Key takeaways
- The best dental SEO company proves results with booked patients, not just rankings.
- You should own your website, content and Google Business Profile.
- Avoid anyone who guarantees #1 rankings; Google controls rankings.
- Ask for a written 90-day plan and monthly deliverables before you sign.
Knowing how to choose a dental SEO company can save your practice a year of wasted fees. Dental SEO is a crowded market: freelancers, template platforms, generalist agencies and specialists all promise page one. The difference between them only shows up months later in your schedule.
Use these 12 questions in every sales call. Good dental SEO companies answer them clearly and in writing; weak ones get vague.
The 12 Questions
- What results have you achieved for dental practices like mine? Ask for examples in a similar city and size, with map pack positions and new patient numbers.
- How do you measure success? Look for booked patients, calls and cost per new patient, not only rankings and traffic.
- What exactly will you do each month? Expect a list: pages published, technical fixes, citations, reviews and links.
- Who owns the content, website and Google Business Profile? The answer should be you, always.
- How do you approach the local map pack? A strong answer covers categories, services, reviews, citations and proximity.
- How do you build links? Local sponsorships, partnerships and real mentions are good; bulk or paid link schemes are a risk.
- Who writes the content, and does a dentist review it? Clinical accuracy matters for patients and for Google.
- How do you handle Florida advertising rules? They should know the Board of Dentistry rules on claims, fees and specialties.
- What does the first 90 days look like? Ask for a written plan with milestones.
- What is the contract length and notice period? Long lock-ins before results are a warning sign.
- Who will work on my account? Know whether it is a specialist team or a rotating support queue.
- How do you report? Ask to see a sample monthly report.
Green Flags
- A free audit that finds specific issues on your site.
- Clear monthly deliverables and transparent pricing.
- Reporting tied to calls and booked appointments.
- Honest timelines: early movement in one to two months, meaningful growth in three to six.
- References from current dental clients.
Red Flags
- Guaranteed rankings or “page one in 30 days”.
- Secret methods they will not explain.
- Ownership of your website or Google profile kept by the agency.
- Reports full of vanity metrics.
- Pressure to sign a 12-month contract on the first call.
Specialist vs Generalist Agencies
A dental SEO specialist understands treatment value, patient search behaviour and dental advertising rules. A generalist may be cheaper but often targets the wrong keywords, such as “dentist” instead of “dental implants cost Tampa”. For competitive Florida markets, specialist experience usually pays for itself.
How to Compare Two or Three Proposals
Put each proposal side by side and score it on results evidence, monthly deliverables, ownership, reporting, contract terms and price. Ask each company to explain what they would do first on your site and why. The best answer is specific to your practice, not a generic package.
From Our Experience with Florida Practices
The most common problem we see when practices switch to us is not poor SEO tactics but poor alignment: the previous company reported rankings that went up while booked patients stayed flat. Asking question two on this list, how success is measured, usually reveals that gap in the first call. See our dental SEO services.
What a Good First 90 Days Looks Like
Month 1: audit, Google Business Profile clean-up, technical fixes, citation corrections, call tracking and a review request process. Month 2: the first new treatment pages, internal linking and schema, plus early map pack movement on less competitive searches. Month 3: more pages, local link building, and a report showing calls and booked patients by source compared with your baseline.
If a company cannot describe its first 90 days in this level of detail, it probably does not have a plan for your practice yet.
Questions to Ask Their References
- How long did it take to see more calls or bookings?
- Did the company explain what they were doing each month?
- How quickly did they respond to questions or problems?
- Did you ever feel locked in?
- Would you hire them again?
Two short reference calls tell you more than any sales presentation.
How Medihike Can Help
Want this done for your practice? These services put the ideas in this article into practice:
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a dental SEO company?
Choose a dental SEO company that shows results for similar practices, measures success in booked patients, lists monthly deliverables in writing, lets you own all content and accounts, explains its link building, and avoids ranking guarantees or long lock-in contracts.
How much does dental SEO cost?
Dental SEO usually costs $1,000 to $5,000 a month in Florida, depending on city competition, number of locations and how much content and link building is included. Basic listing management can cost less but rarely drives growth.
Why should dentists invest in SEO?
SEO builds visibility that keeps producing new patients without paying per click. Over time it usually becomes the lowest cost-per-new-patient channel and supports every other marketing activity.
Can a dental SEO company guarantee first place on Google?
No legitimate company can guarantee first place, because Google controls rankings. A trustworthy company commits to the work, a timeline and transparent reporting instead.
How long should I give a dental SEO company?
Give a dental SEO company at least three to six months to show clear progress, with early map pack and technical improvements visible in the first one to two months.
What should a dental SEO report include?
A useful report shows map pack positions, organic traffic, calls, form submissions, booked patients by source, work completed that month and the plan for next month.
Sources
This article is general information for practice owners, not legal, tax or clinical advice. Rules and payer policies change; confirm details with the relevant authority before acting.
