Social media ads and local SEO both have a role to play when you’re creating a comprehensive marketing strategy. But what if you could only do one of the two? If time or budget are tight, and you’re looking for sustainable, long-term growth, local SEO holds some significant advantages that many dental practice owners seem to overlook when I speak with them.

The organic advantage

There’s something fundamentally different about our perceptions of organic search results and paid advertisements. When your dental practice appears in Google’s local “three pack” or ranks prominently in organic search results, it sends a powerful signal to potential patients – this is a source to be trusted.

Don’t get me wrong; paid social ads certainly have their place. They’re a valid gateway to more leads, but they can sometimes feel intrusive or “salesy”. People are less inclined to pay attention to them. In comparison, organic rankings feel earned. They show that Google rates your business as being worthy of that prominent position.

When you’re trying to attract a local audience, this trust and authority are paramount. Choosing a dentist – especially a new one – means feeling confident in their credibility. New patients want to know they’re making the right choice. However subtly, a good organic ranking provides that extra layer of reassurance.

Capturing the “perfect moment”

Perhaps the most powerful advantage of local SEO is its ability to connect with patients who are actively searching. They might not know it yet, but you’re the exact solution they’re looking for. When a Google user types in “emergency dentist near me” or “dentist in [your town]”, they’re not casually browsing. They have a specific need and they’re often ready to take action.

This high buyer intent is the holy grail of marketing. There’s no cold sell, and no need to convince someone they need your service – they already know they do. Your job is simply to be visible when they’re looking.

Social media advertising operates on a very different principle. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram do offer sophisticated targeting, but you’re still fundamentally interrupting people who weren’t necessarily seeking you out. They may be scrolling through photos of their friend’s holiday or watching a recipe video when your ad appears. Their intent is weaker, and in turn conversion rates or lead quality typically reflect this reality.

However, social media advertising does serve an important function: brand awareness. Like TV or radio advertising, social ads can introduce people to your dental practice, establish familiarity, and plant a seed (we call this mental availability). When those people eventually need your service, they’re more likely to remember your name. That familiarity creates a reassurance of its own.

But here’s the crucial point: they’ll likely still go to Google to search. And that’s why being visible in search results really matters.

The compounding effect

Of course, if you’re working with a limited budget, your decisions are likely to be informed by the financial reality of each approach. Which is better from a budget point of view?

One of the most compelling advantages of local SEO is its long-term, compounding value. When you invest in optimising your website and Google Business Profile, you’re essentially building a digital asset that will continue to generate traffic and leads. It’s a bit like buying a home, rather than renting a flat. With SEO, you’re building equity that grows over time; with advertising, you’re only paying rent. When your lease ends, you have nothing to show for your money.

Once you’ve earned your SEO rankings, ongoing maintenance will usually allow you to hold the same position. The content you create today can attract customers months, or even years, into the future. This cumulative effect means your return on investment actually improves over time, rather than remaining static or declining or increasing as you plough more into the channel.

Economics that improve over time

Social advertising operates on a straightforward model: if you pay for placement, you get visibility. Likewise, if you stop paying, that visibility ends. The amount you pay for each lead remains relatively constant, and if competition in your market increases, the cost often rises as well.

Local SEO follows a different trajectory. Yes, there’s an investment – either your time, or money, paid to an SEO professional. The initial work of optimising your website, building citations, creating content, and improving your Google Business Profile requires resources. However, once your rankings improve, your cost per lead begins to fall. At this point, you’ll receive more traffic without proportionally increasing your investment.

A first-page ranking can generate leads month after month with only maintenance-level effort. Over a 12-month period, the difference in cost-effectiveness can be dramatic. While ads might cost £50 per lead consistently, your SEO-generated leads might drop to £10 or £5 as your visibility compounds.

Ultimately, this ever-improving ROI makes local SEO one of the most cost-effective marketing channels.

Multiple touchpoints, maximum visibility

You’ve probably heard the old adage; “you can’t be in two places at once”. Well, in this case, we can disregard it. Potential patients typically look in multiple places before finally making a decision – and local SEO gives you the rare opportunity to increase your presence across all of these touchpoints.

A comprehensive local SEO strategy improves your visibility in:

• Google maps – where mobile users often begin their search.
• Organic search results – the traditional search results page.
• The local “three-pack” – those prominent three businesses featured at the top of local searches.
• Google reviews – which influence both rankings and customer decisions.
• “People Also Ask” sections – providing additional opportunities to appear.
• Knowledge panels – showcasing your business information prominently.

This omnipresence opens multiple “doors” through which potential customers can find your dental practice. Even if they don’t click through immediately, repeated exposure builds familiarity and trust.

Social ads, by contrast, only appear where you’re actively paying for placement. They’re confined to specific platforms and ad formats, limiting the cumulative brand-building effect.

Building reputation as a side benefit

It’s easy to think of local SEO purely in terms of clicks and visits, but it also has an underappreciated advantage: building your brand. A local SEO programme will naturally improve your dental practice’s overall reputation and market position.

Effective local SEO involves:

• Gathering and responding to Google reviews – this improves rankings and provides social proof of your credentials.
• Creating helpful, informative content – establishing you as a knowledgeable authority.
• Optimising your profiles – ensuring your business information is accurate and comprehensive.
• Building local citations – consistency across the web.
• Engaging with your community online – strengthening local connections.

Doing each of these things will add to your overall SEO success, as well as enhancing your reputation. For instance, the reviews you gather influence potential customers far more than rankings alone. The genuinely useful content you create positions you as an expert in your field. Having an optimised profile means customers can easily find your hours, location, and contact details – and use them when they need to.

Social advertising can’t offer these side benefits. Although an ad campaign generates clicks, and hopefully conversions, it can’t build the foundational credibility that comes from a strong organic presence.

Integration, not competition

None of this means that social advertising shouldn’t find a place in your marketing mix. The most effective marketing strategies integrate both approaches, using each for what it does best.

Social ads excel at:

• Building initial brand awareness;
• Promoting time-sensitive offers;
• Reaching highly specific demographic segments;
• Retargeting website visitors;
• Generating immediate results for new enquiries.

Local SEO excels at:

• Capturing high-intent search traffic;
• Building long-term, sustainable visibility;
• Establishing credibility and authority;
• Generating cost-effective leads over time;
• Creating an asset that appreciates in value.

The ideal approach for many dental practices involves using social ads to build awareness and generate initial interest, whilst simultaneously investing in local SEO to capture that demand when people are ready to make a decision. The social ads introduce potential patients to your brand and high value treatments; the local SEO ensures you’re visible when they eventually search for the services you provide.

Although it’s now considered out-dated, it helps to think of this in terms of the classic marketing funnel. Social ads exist to draw attention to your brand for those near the top of the funnel. Local SEO catches them much further down, when they’re much nearer to making a purchase.

Investing in local SEO

Many dentists hold back from investing in local SEO. Compared to the “instant fix” of social media, it seems harder to pin down: its timeline is longer, and the process feels more complex. But in weighing up your options, it’s important to consider each on its merits. For instance, how much will you spend on social advertising over the next three years? And what will you have to show for it the day you stop paying?

Local SEO requires a little more patience, as well as consistent effort, but as we’ve seen, it results in something more sustainable. In an ideal world, you’ll do both – but if you’re building for years to come, local SEO deserves its place in your marketing mix.

Ready to build a local SEO strategy that generates leads for years to come? Just get in touch to talk about how we can help you get started.