Case Study: How an Orthopedic Practice Grew New Patient Inquiries by 312% in 8 Months

This case study details the 8-month digital marketing transformation of a 3-physician orthopedic practice in a competitive mid-size market. When they came to us, they were invisible online — buried on page 3 of Google, with fewer than 15 reviews and a website that hadn't been updated in 4 years. Today, they hold the #1 Local Pack position for their top 12 target keywords and receive 312% more new patient inquiries than before.

The Starting Point: A Practice Invisible Online

The practice had strong clinical outcomes and loyal existing patients, but virtually no online presence. Their website had a Google PageSpeed score of 23 on mobile, no schema markup, and content that hadn't been updated since 2021. They had 14 Google reviews with a 3.8 average rating. Three competing practices in their market were consistently appearing in the Local Pack for searches like "orthopedic surgeon [city]" and "knee replacement specialist near me."

Month 1–2: Technical Foundation and Quick Wins

We began with a comprehensive technical audit and immediate fixes. The website was rebuilt on a modern, fast-loading platform with a mobile-first design. We implemented MedicalOrganization, Physician, and Service schema markup across all pages. The Google Business Profile was completely rebuilt — adding 47 photos, completing all service descriptions, and setting up the booking integration.

• Mobile PageSpeed score improved from 23 to 91 within 6 weeks
• Google Business Profile completeness score reached 100%
• All 3 physician profiles updated with credentials, photos, and specialties
• Schema markup implemented on 28 pages
• Citation audit completed — 34 inconsistent citations corrected across directories

Month 3–5: Content and Review Generation

We launched a content calendar targeting the 40 highest-value patient search queries in their specialty and market. Each piece was written to answer specific patient questions, reviewed by the lead orthopedic surgeon, and optimized for both traditional search and AI-generated answers. Simultaneously, we implemented a post-appointment review request system.

Within 90 days of launching the review generation system, the practice went from 14 reviews at 3.8 stars to 67 reviews at 4.7 stars — a transformation that moved them from invisible to dominant in the Local Pack.

Month 6–8: Competitive Keyword Domination

By month 6, the practice was appearing in the Local Pack for 8 of their 12 target keywords. We doubled down on content production, adding condition-specific landing pages for knee replacement, hip replacement, shoulder surgery, and sports medicine. We also launched a targeted link-building campaign, earning mentions from the local hospital system, two sports teams, and three local news outlets.

The Results: 8 Months Later

The practice now has a 6-week wait for new patient appointments — a problem they're happy to have. More importantly, they have a sustainable, compounding marketing asset that continues to grow without ongoing ad spend. Their organic traffic grows month over month, and they now appear in AI-generated answers for dozens of orthopedic-related patient questions.