Dental SEO is search engine optimization designed for dental practices to attract patients searching for dental services in their geographic area. Unlike general SEO, it prioritizes local search visibility because most patients choose dentists within 5–10 km of their home or workplace. The goal is to appear in the Google Local Pack (the map results showing three businesses) and rank organically for terms like "dentist near me," "emergency dentist Ottawa," or "dental implants Toronto." The foundation is Google Business Profile optimization. Your profile needs accurate NAP (name, address, phone), consistent hours, 15–30 recent patient reviews, and weekly posts or updates. Dental practices with 50+ reviews and a 4.5+ star average typically outrank competitors with fewer signals, assuming other factors are equal. On-site, dental SEO means creating service pages for each treatment (cleanings, crowns, Invisalign, implants) with location modifiers and clear calls-to-action for booking. You also need content that answers patient questions: cost breakdowns, insurance acceptance, sedation options, emergency availability. Schema markup for LocalBusiness and MedicalBusiness types helps Google understand your services and display rich results. Link building for dentists focuses on local citations (directories like YellowPages.ca, health directories, chamber of commerce listings) and partnerships with complementary businesses like orthodontists or pharmacies. Getting listed on RateMD or HealthGrades adds authority in the medical niche. Conversion rate matters as much as rankings. Dental websites need prominent phone numbers, online booking integrations, and mobile-friendly design since 65–70% of local health searches happen on phones. At Ottawa SEO, we see dental clients who combine strong Local Pack placement with a simple booking flow convert 8–12% of organic visitors into appointment requests, versus 2–4% for practices that rank well but have poor user experience. The competitive landscape varies wildly. A small town might have minimal competition, while downtown Toronto or Vancouver requires aggressive review acquisition, consistent content publishing, and technical excellence to crack the top three local results.