Optimizing Orthodontic Visibility: SEO Strategies for Braces Clinics and Orthodontists

Intro

The orthodontics industry is thriving at the moment. One recent study found that almost a third of adults are considering some kind of orthodontic treatment. There are many potential patients out there ready to connect with the services you offer. Nevertheless, with a variety of orthodontists to choose from, you’ll need to take steps to ensure that your clinic is the one they head to. A strong and strategic approach to marketing is going to be key to your success here.

One of the most powerful tools for boosting your visibility in the orthodontic sector is search engine optimization (SEO). Most patients will be using these platforms, such as Google, to find reliable and cost-effective places to get braces near them. A solid SEO campaign empowers you to get your clinic higher in the search engine results that these patients receive in response.

Using Relevant Keywords

Keywords are one of the most important aspects of any SEO campaign. When it comes to orthodontic visibility, there are likely to be some very specific words and phrases patients will use when searching for services. You want to make sure your online content includes these.

To research these keywords, you’ll have to use a variety of keyword-finding and analytics tools. Rank Tracker’s keyword finder gives you access to a global database of up-to-date keywords. You can type in a term — such as “orthodontics” or “braces” — and receive a list of related relevant keywords and phrases. Importantly, each is detailed with how difficult it is to rank highly for that keyword and how often people use it.

This information allows you to regularly make more informed decisions about how to strategically use keywords. For instance, when you’re just starting with your SEO campaign, you might want to try and make some immediate headway. You can identify the easier-to-rank keywords and focus your efforts on these.

Place the keywords throughout your online content. This includes your website, video marketing, social media, and blog posts. The key to effectively utilizing these keywords is not necessarily volume, though. You don’t want to cram all your online content with as many keywords and phrases as possible. Rather, you should use them in a way that is natural and contextually relevant. For instance, many people will be using search terms in the form of a question, such as “Where can I get braces in (name of town)?” You can use your keywords to state the question and its answer in your content.

Focusing on Local Audiences

Unless you’re heading up a multinational chain of orthodontic clinics, you most likely won’t want to rank for general terms related to braces or dentistry. These broad terms are usually too difficult to rank for and attract audiences that may not be realistically able to use your services. Instead, many businesses today focus on more local SEO techniques. In essence, local SEO is geared toward taking actions that see you rank highly in searches focused on your geographical area. This makes you visible to the most relevant audience demographics. Indeed, a 2021 study found that 42% of millennials who performed a local search would visit the business.

To some extent, search engines such as Google have already started directing searchers to local results. Over time, these companies have adjusted their algorithms to identify when consumers are looking for services and adjust results to provide the most relevant businesses in their area. However, you can also take actions that influence your likelihood of being recommended by the algorithm.

So, what adjustments do you need to make to improve your chances of being captured in local searches?

• Include local markers on your online content: This should include your clinic address and telephone number on web page footers. In your guest posts, ensure the town your clinic is in is mentioned in your author bio. Any images related to your company should have their location in the alternative text and meta descriptions.
• **Use locally relevant keywords: **Some keywords will be searched more in your local area than others. This usually involves phrases that feature your local town, city, or county. Utilize these in your content and other web materials.
• **Create locally relevant content: **Just as with any other SEO campaign, content is king in localized SEO. Create some blog posts, videos, and podcasts related to orthodontics that have a specific focus on your geographical region. This helps the search engine to recognize your business as a relevant local source of information.
• **Encourage local reviews: **Consumer interactions with your clinic can make a difference to your ranking. Wherever possible, encourage your local patients to leave positive reviews. It can be particularly important to set up a Google Business Profile that consumers can leave reviews on, which can directly impact results.

Pay close attention to what your local patients prioritize in their orthodontic treatment. You can do this by giving out regular surveys to patients for feedback. From here, you can tweak your content to satisfy search intent.

Leaning into Trends

Ultimately, your SEO campaign should aim to increase engagement with searchers. The more people head to your website, interact with pages, and share your content, the stronger message this sends to search engines about your authority. Remember, you don’t just have to focus on patients engaging with your materials — fellow orthodontics professionals may be your audience, too. One of the ways you can best prompt meaningful engagement is to lean into current industry trends.

For instance, the appearance and discomfort of traditional braces have prompted a rise in the popularity of alternative dental alignment. Create content that explores options such as retainers, clear aligners, and veneers to address orthodontic challenges. This could be in the form of blog posts about specific alternatives. You could create podcasts discussing the pros and cons of each with other industry experts. The key is to tap into what your target demographic requires more information and guidance on.

There are various ways you can get a good understanding of what topics are trending. Certainly, you can look at the demand for specific types of services among your current client base or the wider industry. Another approach is to examine what orthodontics-related issues are trending on social media. Look at what beauty, health, and lifestyle influencers are talking about in their TikTok and YouTube videos.

Don’t forget to help drive the trends as well as respond to them. When creating your content, look for angles on popular topics that are perhaps underexplored. Aim to make your content as shareable as possible. As a professional orthodontist, be mindful that you shouldn’t just be promoting engagement through entertainment. To have an SEO impact, your content responding to trends must still be credible, authoritative, and responsible. This is because authoritativeness is an influencing ranking factor in many search engines’ algorithms. Specifically for Google, health content — considered Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) content — will rank lower in results if it is deemed not to be credible.

Leveraging Technology

Digital technology is revolutionizing the healthcare sector with tools that improve patient care and standard operations. Orthodontists aren’t excluded from this movement either. Many have already jumped at the use of different applications that can boost access to care and artificial intelligence platforms that improve diagnoses. However, these same technologies can also help your SEO campaign.

Artificial intelligence

AI has been a hot topic of discussion in the last year or so. While you may already be using AI in various aspects of your orthodontics practice, it’s also worth considering how you can use it to boost your SEO campaigns. Generative tools, such as Rank Tracker’s AI Article Writer, can help you produce content outlines, blog copy, and video scripts, among other items.

However, it’s important to use AI as a support tool rather than rely on it to write optimized content entirely. As an orthodontic clinic, you need to make sure your content always provides credible information. This means you need to ensure AI tools aren’t making inaccurate claims. You’ll also need to ensure SEO components, such as keywords, are relevantly embedded.

Voice search

More consumers today have begun to move away from typing terms into search engines. Rather, they’re using voice searches — with 41% of U.S. adults using voice searches daily. Usually, they’ll perform these on their smartphones or by using a smart speaker’s virtual assistant at home.

Therefore, account for voice searches in your campaign. This includes using conversational keywords that reflect the way users voice search. You should also remember that the results will often be audio-based. Make certain the questions you answer in your content are concise.

Remember that technology is continuing to develop. Some tools are likely to affect how audiences interact with the online landscape. It is vital to regularly review the changes so your orthodontic clinic can optimize your campaigns to leverage the tech and connect with patients.

Conclusion

Good SEO campaigns can help ensure your orthodontic clinic reaches a wider range of patients. It should include the fundamentals of keyword research as well as more advanced tactics, such as localization and voice search optimization. You don’t need to have all the knowledge of an expert marketer to be successful. There are software tools that can provide you with useful data and help you produce content. Remember, though, that you can’t just perform a single SEO campaign and expect indefinite success. The landscape is constantly changing, so you must regularly assess your tools and adopt practices that enable you to improve your visibility.