Dental marketing sits under advertising rules most agencies have never read. We build campaigns that fill the appointment book without putting your registration at risk.
Dentistry is a regulated health profession, and advertising a regulated health service is governed by the National Law and the Ahpra advertising guidelines. The rules are specific and they are enforced: testimonials about clinical care are prohibited in advertising, and so are claims that create unreasonable expectations of benefit or that offer inducements without terms.
That matters for SEO because a great deal of standard local-marketing advice — collect testimonials, put patient success stories on the homepage, run a limited-time offer — is advice a dental practice cannot safely follow as written. The campaign has to produce the same commercial result within a narrower set of tools.
Who it's for
How patients actually find a dentist.
Three very different searches, each needing its own approach.
01
Emergency & urgent
Toothache, broken tooth, knocked-out tooth, abscess. Immediate, local, usually mobile, and decided on who can see them today.
02
New patients relocating
People who have moved suburb or state and are choosing a regular practice. They compare, read reviews, check health fund arrangements and parking.
03
Considered treatment
Implants, orthodontics, cosmetic work. Researched over weeks or months, decided on trust, credentials and clarity about cost.
What's included
What the work covers.
✓Ahpra-aware content review before anything is published
✓Google Business Profile optimised for a practice, not a generic business
✓Individual pages per treatment, written for patients not practitioners
✓Health fund and payment information made easy to find
✓Review strategy that stays inside the advertising rules
✓Online booking that syncs with your practice management software
The detail
What dental SEO has to account for.
01
Testimonials are not available to you
Under section 133 of the National Law, using testimonials about clinical aspects of a regulated health service in advertising is prohibited. In practice that rules out the patient-quote carousel that sits on almost every other local business homepage, and it is a common reason practices receive complaints.
Unprompted Google reviews on your listing are treated differently from testimonials you publish in your own advertising, but the safe position is to leave reviews where patients left them rather than reproducing clinical praise on your site. We build trust through credentials, clear treatment explanations and transparent fees instead — and in our experience those convert at least as well.
None of this is legal advice. Your practice should confirm its position against the current Ahpra guidance, and we will work to whatever line your professional indemnity insurer is comfortable with.
02
In WA, health fund questions come early
HBF holds a substantially larger share in Western Australia than anywhere else in the country, and "HBF dentist near me" style searches are a meaningful proportion of new-patient queries here. Practices that state their health fund arrangements plainly — preferred provider status, HICAPS on site, gap details where they can be published — capture enquiries that otherwise go to whoever answers the question first.
The same applies to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule and veterans' arrangements. These are high-intent searches from patients who have already decided to book; the only question is whether your page tells them they are eligible.
03
Emergency dental is the fastest win available
"Emergency dentist" searches convert at a rate almost nothing else in dentistry matches, because the patient needs an appointment today and will take the first practice that can offer one. A dedicated emergency page stating same-day availability, after-hours arrangements and what to do in the meantime will typically produce bookings faster than any other page on the site.
It also needs the Google Business Profile to agree. If your listed hours say closed and your site says same-day emergency appointments, the listing wins and the call goes elsewhere.
04
One page per treatment, in patient language
Patients search "how much are dental implants", "does a root canal hurt" and "clear braces vs metal" — not the clinical terminology used on most practice websites. Individual treatment pages written in the words patients actually use will rank where a single "our services" list never can.
Publishing indicative fee ranges is permitted provided the presentation is not misleading and any terms are stated. Practices that do it consistently report fewer time-wasting enquiries and better-qualified consultations, because price-shocked patients self-select out before the chair time is booked.
This page covers the industry · dental angle specifically. For the
full service — scope, inclusions and pricing — see our
seo services page,
or start with a free 30-minute audit
and we’ll tell you which of it you actually need.
Not for clinical aspects of care. Section 133 of the National Law prohibits testimonials in advertising a regulated health service, which is why we build trust through credentials, clear treatment information and transparent fees instead. Confirm your specific position against current Ahpra guidance — this is not legal advice.
Reviews patients leave unprompted on your Google Business Profile are generally treated differently from testimonials you publish in your own advertising, and they do affect local rankings. The cautious position, and the one we recommend, is to leave them on the platform rather than reproducing clinical praise on your website.
Fees can generally be published if the presentation is accurate and not misleading, and any conditions are stated clearly. Time-limited offers and inducements carry more risk and need careful wording. We draft it and your practice signs off before anything goes live.
Google Business Profile improvements and an emergency dental page often produce bookings within the first month. Treatment pages targeting considered procedures typically take three to six months to rank, because the research cycle and the competition are both longer.
Want to know where you stand?
Start with a free 30-minute audit. We'll review your website, your rankings and your Google Business Profile, and send you the findings in writing — no pitch, no lock-in.
