Orthopedic SEO

SEO for Orthopedic Physicians

Want to know how you can grow your private orthopedic practice? With a solid orthopedic SEO foundation, you can be on your way to outranking the competition. At Digital Logic, we optimize your website using a combination of variables. These consist of link building, building and improving content, and lots of keyword research.

Staying up to date with the best search engine optimization techniques will increase your orthopedic site traffic and ability of potential patients to find your website.

Improving your orthopedic SEO will not only raise more awareness to your brand, but it will also help to build the trust that your patients are looking for orthopedic surgeons or orthopedic doctors.

It’s important that your website ranks near the top, so that those searching for an orthopedic surgeon will see your website before they see your competitors’. And, increasing your website traffic gets your orthopedic practice closer to ranking number one on search engines.

The Basics of SEO for Orthopedic Surgeons

In order to get more website traffic and rank higher, you’ll need to consistently complete the following steps:

• Research to find the best performing keywords in your field
• Make sure that these keywords aren’t too broad or competitive
• Conduct a competitive analysis on your website
• Optimize your site where it needs improvement

We understand these are pretty vague points. But, if you’re interested in orthopedic SEO services, in this orthopedic SEO guide, we’ll dive a little deeper into these topics, exploring the different ways we, at Digital Logic, optimize orthopedic sites for orthopedic surgeons, while allowing our clients to focus on providing the care that their patients need.

What is SEO for Orthopedics?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a host of techniques meant to improve a website’s ranking on Google’s search results pages. SEO companies work with complex algorithms that, if used correctly, can bring lots of organic traffic to an orthopedic surgeon’s website.

Keeping up with the constantly changing algorithms will guide those looking for orthopedic doctors to your website instead of your competitors’.

Long-term SEO Results for Orthopedic Doctors

The goal of using these SEO strategies is to improve your orthopedic site. You’re essentially optimizing the visibility so that both your audience and Google’s algorithm knows exactly what the site is all about.

Before we jump into the specifics of orthopedic SEO, you’ll want to remember two things:

• Don’t expect overnight results. We’re sure you have those patients who are upset that they aren’t completely healed after their first physical therapy session. The same concept applies here. Using a highly advanced search engine optimization strategy is the best way to obtain results. And, in the long run, these tactics always pay off.
• Have patience. This process can take anywhere from 3-6 months before you’re actually able to see results or reap the benefits from your marketing efforts. 

If your orthopedic clinic needs to get new patients in the door immediately, consider our orthopedic pay-per-click services.

Why is Search Engine Optimization Important for Orthopedics?

Like almost every other sector in the healthcare industry, orthopedic surgeons and orthopedic doctors, alike, want to accomplish similar objectives: they want a steady stream of booked appointments.

So, how do we do this?

By using proven orthopedic SEO strategies that attract new patients, thus increasing the revenue stream.

As an orthopedic surgeon, you probably won’t have time to wrap your head around the best SEO strategies for your website. And, it’s important to note that about 99% of all searchers only scroll through the first page of search results. This means there’s no room for error if you’re in a competitive metro.

High Ranking Orthopedic Surgery Practices Provide Trust Factor

At Digital Logic, we start the research phase as soon as possible in order to really pin down what types of topics that your potential patients are likely to search for.

Below are some common items for the orthopedic industry:

• Treatments that orthopedic clinics offer
• If orthopedic surgery is necessary
• Types of orthopedic procedures
• Specialties specific to orthopedic practices
• “Orthopedic clinic near me”
• “Orthopedic doctor in [location]”
• “Orthopedic surgeon specializing in [condition]”

If your orthopedic website is at the top for any of these search results, this will give the potential patient some reassurance that you’re the best orthopedic surgeon in your area. This confidence can go a long way.

While we know that online rankings don’t have a correlation to the actual quality of work, searchers often do correlate the two. And, when you think about it, you probably do the same when you’re searching or buying online.

Based on how well your local SEO efforts are, Google will decide where your website will land on the search results. As orthopedic SEO professionals, Digital Logic uses this to our advantage to help you outrank your competitors online.

Ranking #1 can only make your website more credible, and thus, you more worthy of selecting.

Ranking Your Orthopedic Practice for the Right Keywords

At Digital Logic, any time we start an SEO campaign on behalf of one of our orthopedic surgeon clients, we begin by making a list of potential keywords to target.

Why?

Because keywords are essential to creating quality content that drives high volume, quality traffic.

Having better keywords creates a higher likelihood that those patients who are searching for an orthopedic surgeon will land on your site. More traffic then generates more appointments, which leads to more patients, and you guessed it…more money.

Keywords for Orthopedic Doctors

Unless you do this for a living, it’s going to be a trial and error process.

As an orthopedic SEO agency, we have many tools at our disposal that help us pinpoint exactly which keywords we should shoot for.

If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, this will require a good amount of research. Your main focus should be on really understanding your target audience and how they will search for terms.

We’ll include a few points to get you started.

Questions you should ask during the research process:

• What are your potential patients looking for?
• What is their objective?
• Are there many people searching for these same keywords, and if so, how many?
• What attracts your target audience?

Short-Tail Keywords

These are the search terms that are 2-3 words or less. They are broader, more general search terms that cover a variety of topics. More than likely, these are the keywords that, in your mind, you need to rank for. These keywords will have high search volume and loads of competition.

And, truth be told, ranking for these aren’t always the keys to success on Google.

One good way to determine if something is a short tail keyword is to ask “what about it?”. If there’s a good amount of terms you can add to the end or fill in that blank with, then more than likely, the term or terms are going to be difficult to rank for.

So, for example, a short tail keyword might be “ACL tear”. If someone were to search for this term, they’re initially going to have a difficult time getting the answer they’re actually looking for. That’s because the search term isn’t specific enough for Google to pinpoint the user’s intent. Are they looking for what is an ACL tear or treatments for an ACL tear or how many athletes suffer from an ACL tear? You get the point.

Content Creation

The same principle applies to your content. You don’t want to target something as broad as, “ACL tear”. For one, they’re way too competitive, and you will never rank for that. And, second, even if you could rank for the term, a term that broad isn’t going to translate into actual patients-just hits on your website. Many of which will immediately leave once they realize that the question they actually want the answer to isn’t in your content. (Because there’s no way to really cover a topic as expansive as this.)

For this reason, Google search is the “middle man” who stands in between you and your targeted audience.

So, how do you prove to Google that your site is better than the orthopedic surgeon across town?

• Keep a balance between short and long tail keywords that you’re trying to rank for
• Do lots of research on what your potential patients are looking for.
• See which keywords you could change to potentially convert more searchers into patients

Long Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific, and typically convert more. These keywords make up over 70% of all keywords that help maximize your overall rankings.

For example, if someone injured his or her knee and needed an orthopedic specialist locally, they would most likely search for “orthopedic surgeon in [city in which they live]”.

Individuals that use more specific keywords and phrases want to narrow down their search and are also more likely to convert. 

These long tail keywords are the ones that you want to be targeting as the primary keywords for content.

But, how do you know which long tail orthopedic keywords you should be targeting?

You’ll need to find out what kind of questions your prospective patients are the most likely to be searching for. Learning this information will also help you to better pinpoint their search intent.

On Page SEO for Your Orthopedic Website

There are many ways in which you can go about optimizing your website. At Digital Logic, we consider a host of factors when we begin the process of optimizing for new clients. A few of the basics include title tag, content, meta descriptions, and internal link building.

Title Tag

We really try to spend time and focus on making the title tags the best they can be. More goes into this tiny process than you’d think.

(Just another reason why you should select a professional agency that specializes in healthcare marketing services, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all agency.)

We use keyword data and pair it with what we think will convert your potential patients the best since it’s one of the first items that your audience will see. We think it’s important to use the title tag to be both crafty and unique in order to help rankings and draw in more patients.

For title tags, we consider:

• Title length
• How to convey a positive message
• Optimizing without keyword-stuffing
• How to stand out in order to outrank the competition

Orthopedic Content for Search Engines

Crawlers of various search engines try to understand the information provided by your website and then use it to better understand your website, in its entirety. Having great, descriptive web content is crucial to make that happen.

You want both your audience and the search engine crawlers to be able to navigate your website seamlessly.

This doesn’t happen by chance, and at Digital Logic, we conduct a ton of research and dedicate time planning so that everything for the end user flows as it should. We account for future content and look for ways to incorporate unique content into our orthopedic SEO strategy, always!

Meta Description

Similar to the title tag, the meta description is also an HTML element. It provides the search engines a layout of what your page is all about and also provides your audience with a snippet of what they can expect to learn from clicking on the link.

This is an important element to optimize, as having a good meta description could be the difference between a searcher clicking on your link or the links surrounding yours.

Internal Link Building

While we’re sure you probably know what a link is, you may not understand the importance of internal link building for orthopedic surgeons.

Internal links are displayed as a link from one specific page on your site to another page. Having internal links can help your audience better navigate through your website, as well as help Google understand what your website is all about.

What Makes Internal Links Important for Orthopedic Websites?

• They allow website visitors to more easily navigate through pages.
• They help to establish hierarchy within your site.
• They help Google understand how your content is related to one another.

Backlinks

In order to create a strong bond with your prospective patients, you must first get to know them. And, in order for this to happen, you must have traffic to your website, so that you can study behavior patterns.

Seems like a double edged sword, right?

That’s one of the many reasons why hiring an experienced orthopedic marketing agency is so important.

We know how to build this web traffic more quickly, so that as an orthopedic surgeon, you can begin to build those bonds online organically.

One of the steps we take to speed up the process is by building backlinks. But, what are backlinks, exactly?

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks are a type of external link building. We reach out to other high-authority websites to see if we can write a guest post in exchange for an external link to your website. The goal is for this to eventually lead to them referencing your site for other orthopedic content in the future.

Why Do Backlinks Matter for Orthopedic Websites?

Earning a credible backlink can increase the traffic going from their website to yours. Having your website be referenced in an article gives your page more credibility and makes your entire website look more reputable to search engines, like Google.

An easy way to picture backlinks is to imagine a popularity contest. The more votes you get, the more likely you are to win. It doesn’t always mean that everyone likes you the best, but it does mean that you reap the benefits from the title.

Orthopedic SEO Services

The entire healthcare industry is changing, and so should your orthopedic marketing. Just a decade ago, we only saw our ads on television, newspaper and the radio. With the rise of digital media marketing, as a business owner, you need to constantly be looking ahead. SEO may change over the years, but it’s not going away. Organic web traffic is something that compounds exponentially over time.

No, it’s not an overnight process, but once you start gaining momentum, you’ll start to see results rise quickly. Even if the competition is high, being an early orthopedic SEO investor and sticking with it will prove to give your orthopedic practice the foot traffic you’ve been looking for.