skip to Main Content
800.818.7199 hello@inboundmd.com
The Top 10 Citation Sites For Dentists

Managing your online reputation is vital when it comes to keeping a smile on your patient’s faces. When you already provide top-notch care, maintaining a high rating shouldn’t be too difficult – but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the process.

More and more patients are investing time into the research that goes into finding a great dentist. Unfortunately, that means more of your competitors are also investing time into making themselves look like the best dental practice in town.

Why Citations Matter

A “business citation” is any reference to your dental office that’s online. There are hundreds of online platforms specifically created to help connect patients with the right provider for them.

Every day, these websites are visited by millions of patients all over the United States. In fact, patients tend to trust what’s said in online reviews over personal recommendations from their family and friends!

This has created an interesting new trend: Google and other search engines are using online reviews and the information from business citations to rank practices on their search results pages.

So, if you want to make sure that you’re staying competitive, make sure that your dental practice is live and looking great on the top citation platforms for dentists.

Top 10 Sites for Dentists:

There are hundreds of review platforms out there. For dentists and dental practices, there are some websites that deserve your focus first. On each of these sites, make sure that all the information is listed correctly and that you are constantly getting new reviews routed to that profile.

And, without any further ado, here are the top 10 sites every dentist needs to be on:

Google My Business

Google My Business is one of the top business citations for all industries. In the dentistry world, it’s likely the first place potential patients will check when they’re looking to book an appointment.

Google My Business allows dental practices to upload business information in addition to photos, videos, and GMB Posts to promote your office.

Online reviews through Google My Business are shown directly on search results pages. Reviews and ratings are used to better rank dental practices, so it is key to constantly ask patients to leave reviews on Google.

Yelp

Secondary to Google, Yelp is one of the top online review platforms around.

Yelp gets over 178 million unique visitors every month, across its mobile, desktop, and app versions. According to one study, approximately 45 percent of consumers say they are likely to check reviews on Yelp before visiting a business.

For dentists, that makes Yelp a priority when it comes to connecting with prospective patients. Make sure that you’re fully filling out your practice’s profile, since information like services, handicap access, and LGBTQ+ safe spaces can all be indicated on your Yelp profile.

Facebook

Facebook is a social media giant that is constantly growing their platform with new offerings. Businesses from all industries, including dental offices, can enjoy the perks of making a Facebook business profile.

Originally known as Facebook reviews, Facebook allows users to leave Recommendations. That way, users can write a review about their experience and note whether or not they’d recommend the business.

Since people spend around 40 minutes on Facebook every day, dental practices have a unique opportunity to connect with potential patients

CareDash

CareDash, founded in 2016, is a fast-growing online review platform for dentists and physicians alike. This business citation platform distinguishes itself as the platform for transparent, accessible, and inclusive information for all patients.

On your CareDash profile, dental practices can include all of the typical information you’d expect: name, address, phone number, business hours, and services.

However, you can also take your profile a step further by filling it with great photos of the staff and practice. You can also include the conditions you treat, insurances accepted, a biography, and content for an About Us section.

This platform also takes the information left by patients in their online reviews to create a comprehensive section about customer experience. There, your online reviews will be broken down into: provider’s attitude, perceived outcomes, general feedback, time spent with patients, patient loyalty, clarity of instructions, and their ability to answer patient questions.

Yellow Pages

Yellow Pages was founded in 1883, making it one of the oldest business citation platforms around. Obviously, things have changed since 1883. Yellow Pages is now primarily an online platform while those big yellow books are slowly getting phased out.

Dentists can use Yellow Pages to connect with patients who are more likely to trust established platforms. On their Yellow Pages profile, dentists can upload a biography, treatments and services offered, and accepted payment methods.

Search engines like Google also highly rank Yellow Pages profiles. That way, dentists can make the most of their Yellow Pages profile by optimizing it with great information and capturing more patients through search results pages.

Bing

Bing is the second most popular search engine platform out there. While Bing no longer accepts online reviews to be posted directly to a profile, it is still a key profile for all dentists.

Each year, Bing gets around 12 billion search queries. Similar to other search engines, Bing creates local search results pages that heavily rely on the information found in business citations.

Despite being one of the search engines in the world, many people overlook the opportunities found on Bing. For a dentist looking to connect with

more patients, Bing is a great option.

Healthgrades

Healthgrades is a popular online review website for physicians and dentists. With over three million physician profiles, this platform allows patients to search for their dentists in their area.

Your profile on Healthgrades is also one that will rank highly on search results pages. This profile allows dentists to upload photos, business information, an About Me, and services.

One important point to keep in mind is that patients are able to leave reviews about their experience, but dentists aren’t able to reply to low ratings like they can to great reviews. This creates a loophole that allows competitors to sometimes leave malicious reviews that a provider cannot defend themself against.

WebMD

While most people think of WebMD as a place to get information about conditions and injuries they’re experiencing, it’s also a top citation platform for dentists.

On your WebMD profile, you’ll be able to include basic information like your address, phone number, and business hours. However, you’ll also be able to include an overview of your practice, your specialties, and insurances accepted.

Since WebMD gets around 179.5 million unique users each month, this platform offers dentists the unique opportunity to connect with patients who are already invested in learning more about their health.

Similarly to other top citation platforms, Google and other search engines highly value the information found on WebMD. If you are able to gather more reviews and properly manage your WebMD profile, you could enjoy the benefits of being competitive on one of the top medical websites out there.

Zocdoc

With more than six million users each month, Zocdoc is a must-have profile who are looking to cover all their bases when it comes to reaching prospective patients. Zocdoc is unique in the sense that they have integrated appointment booking into their platform. However, direct online booking is a feature that dentists must opt into because it is not an automatic function.

For savvy dentists who are properly managing their profiles and filling in a lot of information, this created a great opportunity to educate patients about services, win them over with great reviews, and get a new appointment booked right from their profile.

Dentistry.com

Dentistry.com is an industry-specific citation platform that was created to educate patients in addition to helping them find the right dentist.

Unlike mega-platforms like Google My Business, Dentristry.com is a unique opportunity to connect with patients who are specifically looking for a dentist in their area. Although this platform does not get the same volume of users, that doesn’t mean you can just forget about your Dentistry.com profile.

On your Dentistry.com profile, you can include information about your education, the procedures you perform, associations you are a part of, and information about the office. Your patients can also leave detailed reviews that include written content, a star-rating, and ratings for office cleanliness, staff friendliness, wait times, chairside manner, and how well you’ve explained the treatment you provided.

Garrett Smith

Garrett is the Founder, and Chief Marketer at InboundMD. Garrett has been successfully leading internet marketing campaigns for health care practices across the US for almost a decade. He's a frequent speaker at events, and author of "Book Now! Internet Marketing for Healthcare Practices", and the host of The Practice Marketing Podcast that details how successful practices are winning online.

Back To Top