Recent reports indicate that 7% of daily searches on Google are health-related. Broken down, that amounts to 70,000 health-focused searches each minute.
This high volume search pattern includes topics related to oral health and hygiene. One analysis found a sharp increase in the number of searches related to toothaches and other similar topics.
If you’re not writing about dental hygiene topics, someone else is.
And that web traffic, publicity, and attention is going to their practice instead of yours.
With the right dental marketing strategy, you can connect with potential patients who are seeking expertise and guidance.
Table of Contents
Why is blogging important for dental practices?
As an oral health authority, you have a platform to disperse relevant information to users looking for answers. A blog allows you to connect with a wider audience since you are attracting those who are looking for information and solutions. Producing articles for a dental blog is a form of content marketing, which generates 3x the leads of traditional marketing efforts. Think about it. If your dental website does not have a blog, it’s primarily focused on your practice. Yes, it might have testimonials from patients and talk about your commitment to excellent care, but that is not likely to bring in a lot of new eyes to the site. When you blog, the focus shifts to the ideal patient. What do they want to know? And how can you answer that with a blog post? Putting this effort into creating posts can pay off big time. In fact, Hubspot found that marketers who prioritize business blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see positive ROI. People tend to stay on a website longer if it has a blog. Why is that important? Because search engines take ‘time on page’ into account when deciding which websites to display on the first page. Luckily, you don’t have to start from scratch when creating posts for your future patients. Here are some dental blog ideas to spark your interest.Dental blog topic ideas
You know the face you make when a patient says they don’t floss often? That’s the same face marketers make when we see a blog with no direction or strategy. To avoid a decaying blog, focus on finding the sweet spot between what people are searching for and what you have authority on. Here are a few blog topics to jumpstart the ideation process.1. Area of expertise
Some of the most successful dental blogs today are run by individuals with one area of expertise that they stick to writing about. For example, Dr. Richard Chan is an orthodontist with a large portion of kids and teens as patients. In light of this, his blog centers around Invisalign, braces and how orthodontic solutions fit with certain lifestyles.
Think of what expert perspective and helpful information you can offer to people. This should inform your dental blog topic ideas.
2. Myth buster articles
A recent study in the National Library of Medicine examined the large amount of misinformation surrounding dental topics. Researchers explained that the best method to combat this “is to empower individuals to publish and create an environment of ‘real news’.” This dental practice based in Ohio took to their blog to dispel common myths. As a result, they appear on the first page of Google for the term “dental hygiene myths”.
3. Actionable guides
Most people understand why oral health is important, but tackling how to maintain it is a great way to provide useful information. How-to searches are among the most popular types on Google. Take advantage of this and craft guides to common problems facing your current patients or your ideal patient. Say you specialize in children’s dentistry. Writing a “How to get your kids to brush for 2 minutes” or “How to treat a child’s toothache” is a great way to attract new potential patients to your website.4. Answer FAQs
Frequently asked questions or FAQs offer many ideas for dental blog topics. You can take common questions from your patients into account and expand these into full posts. It’s very likely that if your patients are asking the question, others online are asking too. FAQ posts can answer things like:- How often should I get X service at the dentist?
- What are the signs of X dental issue?
- Is X mouth pain normal?
- What do X symptoms mean?
- When should I see a dentist for X?
5. Address embarrassing issues
Many people feel ashamed to bring up certain health-related topics and turn to the internet for answers. You can use a blog to tackle dental hygiene topics like different causes of bad breath or the warning signs of receding gums. Discussing the issues that many are afraid to talk about makes you and your practice more approachable to those struggling with these problems.Finding dental blog topics using Google Trends
Wouldn’t it be great to know what dental hygiene topics people are searching for in your state? Thanks to Google Trends, you can examine popularity for terms that you are considering writing about. This is a free and data-driven method of uncovering dental blog ideas. Let’s see the tool in action.1. Look up a broad topic related to your area of expertise
We’ll type in “tooth filling” since that is a common procedure that many have experienced. Google Trends reveals the data from the past year.
We can see the interest is high since the line never drops below the halfway point. Additionally, the left edge of the graph indicates an uptick occurring. The constant high frequency of search over a year period indicated there is enough interest here to write a post.
2. Scroll down to ‘Related queries’ for more specific topics to write about
Now we can view other similar searches that are rising in interest among searchers.
For instance, why does my tooth hurt after a filling has 70% next to it. This means that the number of times people search for this is up 70%. So this would likely be a popular post on your dental blog.
Tip: You can also zone in on specific search trends in one area.
Google Trends can display search data based on state, metro, or city. Here is what the map looks like for the same tooth filling term, broken down by metropolitan area. This is great information if you want to craft content specific to a certain region to improve local SEO for your dental practice.
You can repeat this process with different dental blog topics to find out which ones are worth creating content around.
Finding dental blog topics using Google Suggest and People Also Ask
Another amazing source for dental blog ideas is Google Suggest and People Also Ask.1. Type in an idea and let autofill give detailed options
If we type in “dental implants for” Google displays a long list of specific searches that people are looking up. You can use these insights to determine ideas for topics and narrow them down based on your specific service offerings.
2. Get ideas from the “People also ask” box
Broader searches often result in a people also ask box on the first page. For instance, the term “ tooth filling” comes with this set of related questions.
With this feature, you can take a broad topic and find specific questions that are relevant, viable ideas for blog posts.
Blogging best practices
You implement certain processes in your practice to keep things running smoothly. The same goes for any successful blog. Here are some best practices to ensure you’re getting the most out of your dental blog.1. Set achievable goals
As mentioned previously, an aimless blog is a sad sight to see. Drive the blog forward by clearly defining what you want to achieve. Are you in search of new patients? Is the main purpose to highlight a specific service offering? Or are you focused on promoting multiple areas of the practice?2. Write with a certain audience in mind
Knowing your audience is half the battle. With clear goals in mind, you’ll have a better idea of who you are trying to target. Your approach if you’re going after new patients might include talking about the benefits of certain services you offer or information about what to look for in a dental practice. These topics wouldn’t work as well if your target audience was existing customers since they already know about your primary services.3. Create a great user experience
You know how important it is to provide patients with a great in-office experience. Think of visitors to your website in the same way. They want a friendly, easy to navigate website that adds value to their day. Here are seven ways to format your blogs to engage readers.4. Stick to one topic for each blog
If you try to target multiple dental hygiene topics in one blog post, you may be doing more harm than good. As you produce more content, the information in the pieces may overlap with each other. Then, they’ll end up competing for spots on Google, which reduces your chances of showing up on the first page. Avoid this dental SEO mistake by addressing one unique topic per post.5. Link to related posts
When you write an article, you’ll likely mention other topics or keywords that you have addressed in past pieces. For example, if you are writing about reasons to consider wisdom teeth removal, you probably mention mouth pain. If you have another article on common types of mouth pain, this would be a great place to link to that article. Internal linking for SEO is a great best practice. It allows search engines to better understand the structure of your website.Ready to have a killer blog but need help getting there?
You can save time and avoid common beginner missteps by partnering with a dental SEO agency. To compete with the wide range of other dental websites and blogs out there, enlist experts who can craft effective strategies for your unique practice. An agency works alongside you to ensure dental blog topics are competitive and align with the long term goals of your business. You also receive technical SEO assistance to solve any issues and optimize for peak performance. For a quick look at the current state of your dental practice website, get a free SEO audit report.
