A web presence built to match a world-renowned reputation.
WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGIC LASER SURGERY · 2011 – 2020 · WASHINGTON, DC
Case Study
Dr. Tina Alster Case Study: Nearly a Decade of Dermatology Practice Marketing
495,605
Users tracked over the engagement
Google Analytics, Aug 13, 2011 – Aug 19, 2020
74.3%
of users via organic search. The practice never ran Google Ads.
Google Analytics, share of users, same period
11
DC treatment searches at number one
Google rank tracking, Washington DC, July 2019
20–51
Web appointment requests per week
Internal weekly reports, 2019
The Brief
From 2011 to 2020, Grace & Grit Marketing led marketing for the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, the Washington, DC practice of world-renowned dermatologist Dr. Tina Alster. We moved the practice onto a website it owned, digitized two decades of her peer-reviewed articles and press, and built her social presence from zero. The result: 495,605 users tracked, 74.3 percent arriving through organic search, 11 DC treatment searches at number one, and not a dollar spent on Google Ads.
About Dr. Tina Alster
The Laser Queen
Dr. Tina Alster is the founding director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and a clinical professor of dermatology at Georgetown University Medical Center. She earned her B.S. and M.D. with highest honors from Duke University, completed her dermatology residency at Yale, and is recognized worldwide as a leader in dermatologic laser surgery, with hundreds of published articles and eight textbooks on the subject. She has consulted for skincare and device companies including Lancôme and La Mer, received the Mentorship and Legacy Awards from the Women’s Dermatologic Society, and has been named to America’s Top Doctors, Allure’s Influencer of the Year, and Washingtonian’s Best Doctors, ranking among the nation’s top 1 percent of dermatologists in U.S. News & World Report.
The Challenge
World-renowned in real life. Pages four and five on Google Search
Offline, her reputation was towering. Online, it was not. The practice website was a cookie-cutter template on a rented vendor platform, sitting on the fourth and fifth pages of Google. Two decades of peer-reviewed articles lived in bound volumes. The magazine features lived in print. The television appearances lived on tape. None of it was searchable.
From the Record We Digitized
Two decades of Dr. Alster’s national press, scanned, linked, and made searchable.
March 22, 2007
April 14, 2005
2019
AAD Annual Meeting
2012
A few pages from the record we digitized.
What We Did
How We Grew a Dermatology Practice: Own. Digitize. Create.
Owned the platform.
We moved the practice off the vendor and onto a self-owned WordPress site, live August 13, 2011 and captured by the Internet Archive that September. We wrote every page, with Dr. Alster editing, and managed the site through multiple design generations until the practice sold in 2020.
Digitized the record.
Her peer-reviewed articles were scanned and organized into a browsable library across twenty conditions, part of the launch build itself and confirmed live by the Internet Archive within twelve days. Every magazine cover was sourced and linked to its press hit. Her television appearances were captured through a clipping service, before networks published to YouTube, and released on the practice channel: 140 videos in all.
Created what never existed.
A seventeen-category blog. More than 40 treatment and condition pages written to search intent, laser for tattoo removal, for birthmarks, for scars, and by July 2019 the pages built for each condition were the pages holding the number one rankings. Both Instagram accounts, built from zero to roughly 10,000 and 5,000 followers. And the content strategy that made it human: sharing Dr. Alster’s glamorous life in the feeds, the style alongside the substance.
Launched, five times.
SKIN IS IN and its retail store in 2011. W for Men in 2013, announced as the world’s first clinical dermatology practice for men. W Chevy Chase in 2015. The first SkinCeuticals Aesthetic Center worldwide in 2016, announced during the AAD Annual Meeting in Washington. The A Method in 2018, which remains Dr. Alster’s skincare brand today.
SKIN IS IN opening night, 2011
W for Men
The SkinCeuticals flagship
Five launches, 2011 to 2018
The Engine That Grew the Practice for Nearly a Decade
Own.
We moved the practice off the rented vendor platform and onto a self-owned WordPress site, live August 13, 2011. We wrote every page, with Dr. Alster editing.
Digitize.
Two decades of her peer-reviewed articles, magazine covers, and TV tape converted to searchable digital. The manuscript library was part of the launch build; 140 videos were published to the practice channel.
Create.
Both Instagram accounts built from zero. A seventeen-category blog. More than 40 treatment and condition pages written to search intent. Five launches in ten years.
Rank.
By July 2019, 11 DC treatment searches at number one, and 74.3 percent of all users arriving through organic search. Google rank tracking, July 2019; Google Analytics, Aug 13, 2011 to Aug 19, 2020.
Convert.
The site produced 20 to 51 tracked web appointment requests every week in 2019. Internal weekly reports, 2019.
Then it compounds: rankings feed the next search, so each year starts ahead.
Dr. Alster greeting President Obama at the White House, 2012. Official White House Photo
The The Results
A web presence that finally matched the reputation.
495,605 users tracked, Google Analytics, August 13, 2011 to August 19, 2020. 74.3 percent of users via organic search, and the practice never ran Google Ads. 11 DC treatment searches at number one across 13 first-place placements, Google rank tracking, July 2019. 20 to 51 tracked web appointment requests per week, internal reports, 2019.
“She has moved our website up to the top of the google search in record time!”
— REBECCA KAZIN, MD, FAAD, WIDLS · LINKEDIN RECOMMENDATION, 2016
“At the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, we rely on Andrea for her excellent skills in web development, SEO, branding, graphic design, social media strategy and reputation management. Andrea also helps to identify strategic partnerships and does an excellent job of pitching the media to support our luxury brand. Working with Andrea is a professional pleasure that consistently exceeds expectations.”
— KRISTEN COFFIELD · PATIENT LIAISON, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGIC LASER SURGERY, 2016
“Andrea was hired to market and promote new skin care products as well as to unify the on-line messaging of a well-established dermatologic laser center. Andrea’s professionalism and enthusiasm was exemplary. She solicited input from all of the involved parties and responded expeditiously and professionally. Andrea’s high character and integrity is matched by her drive. I would highly recommend Andrea to any company looking to create and expand its marketing and on-line presence to enhance visibility and sales.”
— TINA ALSTER, MD · DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGIC LASER SURGERY · LINKEDIN RECOMMENDATION, 2012
“I have worked with Grace & Grit Marketing for many years. The level of professionalism is exceptional. Highly recommend.”
— GEORGINA EVA · PRACTICE ADMINISTRATOR, WIDLS · GOOGLE REVIEW, 2023
FAQ
Questions People Ask
How did Dr. Tina Alster build her online presence?
Dermatology website design in 2026 typically ranges from $4,000 to $12,000+ depending on the number of pages, content needs, and features like galleries, booking, and SEO setup. Custom builds with strategy, high-quality visuals, and conversion pathways may be higher, especially when multiple treatment and condition pages are included. Ongoing maintenance and SEO support, if needed, is commonly a separate monthly cost.
Who did the marketing for the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery?
Grace & Grit Marketing led the practice’s marketing from 2011 to 2020: web development, SEO, content, social media, video, press, reputation management, and five launches.
Does a dermatology practice need Google Ads to rank?
This practice never ran them. Over nine years, 74.3 percent of its 495,605 tracked users arrived through organic search, built on owned content: treatment and condition pages, a library of peer-reviewed publications, and consistent reputation work.
Referrals
The work kept referring us forward.
The owners of Washington Center for Dentistry saw our founder’s work at the W for Men opening and became a client in 2013. Through Dr. Alster’s referral, we came to work with Induction Therapies, the company behind the Collagen P.I.N. microneedling device and the manufacturer of The A Method. Most of our business comes from referrals. Case studies like this one are why.
In 2017 we created a cross-marketing campaign between the two practices, co-located at 1430 K Street, under the headline 1430 K Street: DC’s Destination for Beautiful Skin and Smiles.
Your practice has a reputation. Let’s make it findable.
Grace & Grit Marketing builds web presences for medical and dental practices: owned platforms, search-first content, and the patient experience to convert it. If your reputation is better than your Google results, that is exactly the gap we close.
