Step 1: Claim and Perfect Your Google Business Profile

Let’s start with the basics your Google Business Profile (GBP).
If you haven’t claimed it yet, do it. It’s free, and it’s literally the foundation of your local SEO strategy.

Once claimed, go through every single field. I mean every single one.

Here’s what matters most:

• Business Name Use your real practice name, not spammy stuff like Best Braces Orthodontist Chicago. Google hates that.
• Primary Category Choose “Orthodontist.” Then add secondary categories like “Dental Clinic” or “Cosmetic Dentistry.”
• Business Description Write like a human. Drop your main services, local keywords, and tone down the robotic phrasing. Example:

  “We’re a friendly orthodontic practice in Austin offering braces, Invisalign, and full orthodontic care for all ages.”

• Location & Service Areas Add your physical location plus neighborhoods you serve. This boosts your local visibility for nearby searches.
• Hours Accurate, especially holidays. Google hates inconsistencies.
• Photos We’ll talk about this in a minute (spoiler: they’re game changers).

Pro tip: Don’t keyword stuff your business name. It might work for two weeks until Google catches you. Then poof ranking gone.

Step 2: Optimize Your Photos (Seriously, Don’t Skip This)

You’d think people care about your credentials or degrees nope. They care about your patient reviews and photos.
Because photos are what build trust.

You need:

• Team photos (smiling, real, not stocky).

• Clinic exterior shots (so people recognize your building when they pull up).

• Inside views of your waiting area, dental chairs, sterilization area (yep, even that).

• Before-and-after smiles (if compliant).

Every photo should be tagged and geo located tools like GeoImgr can help with that.

Google reads those hidden details. It sees your geotags, file names, EXIF data, and keywords. It all strengthens your Google Maps optimization.

So instead of uploading “IMG_8923.jpg”, rename it to something like:

“austin-orthodontist-office-interior.jpg”

Also:

• Keep uploading consistently.

• Add videos (yes, short clips of your team waving, talking, or showing your clinic).

• Let patients tag you on social when they check in.

That social signal boosts your local authority too.

Step 3: Nail the NAP (Name, Address, Phone) Consistency

This part sounds boring, but it’s massive for local SEO success.

Your NAP has to match everywhere:

• Your website

• Google Business Profile

• Facebook Page

• Yelp

• Healthgrades

• Any local directories or citations

If your phone number or address format differs (like “Suite 2” vs “Ste #2”), Google gets confused. And when you confuse search engines, your rankings drop.

Mini example:
Let’s say your website says “SmileWorks Orthodontics” and your GBP says “Smile Works Orthodontics.” That space? That little hyphen? Yeah, Google notices.

Step 4: Build Local Citations (Still Matters in 2025)

Okay, citations used to be everything back in 2015. Now, they’re more like foundational trust signals.
But you still need online directories consistent, high quality ones.

Submit your practice info to:

• Bing Places

• Apple Maps

• Yelp

• Zocdoc

• CareDash

• Local dental directories or even chamber of commerce sites.

Pro tip: don’t spam low quality directories. Focus on ones that are niche (dental related or medical).

Citations show Google that your orthodontic practice is a real, physical location with consistent info.

Step 5: Collect (and Manage) Google Reviews Like a Pro

Alright, now this is the secret sauce. Google Reviews make or break your Google Maps rankings.

Quantity + quality + recency = ranking power.

Encourage satisfied patients to leave reviews right after appointments. Like, literally hand them a card with your review link generator.

Note: Never fake reviews. Google’s algorithm + AI = ruthless.

How to do it without sounding salesy

Ask naturally:

“Hey, we love your smile results! If you’ve got a second, leaving a quick Google review helps other patients find us.”

Respond to every review

Yes, every single one.

• Thank people for positive ones.

• Be calm and kind in negative ones.
  Because those replies also signal local engagement and trustworthiness.

And by the way, reviews affect your click through rate (CTR) people choose the 4.9 star orthodontist every time.

Check out Moz’s local ranking factors reviews are always near the top.

Step 6: Location Pages: The Underrated Power Move

If you serve multiple locations or cities, you can’t just rely on one website page.

You need location-specific pages like:

• /orthodontist-in-dallas

• /orthodontist-in-fort-worth

Each dental practices should include:

• NAP for that location

• Embedded Google Map

• Local photos (real ones)

• Local keywords (“orthodontic care in Fort Worth”)

Why? Because Google ranks pages, not websites.
So if you’ve got 3 clinics, give each one its own digital “home.”

Step 7: Add Schema Markup (the Techy but Important Part)

This one’s a little nerdy, but hang with me.

Schema markup tells search engines what your page is.
Add LocalBusiness schema to your site.

Include:

• Name

• Address

• Phone

• Opening hours

• Latitude/Longitude

• Services offered

Tools like TechnicalSEO.com’s schema generator make it easy.

That structured data helps Google match your website info with your Google Maps listing, improving your local ranking accuracy.

Step 8: Track and Adjust Using Google Maps Ranking Reports

Don’t guess your Google Maps ranking performance.
Use a tracker like BrightLocal or Whitespark.

You’ll get a local grid view showing exactly where you rank across your city. It’s wild how rankings can change just 2 blocks away.

Use those insights to tweak your local SEO efforts like targeting underperforming zip codes with more content or reviews.

Step 9: Post Weekly on Google Business

This one’s underrated. Google Posts (on your GBP) are like little SEO snacks for your listing.

Post:

• New patient offers

• Team photos

• FAQs

• Educational posts (“How to clean retainers,” etc.)

These keep your listing active and signal Google that your practice is alive.

Plus, posts show up in your Knowledge Panel extra visibility.

Step 10: Leverage Google Ads for Maps Boosts

Even though this is about organic Google Maps rankings, pairing it with Google Ads can supercharge visibility.

You can run Local Services Ads (LSAs) or Google Maps ads that appear above organic listings.

Combine both and you dominate the search results page.