Digital Marketing for Dentists: A 90-Day UK Playbook

Set a goal reception can count

Write down one goal by branch and appointment type. A practice with a full routine diary might want a small number of additional implant consultations. A new practice with unused general dentistry slots may need local discovery and clear new-patient registration. Agree what an eligible enquiry means and decide who records the outcome.

Days 1–30: fix the handover and establish the baseline

Verify practice details, opening hours and booking links in your Business Profile. On mobile, test the relevant treatment or new-patient page, the call route and form receipt. Record four weeks of available slots, relevant enquiries, bookings and attendance by branch. Label unknown sources so you can see how much attribution is missing.

• Practice manager confirms the goal, site and available appointments.
• Reception tests the journey and agrees how to log enquiry outcomes.
• Web team fixes the most serious page or form blocker.
• Practice lead checks patient-facing claims against GDC guidance.

Use the branch-level Google Maps checklist

Days 31–60: match the channel to the goal

For an established site with weak local visibility, improve the relevant branch and treatment pages and connect them with useful links. For an immediate gap and a working booking route, run a capped Search campaign for one service. When existing demand already fills the diary, improve patient information and booking administration before acquiring additional enquiries.

Explore RankDigital’s dental SEO approach

See the scope of paid search support

Days 61–90: review capacity and make a decision

Compare the same booking and attendance measures with the baseline. Include the cost of management and implementation in any channel comparison, and note changes in staff cover or available appointments. If one branch is near capacity while another is underbooked, adjust the branch plan and the destinations visitors are sent to.

Worked example: plan backwards from six attended consultations

Imagine a practice with eight spare consultations a month and a goal of six attendances. If its own historical attendance is three out of four bookings, it needs eight bookings to plan for six attendances. If half of relevant enquiries typically book, that means planning for about 16 relevant enquiries. These are illustrative inputs. Check the practice’s own rates and include bookings from existing sources before allocating capacity to new acquisition.