Orthodontist SEO Company: What Orthodontic Practices Should Ask Before Hiring

Orthodontic practices often get pitched the same package as every dental office in town. A good orthodontist SEO company should know why that does not fit: the treatment takes months, the person searching is often a parent rather than the patient, and many new patients arrive through a general dentist before they ever type a search. This article sets out what orthodontic SEO should cover and the questions to ask before you hire anyone.

I have worked in SEO and digital marketing for more than 16 years, from Bucharest, with clients who work with me remotely. I am not a dentist or an orthodontist, and nothing here is clinical, health or legal advice. Questions about what to say regarding treatments, children, patient information or reviews belong with your clinical team, your compliance adviser and your own counsel.

If you want the general picture first, our guides on SEO for dentists and local SEO for dentists cover the website and map pack basics that apply to every dental practice. Here I focus on what is different for orthodontics.

Why orthodontic search is different from general dental search

A dental check-up is a short decision. Orthodontic treatment is a long one, and people research it that way. In practice, that changes the search work in three ways.

The decision is made by more than one person. For children and teenagers, a parent searches, reads and books. The American Association of Orthodontists advises that “all children be screened by an AAO orthodontist at age 7”, so many of the first searches come from parents of young children who have no idea yet whether treatment is needed.

People compare for weeks. They look at several practices, read about treatment options, check reviews and often ask friends. Your site has to be useful on the third visit, not only the first.

Referrals matter. Many families hear about an orthodontist from their general dentist, then search for the practice name. The AAO page also says: “You don’t need to wait for a dentist referral for your child to see an AAO orthodontist.” So you are serving two groups: people who arrive with a name, and people who search with none.

An orthodontic SEO company that measures only rankings for “orthodontist near me” misses both the brand searches from referrals and the long research before a consultation.

Treatment pages an orthodontist SEO company should plan

The core of the site is a small set of treatment pages, each answering what a parent or adult patient asks before they book. These pages are about health decisions, which Google treats with extra care. Its guide to helpful, reliable, people-first content says that for topics that could affect people’s health, “our systems give even more weight to content that aligns with strong E-E-A-T.”

Three rules make these pages work:

• Written or reviewed by a named orthodontist. Google says “We strongly encourage adding accurate authorship information, such as bylines to content where readers might expect it.” A treatment page is exactly where readers expect it.
• Your practice, not the textbook. Generic descriptions of braces are everywhere. What a parent cannot find elsewhere is how your practice handles the first visit, the timing of appointments and the options you actually offer.
• No promises. Results vary and the clinical team decides what can be said. Keep before-and-after material and claims for clinical and compliance review.

The page that wins in orthodontics is the one a parent can read in five minutes and then know what the first visit will be like.

Writing for parents and for adult patients

Most orthodontic sites are written for one reader: a parent of a teenager. Adults who want treatment for themselves often read the same pages and wonder whether the practice is for them. I suggest a clear split in the navigation: a short path for parents (first check-up, early treatment, braces for teens) and one for adults (adult treatment, clear aligners, appointments around work).

For parents, the practical questions are what they need answered: how long appointments take, whether a child can come straight from school, what happens if a bracket breaks. These small answers are what make a parent pick up the phone. They are also the questions a front desk hears every week, so ask your team to list them. That list is a better content plan than any keyword tool.

Mobile matters here too. A parent often reads during a school pick-up or in a waiting room. The booking button, phone number and address should be reachable without scrolling through a long introduction.

The Business Profile: category, locations and orthodontists

In the map pack, the category is the first thing to get right. Google’s help page on choosing a business category says: “Select a primary category that best describes your business”, and asks you to pick “a specific category from the list”. Its example: “instead of “Salon,” choose “Nail salon.”” It also warns that “The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google.”

For an orthodontic practice, that means the most specific orthodontic category the list offers, rather than a general dental one. Google says “You can’t create your own category”, and about additional categories: “Do not select a category for every product or service.” Braces and aligners are services, not categories; list them in the services section and on the website.

Many orthodontic practices have several offices, sometimes open only on certain days. Each real office can have its own profile with its own hours. A satellite office that opens two days a week should show those hours accurately rather than look closed or, worse, open when it is not. Our local SEO for dentists guide covers when an individual clinician can have their own profile, which applies to orthodontists in the same way.

Reviews within Google’s and the FTC’s rules

Reviews carry a lot of weight in a long decision, and orthodontics has a natural moment to ask: the day the braces come off. Two sets of rules apply, and they are not the same.

Google’s policy on user-contributed content says merchants may not “Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services” for reviews, may not “Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”, and bans content based on a conflict of interest, which “may include current or former employment.” So no raffles for reviewers, no staff reviews, and no asking only the happiest families.

The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, in effect since 21 October 2024, adds federal rules. It covers businesses that write or create fake reviews, and it does not allow incentives with “an express or implied requirement that the reviews have to express a particular sentiment.” The FTC’s own example of an implied requirement is a request like “Tell us how much you loved your visit”. The rule allows “generalized solicitations to purchasers”, which is what a standard request to every patient is.

Two practical points for orthodontics. Many reviewers are parents writing about a child, so never reply with anything that confirms details of a patient’s treatment. And ask your compliance adviser how your practice should respond to reviews at all.

Dentist referrals and measuring consultations

Because many patients arrive through a general dentist, the website should help referring dentists too. A simple page for dentists with how to refer, what information you need and how you report back is useful, and it gives dentists a page to link to. Ask dentists you already work with whether they would link to it; never pay for links.

Then measure what matters. For an orthodontic practice, the useful numbers are:

• consultation requests, by source (search, map listing, referral, other);
• calls from the Business Profile;
• searches for the practice name, which often follow a referral;
• rankings for the treatment and location searches you care about, checked at the practice’s real locations.

Traffic alone says little. A treatment page with modest visits that produces consultation requests is worth more than a blog post with many visits and none. Our guide to the best dental SEO explains why reporting on new-patient calls rather than rankings separates good providers from template shops, and the same applies here.

Questions to ask an orthodontist SEO company before hiring

Use these with any provider, including me:

1. What will you do differently for an orthodontic practice than for a general dentist? Listen for parents, long research, referrals and treatment pages.
2. Who writes and reviews the treatment pages? Someone should write them; an orthodontist at the practice should review and approve them.
3. Which Business Profile category will you use, and how many profiles? One per real office, with the most specific category.
4. How do you get reviews? Any incentive, staff review or filtering of unhappy patients breaks Google’s policy.
5. What will you report each month? Consultation requests and calls first, rankings and traffic second.
6. Who owns the website, domain and profiles? The practice should, in its own accounts.
7. Will you guarantee rankings? No honest provider can.

For a longer list, see what to ask SEO consultants.

FAQ

What does an orthodontic SEO company do?

It improves how an orthodontic practice appears in Google search and the map pack: treatment pages, Business Profiles for each office, reviews within the rules, and local rankings. A good one also measures consultation requests and referrals rather than traffic alone.

Is orthodontic SEO different from dental SEO?

Yes, in emphasis. Orthodontic treatment is a longer decision, often made by a parent, and many patients come through dentist referrals. The site needs strong treatment pages and a clear path to a first consultation.

Which Business Profile category should an orthodontist use?

Google asks for the most specific category that describes the business. For an orthodontic practice, that means an orthodontic category, where the list offers one, rather than a general dental one. Services such as braces and aligners go in the services section, not in extra categories.

Can an orthodontist offer a reward for Google reviews?

No. Google’s policy says businesses may not offer incentives such as payment, discounts or free services for reviews. Ask every patient in the same way and leave the rating to them.