Driving High-Value Patient Growth for a Multi-Location Alaska Dental Group

Two prominent Alaskan dental practices left an overpriced agency charging $20,000 per location while delivering a $2,200–$2,500 cost-per-patient to partner with Upward Engine for a smarter approach. By deploying a full-stack digital ecosystem—including SEO, Google Ads, programmatic display, and LiveChat—we generated 109 new patients and $87,000 in attributed production in a single month. Top-3 keyword rankings doubled and average search position improved from 13th to 10th in just three months.

Services Used:

Project Overview

This partnership involves two prominent Alaskan dental brands: a cosmetic-focused practice in Wasilla and a multi-location general and restorative practice serving Anchorage and Eagle River. Despite offering advanced technology like same-day crowns and dental implants, both practices were struggling to keep their doctors schedules consistently full. They moved away from a high-cost agency delivering poor acquisition metrics to partner with us for a more holistic, data-driven approach.

The Challenge

The primary obstacle was Inefficient Patient Acquisition. The client previous marketing partner was charging approximately $20,000 per location while producing a staggering cost-per-patient of $2,200–$2,500. This made scaling impossible and eroded the practices profitability. Additionally, the practices needed a stronger digital presence to capture high-value cases—implants and veneers—rather than just routine cleanings, in order to increase per-patient production and overall revenue.
30735 challenge
30735 approach

Our Approach

We deployed a Full-Stack Digital Ecosystem to dominate the local search landscape and maximize conversion opportunities across all three locations.

  • Omnichannel Growth: We integrated Organic SEO, Local SEO, Google Ads, Programmatic Display, and LiveChat to create multiple touchpoints for prospective patients at every stage of their search journey.
  • UX & Content Overhaul: We executed a comprehensive website restructuring project, building out specialized service pages for every treatment and improving user experience to turn visitors into booked appointments.
  • PPC Granularity: We broke out the Anchorage location into a dedicated campaign to address specific market underperformance and began testing Map Pack sponsorships to win the local near-me battle.
  • Conversion Tools: We implemented LiveChat and ClickShield to improve lead quality and protect the client ad spend from fraudulent clicks.

Results

Since switching from their previous vendor, the practices have seen a dramatic shift in both search dominance and actual revenue. We grew the number of keywords in the top-3 positions from 8 to 16, ensuring the practices are the first choice for Alaskan dental patients. Average search position improved from 13th to 10th in just three months. In a single month, the practices saw 109 total new patients, with 41 directly attributed to SEO and Google Ads efforts generating $87,000 in production. The client reported that new patients arriving via campaigns are more productive, booking higher-value restorative and cosmetic procedures. By moving away from an expensive, low-performing agency, the client achieved dramatically better results at a fraction of the prior cost-per-patient.

109 New Patients in One Month

Total new patients across both practices in a single month.

$87K Attributed Production

41 SEO- and Ads-driven patients generated $87,000 in dental production.

Top-3 Keywords Doubled

Keywords ranking in the top 3 positions grew from 8 to 16 in three months.

Takeaway

For multi-location medical practices, marketing success is a balance of Volume and Productivity. By replacing an overpriced, generalist strategy with a precision-focused SEO and PPC engine, we did not just find more patients—we found the right patients. This case study proves that a holistic full-stack approach can simultaneously lower acquisition costs while increasing the high-value production that keeps a practice thriving.

What’s Next?

Our immediate focus is on Anchorage Market Acceleration. We are scaling Google Ads and launching Local Services Ads to further drive leads to the Anchorage location. We are also finalizing the remaining technical service pages to ensure that every clinical specialty—from Invisalign to dental implants—holds the top spot across all three target cities.