It’s not enough with today’s technology to have great ideas and information to share. You have to make sure the people who want that information can find you. And that means making sure you’re visible on Google.
Did you know that 91% of people searching on Google don’t go past the first page of search results? Where you show up on that first page matters too: you're 10 times more likely to get clicks at the top of the page than at the bottom.
Your orthodontic practice needs more than a beautiful website. It needs a functional site that supports a great Google Search presence. Without it, you could lose potential patients to your competitors — those who ARE seen at the top of the Google results page.
How do you do this? The key is SEO. Let’s look at what SEO is and how Clear Partnering Group (ClearPG) can help make it work for you.
You’ve probably heard the term “SEO” a hundred times, but understanding what it really means isn’t easy. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it involves using a variety of tricks and techniques to move your name higher on the SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, in Google Search. These techniques change constantly as Google shifts and refines how it evaluates content.
Why is orthodontist search engine optimization so important? Why should you care about Google? Because 89% of mobile traffic uses Google as its search engine. According to SEO.ai, Google handles more than 8.5 billion searches per day. The higher you are on the SERP, the better your chances of being seen in all that traffic.
How does Google decide how to organize search results? Google uses a spider or web crawler to look around the Internet for information on websites, including yours. It then compiles that information and uses an algorithm to decide which websites should appear in the results of search.
Google constantly adjusts its algorithm to streamline search results and make each return more relevant. It does this to improve its service for those using its search engine so they’ll keep using it. That means its SERP rankings are constantly changing.
Google also wants to ensure that the pages it ranks will provide searchers with legitimate services. This is why SEO for orthodontics is so important — you want Google to see you as a legitimate business providing quality service to your patients.
How do you get your website at the top of the SERP? That's the question that drives the SEO team at ClearPG. Google doesn’t share all their technical specifications regarding their algorithm, but they have mentioned some of the most important factors. Our team keeps track of those factors and uses them to improve your rankings.
What factors are the most important? Keywords, consistent publication of relevant content, page load speeds, user engagement, and mobile design are all significant players in Google’s algorithm ranking.
ClearPG builds the proper keywords and coding into your website and maintains your content to keep it fresh, relevant, and aligned to critical SEO factors as those factors change on Google. We make sure the desktop version of your website is not only loading properly but also loading quickly.
We also make sure your mobile site is fast and easy to use. About 65% of all searches are done over a mobile device, such as a mobile phone or tablet computer. Google’s algorithm ranks mobile sites just as it ranks desktop ones. If the mobile site is slow, complicated, or difficult to navigate, Google knows users won't like it and sends it to the bottom of the search results page.
When ClearPG creates or updates websites, we pay a lot of attention to our client's mobile site, ensuring that it will load fast and run smoothly. That way, your orthodontic customers can find you just as easily on their phones as they can on their laptops.
Keywords are a big factor in Google’s search algorithm. “Keyword” is a fancy name for a search term. It’s the word you put into the Google search bar to find the information you want.
It’s important that your website, mobile site, blog, and the rest of your online presence have these keywords. But it’s not just about a particular term. It’s about how real people use that term when we search.
Do a search for “orthodontist,” and you’ll come up with thousands of hits. Everyone doing a Google search knows this, and they know how to narrow their search to find what they really need. They won't just search for "orthodontist." They’ll search “orthodontist in northeast Dallas” or “orthodontist near me.”
Ensuring that your website includes these realistic search terms makes it easy for Google to understand that you are a closer — and therefore more relevant — match for what your prospective patients are trying to find. Local SEO ties your information to a specific area, so you rank higher for people in your community.
ClearPG adds relevant keywords to your website, blog posts, and other content. We also use keywords in header tags — those big and small headlines on your website pages and in your blog posts. Header tags also point Google in your direction.
Great SEO isn’t just about Google finding you: Google also has to trust you. Your Google EAT score needs to be high as well.
What is EAT? It stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Google wants to know that you are a tried-and-true business with legitimate services for the public. This is an especially important factor for orthodontist SEO because you are a part of the healthcare industry.
How do you ensure you rank high on Google’s EAT scale? It helps if people have consistent information about how best to reach you. That’s why you need a good About Page with an address, name, and phone number on it. Your website should also include an easy way to contact you, such as through an email form. Making sure that all of the information available on the Internet about how to find and contact you is consistent helps too. A good SEO service manages and corrects discrepancies in your listings.
Sharing patient reviews also helps searchers get the information they need about your practice from your website. They want to know about the experience other people in the community have had with you. Responding to reviews on Google and other platforms helps positive reviews gain traction. Prospective patients also learn a lot about your practice from how you respond to negative reviews. Experienced SEO service providers like ClearPG will take great care of these responses for you. Responding to reviews on Google and other platforms helps positive reviews gain traction. Prospective patients also learn a lot about your practice from how you respond to negative reviews. Experienced SEO service providers like ClearPG will take great care of these responses for you. We also recommend keeping your Google Business Profile page fresh and up to date with information about your community involvement, achievements, and featured products and promotions.
It’s also vital to update your website regularly with consistently published content. Whether it’s blog posts, social media posts, or other online content, consistent publishing will let Google know that your business is still around and thriving and is worthy of a look — and, hopefully, a higher ranking.
SEO for orthodontists pushes them to the top of the Google Search page and past their competition — if it’s done correctly. ClearPG knows the tricks of the trade and can help build your SEO content the right way.
Are you ready to pull ahead of your competitors in Google Search? ClearPG can help!
