Dental Search Trends

It’s interesting to study search trends for various search terms, and try to figure out factors that may be influencing them.

For example, searching on the term “porcelain veneers” has been steadily declining over the past seven years, most especially since 2008.

Here is the graph of that search volume over time, from 2004 to the present:

Porcelain Veneer Graph

The decline from 2008 on seems likely due to economic conditions – not as many people are willing to spend money on getting that perfect smile. But there is still strong volume – about 75% of what it was 2006-2008.

And here is a map showing the intensity of searches on porcelain veneers by state:

Diagram courtesy of Google Trends

Interestingly, the highest intensity of searching on porcelain veneers is in the state of Mississippi. The next four states are Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The three cities of highest intensity of search are New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, in that order.

Searching for “dentist” shows an entirely different dynamic. These searches have been increasing steadily ever since they’ve been measured. Here is the graph:

Graph courtesy of Google Trends

I believe the reason for this trend is the increasing use of the Internet by people to look for a dentist. Current search intensity is double what it was in 2004. People are using their Yellow Pages directories for door stops and turning to the Internet instead.

And the map gives some interesting insights, as it breaks down search intensity by state:

Diagram courtesy of Google Trends

Again we’re seeing the highest regional intensities in the southeast. By state, the highest intensity for searching for dentist is in Georgia, followed by Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Maryland. Mississippi is on the low end. The two lowest states, where there appears to be the least use of the Internet for finding a dentist, are Wyoming and South Dakota.

For information about what Infinity Dental Web can do to help you attract patients via the Internet, please see our pages on search engine optimization and business listings and local search.