An orthopedic marketing agency should do more than run ads and post blogs. A multi-surgeon group needs someone who understands that a knee surgeon, a spine surgeon and a hand surgeon have different patients, that surgeon reputations and the practice brand pull in different directions, and that every medical claim on the site carries the surgeon's name. This is a vendor-neutral checklist for group administrators and surgeon-owners, including when a platform covers enough that you don't need an agency at all.
What orthopedic groups need from an agency
Few practices search for help this way: about 50 searches a month for "orthopedic marketing agency" and 90 for "orthopedic marketing," which costs $77.39 a click (Google Ads Keyword Planner data via DataForSEO, US, 12-month average to Sep 2026). That price tells you agencies compete hard for your attention, so you can afford to be selective.
An orthopedic group's needs usually include:
- A website organized by service line and body part, with a page per surgeon. Our guide to orthopedic website design sets out that structure.
- Listings that match reality: a Google Business Profile per location, plus profiles for public-facing surgeons.
- Paid search by service line, with separate budgets for walk-in injuries, joints and spine. See orthopedic advertising for what that plan looks like.
- Content reviewed by surgeons before it goes live.
- Referral support for physician liaisons and referring offices.
- Reporting by service line: calls and forms for knees, not just total sessions.
For how orthopedic patients search and choose in the first place, start with the orthopedic marketing hub.
Surgeon brands vs practice brand: who owns the reputation
This is the question generalist agencies most often skip, and the one that causes the most trouble when a surgeon leaves.
Google's rules shape the answer. Its guidelines let public-facing practitioners have their own Business Profile, separate from the location's profile, and say a practitioner shouldn't have multiple profiles to cover all of their specializations (opens in a new tab). For a solo practitioner at a branded practice, Google suggests sharing one profile named in the format "Brand: Practitioner Name."
Decide, in writing, before the agency starts:
- Who controls each surgeon's Business Profile and what happens to it if the surgeon leaves.
- Whether surgeons get personal websites. Separate sites per surgeon split search authority and complicate departures. Strong surgeon pages on the practice site usually do the job.
- How reviews are requested. The FTC's consumer reviews rule (opens in a new tab) bars incentives that require a particular sentiment, and Google's policy prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews (opens in a new tab). Ask the agency how it handles both.
- Hospital-affiliated groups: ask whether the hospital or health system must approve co-branding, logo use, ad copy or surgeon bios, and build that review time into the agency's schedule.
AAOS's ethics opinion on advertising (opens in a new tab) is a useful reminder here: even when someone else writes and pays for the marketing, the surgeon is still expected to make a reasonable effort to ensure statements made on their behalf are not false or misleading. An agency's copy is the surgeon's copy.
Service-line content and medical accuracy review
Orthopedic content has to be right. Joint replacement pages set expectations about recovery; spine pages discuss surgery that patients fear.
What to ask an agency:
- Who drafts and who approves? A named surgeon or clinical lead should sign off every condition and procedure page.
- What sources do writers use? Patient-education sources such as AAOS OrthoInfo (opens in a new tab) and MedlinePlus are a good baseline.
- How are claims checked? AAOS warns against unqualified superlatives such as "Top orthopaedic surgeon," against implying minimally invasive procedures are safer or superior, and against "painless" or "bloodless" language.
- Who updates pages when a surgeon adds a procedure, a location changes or a device is no longer used?
Red flag: sample content full of "best," "revolutionary," "pain-free" or recovery promises.
Physician-liaison and referral support
Many orthopedic groups employ physician liaisons who visit primary care offices, physical therapy clinics and athletic trainers. Agencies can support them with:
- A referring-provider page on the website with fax or e-referral details, imaging requirements and a surgeon-by-problem guide.
- Printed and digital referral guides that match the website.
- Referral source tracking, so you can see which offices send which service lines.
One limit applies to the liaison program itself: no gifts or payments tied to referrals. HHS's Office of Inspector General explains that under the Anti-Kickback Statute, "remuneration" includes anything of value (opens in a new tab) and paying for referrals of federal health care program business is a crime. An agency proposing "referral incentive" programs is a red flag. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Contracts, ownership and BAAs
Read the contract for what you keep if you leave.
| Asset | What to require |
|---|---|
| Domain name | Registered to the practice |
| Website content and design | Owned by the practice, exportable |
| Google Business Profiles | Practice is primary owner; agency is a manager |
| Google Ads and Meta ad accounts | Owned by the practice; agency has access |
| Analytics and Search Console | Owned by the practice |
| Reviews and review data | Stay with the listings you own |
| Patient form data | Stored under your BAA, never on agency servers without one |
BAAs. Under HIPAA, a vendor that creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information on your behalf is a business associate (opens in a new tab), and you must document its safeguards in a written contract (opens in a new tab) before sharing PHI. For an agency, that means anyone handling your patient forms, CRM, chat transcripts or call details. Our explainer on which vendors are business associates covers edge cases. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your practice with a qualified advisor.
Pricing models you'll see
There's no standard orthopedic agency price, so compare structures rather than headline fees.
- Monthly retainer. A fixed fee for an agreed scope. Ask exactly what's included per month.
- Percentage of ad spend. Management fee rises with your budget. Ask whether there's a minimum fee and whether ad spend is billed through the agency.
- Per-surgeon or per-location fees. Common for multi-surgeon groups. Ask how a new surgeon or a departure changes the bill.
- Setup and website build fees. One-time charges for onboarding, design or migration. Ask who owns the result.
- Contract length and exit terms. Month-to-month through a year or more, sometimes with auto-renewal or termination fees.
- Per-lead or per-patient pricing. Ask your attorney before agreeing to pay per patient or per referral, because payment tied to patient volume can raise kickback or fee-splitting questions.
Red flags across all models: undisclosed markup on ad spend, ownership of your accounts, promises of ranking positions or patient counts, and reports that show impressions but not calls and forms.
Agency, in-house marketer or platform
| Option | Fits when | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Full-service agency | Large group, many locations, hospital co-branding, video and events | Ownership terms, clinical review process, cost |
| In-house marketer | Enough work for a full-time role; liaison program in-house | Single point of failure; needs tools |
| Platform plus your team | Independent group that wants a strong site, SEO, AI visibility and ads without a retainer | You still own relationships, events and reviews |
Our guide to agency vs in-house marketing goes deeper on the trade-offs, and healthcare marketing agencies covers agency selection across specialties.
Medfy is the platform option. The $349/month base plan includes your website rebuilt and hosted on your own domain with a page per service, automated SEO with researched articles every week, AI visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, and an AI CMO dashboard showing leads by source, next steps you approve in one click and a weekly brief by email. Google Ads management and Meta ads are optional add-ons. Billing is monthly and you can cancel anytime. Medfy doesn't staff physician liaisons, run events or request reviews, so groups that need those still need people. Compare plans on Medfy pricing, or start with a free marketing audit to see where your site, listings and ads stand.
Frequently asked questions
What does an orthopedic marketing agency do?
It plans and runs some or all of a group's marketing: the website and service-line pages, surgeon profiles, search engine optimization, Google Business Profiles, paid ads and reporting. Some also support physician liaisons with referral materials and track referral sources. A good one knows orthopedic service lines, routes medical content through surgeon review, and keeps ownership of your domain, listings and ad accounts with the practice.
How much do orthopedic marketing agencies charge?
Pricing varies too much to quote a typical number. You'll see monthly retainers, fees calculated as a percentage of ad spend, per-surgeon or per-location fees, one-time setup or website build fees, and contracts from month-to-month to a year or more. Compare proposals by what's included, who owns the work, how ad spend is billed, and how you can leave, not by the headline fee.
Should each orthopedic surgeon have their own marketing?
Each surgeon needs their own presence: a profile page on the practice site and, where they see patients publicly, their own Google Business Profile. Separate websites per surgeon usually split authority and complicate departures. Build surgeon reputations inside the practice brand, agree in writing who controls listings and reviews if a surgeon leaves, and keep every surgeon's information consistent everywhere it appears.
Does a marketing agency need a BAA with an orthopedic practice?
If the agency creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information for you, it's a business associate under HIPAA and you need a signed business associate agreement first. That includes running your patient forms, CRM, chat or call data. An agency that only touches aggregate, de-identified reports may not need one, but ask what data it will see before deciding.