In today’s competitive healthcare environment, having a basic, generic website is not enough. Your website is often the first touchpoint with patients and referring physicians – and as they say, you do not get a second chance to make a first impression.  

Your website needs to be inviting and intuitive. Visitors should be able to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily. Your website also should have functionality that patients expect, such as the ability to schedule an appointment online.  

When building your website, the most important thing to keep in mind is that “content is king.” Ask yourself the following questions to evaluate your content:  

• What are you saying about your specialties? 
• Will patients understand what you do and how you do it?  
• How do you stand out from other orthopedic practices?  

Why Your Orthopedic Website Is Key to Your Marketing Strategy 

Since potential patients are searching online for orthopedic solutions at any given time, night or day, your website can help you market your practice around the clock. Even better, you do not have to be part of a large health system or spend a fortune to have an effective website. Most importantly, your website can help you establish your practice as a trusted healthcare resource.  

Include your website address on print materials and social media account so that patients know how to access your orthopedic practice online. 

Search Engine Optimization for Orthopedic Websites 

Your content should highlight your areas of expertise and special credentials and make it easy for patients to understand exactly what you do and offer. That will save time for patients and for staff taking calls regarding questions about the services you provide.  

Personalized, custom content gives your practice an opportunity to stand out from your competitors. Patients not only want to know about specific services, such as hip or knee replacements, they want to know about providers as well. 

Include as much original content about your areas of specialization as possible, as it will improve your search ranking for the key phrases that patients search for in Google. That will help with search engine optimization (SEO), which is important since SEO is what makes your website rank higher in searches to garner more traffic. The more relevant your content is to your audience, the better the quality. Think about what patients need most and create content around those needs. 

SEO is an increasingly niche marketing specialty, so many orthopedic practices reach out for assistance from digital marketing experts. They will do extensive research for keyword terms individuals commonly use to search for orthopedic services (such as “orthopedic surgeon” or “orthopedic clinic”) and then sprinkling those keywords throughout your content.  

Keep in mind that Google does not like “keyword stuffing” – meaning that while you can incorporate key search terms into your content, you should avoid SEO agencies who overuse them (known as “black hat” SEO). Also, physicians have specific rules that they must follow for advertising. Check the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Standards of Professionalism to ensure your content is compliant with their standards. 

Key Pieces to Consider with Orthopedic Website Design 

While you certainly want your potential patients and referral sources to feel comfortable with providers, it is even more important for them to quickly identify which services you offer.  

The key to successful orthopedic website development is to ensure that patients find the information they are looking for quickly. It is essential to know what is most important to your site visitors and that your site is intuitively easy to use. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, viewers typically leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds if they can’t immediately find what they are looking for. Going elsewhere to find what they need all too often leads them to a competitor – something you are ultimately trying to avoid. 

Consider the patient’s perspective. What concerns are they likely to have? How are your services distinctly different from competitors? What does a typical procedure entail, and who will be providing it? Content has the power to familiarize patients regarding the care level they can expect before they even set foot in your office. 

Also, consider which services have the greatest impact on your bottom line. If ACL procedures generate the most revenue for your practice, you want to feature that service prominently on your website. Or, if you have a new popular service that will help grow your practice, you may want to include that on your home page to build awareness of it.  

Finally, the most important rule for marketing is to know your audience, and the same is true for orthopedic web design. Think about your patient demographics. Do you specialize in orthopedic sports medicine? Or do you specialize in hip and knee replacements that are more common in an older population? Make sure you tailor messaging and images to the correct demographic to ensure that your website resonates with your target audience.  

About You and Your Staff 

This is your opportunity to connect with new patients and make them feel confident when choosing you as their orthopedic surgeon. A good medical website design should include information about providers, such as education, certifications, reasons for choosing orthopedics, and community involvement. Well-written bios humanize your practice. 

Your Specialties and Areas of Expertise 

Help patients understand the breadth of practice or areas of expertise and explain why you chose to focus on those areas. This is also an opportunity to learn more about the procedures themselves and outcomes that they can expect. That will help quickly engage them and give them a reason to connect with you. 

Practice Location(s) and Contact Information 

Make it easy for patients to locate contact information on your website, including your office address, phone number and email address. Essential elements include a call-to-action “Contact Us” section on your site placed at the header and/or footer of every page. 

Summary: Best Practices for Orthopedic Website Content 

In today’s competitive orthopedic healthcare space, a strong online presence is more important than ever. Your website should be intuitive and provide existing and potential patients with the basic information that they need and give them a reason to make your practice their first choice for orthopedic care.  

iHealthspot Can Help 

Our expert medical web designers develop completely customized layout and design tailored to specific orthopedic services. Our writers who specialize in healthcare also can create content that will position you as the authority in your field, capture attention, and improve SEO ranking.  

Our designs are mobile-friendly, intuitive, and easy-to-navigate – all things Google looks for when determining which sites to place on page one of search results. We also offer user experience website enhancements such as: 

• Secure online appointment tool 
• Mobile-friendly/responsive design 
• Secure patient forms 
• Secure online bill payment 
• Custom maps and locators 

Our goal is to help you land at the top of Google searches and convert those visitors into patients. Contact one of our website consultants today for a free consultation.