Once content and metatag optimization is achieved for a page we can then move on to the next and and even more important step of finding other authority websites with related content (websites that are already viewed by the search engines as being important for the keywords and content of the page we want to promote) to provide a link from their site pointing to the page on your site. So the first question I always get is who decided that this website is an “Authority”? The answer is the SEARCH ENGINES!! Today you and I don’t get to decide who the “Authority” websites are because it has already been decided by the search engines and unfortunately most of the “Authority” sites in regards to health care are owned and managed by a select group of “Old Boys” that are not really interested in giving their “Authority” away to other sites. To see what websites are designated as “Authority” for a particular topic all you have to do is perform a web search using Google to see what sites come up at the top for a particular keyword. As an example lets look at the keyword “Chiropractic”. I searched the keyword “Chiropractic” using my remote server which is located in Southern California to see what someone in Southern California would find out about “Chiropractic”. If I were going to provide someone in Southern California with information about Chiropractic what websites would I have listed? Out of the 10 Organic search results that Google provided – I would have provided 1 and possible 2. The rest of the results on the page are not Organic – they are either paid advertising or geographically determined or both.

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At the very top of the page and along the right hand side you will see a list of links known as “Sponsored Links”. These are not “Authority” sites but rather pay per click advertising. If you would like to be found in this way you can simply pay for the right to be found there. The unfortunate part is that in our profession there are both people within our profession and people outside of our profession that will very much enjoy clicking these links for fun because they know that it will cost you money. Google promises that this can’t happen but one of my clients ended up with a $1200 bill in his very first month using pay per click ads because a competitor across town spent the entire day clicking through on his ads. I know it seems like they should have better things to do but when someone is bored and surfing the net all day instead of adjusting patients – they tend to come up with great ways of being destructive in their spare time. I’m not saying don’t do it…I’m saying be cautious, place specific limits on the spending, and monitor the results very closely. I would only encourage someone to use this as their primary means of website advertising if their website has been banned from the search engine and in this case I actually think it would be better advised to get a new domain name!

The next list of websites in the search results are the top “Authority” sites for this keyword. This list includes Wikipedia, The American Chiropractic Association, and MedlinePlus. Unfortunately, the likelihood of getting a link from any of these three sites is slim and none! Realistically, I would prefer if none of these sites were at the top of the list as they are filled with all kinds of garbage that I wouldn’t read myself – let alone that my clients/patients should read them and these are the “Authority” websites for Chiropractic!!

Next is the Google Maps Local Business Listings and there are not “Authority” websites – so a link from them doesn’t necessary help. Having said that - it is a great idea to be listed here but it isn’t something that you simply choose to be a part of. Read my article on and you can learn how to  - Get on the Google Maps Local Listings. 

We then come to the bottom of the Organic search results (pictured right) – the rest of the “Authority” sites and you have both – not a chance of getting a link from the ICA and Life Chiropractic College and I wouldn’t want a link from them even if they offered – from the group of unmentionables!

Then just below the Organic search results Google has added a couple new features to their search results: Blog Posts, Videos and related searches. These are where we can and should get a lot of traction in our SEO efforts. Having a blog is no longer an optional thing – it’s a must! It doesn’t really matter if anyone ever reads it – it matters most that you start creating it and promoting it! You can use your blog to write about your website, your office, about yourself, your team, your community events and each post that you make should include a link pointing to your content on your website. Videos with YouTube is another must! Remember that Google now owns YouTube so videos on your website are no longer are powerful as videos on YouTube and with YouTube’s newest features: channels and custom players. You can now control the content that your visitors get to see and you can embed the custom player into your website or your blog (and you should).

We could continue to search through the Organic results of Google on the second through the 100th page looking for websites that are more of an authority than our own, ones that we would like to have linking to our website, and ones that we think we could acquire a link from. We could then repeat this process for the next keyword. I hope you get the point that this would be a very long and enduring process which would involve lots of time, patience, and tough skin because you are likely to run into a lot of disappointment. This is why most Chiropractors that are at all serious about promoting their website in the long term and establishing their website as a local “Authority” either study SEO themselves or hire someone to do it for them. Realistically, the best results are achieved when the Chiropractor works in cooperation with the SEO company and learns how to help promote their website right along with the efforts of the SEO. Why? Because the moment you stop promoting your website another website will become more of an Authority that yours and if you solely depend on the SEO to continue to promote your website you are losing out on a lot of the activities that you would have done anyway that would help to promote your website.

So lets look at a specific example of how to create Authority for a page within your website. If you wanted to increase the importance of a page on your website that has content related to “Back Pain” so that it would show up at the top of the search engine results you first have to ensure that your pages content is unique and that your metatags accurately describe the page as relating to “Back Pain”, which is known as optimizing the content of your site. Next you must find authority websites with content on “Back Pain” to provide a link on their website that points to your page related to “Back Pain” and ideally the text in the link should say “Back Pain” or “Back Pain and your city name”. I don’t mean to make this process just sound difficult but the reality is that it is difficult. Why? Because authority websites don’t like to provide links pointing to other websites especially if the website is less of an authority than their own (in the eyes of the search engines). Most often if they have links they will only point to other authority websites because having a link that points to a less important site actually decreases the importance of your own website! Every time I review this it makes me realize what a closed shop or old boys network “authority” actually is! However, this is what creates what is known as “Link Popularity” and if you have “optimized the content of your site” and another website is still outranking you in the search engines – this is the reason! If another website has greater “Link Popularity” than your website it will invariably rank higher in the search results.

If you are looking for a Search Engine Optimization Company that specializes in Chiropractic and that is committed to only using the highest in industry standards for predictable long term success we can highly recommend Promotional Chiropractic Websites. They will get your website to the top of the search engines and help to keep you there! If you would like to learn more read our other articles on Search Engine Optimization.