dentists, as practitioners, have their own profiles alongside the practice's, under specific rules. Getting this structure right is the foundation of dental local search.
Reviews drive the choice between nearby practices. Replies must never confirm someone is a patient or discuss their care; regulators have acted on that.
Patients research implants, aligners, sedation and emergency care. Clear, accurate pages written or reviewed by the dentist rank and build trust.
Healthgrades, Zocdoc, insurer directories and the ADA's Find-a-Dentist are where some patients start; keep details consistent.
Puts the practice in Apple Maps and Bing results with the same details as Google.
03 · YOUR FIRST MONTH
A sample month. Your own plan is built from your audit, stage and goal, and paid options only ever appear as optional boosts.
Week 1 · days 1–7
Week 2 · days 8–14
Week 3 · days 15–21
Week 4 · days 22–30
04 · WHERE TO BE LISTED
Costs are as published by each destination when the research was reviewed; check before you pay for anything.
business.google.com
Practice and individual dentist profiles under Google's practitioner rules.
business.apple.com
Apple Maps presence for the practice.
bing.com
Bing Maps listing with matching details.
business.yelp.com
Many patients check Yelp; claim the page and reply carefully.
Free listing; ads paid
healthgrades.com
Widely used provider directory with patient ratings.
Free profile; paid options
zocdoc.com
Booking marketplace patients use to find dentists who take their insurance.
findadentist.ada.org
The American Dental Association's directory of member dentists.
Included with ADA membership
05 · SEARCH DEMAND
Primary search
seo for dentists
1,000searches a month
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: 'seo for dentists' 1000/mo. Related: 'dental marketing' 1300/mo, 'dental seo' 1000/mo.
Ready to act: make it easy
Comparing: show why you
Learning: answer with guides
Comparing: show why you
06 · AVOID
HHS's Office for Civil Rights settled with a dental practice that disclosed patient information in replies to Yelp reviews. Never confirm someone is a patient or mention their treatment in a public reply.
Google says a practitioner shouldn't have multiple profiles to cover different specializations. One profile per dentist, plus the practice.
Adding 'Best Implants' or a city to the profile name isn't permitted and risks suspension. Use the name on the sign.
Discounts or gifts for reviews break Google's policy, and the FTC rule bans incentives conditioned on positive sentiment. Ask every patient the same way, with no reward.
Health topics are held to a high standard. Pages copied from templates, without a dentist's review or the practice's real approach, rarely earn trust or rankings.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Audits your practice's website for titles, descriptions, structured data, mobile setup and broken links, and lists the fixes in priority order
Drafts treatment and emergency articles; you can hold every one for the dentist to approve before it publishes
Connects Search Console and reports which pages earn impressions and clicks
Tracks how AI assistants answer 'best dentist near me' style questions for your area
Outpost doesn't manage map listings, review requests or health directories for practices; it covers your website, articles and AI answers
Every action Outpost takes gets a receipt: the live URL, a timestamp and what it drove, or “nothing yet”.See how receipts work
08 · QUESTIONS
Google allows practitioners like dentists to have their own profile if they can be contacted at the verified location during stated hours. In a group practice, the practice has a profile and each dentist's profile uses only their name.
Don't confirm the person is a patient or mention any treatment. Thank them, say you take feedback seriously and invite them to call the office. Regulators have settled with a practice that disclosed patient information in review replies.
No. Google prohibits incentivized reviews, and the FTC's rule bans incentives conditioned on positive reviews. Asking every patient without a reward is fine on Google.
They can bring new patients, especially for insurance searches, but they cost money. Fix your free listings and website first, then decide based on capacity and cost per new patient.
Profile and review fixes can show up within weeks. Treatment pages usually take months to rank, then keep bringing patients over time.
Outpost's campaigns are built for SaaS, apps and games. For a dental practice, it covers your website, articles and AI answers today; it doesn't manage map listings, reviews or health directories. This page lays out the playbook so you can run the rest yourself.
10 · EVIDENCE
Every fact on this page comes from one of these sources.
Practitioner rules (dentists named), one profile per practitioner, naming in multi-practitioner locations, no unnecessary information in names
No incentivized reviews and no selective solicitation of positive reviews
HHS settled with a dental practice over patient information disclosed in responses to Yelp reviews
Bans sentiment-conditioned incentives, fake and bought reviews; final rule announced August 2024
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026: 'seo for dentists' 1000/mo. Related: 'dental marketing' 1300/mo, 'dental seo' 1000/mo.
FREE WEBSITE AUDIT
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