If you’ve listened to this episode of The Dental Marketing Mix, you know we did something a little different.
Instead of talking about the latest Google update or ad strategy tweak, we pulled back the curtain on our internal process at DentalScapes — specifically, the very first step we take with any potential client.
Before we talk about:
- Ads
- SEO
- Budgets
- Campaign structure
- Growth strategy
We run a comprehensive marketing audit.
And not the kind of “audit” most agencies pitch — a quick glance at your homepage and a screenshot of your keyword rankings.
We’re talking about a real structural assessment of your visibility, infrastructure, and growth opportunity.
Because after years in dental marketing, here’s what DentalScapes co-founder Dan Brian has learned:
Most practices don’t have a marketing problem.
They have a visibility problem.
Or a systems problem.
Or an alignment problem.
In this episode, Dan walks through the five mission-critical areas we evaluate first in every DentalScapes audit. Here’s a deeper breakdown of that exact framework.
1. Local Search Visibility: Are You Capturing Demand Where It Actually Exists?
For most dental practices, local search is the foundation of patient acquisition.
When someone searches:
- “Best dentist near me”
- “Emergency dentist in Charlotte”
- “Dental implants in Dallas”
Are you visible where it matters?
Search Grid Analysis
We don’t just check your rankings at your office address.
We run search grid analysis across your service area — neighborhoods, suburbs, high-demand ZIP codes — to see how you perform geographically.
Many practices look strong at their exact address… but disappear three miles away.
That’s lost revenue.
Google Business Profile Optimization
We conduct a comprehensive audit of your Google Business Profile (GBP), reviewing:
- Primary and secondary category alignment
- Service listings
- Photos and media
- Q&A section
- Posting cadence
- Messaging functionality
Then we go deeper.
Reviews: Rating Is Not Enough
We analyze:
- Review velocity (the frequency at which you’re acquiring new Google reviews)
- Recency
- Engagement patterns
Google increasingly rewards active, trusted businesses, not stagnant profiles.
And most importantly, we compare you directly to competitors. Because it doesn’t matter if you think your profile looks strong.
What matters is whether you’re winning visibility in real searches.
2. AI Visibility: Organic Search Is No Longer Just Rankings
This is where most practices — and many agencies — are behind.
The definition of organic search has changed dramatically in the past year dan.
Patients are now forming opinions before they ever click a website.
We analyze your presence in:
- Google AI Overviews
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Gemini
- Claude
- Voice search
- Generative summaries layered into traditional search
What We’re Actually Evaluating
In our AI visibility audit, we assess:
- Brand entity recognition
- Structured data signals
- Authority indicators across the web
- Topical depth
- Citation mentions
- Provider credibility signals
We test real-world prompts like:
- “Who’s the best dentist near me?”
- “Is Invisalign worth it?”
- “Best option for missing teeth?”
If your practice isn’t surfacing in AI-driven ecosystems, keyword rankings alone won’t carry you.
This is where modern organic strategy is headed — and it’s not optional anymore.
3. Paid Search Economics: Ground Strategy in Math, Not Hope
Before we ever evaluate your Google Ads account, we analyze your market’s economics.
We look at:
- Average CPC for general dentistry
- Emergency dentistry
- Implants
- Invisalign
- Cosmetic services
From there, we back into realistic:
- Cost per lead (CPL)
- Cost per acquisition (CPA)
For both:
- Traditional Google PPC campaigns
- Google Local Service Ads (LSAs)
Here’s why that matters.
If implants in your city require $90–$150 per click to be competitive — and your expectation is $25 per lead — that disconnect has to be addressed before strategy begins.
Marketing should start with reality.
Not wishful thinking.
This step aligns expectations, budgets, and profitability before money gets spent.
4. Technical Website Audit: Your Infrastructure Layer
Even strong marketing can underperform if your technical foundation is weak.
We run a full site crawl and evaluate:
- Indexation
- URL structure
- Internal linking
- Crawl depth
- Duplicate content
- Broken pages
Core Web Vitals
We assess:
- Page speed
- Mobile usability
- Layout stability
- Server responsiveness
Slow sites don’t just frustrate users — they suppress visibility.
Schema Markup & Structured Data
We review whether your website includes structured schema for:
- Local business information
- Services
- Providers
- Reviews
- FAQs
Schema helps search engines — and AI systems — understand and trust your site.
Even great content can underperform without proper structure.
5. Content Authority: Is Your Website Actually Competitive?
This is more than “Do you have an implants page?”
We assess:
- Intent alignment
- Localization
- Topical authority
- Depth of patient education
- Conversion clarity
We review core service areas:
- Implants
- Invisalign
- Emergency dentistry
- Preventive care
- Cosmetic treatments
EEAT Principles
We apply Google’s EEAT framework:
- Experience
- Expertise
- Authority
- Trustworthiness
Are your providers clearly positioned as experts?
Does your content demonstrate real clinical credibility?
Or is it interchangeable with every other dental website in your market?
Authoritative, structured, locally relevant content fuels both:
- Traditional search
- AI-driven discovery
Marketing Is a System — Not a Collection of Tactics
When you put these five areas together:
- Local visibility
- AI visibility
- Paid search economics
- Technical infrastructure
- Content authority
You get something far more valuable than vanity metrics.
You get clarity.
And what we often find is this:
The fastest growth rarely comes from “just run more ads.”
It comes from:
- Strengthening local relevance
- Expanding AI presence
- Aligning expectations with market economics
- Fixing technical barriers
- Elevating content authority
When the system is aligned:
- Ads perform better
- Organic visibility expands
- AI discovery increases
- Conversion rates improve
- Revenue becomes predictable
That’s why this audit is the first step with every DentalScapes client.
We start with clarity.
TLDR
Before we talk tactics, we assess structure.
Every DentalScapes engagement begins with a comprehensive five-part marketing audit designed to evaluate your practice’s true marketing readiness.
Key Takeaways
- Most practices don’t have a marketing problem — they have a visibility or systems problem.
- Local search visibility requires geographic analysis and deep GBP optimization.
- Organic success now includes AI visibility — not just keyword rankings.
- Paid search strategy must be grounded in real market CPC and CPA data.
- Technical website infrastructure directly impacts search and AI performance.
- Strong content must demonstrate EEAT and real clinical authority.
- Sustainable growth comes from aligning the entire marketing system — not chasing tactics.
Get the Free Marketing Audit for YOUR Practice
If you want to understand exactly how your practice stacks up across these five areas, we’ll run the same type of comprehensive marketing audit for you.
Schedule your free strategy call with DentalScapes today and let’s build a clear, data-driven roadmap to scale your practice with innovative online marketing solutions.