There are 3 main types of online dental directories you’ll run into on the web. The first, and most common, is a reciprocal link directory.

Reciprocal Link Directories

Reciprocal link directories offer to list your dental practice on their site if you add a link on your dental website pointing back to their dentist directory. This arrangement is fine if the link you’re getting is of equal value to the link you’re giving. Unfortunately, that’s seldom the case.

Many dental directories hide or block your link from search engines using javascript or “nofollow” attributes in their code. This practice negates the search engine marketing credit your website receives for link popularity.

But take courage. If the reciprocal link directory you submitted your dental practice to is popular among web users, your efforts are not entirely wasted. Your link or listing can still generate phone leads for your practice or click-through traffic for your website from potential patients using the dental directory to find a dentist in their area.

Paid Directories

The second type of online dental directory you’ll find is a paid directory.

Paid online dental directories charge a small one-time fee for reviewing your submission for content and relevancy. When properly executed, this human review process can lead to higher quality content and greater search engine marketing value.

Like reciprocal link directories however, hidden or blocked content can negate the search engine marketing value of your listing. For this reason and for financial security purposes, we recommend that you search Google for the name of the paid dentist directory you’re considering to see what others are saying about it before you give them your credit card information.

Free Dental Directories

The third and final type of online dental directory you’ll encounter is the free dental directory.

This is truly the holy grail of dental directories. Dentist search sites and dental directories like this may request, but don’t require, reciprocal links and cost you nothing but your time. The best free dental directories also offer search engine marketing value by making links to your dental website visible to search engines.

Where can you find such a directory? You can begin your search right here:

• Dentistry Office
• Dentist Marketers
• GeoDentist Directory