The Portugal-based client approached me to improve his Orthodontic clinic’s website’s search engine rankings in German, Portuguese, and English. At the time, his site was exclusively in German and served as a barrier to growth. It wasn’t mobile-optimized, the information architecture was fragmented, and it lacked the clinical authority needed to convert high-intent patients.

The client initially asked for ‘SEO improvements’, but my audit revealed that increasing traffic would be ineffective if the site lacked clear paths to booking. My goal was to transform a passive information page into a conversion-optimized, multilingual authority platform.

Before initiating any design work, I conducted a comprehensive content audit to evaluate the quality and relevance of the existing site. This diagnostic phase laid the foundation for my UX and SEO strategy:

Identifying fragmented IA (Information Architecture): I discovered that the original menu was over-simplified, leading to pages with minimal information that failed to answer specific patient queries.

Bridging information gaps: The audit revealed a significant need for details on orthodontic conditions across different age groups. I addressed this by planning age-specific sections and adding specialized content for treatments like MARPE & Hyrax.

Trust & authority analysis: I identified a “trust deficit” where the site lacked a professional display of credentials. To build patient confidence, I planned the integration of the orthodontist’s humanitarian work and clinical background.

To make the service offering clearer and improve “information scent,” I overhauled the site’s framework using sitemap mapping and card sorting techniques:

Header restructuring: I replaced the fragmented structure with a hierarchical, service-first header. This navigation now displays common services and treatment phases, allowing users to find relevant care in two clicks. I used the card sorting technique to determine how patients (not just orthodontists) categorize dental issues, ensuring the menu titles were intuitive.

Homepage interaction design: I implemented age-based tabs immediately following the hero section. This allows parents to quickly self-segment by their child’s age group to view common orthodontic issues and solutions. The tabbed navigation is a “progressive disclosure” technique to show users only the information relevant to them, reducing cognitive load and improving “information scent.”

Service-specific architecture: I created dedicated destinations for each procedure, ensuring every treatment had its own high-authority service card and landing page.

Comprehensive footer: I transformed the footer into a secondary navigation hub with deep links to every condition and treatment, ensuring essential content is discoverable from any page.

Copywriting & UX Writing: I authored all site copy, translating complex medical jargon into accessible, patient-centered language. I highlighted the orthodontist’s credentials alongside his humanitarian volunteer work to balance clinical expertise with a personal and empathetic touch to build immediate patient confidence. I focused on microcopy to make the journey from “visitor” to “booked consultation” feel supportive and low-friction.

Visual strategy: I selected high-quality imagery that complemented the brand’s professional tone.

High-contrast CTAs: I implemented prominent, high-contrast Call-to-Action buttons to guide users toward the booking funnel.

Mobile-first layout: Recognizing that 80% of medical searches occur on mobile, I built a fully responsive layout that maintains the site’s authority and ease of use on smaller screens.

WPML implementation: I managed the technical localization into German, Portuguese, and English using WPML, ensuring the user journey remained consistent in the selected language.

SEO: I ensured that the entire site content, including all body text, image alt tags, and metadata was strategically optimized for search intent across all three languages. I implemented hreflang tags and localized metadata to ensure the site was correctly indexed in regional search results for each language.

Quantifiable growth: The site saw a +38% increase in SEO overview score, a +45% increase in search clicks, and a +43% increase in total impressions.

Business outcome: The client is now ranking on the first page for multiple orthodontic service terms. Most importantly, he reported that new patients are actively citing the website’s ease of use as the reason they felt confident enough to book their first consultation.