Perhaps you’ve started a private practice counseling clinic and your new website doesn’t seem to get be getting much traffic. Maybe when searching keywords that you think you should rank for on Google, your webpages are nowhere to be seen. You might even wonder how the sites of other therapists in your area rank so high without paying for Google Ads. Maybe you’ve had some success with getting traffic to your website, but you would like to reach more potential clients. Or perhaps you’ve had steady traffic and rank well on search engines, but you would love to maximize your investment.

As a specialist in Search Engine Optimization training and “done for you” services for therapists, I understand the frustration. Developing and maintaining a private practice website is a large investment in time and money, and we want clients to easily find and visit it. Unfortunately, even the most beautiful website may seem invisible to search engines like Google when Search Engine Optimization isn’t performed. Fortunately, however, with simplified but effective Training in SEO for counselors, you can start gaining an edge over your competition!

What Is Search Engine Optimization for Mental Health

Perhaps you have experience with SEO for mental health professionals and want to keep up on the latest techniques. Or maybe you have a general idea of what it means to optimize a website, but you aren’t familiar with the technical aspects. For the latter, SEO is the cumulative measures taken to help a website rank better on search engines such as Google. SEO practices consists of the following: keyword usage, adding hyperlinks and alt-text, improving readability, writing blogs posts and optimizing meta-descriptions. It seems like a lot, but don’t this discourage you! Many therapists have seen great long-term results, learning how to optimize their own websites with our SEO training course for counselors. However, sometimes they see their time better spent seeing the new clients who are coming in, and pass on the SEO. Your therapy website can be the powerful, well-oiled marketing tool it was meant to be!

The Importance of SEO for Mental Health Professionals

Search Engine Optimization may be the most important tool for website marketing for counselors. The results I have seen in my experience working in SEO for therapists from all around speaks to this belief. Here are just three of the reasons why SEO is so important, if not crucial, for your website’s marketing effectiveness:

1. Search Engine Optimization is Maintenance for Your Website

Suppose you arrive home in a car you’ve just purchased, and the initial excitement is beginning to wear off. Even if it’s a brand new car, it’s likely you would want to learn how to maintain it. At the bare minimum, you need to keep gas in the tank. That is, if you want it to go places and serve its intended purpose. However, if you want it last very long, you would have to do more than just put gasoline in it. Your website is very similar to this car.

Your private practice therapy website is similar in that it can go places if you maintain it. Overlooking SEO and only investing in search engine ads is like just keeping the gas tank filled. There are times when such ads can be a practical marketing solution but not alone. However, a website that you optimize through training or maintain with skilled SEO consulting services will continue to get long-term results. Your website will become the powerful marketing tool that it’s meant to be, drawing attention and bringing traffic. More potential clients will find your website when your organic rankings increase. SEO for therapists is like changing the manual for changing the oil for your marketing machine.

2. SEO for Therapists Accomplishes Four Major Tasks

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the set of techniques, tools and practices that carry out four specific purposes. The four things your counseling website must do include:

Rank Well with Visibility On Search Engines: Make your website more appealing to search engines so that your website will show up to more potential clients. Websites that show up higher on Google search results are often associated with being trustworthy or credible.
Direct Action to Promote Traffic on Your Site: Great SEO can help you engage readers. It speaks to them and entices them to come to your service pages or blogs to learn more or to contact you for services or referrals.
Be User-friendly, Interesting and Easy to Navigate: Having interesting content that links to other content, quality backlinks and pictures with alt text description allows readers navigate your site more easily, making it more accessible. This helps them feel more comfortable and confident in browsing your website and entices interest.
Encourage Readers to Spend Time on Your Website and Take Action: The longer someone spends on your website the more likely they are going to contact you or services or referrals. This also gives you more time to pitch your experience as a mental health expert and continue to build trust.

3. SEO for Counselors Allows You to Measure Progress

Information is crucial in any investment of time or money, and with SEO marketing there is no exception. Analysis software and plugins allow you to see the results of your efforts and the progress you’ve made with your website. You can see the effect changes to your website have in search result rankings, click through rates and more. Equally important, these tools can help guide your decisions, so that you can maximize your time and set measurable goals.

Training in SEO for Therapists and “Done for You” Services Can Help You Increase Website Rankings and Traffic

If you are interested in ranking better on search engines or bringing in more traffic and referrals for your private practice therapy, you can learn how to do SEO yourself with training in SEO for counselors. Many therapists have seen amazing results when using the skills and techniques taught in our SEO course. If time is a factor or you see your time better spent focussing on seeing new clients, we offer “Done for You” packages for mental health SEO. If you think that you might be interested in training, but aren’t sure, you can sign up for our free 7-day SEO for Mental Heath Professionals Email Series or reach out to use with questions.

GETTING STARTED WITH SEO FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IS EASY:

Get in touch with Simplified SEO Consulting by scheduling a free 30-minute SEO consultation.
Get connected with a skilled SEO Specialist for Therapists that you can trust.
Start learning SEO in the meantime with our free 7-Day SEO for Counselors Email Series.

Services Offered at Simplified SEO Counseling

As a Consulting Service for Mental Health SEO we can help you optimize your website with three different types of packages, including “Done for You” SEO Services, SEO training, À la carte “Done for You” SEO services and our Alumni & Maintenance Package.

What do Zebra Stripes have to do with Private Practice Marketing?

I’m kind of fascinated by zebra stripes. They’re beautiful. The stark contrast between the black and the white. The way they work together to decorate this elegant animal. But did you realize that zebra stripes are actually an adaptation? It’s meant to protect these creatures from prey in the wild. Zebra stripes blend together when they’re standing in a herd so predators have difficulty making out the separate outline of a specific zebra.

Stripes help zebras survive in the wild. SEO helps private practices survive in the business world.

Therapists aren’t always Tech Wizards by Nature

Are you intimidated by technology? Does the idea of learning to work on your own site sound technical and scary? Most mental health professionals were not drawn to this field because we’re tech wizards. Most counselors are more touchy, feeling people types. Even if we’re introverts, let’s face it, what keeps us waking up and coming to work each day is the satisfaction of helping others. Full private practice caseloads of clients who face their fears, find healing, and “get better” is what excites us. Not talking marketing strategies or staring at a computer screen.

So…why should practice owners use Search Engine Optimization to market their small business?

So, why should you care about Search Engine Optimization (better known as just SEO)? Because SEO allows you to adapt to the business world which then brings more of your ideal clients through the doors of your private practice. It is through learning some important marketing techniques and business strategies that private practice owners are able to reach and help more people. I first learned about the power of SEO through my own experience (see below), but have since watched it help my SEO Consulting clients also fill up their practices. In this day and age, people look for all sorts of services online. If you can get your website to the first page of Google, more potential clients will find your practice and therefore you’ll receive more calls.

Jessica’s Private Practice SEO Story

When my solo practice began to transition to a group practice I had a few panic moments. I realized that now, in order to succeed, I was going to have to do more than just offer awesome counseling services. Now I had to learn to do the business side of things.

My first step was to have a Springfield, MO-based graphic designer help me clarify my brand and create an awesome private practice logo. But the next step was developing a private practice website that I loved. I figured outsourcing was my best bet. Design isn’t really my thing and outsourcing the logo went well after all. That’s where Brighter Vision first came into the picture. I worked with their designer to edit my site until I had a beautiful website I was proud of and felt was “on brand.” But it didn’t rank at all on Google yet.

I was told it would take a few months for Google to find and index my site. So…I waited…and waited…and waited. After making a few tweaks along the way, I got really impatient at about 6 months. As much as I hated technology, I realized I needed to adapt and learn about Search Engine Optimization.

And learn I did! I stayed up all hours of the night researching SEO.

I listened to podcasts on my way to the office, working out, and just about everywhere else. There were articles to read, Youtube videos to watch, and e-courses to work through. I found a few things targeting therapists, but much of what I found wasn’t specific to our field.

Naturally, when I learned something new about SEO the most important part was implementing it. So I practiced all of the SEO techniques I was learning. The day I learned about how to write an effective meta description, I stayed up all night writing new meta descriptions for every page of my site. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t have many blog posts yet! Then the day I learned to optimize photos on WordPress to improve SEO. Luckily that one didn’t take as long as the meta descriptions. Learning to use the Fetch as Google portion of the Google Search Console changed my world and suddenly I was able to see what impact my website changes had overnight.

At first, the changes in how I ranked on search engines for various counseling keywords happened quickly. There was the time on that I jumped from not being on the first 10 pages to page 3 for one of my long-tail keywords literally overnight. Then, changes happened a little more slowly and I had to fine-tune my techniques.

I’m THRILLED to say now my website is consistently showing up below the Psychology Today rankings for counseling in my area. I’m not any better at most technology than I was before. My son was frustrated recently when I was struggling to figure out how to project Netflix onto our TV screen. In a super-frustrated voice he said, “But Mommy, you’re good at websites. You CAN do technology.” He’s right of course. I can learn to use technology. Just like you can. It’s just an adaptation.

Therapists can learn SEO to Fill a Private Practice

Website tweaks and Search Engine Optimization might not come naturally to you. That’s ok. Admit it, embrace it. And then adapt.

The adaptation part is where I come in. I’d love to help you learn all of the SEO techniques that I did. You don’t have to spend months staying up until 2 am scouring the internet and learning one or two techniques at a time as I did. I can provide you 1:1 SEO Training. We’ll meet on a Google Hangouts call and use the Share Screen feature so I can walk you step by step through applying all of the SEO skills (keyword research, internal links, meta descriptions, etc) to your specific site.

Get Your Private Practice Ranking on Google

Are you ready to start learning to do your own Search Engine Optimization work? If so, my 12 Week SEO training services or the 2 Month SEO Jumpstart packages might be a good fit! On the other hand, if your a busy practice owner who feels overwhelmed by the idea of adding one more thing to your plate, my monthly SEO packages are a great option. Book a 30 minute free SEO consultation and let’s get started!

Is SEO Important for Mental Health Professionals?