DENTAL CASE STUDY | URBAN GENERAL DENTISTRY STARTUP
identitydental.com | Dental-exclusive marketing since 2009 Case Study | Page 1 Page One in 12 Months. Booked a Month Out by Month 19.
A from-scratch general dental practice in a crowded Northeast city built its brand, website, and search visibility through the 2020 shutdowns, and has kept climbing to #1 since.
“So grateful for Grace and her all-star team. I have been working with them since I started my general dental practice from scratch approximately 2.5 years ago. They helped me with my branding, website development/maintenance, SEO, Facebook/IG ads, and most of all my sanity! Starting up is never easy, but I always knew they had my back from the very beginning.” PRACTICE OWNER & GENERAL DENTIST | 5-STAR GOOGLE REVIEW, POSTED ABOUT 2.5 YEARS AFTER OPENING
PRACTICE TYPE
General dentistry, built from scratch
MARKET
Dense urban city, Northeast US
OPENED
July 2019, eight months before the 2020 shutdowns
COMPETITION
18 dentists within 1.5 miles; 4,000+ within 15 miles THE FIRST 19 MONTHS AT A GLANCE 12 mo to reach page one of Google (#5 for Invisalign + city) ~1 mo booking lead time by month 19, after opening part time +756% monthly website users, launch to month 16 89% of today’s monthly website traffic was already in place by month 16
THE CHALLENGE
No Name, No Patients, and 20 Established Competitors The doctor opened this general dental practice from scratch in July 2019 and partnered with Identity from day one. The practice had no brand, no website, no reviews, and no search history. It did not appear in Google’s top 100 results for any of its main search terms.
The market is one of the most crowded in the country. The federal provider registry lists more than 4,000 dentists and about 1,400 dental practices within 15 miles of the office, and more than 150 dentists in the city itself, roughly one for every 750 residents. The doctor counted 18 other dentists within a mile and a half of his door. Identity’s analysis found 20 general practices competing directly for the practice’s main searches; nine had the city name in their business name, and the three most-reviewed each held close to 300 or more Google reviews. Then, eight months after opening, the 2020 shutdowns hit.
DENTAL CASE STUDY | URBAN GENERAL DENTISTRY STARTUP
identitydental.com | Dental-exclusive marketing since 2009 Case Study | Page 2
THE STRATEGY
Build the Brand Once, Then Win the Searches That Fill a Schedule At launch, on a $1,000 monthly budget, Identity named the practice and created its logo, tagline, and brand, and handled the website build, SEO, paid search and Facebook advertising, and in-office photography and video. Identity then built a 15-term keyword map around the most searched local terms and the general dentistry focus the doctor set during onboarding, grouped by the patient intent behind each search.
KEYWORD CLUSTER
TERMS
WHY IT MATTERS
City intent 6 The most searched dental terms in the market, led by “dentist + city” ZIP code intent 3 Patients searching by neighborhood ZIP code Near-me intent 2 Mobile, ready-to-book searches driven by proximity and reviews Branded intent 4 Doctor and practice name searches, protecting the brand as it grows Service searches like Invisalign, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry tend to move faster than the broad “dentist + city” term, so they brought in patients early while the main term was still being built.
THE RESULTS
Traction in Year One, Momentum by Month 18 Most of the growth came early. By month 16 the website was already drawing 1,867 users a month. Today it draws 2,102, so close to 90% of today’s monthly traffic was in place before the practice’s second birthday.
Monthly Website Users 218 Launch July 2019 1,867 Month 16 Nov 2020 2,102 Today Aug 2026 Milestones in the First 18 Months
MILESTONE
PROGRESS
Launch July 2019 Not in Google’s top 100 for any main search term. 218 website users in the first month.
Year one July 2020 Page one (#5) for “Invisalign dentist + city.” Climbed from outside the top 100 to #40 for “dentist + city, state.” 21 Google reviews.
Month 16 Oct–Nov 2020 Page one for “cosmetic dentist + city” (#4) and “emergency dentist + city” (#6). 1,867 monthly website users, up 756% from the first month. 31 Google reviews.
DENTAL CASE STUDY | URBAN GENERAL DENTISTRY STARTUP
identitydental.com | Dental-exclusive marketing since 2009 Case Study | Page 3
WHAT IT MEANT FOR THE PRACTICE
No Longer a Startup by Month 19 In a recorded interview about 19 months after opening, mid-pandemic, the doctor described where the
practice stood:
AT OPENING, JULY 2019 BY MONTH 19, EARLY 2021 Open part time Open full time No patient base Booked about a month out for routine visits, with room held for emergencies Starting team Recruiting a hygienist to keep up with demand Braced for about five years of struggle Described the practice as no longer a startup, but an established practice Source: client video interview, published March 2021. Paraphrased to protect the client’s identity.
WHERE IT STANDS TODAY
The Early Momentum Held, and Kept Building The practice now ranks #1 on both Google Maps and Google search for its most valuable term, and its Google profile drives more than twice the patient actions it did in its second year. In 2026 Identity added Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and the practice is now the first dentist named in Google’s Gemini-powered AI Overview when someone asks who the best dentist in the city is.
#1 Google Maps and Google search for “dentist + city, state” (Oct 2026) 1st practice named in Google’s AI Overview for “best dentist in [city]” (Oct 2026) 393 Google reviews at 4.9 stars, up from 21 at year one 488 patient actions from the Google profile in one month (Aug 2026)
SEARCH TERM
JULY 2019
GOOGLE SEARCH, OCT
2026 GOOGLE MAPS, OCT 2026 Dentist + city, state Not in top 100 #1 #1 City, state + dentist Not in top 100 #10 #1 Dentist in + city, state Not in top 100 #1 #2
DENTAL CASE STUDY | URBAN GENERAL DENTISTRY STARTUP
identitydental.com | Dental-exclusive marketing since 2009 Case Study | Page 4
GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE
More Than Twice the Patient Actions of Year Two
GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE, MONTHLY
JUNE 2021 AUG 2026
CHANGE
Phone calls 48 87 +81% Direction requests 81 204 +152% Website visits from the profile 89 197 +121% Total patient actions 218 488 +124%
HOW THESE RESULTS WERE VERIFIED
Every Number Traces to a Record Every figure in this case study comes from a dated record: the client’s public Google review, two recorded video interviews dated by their publish dates, Identity’s 2022 press release, the practice’s own Google Analytics, Business Profile, and Google Ads accounts, Identity’s rank tracking, live Google searches, and the federal provider registry.
Percentages are calculated from the figures shown, market counts are rounded down, and the doctor is quoted word for word only from his public review. Research and fact-checking were AI-assisted and reviewed by Identity.
A separate proof document, with links and screenshots for every source, is available to prospective clients on request, with the client’s permission.
Opening or growing a practice?
See what the first 18 months could look like in your market. Book a strategy call at identitydental.com/grace About this case study: the client’s identity is withheld for privacy. Website users include all channels (2019–2020 from Universal Analytics, 2026 from Google Analytics 4, which count users slightly differently). Market counts include dental school faculty, so they show market density, not direct competitors. Results vary and are not guaranteed.