A few months ago, my orthodontic practice launched a brand new website, and with it came a blog. At first I was skeptical about including a blog, as it requires continuous maintenance, but upon further research I discovered that it had huge potential for attracting and educating patients. Here’s what I’ve learned about blogging and why it has been beneficial for my practice.

Purpose of a Blog

There are two reasons why I decided to start a blog on my website: for my patients and for the search engines.

First, a blog is an excellent environment for me to discuss what’s going on at the office and in the orthodontic field. This helps to keep my patients informed. Of course, small tidbits can be shared on social media, but some things just require a bit more space for elaboration. In the blog I like to discuss things like new treatments and orthodontic trends.

The blog is also a great way to connect with my patients. Often times, if a patient asks me an interesting question, I’ll write a blog explaining the answer to his or her question. Chances are, if one patient has the question, others will too, and I want to be able to provide them with a comprehensive answer that they can refer back to on the blog.

On the other hand, a regularly updated blog is a great way to boost presence on search engines. Every time I post a new blog, a new webpage is being created and crawled by Google and other search engines. If a searcher happens to type in the keywords that are included in my blog, then he or she may be directed to my website. And increased website traffic often leads to increased business!

Don’t Forget to Share on Social Media

A key part of blogging is sharing the content on social media. While some people do naturally gravitate to the blog either through the website or from a search engine, it’s critical to share fresh content on social media pages. My practice has Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts, and I always share my blog posts for maximum exposure and readership.

Andy_SkorobatckyjAndrew W. Skorobatckyj, DDS, owns and operates an orthodontist practice in Parma, Ohio. He received his DDS from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) School of Dental Medicine and went on to Nova Southeastern University for orthodontic specialty training. Additionally, Skorobatckyj is an assistant clinical professor of orthodontics at CWRU, and a member of many orthodontic and dental associations.