If you are not ranking on Google Maps, you are invisible to most of your potential patients. That statement sounds dramatic until you understand the numbers.

Guido Tebano, who runs marketing at Market by Market and manages SEO for over 100 dental practices, joined Byte-Sized to break down exactly what dental practices need to focus on for local search dominance in 2026.

The answer is simpler than most marketing agencies want you to believe. And more uncomfortable.

In a post-COVID world, 30 to 40 percent of all patient searches find dental practices through Google Maps. That is the low estimate. For practices with strong profiles, the number climbs higher.

Most people do not trust paid ads anymore. They understand those positions are purchased. What they trust is the Google Business Profile because that is where patients leave unbiased opinions.

“Almost 80% of people look at reviews,” Guido said. “They trust reviews more than their own mother.”

That statistic alone should reshape how you think about dental practice automation and AI dental marketing strategies. Every marketing dollar you spend gets filtered through your review profile. Bad reviews? Your advertising budget evaporates.

Here is where the numbers get specific.

You need 33 reviews minimum to start gaining any traction on Google Maps. Below that threshold, the algorithm barely notices you exist.

You need 100 reviews to unlock the ranking benefits. This is where your Google Business Profile starts competing seriously in local search.

After 100, additional reviews do not significantly improve your ranking position. However, human behavior still matters. If competitors have 500 reviews and you have 100, conversions will favor them.

The strategy: Look at a radius around your practice that encompasses about 100,000 people. That is your market. Check competitor review counts. Your goal is matching or exceeding the top players in that zone.

Google recommends that dental practices maintain both a practice listing and a practitioner (doctor) listing. Most practices ignore this entirely.

Here is why it matters for dental practice marketing optimization:

Your practice listing captures general dentistry keywords. Dentist near me. Dental cleaning. Hygiene appointments.

Your practitioner listing can target a completely different category. If you are a GP who does implants, your practice stays in general dentist. Your doctor profile goes into cosmetic or restorative dentistry. You capture implant keywords, veneer keywords, and cosmetic dentistry searches.

Two listings. Two keyword sets. Double the visibility.

The rules matter though. You cannot claim specialist categories you do not hold credentials for. A GP cannot create a pediatric dentist listing without proper certification. Google flags fake category claims aggressively.

AI search engines like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are fundamentally changing how patients find dental practices.

Traditional SEO focused on optimizing pages for specific keywords. Answer-based search focuses on providing direct answers to questions embedded in your website content.

Someone asks ChatGPT: “How much is a dental implant near me?”

AI does not send them to a search results page. It pulls the answer directly from websites with authority and pricing transparency. It summarizes reviews. It makes a recommendation.

“Transparency is king in 2026,” Guido explained. “You don’t go to a restaurant today without looking at the number of dollar signs. Everything in life is based on a range. You need to play the game if you