Posted on June 19, 2021
Perhaps you’ve been trying to step up your orthodontic marketing in recent months and even hired an orthodontic practice consultant. You’ve heard all about social media accounts, direct mail, and even how to create a stellar website. But you still could be missing one piece of the puzzle when it comes to helping people find you online: SEO.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to making your online presence more easily indexed by search engines. Especially if you’re the niche that someone is looking for, this is one of the things to keep a lookout for when refining your online marketing for orthodontist practices. Let’s figure out how this type of uniquely online orthodontic marketing can help people find you and grow your business at the same time.
More than ever before, marketing strategies for orthodontists focus on their online presence and being able to be easily found through searches or local lists. After all, 77% of prospective patients do their research through search engines online in order to find out where you’re located and what you practice. The days of flipping through the phone book or casually stumbling upon your office while walking down the street are over, and if you haven’t optimized your practice to meet these needs then you’re probably being left behind. Once you accept that the majority of your patients will find you online, you can work to make sure that what they search for fits the reality.
A vital part of marketing your orthodontic practice is making sure that when people search for orthodontists online and they’re in your area, that they find you among other results. This means that your online presence must include keywords that help others find you, so things like “braces,” “orthodontic treatment,” and “Invisalign” need to be at the top of your list when you write any forms of media. Make sure to include your practice name and general location (city) with this, so that any and all media you put out has the relevant keywords for people to find you. If you share a similar practice name or other characteristics with some other orthodontic practice, you’ll want to find ways to differentiate yourself online so that customers searching for your practice in Seattle don’t constantly get redirected to someone with the same name in Dallas.
A good way to help spread around your keywords is to create new content that you can share online. Whether this is blog posts, pictures, or videos from inside your office, all of this media endears you to prospective patients while also spreading those specific and necessary keywords around the web. The more you share, the more results that you tend to get, and the easier it will be to rinse and repeat with almost a similar process. It makes it easier for people to find you, but also makes your practice very distinct. There can be no confusion about what practice someone is speaking of when they can refer to pictures, videos, and blog posts from a specific website that is owned by your practice and no one else.
S-E-O may be just three little letters, but they can mean a whole lot for orthodontic marketing and growing your customer base. When people are unable to find you, they’re unable to do business with you and give you positive reviews. When you don’t have positive reviews or a good word-of-mouth reputation, you have to rely even heavier on a good online presence just to get people in. It can seem like a vicious cycle, but only if you don’t get it right. Start off on the right foot by trying to optimize your SEO presence through maximizing keywords on your website and other media. If you have the budget that allows for it, try to put out other pieces of media (such as video or pictures) that also allow these keywords to be spread around. When you put out a comprehensive package for your orthodontic marketing, you tend to get great results. Get started today and watch your patient numbers grow!
