5 Simple SEO Solutions for an Orthodontic Website

There was a time when orthodontists got their patients through word-of-mouth — no pun intended! Nowadays, potential patients (or their parents) are just as likely to go shopping for orthodontic practices on the web.

This means your orthodontic website needs to rank near the top of the search engine results page (SERP) when people in your area Google certain keywords. How do you ensure that your site is ranking? SEO solutions. Read on to learn about five simple ones.

Basic Do’s and Don’ts of SEO

First, what is SEO? It’s an acronym for “search engine optimization” and it comprises the tactics that will help your site rank (appear on the first page of SERPs) for the keywords you target.

1. DO Choose Keywords You Can Rank On

If your practice is in Los Angeles, you have a lot of competition. You likely won’t get good results with keywords like “Los Angeles orthodontist” — unless you’re willing to spend a lot of marketing dollars.

Your SEO specialist can analyze the keyword traffic in your area and help you choose keywords that might be easier to gain a foothold with. Long-tail keywords are phrases that are more specific, and less frequently searched, but which come with higher conversion rates.

An example of a long-tail keyword might be “L.A. orthodontist sliding scale payment plan” or “orthodontist to the stars in Beverly Hills.”

2. DON’T Practice “Keyword Stuffing”

Stuffing is great in your Thanksgiving turkey; in your SEO solutions? Not so much. If your homepage uses your keywords over and over, Google will flag it as spammy — and consequently lower your ranking.

The trick to good keyword usage is to incorporate these phrases naturally. You will want to use them three to five times in every 500-600 words, which shouldn’t be too difficult.

3. DO Update Your Website Regularly

First of all, customers’ trust in your business will plummet if they see outdated graphics, or if your last blog post was from 2013. Not only that, but a dusty, ignored website will go off Google’s radar.

Posting regular blogs is a great way to refresh your content and provide valuable information to your visitors. It will also catch Google’s eye, and boost your chances of rising in the SERPs.

4. DO Pay Attention to Local SEO Solutions

Google is increasingly tailoring its search results to searchers’ location in real time. For example, if you search “orthodontist clear braces for teens,” you’re likely to get results for practices near you — whether you’re on your desktop PC or your mobile device.

Travel to a different city, search on your mobile, and voila! Different search results.

SEO experts can help you claim your business with Google and other directories, make sure your mobile website is easy to use, and use other local SEO solutions to help you get found.

Just ask Moody Orthodontics, whose SEO activities have helped them rank highly for several keywords related to their practice areas and geographical location.

5. DO Ask For Help With Your SEO Solutions

Search engine optimization is a tricky field, and it’s constantly changing. Outsourcing your digital marketing needs will help you attend to your core business — giving patients beautiful smiles — while still helping to bring in new patients.

Want to Learn More?

TextLinks offers a variety of informative articles on all aspects of SEO and link building. Ready to outsource your SEO needs? Check out this blog post on choosing a high-quality SEO service that will help you get the most bang for your digital marketing buck!