Where your competition is in Minnesota
The largest concentrations of dental practices in our Minnesota data are in Duluth, St Paul, Minneapolis, Rochester, Blaine, Burnsville, Woodbury and Eagan. Competition for the map pack is heaviest there, and so is the reward: the same review count that dominates a small town is invisible in Duluth.
The map pack in Minnesota
Google shows three businesses in the map pack for a search like "dental practice near me" in Duluth. In Minnesota the shops that hold those spots usually sit near the 90th percentile, 402 reviews, not the median. 32.2% of Minnesota dental practices have passed 100 reviews; the other 67.8% are competing for whatever is left below the fold.
The website gap in Minnesota
Website presence in Minnesota: 84.5% of dental practices link one, 15.5% do not. The national figure is 21.5% without. Google and the AI answer engines both use the site to confirm what you do and where, so a missing site costs more than the leads it would have produced on its own.
How Minnesota compares
Of the 51 states in our data, Minnesota ranks 6th for the number of dental practices, 38th for median review count, and 43rd for the share with no website, so a website alone will not set you apart here. The review bar is lower than in most of the country, so a few months of asking every customer moves you up fast.
| State | Listed | Median reviews | No site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 2,797 | 14 | 15.5% |
| Illinois | 2,679 | 57 | 17.4% |
| Indiana | 2,477 | 26 | 22.9% |
| Iowa | 1,446 | 7 | 24.3% |
| Kansas | 1,239 | 41 | 18.9% |
| Michigan | 2,944 | 27 | 25.2% |
| Missouri | 2,576 | 25 | 25.1% |
| Nebraska | 728 | 13.5 | 28% |
| North Dakota | 608 | 14.5 | 18.6% |
What to do first in Minnesota
- Set a review velocity. One review per job day, asked at the door, moves a 14-review shop past the Minnesota 75th percentile (171) within a year. The guides have the scripts.
- Finish the Google profile: primary category, every service you offer, real job photos, and hours that match reality. It is free and it is where Minnesota customers decide.
- Follow up every lead within five minutes. Speed to lead beats ad spend in a trade where the customer is collecting three quotes. The calculator shows what slow replies cost.
- Then, and only then, spend on ads. Pointed at a profile with 14 reviews and no website, ads pay for your competitor's education. Pointed at a finished profile, they work.
The full national picture, with percentiles, ratings and hours, is in the benchmark report. The method is on the about page.