Local SEO for dentists: a 20-minute check

Why this is worth 20 minutes

Most new patients do not search for your practice by name. They type “dentist [suburb]”, “emergency dentist near me”, “dentist open Saturday” or “children’s dentist [town]”, often on a phone and often in pain. Google, and the AI assistants that now answer those questions, have to work out from your public pages what you offer, where you are, when you are open and how to call you.

When we check dental practice websites, the gaps are usually small and very fixable: a homepage title that is just the practice name, a main heading that is a slogan, no structured data with the practice’s address and hours, a phone number that is not a tap-to-call link, or holiday hours missing from the Google listing. None of that needs a new website.

The 20-minute check

1. Read your homepage title and main heading. The title is the text in the browser tab and the blue line on your Google result. If it is only the practice name, a search engine has to guess the rest. A clear title looks like “[Practice name] — family dentist in [suburb]”. Then look at the biggest heading on the page. It should say, in plain words, what you are and where, and there should be one main heading rather than several.
2. Search the way a new patient would. On your phone, in a private or signed-out window, search “dentist [your suburb]”, “emergency dentist near me” (while you are nearby) and one treatment you want more of. Note who is named, and whether you are. Do it once; results vary, and one search is not a ranking report.
3. Check your Google Business Profile category and hours. Search your practice’s exact name and open the listing. The main category should be Dentist (or the specialty you are actually registered in), not something vague. Set special hours for public holidays and the Christmas–New Year closure, so the listing does not tell a patient in pain that you are open when you are not. The name should be the name on your sign, without extra keywords packed in (Google Business Profile guidelines).
4. Line up your name, address, phone and hours. Compare your website, your Google listing, your online booking page and any health directory you appear in. The spelling of the practice name, the street address, the phone number and the hours should be the same everywhere. A change of owner, name or phone system is where old details tend to linger.
5. Make the phone number tap-to-call, and make it obvious. On your phone, open your homepage and tap the number. It should open the dialler with the right number. Check that the button or heading next to it says what it does (“Call us”), not something else, and that your after-hours or emergency instructions are easy to find.
6. Give each main treatment its own page or section. If check-ups, children’s dentistry, emergency appointments, implants or Invisalign-style aligners are real services, each should have a short, factual section: who it is for, what happens, and how to book. Keep it factual. Ahpra’s advertising rules mean no outcome promises, no “painless” or “best dentist” claims and no before-and-after photos without proper context.
7. Add structured data for the practice. Structured data is a small block of code that tells search engines your practice’s name, address, phone, hours and website in a standard format. For a dental practice the matching type is Dentist. Many practice websites have none, or only a generic “WebSite” block. Only include details that are also visible on the page, and keep them identical to your Google listing.
8. Handle reviews within Ahpra’s rules. Patients may review you on Google, and you do not have to remove those reviews. But your own website and social pages count as advertising, and Ahpra treats positive comments about a symptom, treatment or outcome as testimonials, which advertising must not use (Ahpra advertising guidelines, section 4.3). Do not embed or quote clinical reviews on your site. If you reply on Google, keep it short, never confirm the person is a patient, and never discuss their care. Never buy reviews or offer anything for a rating.
9. Make sure search engines can read the site. Open yourwebsite.com.au/robots.txt. If you see Disallow: / under User-agent: *, msnbot or bingbot, you may be asking crawlers to stay away. Here is a 2-minute Bing check.

What this will not do

It will not guarantee a ranking, a set number of new patients, or that an AI assistant will recommend your practice. We do not sell those promises. It will tell you, in about 20 minutes, whether the public information about your practice is clear, accurate and consistent enough to be used.

Questions

Will this get our practice to the top of Google?

No, and we will not claim that. These checks remove common, fixable problems: a homepage that never says what you do or which suburb you are in, details that differ between your site and Google, no structured data, or a listing with the wrong category or holiday hours. Rankings are decided by Google, and nobody honest can promise them.

Can we put our Google reviews on our website?

Be careful. Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (section 133), advertising a regulated health service must not use testimonials, and Ahpra treats a positive statement about a clinical aspect (a symptom, a treatment, or an outcome) as a testimonial. Comments only about non-clinical things, such as friendly reception staff or easy parking, are not testimonials. Republishing or embedding clinical reviews on your own site can be a breach. Read Ahpra’s advertising guidelines, linked on this page, and ask your indemnity insurer if you are unsure.

Do we have to remove patient reviews on Google?

No. Ahpra says advertisers are not responsible for removing reviews on platforms they do not control. It also warns that engaging with reviews on third-party sites may count as using a testimonial, so keep replies short, thank the person, never confirm they are a patient or discuss their care, and invite them to call the practice.

Can you do this for our practice?

Yes. A free Quick Look is one page, written, with three specific findings from your public website and listings. No call, no obligation, and we never ask for passwords. Paid packages, if you want the work done, list exactly what is included. We check websites and listings, not clinical content, and we do not give legal advice.

Written by the Pitch & Panel Team. We have no client case studies yet and we will not invent any. Sources: Google’s Business Profile guidelines, schema.org and Ahpra’s advertising guidelines, linked above. This guide is about websites and listings, not clinical, legal or regulatory advice; check Ahpra’s guidance or your indemnity insurer for advertising questions.