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Dental SEO checklist: 40 checks for a UK dental practice

Forty checks, in the order that usually matters most for a local dental practice, each tied to what Google or the GDC actually says. Work through it once, then revisit it every quarter.

Published by Practice Radar · · 6 min read

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This dental SEO checklist covers the forty things that decide whether patients find your practice on Google, in the order that usually matters most for a local practice. It starts with your Google Business Profile because, for "dentist near me" searches, the map pack comes first. Each check links to what Google or the GDC actually says, so you can tell real requirements from folklore.

What is SEO in dental?

Dental SEO is the work of making your practice appear when local people search for a dentist or a treatment, in Google's map pack, the normal results and now in AI answers. Google's local ranking help page says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and popularity, which it explains under the heading prominence. Distance you cannot change. Relevance and prominence are what this checklist works on. For a fuller introduction, see what dental SEO is.

1. Google Business Profile (checks 1 to 9)

  1. The profile is verified and you control it. At least two people at the practice have owner or manager access, using practice email addresses rather than an agency's.
  2. The business name is your real name. Google's Business Profile guidelines say the name should reflect your real-world name as used on your shopfront and website, with no added taglines or keywords. "Smith Dental Practice" not "Smith Dental Practice, Best Dentist in Leeds".
  3. The primary category is Dentist, or the most accurate dental category, with as few extra categories as genuinely apply. Google asks you to use "as few categories as possible".
  4. Hours are correct, including holiday hours.
  5. The phone number is the practice's local number and the website link goes to your homepage or the right location page.
  6. Services are listed, including the treatments you want more of, with short factual descriptions.
  7. Photos are current, showing the outside of the building as patients will see it, reception, surgeries and the team.
  8. Every review gets a reply. Google says replying to reviews shows that you value the feedback. Replies must never confirm someone is a patient.
  9. Practitioner profiles follow the rules. Google says a practitioner's profile title "should include only the name of the practitioner", and the practice needs its own separate profile.

See this for your own town.

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Run on our own practice first: ninth of the 14 practices measured in its town in May, first of 18 in September, on UK-wide search value. Page-one keywords: 6 in May, 194 in September.

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2. Listings and consistency (checks 10 to 14)

  1. Your name, address and phone number are identical everywhere: website, Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Facebook and directories.
  2. Bing Places and Apple Maps listings are claimed and match Google.
  3. Your NHS website profile is current if you hold an NHS contract in England. NHS England's policy book for primary dental services says contractors must update or verify their opening times, services, facilities, contact details and whether they are accepting new NHS patients at least once every 90 days.
  4. Old addresses and phone numbers are gone. Search your previous number and address to find stray listings.
  5. There are no duplicate Google profiles for the same location.

3. Website technical checks (checks 15 to 22)

  1. The site is in Google Search Console and you can log in.
  2. Key pages are indexed. Inspect your homepage, treatment pages and fees page in Search Console.
  3. No stray noindex tags are left over from a rebuild.
  4. robots.txt does not block anything important, including Googlebot and the search crawlers of AI assistants (see section 8).
  5. An XML sitemap is submitted in Search Console. Google's sitemaps documentation explains when one helps.
  6. The site uses HTTPS on every page, with old http addresses redirecting.
  7. It works well on a phone. Tap targets are usable, text is readable, the phone number is a tap-to-call link.
  8. Core Web Vitals pass. Google's Core Web Vitals guidance sets "good" as Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint under 200 milliseconds and Cumulative Layout Shift under 0.1. Check the report in Search Console.

4. Pages and content (checks 23 to 30)

  1. Each main treatment has its own page. Implants, Invisalign or other aligners, bonding, whitening, hygiene, emergency appointments, whichever you want more of.
  2. Each page answers patients' questions near the top: what it is, NHS or private, starting fee if you publish one, who provides it.
  3. Page titles are unique and descriptive. Google's title link guidance asks for unique, descriptive, concise titles and warns against keyword stuffing. "Dental implants in Macclesfield | Practice name" works.
  4. Meta descriptions describe the page in a sentence a patient would click.
  5. There is a fees page in plain text, not only a PDF.
  6. Pages link to each other sensibly, for example from the homepage to each treatment and from each treatment to fees and booking.
  7. Content is written for patients, not search engines. Google's helpful content guidance asks whether content is people-first and shows first-hand expertise.
  8. No mass-produced town pages. Google's spam policies treat many low-value generated pages as scaled content abuse. One useful page beats twenty thin ones.

What are effective SEO keywords for dentists?

The searches that bring patients are usually a treatment or need plus a place: "dentist [town]", "emergency dentist [town]", "NHS dentist [town]", "private dentist [town]", "dental implants [town]", plus "near me" versions that Google answers using the searcher's location. Find the exact wording people use in your area from Search Console's queries report, Google's autocomplete and the keyword planner in Google Ads. Then make sure each important search has one clear page that answers it.

5. GDC website requirements (checks 31 to 34)

These are not ranking factors, but they are rules, and a site that meets them is clearer for patients. The GDC's guidance on advertising requires:

  1. For each dental professional named as providing care, their qualification, the country it came from and their GDC number.
  2. The practice name, address, email and phone number, the GDC's contact details or a link to its website, and the date the site was last updated.
  3. The complaints procedure, including who patients can escalate to for NHS and private treatment.
  4. Accurate titles. Only dentists on a GDC specialist list may call themselves specialists, and the site must say whether the practice is NHS, mixed or wholly private.

6. Structured data (checks 35 and 36)

  1. Local business markup is in place. Google's local business structured data guidance says to use the most specific LocalBusiness subtype, which for a practice is Dentist, with name and address required and opening hours, phone and URL recommended. Google says it does not guarantee any feature will show.
  2. No star ratings marked up about yourself. Google's review snippet rules say local business ratings are only eligible on sites that capture reviews about other businesses, so self-serving review markup will not earn stars.

7. Reviews and reputation (checks 37 and 38)

  1. You ask every patient for a review, with a short link or QR code, and never offer anything in return. Google says incentives are prohibited.
  2. You know your target. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Our study of 1,489 UK places found the median practice holding a map place had 113 reviews, but your town's number is what counts. Our guide to working out a review target shows how to find it.

8. AI search (check 39)

  1. AI search crawlers are allowed. Check robots.txt and firewall settings allow OAI-SearchBot (ChatGPT), PerplexityBot, Claude-SearchBot and Bingbot as well as Googlebot. Google's guide to generative AI features says you do not need llms.txt files or special markup for its AI features.

9. Measurement (check 40)

  1. You review the same figures every month. Search Console clicks and queries, Business Profile calls and website clicks, new patient enquiries by source, and your map position across your area rather than from one spot.

Local SEO checker and rank checker: what to look for

A local SEO checker or rank checker that reports one position for "dentist [town]" is misleading, because the map pack changes as the searcher moves. A rank grid, which checks the same search from many points across your area, gives a truer picture. Our guide to map visibility measured by people, not points explains why. If you want the checks run for you, Practice Radar re-checks rankings and map positions every week. The free search audit is a quick first look, with no email needed.

How often to run this dental SEO checklist

  • Weekly: reply to reviews, check Business Profile for edits you did not make.
  • Monthly: measurement (check 40), one treatment page improved.
  • Quarterly: the full list, especially listings, titles and GDC details after any team change.
  • After any website change: checks 15 to 22 the same day.

See where your practice stands on Google locally

One position for 'dentist [town]' misleads, because the map changes as the searcher moves. The free audit checks your Maps position at 25 points around the practice, your rank for ten local searches and whether AI Overviews name you. No email.

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Practice Radar re-checks your rankings and map positions every week, and on the Growth plan adds site health checks, managed listings and website changes applied when you approve.

Run on our own practice first: ninth of the 14 practices measured in its town in May, first of 18 in September, on UK-wide search value. Page-one keywords: 6 in May, 194 in September.

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