SEO for dentists
Dental SEO From the Person Who Actually Does the Work
You hired a dental SEO company. You got an account manager, a monthly report, and a change request that's still sitting in someone's queue.
I'm Brent Collier, and I do SEO for dentists myself. The person you talk to is the person who writes your pages, fixes your Google Business Profile and makes the change you asked for. Nothing gets lost in a handoff, because there isn't one.
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
The short version
$3,500/mo
Starts at $3,500 a month, month to month, no contract.
- Who does the work
- Me, Brent Collier, at Starts with Strategy in Johnson City, Tennessee. My dental and orthodontic clients also know me as Go Unicorn.
- Who I work with
- About a dozen dental and orthodontic practices in seven states, from Utah to Florida, from one office to five.
- How fast
- When you ask for a change, I make it. It doesn't wait a week for someone to pick it up.
- What I measure
- New patient calls and appointments, not just traffic.
Why dental SEO isn't working for most practices
Most dentists I talk to have paid for SEO before. The work wasn't always bad. It just went through too many people to get done.
- You explain what you want to an account manager, who passes it to a writer, who has never seen your office.
- You ask for a change to your website, and two weeks later it still hasn't been made.
- The monthly report is full of traffic and "impressions," and you can't tell if it brought in one new patient.
- The practice down the road is in the map pack for "dentist near me," and you aren't.
- A patient asks ChatGPT for a good dentist in your town, and it names someone else.
You didn't go to dental school to manage a marketing company. You shouldn't have to chase the people you're paying.
What is dental SEO?
Dental SEO is the work that gets a dental practice found when people nearby search for a dentist, an implant, a crown, an emergency visit or anything else you offer. That means the Google map pack, the regular search results, and AI answers from ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews.
Rankings and clicks tell you whether it's working. New patient calls and appointments tell you whether it's paying off.
Who's a good dentist near me for an implant?
AI answer
Illustration. Your website cited as the source when a patient asks AI
Side by side
Most dental SEO companies vs. working with me
There are a lot of good-looking dental SEO pages on Google. Read a few and you'll notice what most of them leave out: who actually does the work, how long your requests take, and what it costs.
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
Illustration. Your page: #3 in the regular results
I bring the ideas. Then I build them.
You don't have to tell me what to post or which page to write next. When I find something worth doing for your practice, I do it, and you see it finished with a link and a screenshot.
Here's what that looks like in a normal month:
- I find the searches you're almost winning.If you're sitting at No. 6 for "dental implants" in your city, that page gets rebuilt before anything else.
- I write the page and put it live myself.For Seven Hills General Dentistry in Cincinnati, I wrote and built the dental implants, sleep apnea and cosmetic dentistry pages.
- I build a page for every town your patients drive in from.Each office at Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics has its own page, and the practice is No. 1 on Google for searches like "pediatric dentist short pump."
- I turn each new page into more reach.Every page becomes Google Business Profile posts and graphics, designed with real photos from your practice.
Every one of those goes on your Trello board, a shared online board where each task is a card your team can open, follow and comment on. Your office manager can see what I did any day of the month, without waiting for a report.
In Progress
Pending
Done
Illustration. 4 cards moved to Done as the work gets finished
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
Local SEO for dentists
How I get dentists into the map pack
Most people pick a dentist from the three practices Google shows on the map. That's where local SEO for dentists pays off fastest, so it's where I start.
Your Google Business Profile, set up the way Google reads it
Dentist as your primary category, the right secondary categories like Cosmetic Dentist, Dental Implants Provider or Emergency Dental Service, and every service you offer listed.
One profile for every office
Each office gets its own profile, its own posts and its own city page.
Old listings cleaned up
If you bought the practice from a retiring dentist or changed its name, the old name is often still on Healthgrades, WebMD, CareCredit and old directories. I find those and fix them so Google sees one practice, not two.
Listings that match everywhere
Healthgrades, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing and the rest, all with the same name, address and phone number as your website.
Reviews asked for while the visit is fresh
A text after the appointment, sent through the system your front desk already uses, and a reply to every new review.
New photos every week
Real photos of your dentists, team and office on your profile and in your posts, not stock images.
Rankings tracked town by town
I check where you show up across the neighborhoods your patients come from, not only from your front door.
Illustration. Your practice: #2 for “dentist near me”
One honest noteGoogle ranks map results partly by how close the practice is to the person searching, and nobody can change that. I can make you the strongest choice in your area, and I'll tell you up front which towns are realistic.
Quick check
Is your practice easy to find?
Answer these six questions about your practice. It takes about a minute.
When you search "dentist" and your town on your phone, is your practice one of the three on the map?
Is your Google Business Profile's primary category set to Dentist (or Pediatric Dentist)?
Have you gotten new Google reviews in the last 30 days?
Does your website have its own page for the services you most want more of, like implants, crowns or emergency visits?
If the practice changed owners or names, does every listing online show the current name, address and phone number?
When you ask ChatGPT for the best dentist in your town, does it name you?
Answer all 6 to see your result.
5 or 6 yes answers
You're in good shape. The next gains come from nearby towns and the searches you're almost winning. I can show you which ones on a call.
3 or 4 yes answers
You're close, with a few gaps a competitor can use. Those gaps are usually the fastest wins, and I'd start with them.
0 to 2 yes answers
Patients in your town are finding someone else first. The fixes are clear, and the first ones can start this week.
What's included in my SEO for dentists
Every practice gets the same core work, built around your town and the services you want more of.
This week on your Google Business Profile
Illustration. 2 posts and 2 new photos on your profile this week
- New service and city pages every month.Implants, crowns, emergency visits, cosmetic dentistry, sleep apnea, Invisalign, cost pages, and a page for each nearby town your patients come from.
- Google Business Profile posts twice a week.Each one links to the matching service page and goes up with a real photo.
- A review system your team will actually use.Set up in the software you already have, so the ask goes out after every visit.
- Backlinks from relationships you already have.The specialists you refer to, your dental school, study clubs, local sponsorships and local press. I never buy links.
- Fixes to the website itself.Slow pages, broken links, weak headlines, missing page titles. I make the changes instead of sending you a list.
- Graphic design for every post and page.I design your Google Business Profile post graphics, social images, link preview images for new pages and review QR codes myself in Photoshop, in your colors and with real photos from your practice.
- AI search.Pages full of specific, checkable facts about your dentists, services and offices, so ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews have something to quote.
- Your own Trello board.Every page, post and fix gets its own card, so you always know where things stand.
- Reporting on calls and appointments.Rankings and clicks explain what happened. New patients are the scoreboard.
If you want photo and video shoots or paid ads too, I bring in the people I trust for those, and I stay in the loop.
Numbers you can check
Dental SEO results from practices I work with
These are the local searches and calls that bring in patients, not national traffic.
Mechanicsville office, Google Business Profile
1,519
calls from one office's profile
Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, Mechanicsville, VA. June to early November 2026.
712
direction requests
799
website clicks
Each practice's average position in Google Search Console over the 28 days to early November 2026. Seven Hills General Dentistry launched a brand new website in summer 2026, so its rankings come from the site’s first few months.
Google search: pediatric dentist mechanicsville va
No.1
Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & OrthodonticsAverage position 1.4
Google search: pediatric dentists richmond va
No.1
Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & OrthodonticsAverage position 1.2
Google search: best pediatric dentist in richmond va
No.1
Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & OrthodonticsAverage position 1.4
Google search: pediatric dentist short pump va
No.1
Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & OrthodonticsAverage position 1.3
Google search: dentist 45248
Top3
Seven Hills General DentistryAverage position 2.5
Google search: dentist on bridgetown road
Top3
Seven Hills General DentistryAverage position 2.7
Calls from the Google Business Profile
More calls as the new service pages went live
Calls from the Google Business Profile for Seven Hills General Dentistry went from 46 in August to 65 in September and 66 in October 2026, the months its new sleep apnea and cosmetic dentistry pages went live on its brand new website.
1,007
clicks from Google to one location page
The Mechanicsville location page brought in 1,007 clicks from Google from April 10 to October 7, 2026, from families in and around Mechanicsville. The Short Pump location page brought in 809 more.
The SEO and content Go Unicorn has created for us has been a game changer. We show up everywhere families are searching, even in AI searches, and our new patient flow has never been stronger. It's big weight off my shoulders knowing our marketing is handled and actually driving results.
The dentists and orthodontists I work with
- Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & OrthodonticsGreater Richmond, VA, five offices
- Seven Hills General DentistryCincinnati, OH
- Sturgill EndodonticsJohnson City, TN
- Sturgill Sleep CenterJohnson City, TN
- Sturgill OrthodonticsJohnson City and Bristol, TN, and Norton, VA
- Giardina OrthodonticsHarrisonburg, VA
- Aligned on Pearl OrthodonticsDenver, CO
- Hamada OrthodonticsMetairie, Luling and Destrehan, LA
- Murray OrthodonticsPalm Beach Gardens and Royal Palm Beach, FL
- Haverkos Family OrthodonticsCincinnati, OH
- Bailey-Welling OrthodonticsBountiful and Farmington, UT
- Ogden OrthodonticsClermont, Windermere and Mount Dora, FL
I won't take on two practices competing for the same patients in the same area. If I work with you, the dentist down the road has to find someone else.
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
How much does dental SEO cost?
My dental SEO starts at $3,500 a month. It's month to month, with no contract.
That covers everything above: new pages every month, Google Business Profile posts twice a week, the graphics for them, reviews, listings, backlinks, website fixes, AI search and reporting.
A 2016 Sikka Software study put the production from a new patient with a comprehensive exam at about $4,200. At $3,500 a month, a few extra new patients a month covers the cost, and an implant case or two covers it on its own.
Most dental SEO companies on Google's first page don't publish a price. The two that did, as of November 2026, listed $1,000 to $5,000 a month, and $2,500 to $8,000 a month with ads and a website bundled in.
I put my price here so you don't have to get on a sales call just to find out.
$3,500a month
Month to month, no contract.
There are always more pages worth building than any practice has, so the monthly amount mostly decides how fast I build them. Plans go above $3,500 when there's more to cover:
- Several offices, each with its own Google Business Profile and city pages
- A lot of nearby towns your patients come from
- A faster pace of new pages, usually to catch up with a strong competitor
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
Who this isn't a fit for
You want the cheapest plan you can find.
There are plenty of those, and I'm not one of them.
You want a ranking guaranteed by a date.
Nobody honest can promise that.
A practice competing with yours already works with me.
I won't work for two practices going after the same patients.
Three steps
How getting started works
- 1
We talk for about an hour.
You tell me what you want for your practice, whether that's more implant cases, more new families or a second office filling up. Then I share my screen, we look at your search results in real time, and we go over your website together. By the end, we'll both know if we're a good fit.
- 2
I give you the first three moves.
Something specific, like fixing your Google Business Profile, cleaning up old listings, then building an implants page for your town.
- 3
I start that week.
Logins, your Trello board, rank tracking and alerts in week one. Your Google Business Profile, listings and website fixes in month one. New pages, backlinks and a review push in months two and three.
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com
About me
I'm Brent Collier, and I run Starts with Strategy from Johnson City, Tennessee. I've been doing SEO since 2007.
Your words: two sentences on how you got into SEO.
I found my niche with orthodontists, and dentists followed, because the work carries from one practice to the next. Every practice needs a strong Google Business Profile, a page for each service and town, steady reviews, and links from real relationships.
Almost all of my new clients come from one doctor telling another. I'd like to keep it that way, which is why I do the work myself and show you every piece of it.
You can find me on LinkedIn.
Questions
Dental SEO questions
How do I choose a dental SEO company?
Ask who will actually do the work, and whether you'll ever talk to that person. Ask for dental clients by name, then look them up on Google from their town. Ask what they report on, how long a change request takes, what it costs and how long the contract is. A good dental SEO company will answer all of that without a sales call.
Why isn't my dental SEO working?
The most common reasons I find are a Google Business Profile with the wrong categories or old information, old listings still showing a previous name or address, no page for the services patients search for, and too few recent reviews. Sometimes the work is fine but no one is checking which local searches it's winning.
How long does dental SEO take to work?
Six months is a fair benchmark. Some things move sooner, especially Google Business Profile fixes and searches you already rank 4th to 15th for. I won't promise you a ranking by a date.
How much does dental SEO cost per month?
Mine starts at $3,500 a month, month to month. Dental SEO companies that publish prices range from about $1,000 to $8,000 a month, and some of those prices include ads and a website.
Will I have an account manager?
No. You'll talk to me, and I'm the one doing the work. When you text or email me about your website, the person reading it is the person who changes it.
How fast do changes get made?
When you ask for a change, I make it. It doesn't go into a ticket queue or wait for a weekly meeting. You'll see it on your Trello board when it's done.
Do I have to sign a contract?
No. It's month to month. As of November 2026, every practice I've taken on is still with me, and I'd rather keep it that way by doing the work than by locking anyone in.
How much of my time will this take?
Very little. I'll need logins at the start, and I'll ask your team for photos and the occasional answer. After that, your office manager can check your Trello board whenever they want, and I bring new work to you instead of waiting on you.
Do you work with practices that have more than one office?
Yes. Richmond Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics has five offices. Each office gets its own Google Business Profile posts and its own location page.
I bought my practice from another dentist. Does that hurt my SEO?
It can. The previous owner's name, old phone numbers and old addresses often stay on directories for years, and Google can treat them as a second practice. Finding and fixing those is one of the first things I do.
Should I do SEO or Google Ads?
Ads bring calls as soon as they're turned on and stop when you stop paying. SEO takes longer and keeps working after the work is done. They pair well: ads can cover the first few months while SEO builds.
What if another company built my website?
That's common. I can work inside most websites directly. If another company owns the design, I won't change their design or code without asking first, and I can still add pages and fix what's broken.
Can you get my practice recommended by ChatGPT?
Nobody controls what an AI tool says. What I can do is give it good reasons to name you: specific facts about your dentists, services and offices on your site, the same details on every listing, and reviews and mentions on other sites.
Do you work with orthodontists too?
Yes. Most of my clients are orthodontists. You can see how that works on my orthodontic SEO page.
Is Starts with Strategy the same as Go Unicorn?
Yes. Go Unicorn is the name I use for my orthodontic and dental marketing. Same person, same work.
Let's see if we're a good fit
I only take on a few new practices at a time, so every one gets my full attention.
Book a call and tell me where you want your practice to go. We'll look at your search results in real time, go over your website together, and figure out whether working together makes sense.
or email me brent@startswithstrategy.com