An Osteopathic Medical School Website Design Case Study

Founded in 1916, Kansas City University (KCU), is one of the oldest osteopathic medical schools in the US, and one of the largest medical schools in Missouri. With 13 new osteopathic schools opening up in the next 2 years and peers stepping up their efforts,  KCU turned to Elliance to bolster its leadership role and outsmart the competition.   

The Elliance Recommendation:

Elliance’s recommended approach was shaped by four insights about prospective medical students. First, they are digital natives glued to their mobile devices. Second, they heavily use Google to explore their educational options. Third, they want to know in advance if the enrolled students and alumni were satisfied by their medical school experience. Fourth, as a lingering effect of Covid, prospective students living in the midwest tend to have a strong preference to attend graduate medical school in the midwest. 

Keeping these insights in mind, Elliance recommended replacing the large osteopathic medical school website with a lean, mobile-first, SEO-powered microsite that distills the argument for KCU into fewest possible pages. We further recommended creating a blog which would house their amazing student, alumni and faculty stories and achievements. These stories would not only persuade prospects to enroll, but also get KCU ranked on Google page one in the state of Missouri, the Midwest and beyond.

Osteopathic Medical School Website Design:

Osteopathic Medical School Blog Design:

Our Inspiration: Four Core Osteopathic Principles
Our website strategy, design and SEO/AIO work draws deeply from the enduring philosophy of the Four Principles of Osteopathic Medicine. They were initially articulated in the late 1800s by Dr. Andrew Taylor Still and later formalized by The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and The Educational Council on Osteopathic Principles (ECOP).

1. The body is a unit; the person is a unity of body, mind and spirit. Health is understood as an integrated whole, not a collection of parts.

2. The body is capable of self-regulation, self-healing, and health maintenance. Osteopathic medicine works with the body’s inherent healing capacity.

3. Structure and function are reciprocally interrelated. How the body is built affects how it works — and vice versa — which is why musculoskeletal assessment is foundational.

4. Rational treatment is based on these principles. Care should reflect this interconnectedness, supporting the body’s natural mechanisms rather than overriding them.

The Results:

Two months after the osteopathic medical school website and blog were launched, KCU saw a 40% improvement in traffic growth to the microsite and blog. For many Missouri and Midwest related keyword variations KCU is  now ranked on Google Page 1. In addition, they are marching towards Google page one for reputation keywords like “Top Osteopathic Schools in the Midwest”. Furthermore, they have started seeing improvements in various osteopathic specialty area keywords for which they were simply not ranked for before. 

Now if prospective medical students search for anything related to osteopathic medical school in Missouri and the Midwest, they can find Kansas City University on the first page of search results. And once they get to the website they are able to quickly access  the most important information they need to make their decision. This includes class profile, featured alumni, faculty spotlights, residency match rates, and a streamlined application process. 

Learn more about our higher education marketing, website redesign and inbound marketing services and consider partnering with us to grow your enrollment endowment and reputation for your osteopathic medical school.