Local SEO for Dentists in Louisiana: The Playbook
This playbook is for the people who run a dental practice in Louisiana: the dentist who owns it and the office manager who keeps it full. It shows what patients type into Google, which Google Business Profile category to pick, the code that tells Google your site belongs to a dentist, and a checklist for one month. If you do only one thing, do this first: set your Google Business Profile primary category to "Dentist", not "Dental Clinic", and make sure the listing is claimed with a working website link.
Quick answers
- Primary Google Business Profile category
- Dentist. Used by over a million listings nationally and 164 of the 198 real competitors in our 10 Louisiana map packs.
- Top keyword pattern
- "dentist {city}", for example "dentist baton rouge" at 1,000 to 5,000 searches a month.
- Statewide count and 5-year trend
- 1,575 dentist offices in 2023, down 13 (1%) from 1,588 in 2018.
- Most crowded metro
- Slidell, at 5.2 offices per 10,000 residents. New Orleans has the most offices (382).
- Schema type
- Dentist (a subtype of MedicalBusiness and LocalBusiness on schema.org).
Market snapshot
The Census counted 1,575 dentist offices in Louisiana in 2023 (NAICS code 621210, general and specialty practices). That is 3.4 offices for every 10,000 residents. Five years earlier there were 1,588, so the state lost 13 offices, a 1% dip. Dentistry is a mature trade here: new patients come from other practices, not from new demand.
Density, offices per 10,000 residents, is the fairest way to compare metros. New Orleans has the most offices by a wide margin, but Slidell and Lafayette are the most crowded per resident. Where the Census withheld a 2018 figure for one of a metro's parishes (it publishes nothing for a parish with fewer than 3 offices), the trend is a range.
| Metro area | Dentists (2023) | Per 10,000 residents | Density rank (of 10) | Change since 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slidell | 141 | 5.2 | #1 | +2 (+1%) |
| Lafayette | 172 | 4.2 | #2 | +14 (+9%) |
| Monroe | 91 | 4.0 | #3 | +1 to +3 |
| New Orleans | 382 | 3.9 | #4 | +4 (+1%) |
| Shreveport | 138 | 3.5 | #5 | -5 (-3%) |
| Baton Rouge | 294 | 3.4 | #6 | -7 to +1 |
| Houma | 65 | 3.2 | #7 | +3 (+5%) |
| Alexandria | 44 | 2.9 | #8 | -9 (-17%) |
| Lake Charles | 72 | 2.9 | #8 | -4 to -2 |
| Hammond | 33 | 2.4 | #10 | +1 (+3%) |
Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023 and 2018. Metro trends sum the metro's current parishes in both years.
All 64 Louisiana parishes ranked by density of dentists
46 of 64 parishes have published counts; the rest had fewer than 3 establishments and are listed at the bottom without a rank.
| Rank | Parish | Dentists | Per 10,000 | Change since 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lafayette Parish | 136 | 5.5 | +12 (+10%) |
| #2 | St. Tammany Parish | 141 | 5.2 | +2 (+1%) |
| #3 | Jefferson Parish | 222 | 5.1 | -1 (under 1%) |
| #4 | Ouachita Parish | 79 | 5.0 | +4 (+5%) |
| #5 | East Baton Rouge Parish | 202 | 4.5 | -10 (-5%) |
| #6 | Caddo Parish | 97 | 4.2 | -8 (-8%) |
| #7 | West Feliciana Parish | 6 | 3.9 | +1 (+20%) |
| #8 | Claiborne Parish | 5 | 3.6 | 0 (no change) |
| #8 | Terrebonne Parish | 39 | 3.6 | +3 (+8%) |
| #10 | Lincoln Parish | 17 | 3.5 | +1 (+6%) |
| #11 | Ascension Parish | 42 | 3.3 | +5 (+14%) |
| #11 | Calcasieu Parish | 68 | 3.3 | -2 (-3%) |
| #11 | Rapides Parish | 43 | 3.3 | -9 (-17%) |
| #11 | St. Charles Parish | 17 | 3.3 | +1 (+6%) |
| #15 | Orleans Parish | 119 | 3.2 | +9 (+8%) |
| #16 | Acadia Parish | 17 | 3.0 | +1 (+6%) |
| #16 | St. James Parish | 6 | 3.0 | +1 (+20%) |
| #18 | Iberia Parish | 20 | 2.9 | -4 (-17%) |
| #19 | Bossier Parish | 36 | 2.8 | +3 (+9%) |
| #20 | Lafourche Parish | 26 | 2.7 | 0 (no change) |
| #21 | Plaquemines Parish | 6 | 2.6 | +1 (+20%) |
| #21 | St. Landry Parish | 21 | 2.6 | -2 (-9%) |
| #23 | St. Mary Parish | 12 | 2.5 | 0 (no change) |
| #24 | Morehouse Parish | 6 | 2.4 | -1 (-14%) |
| #24 | Tangipahoa Parish | 33 | 2.4 | +1 (+3%) |
| #26 | Concordia Parish | 4 | 2.2 | -1 (-20%) |
| #26 | Evangeline Parish | 7 | 2.2 | -4 (-36%) |
| #26 | Natchitoches Parish | 8 | 2.2 | 0 (no change) |
| #26 | Winn Parish | 3 | 2.2 | -1 (-25%) |
| #30 | Vermilion Parish | 12 | 2.1 | 0 (no change) |
| #31 | Iberville Parish | 6 | 2.0 | +1 (+20%) |
| #31 | Livingston Parish | 29 | 2.0 | -1 (-3%) |
| #31 | Richland Parish | 4 | 2.0 | -2 (-33%) |
| #34 | Beauregard Parish | 7 | 1.9 | 0 (no change) |
| #34 | De Soto Parish | 5 | 1.9 | 0 (no change) |
| #34 | Webster Parish | 7 | 1.9 | 0 (no change) |
| #37 | Washington Parish | 8 | 1.8 | -2 (-20%) |
| #37 | West Baton Rouge Parish | 5 | 1.8 | +1 (+25%) |
| #39 | St. John the Baptist Parish | 7 | 1.7 | -3 (-30%) |
| #40 | Franklin Parish | 3 | 1.5 | 0 (no change) |
| #41 | Sabine Parish | 3 | 1.4 | 0 (no change) |
| #41 | St. Martin Parish | 7 | 1.4 | +1 (+17%) |
| #43 | Allen Parish | 3 | 1.3 | 0 (no change) |
| #43 | Avoyelles Parish | 5 | 1.3 | -2 (-29%) |
| #45 | Jefferson Davis Parish | 4 | 1.2 | 0 (no change) |
| #46 | St. Bernard Parish | 5 | 1.1 | -4 (-44%) |
| — | Assumption Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Bienville Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Caldwell Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Cameron Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Catahoula Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | East Carroll Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | East Feliciana Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Grant Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Jackson Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | LaSalle Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Madison Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Pointe Coupee Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Red River Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | St. Helena Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Tensas Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Union Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | Vernon Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
| — | West Carroll Parish | Not published (fewer than 3) | — | — |
Search intent map
Intent is the reason behind a search, and it decides which page should show up. Our national keyword file for dentists holds 636 keywords. Google's tool labels each one as informational (325 keywords), commercial (121), navigational (114), or transactional (76). "Urgent" is our own split: keywords Google calls commercial or navigational that clearly come from someone in pain today.
Many of the 636 keywords are brand names (Comfort Dental, Aspen Dental), insurance names (Delta Dental, Medicaid), careers ("dentist salary"), or cities in other states. A practice that accepts Medicaid or Delta Dental should say so on its site, but those terms do not belong in a keyword plan.
| Group | What the searcher wants | Example keywords (US monthly band) | Page that should answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urgent | Relief today, from someone open now | "walk-in dentist near me" 5,000 plus; "dentist open on saturday near me" 5,000 plus; "after hours dentist near me" 1,000 to 5,000; "dentist open today near me" 1,000 to 5,000; "emergency dentist near me" no volume reported | Emergency dentistry page with the phone number at the top, plus accurate hours on your Google Business Profile |
| Service plus place | A dentist in a specific city | "dentist baton rouge" 1,000 to 5,000; "dentist new orleans" 1,000 to 5,000; "dental office baton rouge" 100 to 500; "dental implants lafayette la" 100 to 500 | Home page (single office) or the location page for that office |
| Comparison | To pick the right one, not just any one | "best dentist baton rouge" 100 to 500; "best dentist new orleans" 100 to 500; "female dentists near me" 1,000 to 5,000; "dentist near me accepting new patients adults" 100 to 500 | Reviews page and about page with real staff, backed by your Google reviews |
| Cost | A number before they call | "dental implants cost" 5,000 plus; "full mouth dental implants cost" 5,000 plus; "teeth whitening cost" 5,000 plus; "all-on-4 dental implants cost" 5,000 plus; "dental implants covered by insurance" 5,000 plus | A cost and insurance section on each service page, or one pricing page |
| Informational | To understand a treatment | "dental implants types" 1,000 to 5,000; "alternatives to dental implants" 1,000 to 5,000; "are dental implants safe" 1,000 to 5,000; "do whitening strips damage teeth" 1,000 to 5,000; "what dentist accepts medicaid for adults" 1,000 to 5,000 | Blog posts and an FAQ on the matching service page |
Google Ads data via DataForSEO.
Two things stand out. First, the cost group is enormous and few Louisiana practices answer it; searchers want an honest range, not a pitch. Second, the urgent group runs on "near me" and "open" terms, which Google answers from your Business Profile hours, not your website. If your hours are wrong on Google, no page can fix it.
Keyword patterns with volume ranges
Google Ads reports search volume for the whole United States, not for a city. So the "metro volume" for a pattern is the US monthly volume of the city-modified keyword, for example "dentist baton rouge". For Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria and Hammond, which share names with cities in other states, we use the "la" form ("dentist alexandria la"); the plain "dentist alexandria" is mostly Virginia traffic. Word-order variants share one figure, so each concept appears once.
Volumes are bands. "No volume reported" means Google returned no figure at all, which happened for every "cost {city}" term but one, for "emergency dentist" everywhere except Houma, and for the head term itself in Slidell and Lake Charles. No "la" form was pulled for "best", so Lafayette and Alexandria show the plain form in that row.
| Pattern | Filled example | National | New Orleans | Baton Rouge | Lafayette | Shreveport | Lake Charles | Houma | Alexandria | Monroe | Hammond | Slidell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {service} near me | dentist near me | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| {service} {city} | dentist baton rouge | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | no volume reported | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | 1,000 to 5,000 | no volume reported | |
| best {service} {city} | best dentist baton rouge | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 50 to 100 | 100 to 500 | no volume reported | no volume reported | 100 to 500 | no volume reported | no volume reported | 50 to 100 | |
| dental office {city} | dental office new orleans | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | no volume reported | |
| emergency {service} {city} | emergency dentist houma | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | under 50 | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | |
| {treatment} {city} | dental implants baton rouge | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 50 to 100 | under 50 | 50 to 100 | 50 to 100 | under 50 | 100 to 500 | |
| {treatment} {city} | teeth whitening new orleans | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 100 to 500 | 50 to 100 | under 50 | under 50 | under 50 | under 50 | under 50 | 50 to 100 | |
| {treatment} cost {city} | teeth whitening cost new orleans | under 50 | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | no volume reported | |
| {treatment} near me | dental implants near me | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| {treatment} cost | dental implants cost | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| walk-in {service} near me | walk-in dentist near me | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| {service} open {day} near me | dentist open on saturday near me | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| {service} that accept {insurance} near me | dentists that accept delta dental near me | 5,000 plus | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
| {service} near me accepting new patients | dentist near me accepting new patients adults | 100 to 500 | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only | national only |
Google Ads data via DataForSEO.
The head term "dentist {city}" carries almost all of the city-specific demand, and it lands in the same 1,000 to 5,000 band in eight of the 10 metros. Everything else with a city name sits in the tens or low hundreds, still worth a page because the searcher is ready to book. The "near me" patterns are far larger, but Google decides them from location and your Business Profile, so you win them with a complete listing, not a page called "dentist near me". Generate the full list for your city with the keyword pattern tool.
What the local pack looks like
The local pack is the map with three businesses that Google shows above the normal results. We pulled the top 20 Google Maps results for "dentist" in all 10 metros (200 listings). Real competitors have a dental primary category: Dentist, Dental Clinic, Cosmetic Dentist, Pediatric Dentist, Emergency Dental Service, Dental Implants Provider or Periodontist, Orthodontist, Endodontist, Oral Surgeon, or Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon. That left 198; the two excluded rows are a teeth whitening bar in Houma and a medical clinic in Alexandria.
Across the 198, 164 use "Dentist" as primary and 14 use "Dental Clinic". 168 are claimed, 174 have a website, the median listing has 261.5 reviews and a 4.9 rating, and 132 have more than 100 reviews.
| Metro | Real competitors (of results) | Off-category rows excluded | Primary "Dentist" | Other primaries seen | Claimed | With website | Median reviews | Median rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | 20 of 20 | 0 | 17 | Cosmetic dentist, Emergency dental service, Dental clinic | 20 of 20 | 19 of 20 | 223 | 4.9 |
| Baton Rouge | 20 of 20 | 0 | 17 | Cosmetic dentist (2), Dental clinic | 19 of 20 | 20 of 20 | 429 | 4.75 |
| Lafayette | 20 of 20 | 0 | 18 | Endodontist, Cosmetic dentist | 15 of 20 | 17 of 20 | 146.5 | 4.9 |
| Slidell | 20 of 20 | 0 | 17 | Dental clinic, Emergency dental service, Pediatric dentist | 17 of 20 | 17 of 20 | 284.5 | 4.9 |
| Shreveport | 20 of 20 | 0 | 13 | Dental clinic (4), Cosmetic dentist (2), Emergency dental service | 16 of 20 | 15 of 20 | 314 | 4.9 |
| Monroe | 20 of 20 | 0 | 18 | Dental clinic (2) | 18 of 20 | 16 of 20 | 265 | 4.9 |
| Lake Charles | 20 of 20 | 0 | 18 | Dental clinic, Cosmetic dentist | 18 of 20 | 19 of 20 | 360 | 4.9 |
| Houma | 19 of 20 | 1 (teeth whitening service) | 17 | Pediatric dentist, Dental clinic | 12 of 19 | 15 of 19 | 143 | 4.75 |
| Alexandria | 19 of 20 | 1 (medical clinic) | 14 | Dental clinic (2), Pediatric dentist (2), Oral surgeon | 14 of 19 | 16 of 19 | 98.5 | 4.7 |
| Hammond | 20 of 20 | 0 | 15 | Pediatric dentist (2), Dental clinic, Endodontist, Oral and maxillofacial surgeon | 19 of 20 | 20 of 20 | 170 | 4.7 |
Medians exclude the 12 listings with no reviews yet. Source: Google Maps results for "dentist", September 2026.
Baton Rouge and Lake Charles are the hardest packs on reviews (medians of 429 and 360). Houma and Alexandria are the softest: seven of Houma's 19 are unclaimed, and Alexandria's median is under 100.
Google Business Profile categories
Your Google Business Profile (the free listing that powers the map) needs one primary category and up to nine secondaries. The primary is the strongest single ranking signal you control.
Primary: Dentist. Nationally, 1,044,072 listings use "Dentist" against 615,935 for "Dental Clinic". In our Louisiana sample, 164 of the 198 real competitors use "Dentist" and only 14 use "Dental Clinic". The pack results prove it. "Dental Clinic" fits only a multi-provider clinic that does not present itself as a dentist's practice, and even then it costs you on the head term. Use it as a secondary if you like; 54 of the 198 do.
Secondary picks, in this order, only where the practice truly offers the service:
- Cosmetic Dentist (131,970 listings nationally; the most common secondary in our sample, on 79 of 198).
- Emergency Dental Service (64,450), on 41 of 198, if you take same-day pain patients.
- Dental Implants Provider (67,924) or Dental Implants Periodontist (85,570) if you place implants (each on about 40 of 198).
- Pediatric Dentist (84,032) if you see children as a stated specialty.
Teeth Whitening Service (45 of 198 in the sample) is a fine fifth pick.
Do not use: Dental Lab (63,916), Dental Supply Store (22,863), Dental Insurance Agency (30,481), Dental Radiology (24,326), Dental School (5,030, dropped from our list), and Dental Hygienist (56,124) unless the listing really is a hygienist-run practice. These describe different businesses, and Google may show your listing for the wrong searches. Google has an exact category for every dental service in this playbook.
Schema templates
Schema is a block of code on your website that tells Google what kind of business the page describes, in a format it reads without guessing. The correct schema.org type for a dental practice is Dentist, which sits under MedicalBusiness and LocalBusiness and inherits everything they support (address, hours, phone, reviews). A dental site needs two blocks. The site graph describes the practice, its logo, the website, the current page and the page's FAQ, each linked by an @id; paste it on every page and swap only the WebPage entity for that page's URL and title. The Service block goes on each service page and names the practice as provider. Generate both with the schema tool.
Block 1: the site graph (shown for the home page of a fictional Baton Rouge practice).
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@graph": [
{
"@type": "Dentist",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#organization",
"name": "Bayou Family Dental",
"legalName": "Bayou Family Dental LLC",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/",
"description": "Family and cosmetic dentistry in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Same-day emergency visits, implants, whitening and cleanings for adults and children.",
"email": "hello@bayoufamilydental.example",
"telephone": "+1-225-555-0148",
"priceRange": "$$",
"medicalSpecialty": "Dentistry",
"sameAs": [
"https://www.facebook.com/bayoufamilydental",
"https://www.instagram.com/bayoufamilydental",
"https://maps.google.com/?cid=0000000000000000000"
],
"logo": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#logo" },
"image": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#logo" },
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "1234 Government St",
"addressLocality": "Baton Rouge",
"addressRegion": "LA",
"postalCode": "70806",
"addressCountry": "US"
},
"geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 30.4515, "longitude": -91.1871 },
"areaServed": [
{ "@type": "Place", "name": "Baton Rouge, LA" },
{ "@type": "Place", "name": "Denham Springs, LA" },
{ "@type": "Place", "name": "Zachary, LA" }
],
"openingHoursSpecification": [
{ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday"], "opens": "08:00", "closes": "17:00" },
{ "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification", "dayOfWeek": "Friday", "opens": "08:00", "closes": "12:00" }
],
"contactPoint": [
{ "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-225-555-0148", "contactType": "customer support" }
]
},
{
"@type": "ImageObject",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#logo",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/images/logo.png",
"contentUrl": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/images/logo.png",
"caption": "Bayou Family Dental logo",
"inLanguage": "en-US",
"width": "1200",
"height": "400"
},
{
"@type": "WebSite",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#website",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/",
"name": "Bayou Family Dental",
"publisher": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#organization" },
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "WebPage",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#webpage",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/",
"name": "Bayou Family Dental | Dentist in Baton Rouge, LA",
"datePublished": "2026-01-15T09:00:00+00:00",
"dateModified": "2026-09-01T09:00:00+00:00",
"about": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#organization" },
"isPartOf": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#website" },
"primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#logo" },
"inLanguage": "en-US"
},
{
"@type": "FAQPage",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#faq",
"isPartOf": { "@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#webpage" },
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Do you take same-day emergency appointments?",
"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Call before 3 pm on a weekday and we will see you the same day for pain, a broken tooth or a lost filling." }
},
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "Which insurance plans do you accept?",
"acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "We accept Delta Dental, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Cigna, and Louisiana Medicaid for children." }
}
]
}
]
}Block 2: the Service block (one per service page; this one goes on the dental implants page).
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Service",
"name": "Dental Implants",
"description": "Single-tooth, multi-tooth and full-arch dental implants placed and restored in our Baton Rouge office, with financing available.",
"provider": {
"@type": "Dentist",
"@id": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/#organization",
"name": "Bayou Family Dental"
},
"areaServed": [
{ "@type": "City", "name": "Baton Rouge, LA" },
{ "@type": "City", "name": "Denham Springs, LA" }
],
"serviceType": "Dental Implants",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/services/dental-implants/",
"offers": {
"@type": "Offer",
"url": "https://www.bayoufamilydental.example/services/dental-implants/",
"priceCurrency": "USD",
"price": "3500.00"
}
}Three fields matter most. Name, address and phone must match your Google Business Profile character for character; a mismatch is the most common reason schema does nothing. Geo should be the real coordinates of the front door, not the city-center point in the example. openingHoursSpecification must match the hours on your listing, because Google trusts neither when they disagree. Keep the Service block's offers section only if the price is public on the page.
Website structure
A dental site needs one page for each thing a patient searches for, with a title that says what the page is and where it is. The title tag is the text Google shows as the blue link; make it a plain answer, not a slogan.
One page per core service. Start with dental implants, teeth whitening, emergency dentistry, cleanings, crowns, and pediatric dentistry if you see children. Title pattern: "Dental Implants in Baton Rouge | Bayou Family Dental". Each carries a short cost and insurance section, because the cost group is the largest one you can answer and competitors mostly do not.
One location page per office. A single-office practice uses the home page for this. A practice with offices in Metairie and Slidell needs a page for each, with that office's address, phone, hours, photos, staff and site graph. Title pattern: "Dentist in Metairie, LA | Bayou Family Dental". This is the page that should rank for "dentist {city}".
An about page with real staff. Comparison searchers ("best dentist baton rouge", "female dentists near me") want faces, credentials and years in practice.
A reviews page. Show your Google reviews, add a few longer patient stories with permission, and link to the Google listing so the next review lands there.
A short blog or FAQ. Ten posts answering the informational keywords ("dental implants types", "do whitening strips damage teeth") bring in people a year before they book.
Step-by-step checklist
Google Business Profile
- Claim and verify the listing at business.google.com (30 of the 198 sampled competitors are unclaimed).
- Set the primary category to "Dentist" and add two to four secondaries from section 7.
- Enter hours exactly as the office runs them, including Friday half days.
- Add at least 10 real photos: exterior, reception, treatment rooms, the team.
- List every named service with a price range where you have one.
- Turn on messaging and answer the Q&A section before a patient does.
Website basics
- Put name, address and phone in every footer, matching the Google listing exactly.
- Make the phone number a tap-to-call link on mobile.
- Set a title tag on every page using the patterns in section 9.
- Add the site graph to every page and a Service block to each service page.
- Run the site through Google's PageSpeed Insights and fix anything red on mobile.
Reviews
- Ask every patient for a Google review at checkout with a QR code to the review form.
- Reply to every review within a week, including the bad ones, without arguing.
- Set a target: the median top-20 listing in your metro (section 6) is the number to beat.
Citations (listings on other directories)
- Check the listing on Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing Places and the Louisiana Dental Association directory.
- Make every listing use the same name, address and phone as Google.
- Add the practice to your insurance networks' provider directories.
Content
- Write or rewrite one service page per month, starting with implants and emergency dentistry.
- Add a cost and insurance section with a real price range to each service page.
- Publish one FAQ or blog post per month from the informational list in section 4.
- Write a location page for every office beyond the first.
Tracking
- Connect Google Search Console and Google Analytics, and use a tracking number on the Google listing so map calls are counted.
- Once a month, record calls, direction requests and website clicks from the Business Profile report; once a quarter, search "dentist {your city}" from a phone and note who sits in the pack.
Metro notes
New Orleans. The largest market: 382 offices across seven parishes, 3.9 per 10,000; Jefferson Parish holds 222, more than Orleans (119). "Dentist new orleans" runs 1,000 to 5,000 a month. All 20 are claimed: a reviews race, median 223. New Orleans dentists data and keywords for New Orleans.
Baton Rouge. 294 offices at 3.4 per 10,000, exactly the state average; the change is a range (-7 to +1) because four small parishes are withheld for 2018. "Dentist baton rouge" is the biggest dentist city term in the state at 1,000 to 5,000 a month, and the median top-20 listing has 429 reviews, the highest of the 10 metros. Baton Rouge dentists data and keywords for Baton Rouge.
Lafayette. 172 offices at 4.2 per 10,000, second densest and fastest growing, up 14 (9%) since 2018; Lafayette Parish is the densest parish in Louisiana at 5.5. "Dentist lafayette la" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month. Five of the top 20 are unclaimed and the median is 146.5 reviews. Lafayette dentists data and keywords for Lafayette.
Slidell. 141 offices in St. Tammany Parish, 5.2 per 10,000, the densest metro in the state, up 2 since 2018. Oddly, "dentist slidell" has no reported volume; "dental implants slidell" is 100 to 500. The pack is solid: 17 of 20 claimed, median 284.5 reviews. Slidell dentists data and keywords for Slidell.
Shreveport. 138 offices at 3.5 per 10,000, about the state average, down 5 (3%) since 2018. "Dentist shreveport" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month. The least polished pack: four of the top 20 use "Dental Clinic" as primary, five have no website, three have no reviews. Shreveport dentists data and keywords for Shreveport.
Monroe. 91 offices at 4.0 per 10,000, third densest, with Ouachita Parish holding 79; the trend is a range (+1 to +3) because Union Parish is withheld. "Dentist monroe la" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month. A well-kept pack: 18 of 20 claimed, median 265 reviews. Monroe dentists data and keywords for Monroe.
Lake Charles. 72 offices at 2.9 per 10,000, 68 of them in Calcasieu Parish, change between -4 and -2 because Cameron Parish is withheld. Like Slidell, "dentist lake charles" has no reported volume; "dental implants lake charles" is 50 to 100. The second hardest pack on reviews: median 360, 17 of 20 above 100. Lake Charles dentists data and keywords for Lake Charles.
Houma. 65 offices at 3.2 per 10,000, up 3 (5%) since 2018, split between Terrebonne (39) and Lafourche (26). "Dentist houma" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month, and Houma is the only metro where "emergency dentist {city}" registers at all. The softest pack in the state: seven of 19 unclaimed, four without a website. Houma dentists data and keywords for Houma.
Alexandria. 44 offices at 2.9 per 10,000, down 9 (17%), the sharpest drop in the state, nearly all in Rapides Parish (43). "Dentist alexandria la" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month. The lowest median reviews of the 10 (98.5) and five of 19 unclaimed. Alexandria dentists data and keywords for Alexandria.
Hammond. 33 offices in Tangipahoa Parish, 2.4 per 10,000, the least crowded metro, up 1 since 2018. "Dentist hammond la" is 1,000 to 5,000 a month, large for the office count. The pack is nearly complete: 19 of 20 claimed, all with a website, median 170 reviews. Hammond dentists data and keywords for Hammond.
FAQ
What GBP category should a dentist use?
Use "Dentist" as the primary category. It is on 1,044,072 listings nationally and on 164 of the 198 real competitors in the 10 Louisiana map packs we sampled, against 14 for "Dental Clinic". Add "Cosmetic Dentist", "Emergency Dental Service", "Dental Implants Provider" or "Pediatric Dentist" as secondaries where they apply.
Which Louisiana metro has the most dentists?
New Orleans, with 382 dentist offices in the 2023 Census count, followed by Baton Rouge (294) and Lafayette (172). Per resident, Slidell is the most crowded at 5.2 per 10,000, then Lafayette at 4.2. Statewide there are 1,575 offices, 3.4 per 10,000.
How many keywords should a dentist target?
Fewer than you think. One head term per office ("dentist {city}", 1,000 to 5,000 searches a month in eight of the 10 metros; Slidell and Lake Charles report none), one term per service page ("dental implants {city}", under 50 to 500), and the cost and informational questions as blog posts. For a single-office practice that is 15 to 25 keywords, not hundreds.
Does a dentist need schema?
It is not required to rank, but it is cheap and removes doubt. The Dentist type tells Google your name, address, phone, hours and specialty in a form it reads directly, and the schema tool on this site generates it in a minute. It cannot fix hours or an address that disagree with your listing, so match those first.
Sources and notes
Business counts: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 2017 code 621210, Offices of Dentists), with 2018 as the comparison year. Population: American Community Survey 2023. Keyword volumes: Google Ads data via DataForSEO, pulled 2026-09-02, US monthly figures. Keyword and map-pack data cover all 10 metros. Full method on the methodology page.
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