There are over 202,000 dentists in the U.S. alone. This means you’re up against some stiff competition when it comes to getting more inquiries and attracting patients to your practice.
Simply having a dental website isn’t enough; you need to ensure that potential patients can actually find you when they search for dental services online.
This is where link building comes in. Link building for dentists can help you earn high-quality backlinks from other websites that improve your search rankings, boost your online authority, and drive potential patients to your site.
In this guide, we’ll unpack what link building for dentists is and explore some of the best strategies so that you can stand out in a highly competitive market.
What Is Link Building for Dental Practices?
Link building for dentists refers to the process of acquiring backlinks, which are links from other sites that point to your dental website.
These backlinks signal to search engines like Google that your website is credible and authoritative, helping it rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Ranking well in the SERPs is important because the top Google search results receive almost 28% of all clicks online.
Linkbuilding is a crucial part of dental search engine optimization (SEO), as it also improves your online visibility and increases the chances of attracting new patients.
Since over 48% of potential patients search for dental practices on Google, having a strong backlink profile can make a significant difference in a dentist’s ability to generate new appointments.
Why Is Link Building Important for Dentists?
Below, we explore the key reasons why link building is essential for dentists and how it can directly impact your business growth:
✅ Improves search engine rankings
Search engines like Google use backlinks as a ranking factor to determine the credibility and authority of a website.
The more high-quality backlinks a dental website has, the higher it’s likely to rank in SERPs.
This is important because the page that ranks first on Google has an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages ranking positions two to ten.
When a reputable website, such as a health blog or local news site, links to yours, Google considers it a vote of confidence. This means you’ll get more visibility in search results.
Without a strong backlink profile (which is your collection of backlinks) even a well-designed dental website with great content may struggle to rank above competitors who actively build high-quality links.
✅ Increases website authority and trustworthiness
Backlinks from reputable and authoritative websites signal to Google that a dental practice is a trustworthy and legitimate business.
If your website has backlinks from well-known sources, such as WebMD or Dentistry Today, Google is more likely to consider it an authoritative source of information.
Additionally, your domain rating (DR), a metric used by the SEO tool Ahrefs to determine the strength of your backlink profile, increases the likelihood of ranking well in organic search results.
When potential patients see a dentist’s website linked from credible sources, they’re more likely to trust the practice before even visiting its website. The fact that 86% of users say they contacted a dentist after running a search proves that authority is important.
✅ Helps with local SEO and Google Maps Rankings
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your dental practice’s online presence so that it ranks higher in local search results on Google.
It’s a way to optimize both your website and your online presence to increase your rankings within a specific geographical area.
When potential patients search for dentists, Google prioritizes businesses that are within the searcher’s local proximity.
For dentists, local SEO is even more important than general SEO. This is because 46% of searches are local, so Google prioritizes businesses with strong local relevance.
Backlinks from local directories, blogs, news sites, and chamber of commerce websites help Google understand that your practice serves a specific area.
Strong backlinks improve rankings in Google’s Local Pack, the map results that appear at the top of local searches.
Appearing in this section can significantly increase calls and appointment bookings because they’re the first results displayed in Google when someone searches for local businesses like yours.
Below is what Google’s Local Pack looks like when we search for dentists in Salt Lake City:
✅ Drives more organic traffic and patient appointments
One of the most significant benefits of dental website link building is the increase in organic traffic–-which is website traffic you don’t pay for. Some of the organic traffic you get is when people find dental professionals through search engines.
Organic traffic makes up 53% of all website traffic, so prioritizing strategies that drive this, including link building, is essential.
A higher ranking in Google’s search results also means more clicks and visits from potential patients. In fact, 88% of local Google searches result in a visit to a physical location.
When authoritative websites link to a dental site, it generates direct referral traffic, meaning people who trust those sources will click your backlink and visit your website.
More website visitors lead to more inquiries, appointment bookings, and long-term patient relationships.
✅ Helps outrank competitors and establishes thought leadership
Dental practices that invest in strong link-building strategies can outrank competitors in SERPs and establish themselves as industry leaders.
For example, if two competing dentists offer the same services and have similar websites, the one with more backlinks is more likely to rank higher.
Link building can also position you as an authority in your field, especially if you’re featured in dental publications and industry blogs.
Websites with strong search engine optimization and backlinks will maintain rankings over time, while competitors without a link-building strategy may lose visibility.
The 5 Best Link Building Strategies for Dentists
Now that you know more about link building and why dentistry SEO practices are important, let’s unpack some strategies you can use to acquire strong backlinks for your business:
1. Optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP)
A well-optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) is crucial for local SEO and link building. While GBP itself doesn’t provide you with a backlink, it helps in two key ways:
➡️ Increased citations and mentions: When you optimize your GBP, it gets indexed by search engine crawlers and platforms like Yelp, Apple Maps, and other directories. These platforms often generate backlinks to your website.
➡️ Better visibility and more natural backlinks: An optimized GBP profile increases your visibility in local searches, which means blogs, directories, and news sites are more likely to reference your practice.
Optimizing your GPB also helps attract positive online reviews, which is vital because consumers trust Google reviews 54% more than those on any other platform.
👉 How to optimize your Google Business Profile for links
Below are the steps to take to optimize your GBP:
Complete your profile: Ensure all fields, including your business name, phone number, website, services, and business hours, are filled out accurately.
Add a website link: Always include your official website URL.
Use keywords in your business description: This helps Google associate your profile with relevant searches.
Encourage reviews: Positive reviews improve your credibility and encourage local directories to reference your practice. This is important because over 70% of consumers use search engines to read reviews when looking for a new dentist.
Upload high-quality photos and videos: A well-maintained profile is more likely to be referenced by local blogs and directories.
Below is a good example of a Google Business Profile for a dental practice that could help it gain more backlinks from authoritative sources:
2. Get listed in local business directories and citations
Online business directories provide high-authority backlinks to dental websites. These citations mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) help Google verify your practice’s legitimacy and improve local search rankings.
Over 48% of patients will conduct over two weeks of research before scheduling a dental appointment, so your business needs to be visible in online directories.
Some high-quality directories that provide valuable backlinks for dentists include Yelp, Healthgrades, Zodoc, and your local chamber of commerce website.
👉 How to get directory listings and backlinks
Follow these steps to start getting directory listings and citations:
Claim your profile on each directory: Ensure all your details are correct and that they match the information on your website.
Add your website URL: Most directories allow you to include a backlink to your website.
Encourage patient reviews: Positive reviews increase credibility, making your directory listings more authoritative.
Check for duplicate listings: Avoid duplicate or inconsistent listings, which can confuse search engines and potential patients.
This dental practice has an accurate and detailed listing on Yelp, earning a backlink from a website with a DR of 95:
3. Build partnerships with other local businesses and organizations
Partnering with local businesses, medical professionals, and organizations is a great way to build high-quality backlinks from relevant sites and improve your practice’s visibility.
Here are some examples of what you could do:
➡️ Collaborate with local health and wellness businesses: Partner with gyms, nutritionists, or wellness clinics to write guest blogs on oral health and receive backlinks in return.
➡️ Partner with schools and community groups: Offer free dental check-ups for school kids, sponsor local events, and request a backlink from their website.
➡️ Work with other medical professionals: Network with orthodontists or pediatricians who might refer patients to you and link to your website.
➡️ Sponsor local charities or sports teams: Many organizations feature sponsors on their websites, providing you with a high-quality backlink.
👉 How to form local partnerships for link building
Here’s how you can engage in local partnerships with businesses and organizations to build backlinks:
Identify relevant local businesses or organizations that align with your dental practice.
Offer mutually beneficial collaborations.
Politely request a backlink from their website when your practice is mentioned.
This dental practice has acquired a backlink by hosting a free community event along with local businesses. The backlink comes from an authoritative local news publication:
4. Content marketing and linkable assets
Creating high-value content encourages other websites to want to link to your site naturally. People are more likely to share, reference, and link to educational and visually appealing content.
Research shows that over 90% of marketers use content marketing as their main method of generating backlinks.
Here are some types of linkable content for dentists that you may want to consider developing:
➡️ Educational blog posts: Topics like “The Importance of Regular Dental Checkups” can attract links from health blogs.
➡️ Infographics: Visual guides like How to Brush and Floss Properly” can be shared on social media and other websites.
➡️ Videos and tutorials: Explainers on “What to Expect During a Root Canal” can attract backlinks from YouTube and health sites.
This dental practice has developed a linkable blog post that contains both a video and an infographic about how to use dental floss:
👉 How to promote content for backlinks
Consider hiring a content writer or an SEO specialist to help you create your linkable assets. Once you’ve created your content, you can:
Share it on social media and forums to increase visibility.
Reach out to bloggers, journalists, and local media to feature your content.
Submit to dental publications or guest pot on industry websites.
5. Leverage social media and community engagement
Social media and community engagement play an important role in link building.
While social media links themselves don’t necessarily directly impact dental SEO, they help generate brand awareness, organic backlinks, and engagement that ultimately boost your website’s authority.
A recent survey of dentists found that 97% of them use Facebook, and for good reason.
When you post engaging content on social media, it increases visibility and shareability. If influencers, bloggers, or other websites find your social media content valuable, they may link to it on their own sites.
It also drives more traffic to your website, increasing your chances of earning natural links.
This dental practice regularly publishes its blog posts on social media, earning organic backlinks to its website:
👉 What to do on social media to earn links
To earn the organic links that social media can provide, follow these steps:
Share blog posts, infographics, and videos related to dental care on your social media platforms.
Use eye-catching visuals and captions to encourage social shares.
Encourage patients to share your content, especially success stories.
Tag local businesses and influencers to increase your reach.
Mistakes Dentists Should Avoid When Building Links
You now know how to build links for your dental website, but a lot could go wrong when you build these. Let’s go over some mistakes to avoid when building dental practice links:
❌ Using spammy or low-quality directories
Many dentists try to list their practice on as many directories as possible without checking their quality.
While high-authority directories like Yelp assist with SEO, spammy directories can harm your rankings.
Google ignores or even penalizes links from low-quality directories, and these platforms often have thin content, excessive ads, or no real audience.
✅ How to avoid it
Only list your dental practice on reputable directories, like GBP, Healthgrades, and Yelp.
Use SEO tools like Ahrefs and Moz to check a directory’s domain rating and avoid those with a DR of less than 20.
Avoid “pay-for-links” directory sites that promise SEO boosts.
❌ Buying backlinks from private blog networks (PBNs)
Some SEO agencies or marketers sell backlinks from private blog networks (PBNs), which are groups of interlinked websites created just to pass link juice.
Google actively penalizes PBNs, which can tank your rankings. Many PBN websites are low-quality, have poor content, and are easy to detect.
Additionally, this strategy involves short-term gain and long-term risk, as Google updates can wipe out PBN backlinks overnight.
✅ How to avoid it
Don’t buy backlinks from “guaranteed ranking” services.
Focus on earning natural backlinks through the strategies we’ve outlined above.
Check a website’s backlink profile before trying to acquire a link from it, if the site has hundreds of spammy links, it’s best to avoid it.
❌ Focusing only on homepage links
Many dentists try to get all their backlinks to point to the website’s homepage, ignoring their service pages and blog posts.
This is harmful because it looks unnatural as authoritative websites don’t just link to homepages.
It also limits your SEO benefits, as backlinks should support multiple pages to boost overall domain rating. Additionally, it could reduce potential traffic and conversions, impacting your rankings.
✅ How to avoid it
Build links to your service pages, such as teeth whitening or dental implants, and blog posts.
Ensure you encourage links to valuable content, such as any guides or FAQs you’ve created.
Use internal linking, ensuring homepage authority passes SEO value to other pages on your site.
The Ultimate Link Building Solution for Dental Practices
Link building is one of the most powerful ways to improve your dental practice’s online visibility, attract more patients, and establish trust in your local community.
Focusing on the strategies we’ve outlined above can help you earn high-quality backlinks that boost your search rankings and drive consistent traffic to your website.
However, effective link building takes time, expertise, and a well-executed strategy. That’s where Linkbuilder can help.
If you want to outrank your competitors, increase patient inquiries, and grow your dental practice, professional ink building can make all the difference. We specialize in building high-quality backlinks that help dental websites achieve long-term success in search results.
Let’s build your authority and bring more patients to your practice! Contact us today to learn how we can craft a tailored link-building strategy for your dental business.