We’ve heard about it and it caused quite the scramble for online marketers everywhere. On April, Google launched its new search engine algorithm wherein several had called it Mobilegeddon. Furthermore, earlier this month Google underwent a major overhaul where it became a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. which is a holding company overseeing the famous search engine’s products and services – including their search engine and, ultimately, its algorithm. Come to think of it, it is rather mind-boggling on why some people fear this change where in fact, SEO is an ever-changing playing field in marketing. Furthermore, you may be asking on how this change will affect your dental practice’s online appearance?

Whether you like it or not, Mobilegeddon changed the entire playing field of online marketing, it even placed risked on those who have been doing so well in their search engine optimization tactics.

How?

Well, first and foremost, there are no more shortcuts. What we mean is, given that Google’s re-invented itself through its merging with Alphabet Inc., it is also the sign that the field of SEO will continue on to change in favor of users everywhere, therefore it will give more priority to websites that house great and original content. However, this would mean double time for content marketers because organic searches will be harder to achieve.

Second, aside from dishing out quality content, dental practices with websites should make their pages as mobile-friendly as possible. Given that Mobilegeddon happened a few months ago, search engines are expecting that websites everywhere are responsive and are mobile-ready. This is also important since less and less people are surfing the World Wide Web through laptops as the world becomes more and more mobile ready. Now with wearable gadgets like the Apple Watch, dental practices have to keep in mind that they should be flexible as much as possible.

In relation to that, aside from going mobile, users are becoming more localized. This means that they would prefer businesses situated close by. And how do they find these businesses? Through search engine results, of course. That’s why it is important that dental SEO marketers always utilize keywords indicating where the business is located, as it will help make your website pop up easier in search engine results. You can improve this by including a contact page on your website and social media page. However, don’t overload your content with keywords as this will penalize your website. Always remember that the search engine is the new yellow pages.

Finally, if your dental practice is hiring a SEO agency to do the online dirty work, it is best to choose your agency wisely. Unfortunately, it is a sad fact that there are “black hat” SEO firms who look legitimate and promise a lot for your company however in the end, they have made things worse for your company. Much more as Google’s algorithm is becoming more selective, intelligent and user-oriented. It is best to always scrutinize on which SEO agency you should trust and place your money on.