What does MyBizGrade check?

We analyze your website speed, SEO tags, Google reviews, social media presence, and accessibility. Each area gets its own score and letter grade.

How is the grade calculated?

Each category is scored from 0 to 100 based on real data from your site. The overall grade is a weighted average across all five categories.

Yes, the full audit and grade are completely free. You can upgrade to a Pro report with copy-paste fixes for $39 if you want help improving.

What's in the Pro report?

You get a priority action plan, copy-paste ready fixes for every issue, time estimates, and a downloadable PDF. It tells you exactly what to change and how.

How long does the audit take?

Most audits finish in under 30 seconds. Complex sites with many pages may take up to a minute.

Do you store my data?

We store your audit results so you can revisit your report. We never sell your data or share it with third parties.

How often should I check my grade?

We recommend running a new audit every month. Your online presence changes as you update your site, get new reviews, and post on social media.

MyBizGrade was built by a small team of developers who wanted to make online presence auditing simple and affordable for small businesses.

Online Marketing for Dentists: The Complete Checklist

# Online Marketing for Dentists: The Complete Checklist Most dental practices rely on word-of-mouth and insurance networks to fill chairs. Those channels still work. But patients today search online before booking with any dentist, even one a friend recommended. 76% of people looking for a dentist start with a Google search. They look at your reviews. They check your website on their phone. They compare you to the practice down the street. If your online presence is weak, you lose patients before they ever pick up the phone. This checklist covers every piece of your dental practice's online marketing. Follow it step by step, and your practice will show up when local patients search for a dentist. ## Google Business Profile: Your Most Important Free Tool Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the first thing patients see when they search for dentists near them. It appears in the map pack, the local results section at the top of Google. Getting this right is the single highest-impact thing you do for your dentist online marketing. **Claim and verify your profile.** Go to business.google.com. If your practice already has a listing, claim it. If not, create one. Google will send a verification postcard or call your office. **Choose the right categories.** Your primary category should be "Dentist." Add secondary categories like "Cosmetic Dentist," "Pediatric Dentist," or "Emergency Dental Service" based on your services. **Fill out every single field.** Hours, phone number, address, website URL, services, insurance accepted. Empty fields tell Google your profile is incomplete, and Google rewards complete profiles with higher rankings. **Add photos every week.** Upload photos of your office, your team, your waiting room, and your equipment. Practices with more than 100 photos get 520% more calls than the average listing, according to BrightLocal data. Ask your front desk staff to snap a quick photo each week. **Post updates regularly.** GBP has a built-in posting feature. Share office news, seasonal tips ("Back-to-school dental checkups"), or special offers. These posts show up on your profile and signal to Google your business is active. ## Patient Reviews: The Trust Factor Reviews are the single biggest factor in a patient's decision to choose your practice over another one. A dental practice with 50 five-star reviews will get chosen over a practice with 5 reviews almost every time. **Ask every patient for a review.** Build it into your checkout process. Hand them a card with a QR code linking to your Google review page. Train your front desk to say: "We'd love it if you left us a Google review. It helps other patients find us." **Make it stupidly easy.** Create a short link to your Google review page. Put it in follow-up emails. Text it to patients after appointments. The fewer clicks it takes, the more reviews you get. **Respond to every review.** Thank positive reviewers by name. For negative reviews, respond professionally and offer to resolve the issue offline. Potential patients read your responses as carefully as they read the reviews themselves. **Address common dental fears in responses.** If a patient mentions your gentle approach or painless procedures, highlight it in your response. "We're glad you felt comfortable during your visit. Helping patients feel at ease is a priority for our team." Future anxious patients will notice. Want to see how your reviews stack up right now? [Grade your dental practice for free at GradeMyBiz](https://grademybiz.vercel.app) and get an instant score. ## Your Dental Practice Website Your website is your digital front door. Patients who find you on Google will click through to your site before booking. If it loads slowly, looks outdated, or is hard to navigate on a phone, they leave and call the next dentist. **Mobile-first design is non-negotiable.** More than 60% of dental searches happen on phones. Your site needs to load fast on mobile, with tap-friendly buttons and easy-to-read text. Test your site on your own phone right now. **Put your phone number at the top of every page.** Make it a clickable link so mobile users tap to call. This single change increases phone calls from your website by 30-40% for most practices. **Include these pages at minimum:** - Homepage with your location, services summary, and a clear "Book Appointment" button - Services page listing each treatment you offer - About page with doctor bios, credentials, and team photos - Contact page with your address, phone, hours, map, and appointment form - Insurance/payment page listing accepted plans **Add patient testimonials to your homepage.** Pull your best Google reviews and display them prominently. Social proof on your website reinforces the trust patients built from reading your Google reviews. **Include before-and-after photos.** For cosmetic dentistry, veneers, whitening, and orthodontics, before-and-after galleries are some of the most viewed pages on dental websites. Get patient consent and photograph results consistently. **Speed matters.** If your site takes more than 3 seconds to load, half your visitors leave. Compress images, use a fast hosting provider, and avoid bloated website builders loaded with unnecessary plugins. ## Local SEO for Dental Practices Local SEO is what makes your practice appear when someone types "dentist near me" or "dentist in [your city]." It goes beyond your Google Business Profile. **Optimize your title tags.** Every page on your website should have a title tag with your location and service. Example: "Family Dentist in Austin, TX | Bright Smile Dental." This tells Google exactly what you do and where. **Build citations on dental directories.** List your practice on Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, WebMD, Yelp, and your local Chamber of Commerce. Keep your name, address, and phone number (NAP) identical across every listing. Inconsistent information confuses Google and hurts your rankings. **Create location-specific content.** Write a page about each service you offer, targeted to your city. "Teeth Whitening in Denver" or "Invisalign in San Diego." These pages capture patients searching for specific services in your area. **Get backlinks from local sources.** Sponsor a Little League team and get a link on their website. Partner with local businesses for cross-promotions. Join your local dental society and get listed on their member directory. Every local link tells Google your practice is a trusted part of the community. ## Social Media for Dental Practices Social media is not the primary driver of new patients for most dental practices. But it supports your overall online presence and gives patients another way to connect with your practice. **Focus on Instagram and Facebook.** These two platforms work best for dentists. Skip Twitter and LinkedIn unless you enjoy spending time there for personal reasons. **Post content patients care about:** - Team introductions and behind-the-scenes office moments - Before-and-after results (with patient consent) - Dental tips and myth-busting content - Patient appreciation posts - Office updates, new technology, holiday hours **Use short videos.** A 30-second video of a dentist explaining "why flossing matters" or showing a quick office tour outperforms static images every time. You do not need professional video equipment. A smartphone with good lighting works. **Be consistent, not viral.** Post 2-3 times per week. Consistency builds familiarity. Patients who see your practice regularly on their feed think of you first when they need dental work. **Respond to comments and messages.** Social media is a two-way channel. If someone asks about your services in a comment, respond quickly. This builds trust and shows your practice is attentive. ## Online Scheduling and Patient Communication Modern patients want to book appointments the same way they book restaurant reservations: online, on their own time. **Add online booking to your website.** Tools like Zocdoc, LocalMed, or your practice management software's built-in scheduler make this straightforward. Put the booking button on every page of your site. **Send appointment reminders via text and email.** Automated reminders reduce no-shows by up to 30%. Most practice management systems include this feature. **Enable Google's booking button.** If your scheduling tool integrates with Google, patients book directly from your Google Business Profile without visiting your website at all. This removes friction and increases bookings. ## Paid Advertising for Dentists Organic marketing takes time. If you need patients now, paid advertising accelerates results. **Google Local Services Ads are gold for dentists.** These ads appear at the very top of Google search results, above regular ads. You pay per lead, not per click. Patients see your star rating, hours, and a "Google Guaranteed" badge. For dentists, these ads convert at 2-3x the rate of traditional Google Ads. **Google Ads for high-value services.** Run search ads targeting "dental implants [city]" or "emergency dentist [city]." These high-intent keywords attract patients ready to book. Focus your budget on services with the highest revenue per patient. **Skip Facebook Ads for now.** Unless you have a specific promotion (like a new patient special), Facebook Ads tend to perform poorly for general dentistry. People do not scroll Facebook looking for a dentist. They search Google. ## Track Your Results Marketing without measurement is guessing. Track these numbers monthly: - **Google Business Profile views and actions** (calls, direction requests, website clicks) - **Website traffic** from Google Analytics, especially from organic search - **New patient source** on your intake forms ("How did you hear about us?") - **Review count and average rating** on Google - **Phone calls from your website** using call tracking or checking your phone records These numbers tell you what is working and where to focus next. ## Your Dentist Online Marketing Checklist Here is the complete checklist. Print it out and work through it: - Claim and verify your Google Business Profile - Complete every field on your profile - Choose the right primary and secondary categories - Add 20+ photos (and add more weekly) - Post on GBP at least twice per month - Set up a review request system - Respond to all existing reviews - Ensure your website loads in under 3 seconds - Make your phone number clickable on mobile - Add online booking to your website - Create service pages with location keywords - List your practice on 10+ dental and local directories - Keep your NAP consistent everywhere - Post on Instagram or Facebook 2-3 times per week - Set up appointment reminder texts - Track GBP views, website traffic, and new patient sources monthly ## For more on this topic, read [How to Respond to Negative Google Reviews (With Templates)](/blog/respond-to-negative-google-reviews). For more on this topic, read [Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly? Here's How to Check](/blog/is-your-website-mobile-friendly).Get Your Free Grade Want to know where your dental practice stands right now? [GradeMyBiz](https://grademybiz.vercel.app) grades your entire online presence in seconds: website, Google Business Profile, reviews, social media, and listings. It is free, takes 30 seconds, and shows you exactly where to improve. [Grade your dental practice now →](https://grademybiz.vercel.app)