Leveraging Local SEO for Orthodontists

Orthodontics is a competitive field. Getting noticed by potential patients is one of the biggest challenges orthodontists face. With more than 60% of internet users searching for medical information online, the internet is increasingly where patients go to find medical providers. Local SEO (search engine optimization) for orthodontists helps practices get found online.

What Is Local SEO for Orthodontists?

When patients search for an orthodontist, they usually want to find a practice near their home. Because of this, when someone searches for information about orthodontists, Google displays a list of general results and the top local results.

Search engine optimization techniques, such as optimizing website and other content, help you get listed in the top general results. Local SEO techniques, such as optimizing your Google Business Profile, help your site appear in the top local results.

What Are the Benefits of Local SEO for Orthodontists?

Employing effective local SEO techniques has multiple benefits for orthodontic practices.

Generates Leads and Conversions

Patients often go down the list of top Google results when deciding which providers to contact. Ranking well for the general and local results means potential patients see your site twice. This generates more leads and conversions for your practice.

Because effective local SEO for orthodontists depends on optimizing your website and other content for the specific keywords your target market is searching for, SEO drives more targeted traffic to your site. Targeted traffic tends to convert better than other types of traffic.

Lowers Your Patient Acquisition Cost

SEO costs less money and produces results for longer than techniques such as paid search and advertisements. Thus, improving your SEO helps you get more patients at a cheaper cost.

Produces Quick Results

Because most patients will not travel far from home to see an orthodontist, you are primarily competing against other local practices. This makes it faster and easier to get to the top of local results than the general results.

Builds Trust

Ranking at or near the top of search results lends credibility to your practice. Patients tend to trust medical providers with higher rankings than those appearing lower on the page.

What Are Some Ways To Improve Local SEO for Orthodontists?

Some patients search for terms such as “orthodontist near me.” However, some will search for specific services, such as braces, or information, such as cost. You need to rank well for all of these types of searches.

The key to high rankings is to optimize your content for the keywords your customers are most likely to search for. There are a variety of ways you can do this.

Write a Blog

Google loves fresh content, and writing a blog is a great way to give Google new content to discover. Blogs are also an opportunity to provide useful keyword-optimized information.

Blogs boost local SEO for orthodontists by incorporating keywords targeted to your local market. For example, you could write a blog about the average costs of orthodontic procedures in your geographic region.

It isn’t practical to mention all of your services on your homepage. However, you can write blogs about your services and the questions patients will likely search for answers to.

Your blog also helps you build trust by demonstrating your expertise. Blogs are easy to share, so when you create useful content, readers will likely share it with others they know, which drives traffic to your site.

Utilize Link Building

Trustworthiness is important for all sites, but particularly for medical providers. Backlinks are links from other sites to your site, and Google considers sites with backlinks from other authoritative sites more trustworthy and rewards them with higher rankings.

Creating valuable content is the best way to attract backlinks. You can boost local SEO for orthodontists by getting your local Chamber of Commerce, other community web pages, Google Maps, review sites, and industry associations to link to you in their directories.

Consider writing guest posts for relevant sites that your target audience visits. Add internal links to your other content to make it easy for visitors and search engines to travel from one page to another.

Audit Site Content

Technical issues, such as slow-loading pages or broken links, can drag down your rankings. Additionally, search engines factor in how mobile-friendly your site is. Periodically auditing your site for technical issues helps you find and fix problems that could be costing you rankings.

Refresh Old Content

The algorithms Google and other search engines use change frequently. Additionally, market trends and changes in consumer behavior can impact the keywords you should target.

Refresh your content regularly to update your keywords and account for search algorithm changes. Focus on incorporating local keywords, such as the name of your town, in your content, URLs, page titles, and meta tags, to improve your local SEO.

Regularly Maintain Local SEO for Orthodontists

To maintain your general search ranking, you must perform regular maintenance, such as checking for broken links. For local SEO, you need to update your Google Business Profile regularly. If you don’t have one, create one.

Fill out as much information as possible, including your current business address, phone number, and hours of operation. List all of the services you provide. Update this information if it changes.

Manage Social Media

Social media doesn’t directly improve your rankings, but it provides you with a platform to engage with customers and potential customers. Share your blog posts, announce any special offers or new services you provide, and provide insights into your day-to-day operations on your social media accounts.

Patient reviews can boost your rankings and help you build credibility. Encourage patients to leave reviews and share some of your positive reviews on social media.

Where Can You Get Help With Local SEO for Orthodontists?

BKA Content can help you rank higher, boost website traffic, and attract more patients. We provide affordable SEO services, including writing and updating SEO-optimized blogs and high-quality white hat link building. Visit us online to find out more about how our expert team can help with local SEO for orthodontists.