When orthodontists first recognized that their practice website had the potential to supplement their referral network, the direction was simple: “Build it and they will come.”
But today, as website search engine technology and analytics have become more sophisticated, and reveal more insights about searcher habits, the bar has been raised. It’s not enough to just have a website; it’s critical to design and populate a website in a way that appeals to searchers who are not familiar with your orthodontic practice.
With this in mind, 3M has put together a series of articles that gives orthodontists practical tips on how to make the most of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), one of the keys to creating an effective practice website.
Here, in Part 1 of our series, we review the fundamentals of SEO – what it is, why it’s important and where you might use it to improve your website’s standing in relation to other orthodontist websites.
What is SEO?
Defined, SEO is the process of raising the visibility of your website in search engine results. If you follow the process you will increase the quality and quantity of traffic to your site. But this is easier said than done. After all, search engines are busier than ever these days. Google®, the most common search engine – accounting for 63.5 percent of all online desktop searches and 94.4 percent of all mobile searches – processes over 3.5 billion searches every day, or over 40,000 searches every second. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, if you’re not paying attention to SEO.
Where a Search Engine Could Use Tinkering
Here are examples of situations where a search engine might benefit from these helpful tips:
In Part 2 of our SEO series, we will break down how fine-tuning Objective SEO can help your orthodontic website move up in the rankings. To learn more SEO fundamentals – including common misconceptions and ways to get your content out into the world, view our “SEO Fundamentals” webinar here.
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