Link building for dentists differs from generic SEO link building campaigns. The goal is to rank a dental website in a specific area or city so you can get clients.
With over 202000 dentists registered in the US, the market is getting more competitive day by day. You can not expect calls and leads just from a beautiful website, active social pages, etc.
Local link building for dentists is required for any dental clinic looking to rank locally and attract new clients. This guide will uncover everything you need to know about dental link building, how it’s done, what the strategies are, and things to avoid.
What is Dental Link Building
Link building for dental websites to rank higher in SERPs and attract new clients is called dental link building. The process includes earning highly relevant and editorial backlinks from industry-leading publications and relevant websites.
Unlike SaaS link building, link building for dental websites is heavily focused on local links from local news websites, local listings, and directories.
Apart from local backlinks, dental link building includes earning brand mentions from leading publications and magazines in the health and wellness vertical. These links and brand mentions not only help your dental websites rank higher on Google but also attract direct leads.
Without these strategies, you won’t be able to compete online because clients won’t find your website in local rankings or the Google Maps Pack.
Why Do You Need Link Building for a Dentist’s Business?
Because you want to rank higher in Google search, get cited in LLMs and AI overviews, and steal the top spot in the Google Maps Pack when someone searches for “the best dentist near me or best pediatric dentists close to me.”
Link building for dentists is equally improtant like we do link building for real estate, law firms, etc. The idea is to gain more online visibility and attract local clients. Here are more reasons for dental link building explained in detail with examples.
1- Rank Higher for Local Dental Searches
Local link building for dentists helps your website rank locally in your city or area. This attracts highly qualified leads and clients for free and improves online visibility.
Your second-best option for local leads is Google Ads or Meta Ads. While Meta Ads are fine in terms of pricing, lead quality depends on your ad campaign. Google Ads can be expensive because the cost per click on dental keywords is near to $5/click, and conversion is not guaranteed.
Most people use a city or state name when they are looking to find a dentist, lawyer, plumber, etc. A person in Austin, Texas will search “Best dentist in Austin or best dentist near me.”
This person will be shown dental websites in local map pack, sponsored results, ranked websites, etc. To get featured in the Google Maps Pack or rank locally on highly relevant keywords, you will need backlinks from local and industry websites.
2- Improve Visibility in Google Maps Pack
Google Maps Pack is the best lead-generating avenue for businesses targeting local clients. Think about when you searched on Google about the best steakhouse and three options appeared in Google Maps Pack, and maybe you called them and booked a reservation.
Similarly, a potential client searching for dental implants in Chicago is highly likely to book an appointment from one of the top three dental clinics ranked in the Google Maps Pack. Factors affecting choices can be reviews, ratings, and clinic images, etc.
We had a client who was spending nearly $3500 monthly on Google Ads and not getting enough leads to cover business expenses. He had one goal: rank in the top three in Google Maps Pack for local keywords.
We optimized his Google Business Profile, replied to every unattended review, added fresh clinic images, corrected the web address, service pages, etc. We also built 10 local links highly relevant to his location, which was Florida.
In less than two months, he started ranking in the top three for a few keywords. After three months, he was featured in the map pack on most location-related keywords. Monthly leads increased by 145%, and the client was happy with our service.
I recommend optimizing Google Business Profile for all businesses targeting local clients and traffic. This also helps the overall ranking of your websites and service pages in a specific location because you are indicating to search engines that you serve this area; as a result, Google will include your business in the Maps pack and local SERPs.
3- Build Authority in a Competitive Market
As I have already mentioned, there are more than two hundred thousand dentists registered in the US, and the number is growing yearly. Everyone is fighting their way up to get to Google’s first page on relevant keywords and the local map pack.
Link building for dentists enables your website to rank higher on relevant keywords, increase your domain authority, and improve your online presence. Without relevant backlinks, you can not rank on lead-generating keywords in the dental online space.
4- Attract Referral Traffic & Leads
Getting coverage from local media and industry-relevant websites not only assists in improving rankings but also helps in getting direct leads and clients.
For example, imagine your dental practice gets featured in an article about the “Best Family Dentists in Dallas.”
Someone reading that article is already looking for a dentist in Dallas. If they click your link, check your services, and book an appointment, that backlink has generated a direct lead.
This is why I prefer relevant placements over simply chasing high DR websites. A backlink that improves rankings and sends potential patients is much more valuable.
5- Strengthen Your Service and Location Pages
Your backlink profile should target your service and location pages. These will rank on relevant keywords and attract leads and clients. A healthy backlink profile contains links to the homepage, service pages, location pages, blogs, and FAQs.
Plan your dental link building campaign around this and get links to deep pages, not only the homepage. A typical dentist website has separate service and location pages such as:
- dental-implants/
- emergency-dentist/
- dentist-in-austin/
- etc
Backlink building for these pages will enable your website to compete on competitive lead-generating keywords.
For example, if dental implants are one of your most profitable services, you can build links directly or indirectly to your dental implant page instead of sending every backlink to the homepage.
The same strategy can be used for Invisalign, cosmetic dentistry, emergency dentistry, pediatric dentistry, and other services you want to rank.
6- Increase Your Chances of Being Mentioned in AI Search
Google isn’t the only place people are looking for recommendations anymore. Potential patients can now ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI platforms questions like “What are the best dentists in Austin?” or “Where can I get dental implants in Miami?”
Building your brand’s presence across reputable third-party websites gives search engines and AI systems more information about your business.
Getting mentioned by local publications, dental websites, health publications, directories, and other trusted sources creates a stronger online footprint for your dental practice.
It doesn’t guarantee that an AI platform will recommend your clinic, but building a recognised and authoritative brand gives you a much better foundation than relying on your own website alone.
7- Outrank Competitors
Link building for dentists helps in establishing your website as an authority in SERPs by outranking competitors. If your dental link building is done the right way with editorial links and media placements, you can easily rank higher than other dental service providers on Google and other search engines.
For example, if two competing dentists offer the same service in the same location with similar websites, the one with high-quality dental backlinks is more likely to rank higher.
6 Best Link Building Strategies for Dentists
Now that you know the importance of link building for dental clinic websites. Let’s discuss the best strategies you can employ to secure links for your website.
Usually, I keep media placements and journalist outreach at the top of the list, but for this industry, I will start with local links.
1- Local Link Building for Dentists
Local link building is a golden strategy for a dentist’s business website. They help you rank locally on lead-generating keywords, improve the overall SEO of the website, and bring in direct leads from local websites.
I highly recommend business owners targeting local clients to invest heavily in earning local backlinks. These can be links from local media websites, local blogs, charity institutes, schools, colleges, business directories, etc.
These links will improve your local rankings and have a positive impact on your overall website SEO. Local directories and business listings also improve your GBP rankings, which is the best lead generator in the dentistry business.
How to do local link building for your dental website?
Local link building for your dental clinic website starts with submitting your business details, like name, address, and phone number, to local directories.
A) Local Listings
Business listings, chamber associations, etc. Search for local directories based on your city and location.
You can use Google search operators like these to search local business directories:
- “Austin TX” “business directory”
- “Austin TX” “local directory”
- “Austin TX” “add your business”
- “Austin TX” “member directory”
- “Austin TX” inurl: directory
Next is finding niche-relevant directories and business listing websites. Here are the search operators to get dentist directories based on your location.
- “dentist directory” Texas
- “dental directory” Texas
- “find a dentist” Texas
- “dental association” Texas
- “healthcare directory” Austin
- “health directory” Austin
B) Local Media Outlets
Backlinks from local news sites and magazines can drastically improve your local rankings and attract direct leads and traffic. Additionally, your brand is now featured in local news and magazines and is becoming known locally.
Additionally, the link equity passed on by news websites is great and helps your service pages rank higher locally. There are two simple ways to find these opportunities.
Use Google Search Operators
You can use these search operators to find relevant news sites and publications in your city and outreach to them for placements.
- “Austin” “local news”
- “Austin Texas” inurl: news
- “Austin” “local magazine”
- “Austin” “community news”
Make a list of relevant publications and outreach to their editors with a story idea, expert commentary, or a potential placement.
Check Competitor Backlinks
Another way is to find dental practices already ranking in your target location and check their backlinks using Ahrefs or Semrush.
Look specifically for backlinks from local news sites, magazines, community websites, and regional publications.
If a local publication has already featured another dentist in your area, there is a good chance they cover dental topics or are open to expert contributions. Add these websites to your outreach list and contact them for a potential placement.
2- Niche Relevant Links
Getting backlinks from niche relevant websites increases the authority of your dental website and improves its overall backlink profile. These links also help build E-E-A-T and make it easier for your service pages and blogs to rank higher in SERPs.
For dental SEO, you should target websites related to dentistry, oral health, healthcare, health and wellness, and other closely related niches.
The idea is to get backlinks from websites that Google can easily connect with your industry. A backlink from an oral health or healthcare website makes much more sense for a dentist than a link from a generic website covering unrelated topics.
There are two simple ways to find these websites.
A) Competitor Backlink Analysis
Find dental websites already ranking for your target keywords and check their backlinks using Ahrefs. Look for dental, health, wellness, and other relevant websites linking to them.
Make a list of the relevant websites and outreach to them for a placement.
B) Google Search Operators
You can also use Google search operators to find relevant websites manually.
- “dental health” “write for us”
- “oral health” “guest post”
- “dentistry” “contribute”
- “dental care” inurl:blog
- “oral health” inurl:blog
I recommend getting an Ahrefs subscription for competitor backlink analysis and website prospecting. It will make finding relevant link opportunities much easier.
3- Editorial Links
Links earned in the national press via journalist outreach are highly valuable for rankings and improving your online visibility. We specifically use digital PR, HARO, and Qwoted to get our clients mentioned on high-authority websites, magazines, and publications.
For example, a dental client in Los Angeles came to us in 2025. Their dental website was in good condition, with good technical and on-page SEO done; however, they were unable to achieve top rankings in relevant keywords, including location-based keywords.
We proposed a mix of link building strategies for their dental website. The plan includes earning editorial links via digital PR, HARO, and Qwoted link building. Getting backlinks from local news and media sites and getting backlinks and link insertions on health websites.
We started with the dental link building campaign in Feburary 2025, and in March we got a backlink from Healthline. Our quote got featured in a blog related to dental health on healthline.com (DR92). This was the beginning; we also got the client featured on LAmag.com, LA Weekly, and Beverly Hills Magazine. In total, we built 24 backlinks from high-authority and niche-relevant websites in two months.
Their website started ranking locally in the top three for keywords like “best dentist Beverly Hills, and dental implants LA” after these backlinks. Traffic increased by up to 90%, and they were getting more qualified leads than before.
How to build editorial backlinks for your dental brand?
Earning editorial links requires experience in digital PR and journalist outreach. You can hire us to get the best editorial links for your dental brand. We charge per live placement, which means there are no monthly retainers.
Contact us now, and one of our sales representatives will get in touch with you. We will discuss the scope of the project, strategy, and what will be achieved. We charge per placement, which makes this a 100% risk-free deal.
Alternatively, if you have a team or want to test the waters yourself. Here is how to get editorial backlinks for your dental website.
1- Digital PR
Digital PR is one of the best ways to earn backlinks from news websites and major publications. The idea is to create something journalists actually want to cover. This could be original data, a survey, an interesting dental statistic, a study, or a story related to a current trend.
For example, you could create a study around the most expensive US cities for dental treatment, states with the highest interest in cosmetic dentistry, or how much Americans spend on dental care.
You then pitch the story to relevant journalists and publications. If they find the story interesting, they may cover it and link back to your website as the source. You can use tools like MuckRack or Prezly to access a journalist database.
2- Journalist outreach via HARO & Qwoted
Journalists regularly look for dentists and healthcare professionals to provide expert comments for their articles. Platforms like HARO and Qwoted make it easier to find these opportunities.
You respond to relevant journalist queries as a dental expert and provide a useful, concise answer. If your response is selected, your dentist may be quoted in the article along with a mention or backlink to the dental website.
This works particularly well for topics related to oral health, dental hygiene, cosmetic dentistry, children’s dental health, teeth whitening, dental implants, and general healthcare.
The key here is relevance. Don’t respond to every journalist query just because there is a chance of getting a backlink. Focus on topics where the dentist can genuinely provide expert commentary.
HARO is free to pitch, and Qwoted requires a subscription fee of $150/m
3- Press Release
Press releases can also be used as part of your dental PR strategy, but the goal shouldn’t be to distribute a press release just for backlinks.
You need something worth announcing.
This could be the opening of a new dental clinic, expansion into another location, introduction of a new treatment, an important partnership, community initiative, charity event, or an original study conducted by your practice.
The real value comes when journalists or local publications pick up the story and write about it. That’s where you can earn genuine media coverage, brand mentions, referral traffic, and potentially editorial backlinks.
4- Competitor Backlink Analysis
This is probably the quickest way to get backlinks. It requires an Ahrefs subscription and a list of five competitors.
Put all your competitors in Ahrefs and extract backlinks from websites with organic traffic of more than 1,000 per month. Next, filter the list by DR, and you now have a prospect list.
Manually check every website and only contact those relevant to health and wellness. You can use Hunter.io to extract email addresses or fill out the contact form.
Create a custom pitch for every prospect, offering value. Something like your introduction and how you can provide valuable written content from your experience for free in exchange for a link. Or show them research you have done that they can add to an existing blog.
Apart from that, you will find websites that offer guest posting and niche edit services in the list. Guest posts and niche edits are perfectly fine if they are from topically relevant and high-traffic websites. Here are more details on both.
1- Guest Posts for Dentists
Guest posting involves writing a new blog for a relevant website with a backlink to your dental website. The website publishes the content, and you get a contextual backlink within the article.
For dentists, I recommend getting guest posts from websites related to dentistry, health and wellness, oral health, lifestyle, and local publications. The more relevant the website is to your business, the better.
For example, you can write a blog on “How Often Should You Visit a Dentist?” for a health and wellness website and naturally link back to a relevant page on your website.
Avoid websites that publish content on every possible niche just for the sake of selling guest posts. Always check the website’s organic traffic, backlink profile, recent articles, and overall quality before getting a placement.
2- Niche Edits in Dental Link Building
Niche edits are backlinks added to an existing blog that is already published and indexed on Google. Instead of writing a new guest post, your link is inserted naturally into relevant existing content.
For example, if a health website has an existing blog on dental implants, oral hygiene, teeth whitening, or choosing a dentist, you can ask the editor to add your website as an additional resource.
I personally like niche edits because you are getting a backlink from an existing page that may already have backlinks, traffic, and authority.
Again, relevance is important. Getting a niche edit from an existing dental or health-related article is much better than randomly inserting your link into an unrelated blog.
You can find these opportunities during competitor backlink analysis or manually outreach relevant websites and ask if they can add your resource to an existing article.
3- Listicle Link Building
During competitor backlink analysis, you may find competitors featured in blogs like “Best Dentists in Austin” or “Top Cosmetic Dentists in LA.”
Outreach to these websites and ask them to consider adding your dental practice to the list. These links are valuable for SEO and can also send potential patients directly to your website.
4- Resource Page Link Building
You may also find competitors getting backlinks from dental, healthcare, or local resource pages.
Check why your competitor was included and outreach to the website, offering your dental practice, guide, or research as an additional resource.
5- Broken Link Building for Dental Websites
Broken link building involves finding backlinks pointing to pages that no longer exist and asking the website owner to replace the broken link with your page.
For dental websites, the idea is to find broken backlinks of your competitors and offer a similar or better resource as a replacement.
1- Find Competitor Broken Links
Add your competitors to Ahrefs and check their broken backlinks. Look for broken pages that still have backlinks from dental, health and wellness, local, or other relevant websites.
For example, if a competitor had a guide on dental implants that is now returning a 404 error, check which websites are still linking to it.
Shortlist the relevant websites and make sure you have a page that can replace the broken resource.
2- Outreach to Editors/ Webmasters
Find the editor or website owner’s email address and let them know about the broken link.
Keep your pitch simple. Mention the page containing the broken link and offer your relevant blog or resource as a replacement. You are helping them fix a broken link on their website while getting a relevant backlink to your dental website.
6- Create Linkable Assets
Linkable assets are useful pieces of content that other websites would actually want to reference and link to. Instead of building links directly to your service pages, you create something valuable that can naturally attract backlinks.
A linkable asset can be anything from a detailed guide and original research to an infographic, image, video, presentation, checklist, calculator, or other useful resource.
1- Find an Idea
Start by checking what type of content is already getting backlinks in the dental industry. You can use Ahrefs to find the most linked pages of your competitors and other dental websites.
The idea is not to copy them, but to understand what people are actually linking to and create something better or different.
2- Develop Your Linkable Asset
Once you have an idea, decide which format works best. It could be an infographic explaining the dental implant process, a video on proper brushing techniques, a presentation with dental statistics, or a detailed guide on dental treatment costs.
Focus on making something genuinely useful that bloggers, journalists, and other websites can use or reference in their content.
3- Use It to Earn Backlinks
Once your asset is live, find websites that have written about similar topics and outreach to them.
Show them your infographic, video, guide, image, or other resource and explain why it could be useful for their readers. If they use or reference your asset in their content, ask them to credit your dental website with a backlink.
7- Build Local Partnerships
Building partnerships with local businesses and organizations is another great way to earn relevant local backlinks. The idea is to collaborate with businesses in your area and get your dental practice mentioned on their websites.
These links are valuable because they come from websites operating in the same location as your dental practice.
1- Partner With Local Businesses
Reach out to local gyms, wellness clinics, nutritionists, pharmacies, and other businesses related to health and wellness.
You can collaborate on content, events, guides, or other initiatives and get your dental practice mentioned with a backlink.
2- Work With Schools and Community Organizations
Dental practices can work with local schools and community organizations by offering dental awareness sessions, free check-ups, or participating in community events.
If the organization publishes information about the initiative on its website, ask them to mention and link back to your dental practice.
3- Partner With Other Medical Professionals
Build relationships with pediatricians, orthodontists, doctors, and other medical professionals in your area.
Apart from patient referrals, these partnerships can also create opportunities for relevant backlinks from their websites.
4- Sponsor Local Events and Organizations
You can sponsor local charities, sports teams, community events, and other organizations.
Most organizations have sponsor or partner pages where they mention the businesses supporting them. Ask them to include your dental practice along with a link to your website.
The goal here isn’t just backlinks. These partnerships also put your dental practice in front of more people in the area you serve.
Mistakes Dentists Should Avoid When Building Links
You now know how to build backlinks for your dental website. However, getting the wrong links can do more harm than good.
Here are some common dental link building mistakes you should avoid.
1- Getting Links From Spammy Directories
Getting listed in local and dental directories is an important part of dental link building. However, this doesn’t mean you should submit your website to every directory you find.
Avoid directories created just for backlinks, websites with no real traffic, and directories filled with hundreds of unrelated businesses and spammy pages.
Instead, focus on established directories such as Yelp, Healthgrades, and other relevant local, healthcare, and dental directories.
How to Avoid It
Check every directory before submitting your dental practice. Look at its organic traffic, DR, website quality, and whether real businesses are actually using it.
A relevant local directory with real traffic is much better than getting listed on 50 spammy directories.
2- Getting Backlinks From PBNs
PBNs are networks of websites created primarily for building backlinks and manipulating rankings.
You may come across agencies offering hundreds of backlinks at very cheap prices. Most of these links come from websites with little or no organic traffic, poor content, and questionable backlink profiles.
These links aren’t worth the risk.
How to Avoid It
Always check the website before getting a backlink. Look at its organic traffic, backlink profile, recent content, and the type of websites it is linking to.
If almost every blog contains links to unrelated businesses such as dentists, casinos, crypto, loans, and CBD websites, I recommend staying away.
3- Building All Backlinks to Your Homepage
Your homepage shouldn’t be the only page getting backlinks.
If you want to rank for “dental implants in Austin,” getting relevant backlinks to your dental implant page can help strengthen that specific page.
The same applies to Invisalign, teeth whitening, emergency dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and your location pages.
How to Avoid It
Build backlinks to different pages depending on the keywords and services you want to rank.
You can also build backlinks to your blogs, guides, research, and linkable assets and then use internal links to pass authority to your important service pages.
The idea is to build a natural backlink profile rather than sending every link to the homepage.
Final Words
Link building for dentists is all about getting the best backlinks for your website, so it can rank locally on lead-generating keywords and business queries. Start with local links and earn high-authority backlinks from local news websites and magazines.
Next, build niche-relevant and editorial links from dental, health, and wellness websites. Analyze your competitors to find more opportunities through guest posts, niche edits, listicles, and resource pages.
Don’t focus on the number of backlinks or DR alone. Focus on relevant links that improve rankings, bring traffic, and ultimately generate more patients for your dental practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
1- What is link building for dentists?
Dental link building is the process of getting relevant backlinks to a dental website to improve its rankings, authority, and online visibility.
2- What are the best backlinks for dentists?
Local news sites, dental and health websites, business directories, local magazines, and high-authority editorial publications are some of the best sources for dental backlinks.
3- Does link building help dentists rank locally?
Yes. Local link building for dentists can strengthen your website’s local authority and help your service and location pages compete for relevant local searches.
4- How many backlinks does a dental website need?
There is no fixed number. It depends on your location, keywords, competition, and the backlink profiles of dental websites already ranking above you.
5- How long does dental link building take to work?
Link building takes time. You may start seeing ranking improvements within a few months, but results depend on your competition, website SEO, and the quality of backlinks you build.
6- Should dentists build links to service pages?
Yes. Don’t send every backlink to your homepage. Build relevant links to important pages for dental implants, Invisalign, cosmetic dentistry, emergency dentistry, and other services you want to rank.
7- Are guest posts good for dental SEO?
Guest posts can work well when they come from relevant dental, healthcare, wellness, lifestyle, or local websites with real organic traffic.
8- Should I hire a dental link building agency?
If you don’t have the time, tools, or outreach experience to build links yourself, hiring a dental link building agency can make the process much easier.