As many of you know, Google My Business is an essential aspect of local SEO components. Often when we can be found locally, we are more likely to show off for keywords such as therapy near me, online therapist near me, or couples therapy Northlake. Here is a quick recap of my previous blog post on Google my business optimization. For more in-depth information Check out Google My Business for Online Practices or Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile.  

Recap of Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile

Set up your GMB profile. 

First set up your profile and claim it on Google. This is essential to be found and will give you access to the backend which will allow us to address more in-depth SEO factors. 

Basic information 

The basic setup of the profile will be to put normal information that indicates who you are. This includes your name, address, phone number, website, description, category, attributes (services).  

Profile Tips Google My Business

• Build ethical reviews and respond with 24 hours to all comments. 
• Add relevant blog posts that have been keyword optimized. 
• Upload high-quality photos that reflect your brand. 
• Make sure your business description appropriately reflects who you are. 
• Keep key information up to date. 
• Check-in on your monthly data to see how well your profile is performing. 

Now that we have done a brief recap, let us talk more in-depth about what needs to show up on your Google My Business profile.  

Creating the Business Description: 

The description of your business is important for people to know what they can expect. However, the business description can also be very intimidating. You only have 750 characters to explain your services in a concise yet descriptive manner.  

Some things to keep in mind. Are to make the description clear, highlight key factors that make you unique, address any relevant history, add in target keywords. Make sure you do not make the description ‘salesy’, add in misleading info, or add links or URLs. 

Here is an example of a format you can follow with GMB: 

[Business Name] provides [service, search term]. We have been serving the [city, state] for more than [time in business]. [Statement about your values or purpose] 

Example: [ Business Name] provides EMDR therapy. Our Christian Based Counseling Center in Rockford, Illinois has been helping clients move past trauma, anxiety, and depression in their lives for over 10 years. We strive to help people move forward from their past and find a way to become the best version of themselves. 

Tips on Optimizing Each Component of Google My Business Attributes:

Business Name: 

Make sure your business name reflects what your website says,  

Region/Country: 

Select what area you are in. Make sure it is where you plan to offer services. If you offer multiple states, you may need to put the location of most of your referrals and indicate in the description that you offer therapy in additional states. 

Address: 

If you do not have an address, that is ok, place an address on the listing, and then later down in the options, you can request not to display your address.  

Phone:  

Add a phone number that is going to be easy to access and is consistent across all media that you have. 

Categories: 

Make sure you add the category that is most relevant to your services. When you are adding in categories, you cannot really overdo this, just make sure as you add this to your profile that it is relevant to your services. 

Website: 

Link to your website. A well-optimized website that has been added to your GMB profile can draw in more visitors to your website. This helps with trust flow. If people see the care you have put into your profile and your website, people are more likely to investigate your services.  

Photos  

Photos help to add a more individualized touch to your profile. The more that people see your team, products, logo, and services, the more likely they are to investigate your services and your site. 

On the GMB photo tab, you should include photos that include your: 

• Office area (if applicable)
• Building or location indicators for people to understand your location. 
• Pictures of your team at work 
• Professional photos of team members 
• Any branding photos that familiarize people with your identity 

Hours 

Add your office hours and that you offer hours by appointment. Make sure to keep these updated, especially if you are going on vacation or out for a holiday. The more consistent and up-to-date you keep these hours the better. 

Posts 

Posts can be helpful to share any new blogs or cornerstones that display your view as a practice or clinician. Additionally, you can add posts for: 

• Events 
• Announcements 
• Special Offers 

Make sure you add a high-quality photo, a description of the post between 100-300 words. Additionally, you can add dates, times, and sign-ups, and reservations.  

Manage Google My Business Reviews and Respond to Questions: 

The better engagement on your profile, the more likely you are to attract people to your site and services. If you do not have any reviews or ratings for your profile, people are not likely to be interested in your services. Therefore, having credible people who can vouch for you as a clinician in an ethical manner can help you come up higher in the search results. 

Takeaways for Optimizing Your Google My Business

Overall, a well-optimized Google profile is helpful for clients to get a quick glimpse into who you are as a private practice. When clients see the care, you have taken to keep your information updated that is more likely to bring in potential clients. Therefore, making sure you set up your free account and have it well optimized is key. Wherever you can add in relevant keywords. Such as in descriptions, titles, and so on.  

Begin Working with Our Talented Team! 

If you are looking to see how Google my business can help your website, then talk with one of our specialists. We do not do direct SEO optimization on GMB, but we are happy to help you as you set up your own profile. We can track your information on our data dashboard and give you some insights as you navigate through the SEO process. Or if you are looking to set up your own website to link to GMB, talk with our client success specialist.

We can get you set up with our services and begin optimizing your website in a way that highlights your skills to potential clients soon. Our wonderful team of SEO specialists at Simplified SEO Consulting would be excited to help you on your SEO journey. To get started with our service follow these simple steps: 

1. Schedule a consult with our Client Success Specialist 
2. Learn more about our talented team of SEO Specialists. 
3. Begin working with your ideal clients and making an impact on the mental health world! 

Other Services offered by Simplified SEO Consulting   

Simplified SEO consulting offers a wide range of services that can help you begin working with your people. We offer. Done for You SEO Service packages, online courses, and SEO training opportunities. Our most popular course includes our “Top of Google” Online course, and we have 12 weeks (about 3 months) of intensive SEO for those who want to learn with a guide. For those looking for a more specialized package, we also offer an SEO strategy package. To get started, schedule a consultation with our Client Success Specialist today!  

About the Author: 

Jasmine, an SEO Specialist, and Client Success Specialists at Simplified SEO Consulting. You may be wondering where to start with your SEO for private practice or group practices. You have come to the right place. 

Jasmine Jaquess is currently working towards her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University and is currently beginning per practicum work soon. Currently, she serves as the Client Success Specialist in new client consults with Simplified SEO Consulting and is a Mental Health SEO Specialist. She specializes in platforms such as Squarespace and Wix but has learned to love WordPress sites as well. Her favorite part of the job is writing copy for clients and helping them find their voice to communicate with clients how they can best serve them. 

Here is what you can look forward to with this blog:

Table of Contents:
What cornerstone content is not?
What is a Cornerstone Blog?
Why should I write cornerstone content?
What goes into writing cornerstone content?
What topics should I write about?
Will the client read a 2000 word blog post?
What If I Can’t Write 2000 Word Blog Posts?
Brief tips for long term maintenance

SOOO…You’ve probably had a planning call or are about to where your specialist has said, “Well since we are done with service pages, it’s time to move onto blogs”. Which may be exciting or evoke a feeling of dread. We know you’re busy people taking care of your business and your clients. The thought of writing three two thousand word cornerstone blogs can be stressful. Ok, pause, take a deep breath. I know this seems like a lot, and many of you may be wondering, how do I write it, what should I write it on, how can I write two thousand words, will clients read this, what is the point? And so on.  All the questions surface. I am here to help you make sense of this and to guide you in what cornerstone content can look like. So, let’s dive in.  

First things first, at Simplified we have specific plans for you. We know that writing blogs are very helpful in supporting SEO. We wouldn’t ask you to spend your time writing if it wasn’t going to help. This isn’t grad school, it’s your business. We value your time and efforts. So, know that we expect the freak out when we tell you to write this much, and we are happy to provide guidance.  

What Cornerstone Content is Not?

First things first. You have written beautiful service pages that speak to your brand, business, and your services. These are meant to be around 500 words minimum. A cornerstone is not space for you to rewrite a longer version of your service page. Now you can do this, but a blog is more of a passion piece to write why you love therapy, how you’re specializing, common issues people encounter, helpful coping strategies, and so much more. It’s a taste of what people can get in therapy and a resource for potential and current clients.  

What is a Cornerstone Blog?

A corner is a glimpse into who you’re in your practice. You will write pieces that are meant to resonate with the core of your client’s struggles. It is not mean to be reiterating service pages. Neither are you trying to write a very technical piece about your services. No, you are speaking as who you’re as a clinician, or about what your practice represents. Remember those bits of wisdom that your clients give you. We can all learn from them. Perhaps, you can write an open letter to people dealing with anxiety. Empathize with their experience and give them hope. May even write a less technical explanation on how EMDR can help. There is a world of possibilities.  Find your passion, a common thread, or write something new. Just listen and go deep.

Why Should I Write Cornerstone Content?

First, writing a cornerstone blog helps you build traffic and awareness of who you are as a clinician. You can only write so much on a service page, but you can expand when it comes to a blog. If there is a certain clientele you work with such as individuals dealing with trauma that shows up as anxiety, write a blog. There is no way you can truly encapsulate that you work with this population on a service page.  

You become the expert

Another reason is that it establishes you as an expert. Google knows that you’re an authority when you write a service page with 500 words of content. However, when you write a blog post and link it to the page, Google begins to set you up as an expert because you have even more content.  

Drives in traffic

It’s a great way to drive in traffic. What a well-written blog will do is help clients see a bit more into your therapeutic approach, your experience, and common issues people are dealing with that you can help with. By having 3 cornerstones front and center on the site, you’ll bring in more leads, which is the goal. Plus, by linking blogs to each other and service pages, you’re making your content more accessible. This reduces bounce rate and ensures that potentials are getting all the information that they need upfront before deciding to continue further or bounce off. Service pages are great, but they only provide a small picture of what you can do.  

Helps generate more blog ideas

Lastly, when struggling to write your posts, once you get started you may realize you have a lot more to say than you think. You could get to 2000 words and think I still have so much more to say, so this further allows you to generate ideas for shorter blogs, or it could be the beginning of a blog series.  

What Goes into Writing Cornerstone Content?

First, you will want to identify keywords you want to boost. Now you can do this on your own by looking at your data dashboard with Simplified or from any free tool like Google trends. Perhaps, you can even do a basic Google search on keywords you want to rank for and see where you land on the Google search engine. Then look at what people are searching for. Talk to friends, family, listen to what new clients are saying, and create a list. Per blog, you’ll have the main keyword like EMDR therapy. Then you may have tapping EMDR, anxiety, EMDR, and dealing with trauma. These can be subheadings, placed into alt text, or put throughout the copy. This can either be done by you or our specialists. The goal is to understand what your topic is and to make sure that the keywords make sense. Based on this choose the topic and begin writing. Break it down into subheadings, answer common questions, and so on. Here is an example of what cornerstone content can look like. After you’ve written the content it’s important to make sure it is well optimized and kept up to date, which I will get into.  

What Topics Should I Write About When Blogging for SEO?

Here is the thing, I can’t answer that definitively unless I’ve personally worked on your site. However, I can tell you some great examples. It’s always a good idea to write one on online therapy because you can boost harder to rank keywords such as therapy, therapist, online counseling, and so on. Plus, it helps with local SEO. You can write how-to guides, open letters, comprehensive guides to therapy, tips on how to cope with various issues, a client-friendly understanding of therapy approaches. You can write about timely pieces, or even make it more personal if it’s in line with your code of ethics. There is a world of possibilities, so don’t box yourself in.  

Honestly, Will Client’s Read a 2000 Word Blog Post?

No and Yes. Honestly, most clients will not spend 10 minutes reading a 2000-word blog post, but that is where SEO comes in. Some of you may not like subheadings, but they are so useful. Clients will scan your page and look for a section that speaks to them before deciding what to do next or bouncing off. Subheadings help from an accessibility standpoint to organize your message and help clients find what they need faster. Now there may be special clients who will take the time to read your blogs, but most will scan.  

If not, why write long cornerstone content?

That is where the SEO continues to be useful. Google reads everything because it is trying to understand your writing and looking for key phrases. When Google understands your message, it can help to align you with the correct traffic that may be looking for your page. So, Google will look for keywords, readability, internal and external links, alt text, and so on. That is what Google is for, to pair the reader with the right experience. So having these long in-depth blogs that have been well optimized helps Google bring you’re the right traffic, more accurately, and more consistently.  

What If I Can’t Write 2000 Word Blog Posts?

The two thousand words are ideal and a suggestion. Ultimately, you have the autonomy to do what you choose, but it will help. We recommend it, but for those really struggling consider writing a shorter 2- or 3-part blog series on the same topic. To be honest, sometimes when you just give it a chance, you’ll find you have more to say than you think. Plus, once you’ve written them, that’s one big task out of the way. Take a breath and see what you’ve accomplished. Additionally, while it’s easier said than done if you have a group practice, have your clinician’s written blogs, especially if they specialize in a particular service. Or look at old blog posts you can revamp.  

How does blogging support SEO for my website?

Well-written content that has been well optimized, helps Google draw in the right people. Cornerstones are often another first impression for the client to understand who you are. Remember that part of the client experience is first impressions. According to a study done by the Missouri University of Science and Technology, when viewing a website, it takes users less than two-tenths of a second for someone to formulate a first impression. So, we must be mindful of how quickly some can be interested versus disinterested in how we can help. So, by being clear in our message, taking time to show you understand what the client is dealing with and can help, having additional resources and a clear way to get started matters. Check out our blog on how holistic SEO is a great way to engage clients.  

Tips for maintaining SEO With Cornerstone Content.

Lastly, I want to make mention that it’s not enough to just write cornerstone content, but you need to make sure it stays relevant. So, if you write content and something changes in the therapy world, make sure you’re going back to this content and updating it occasionally. We want to ensure not only Google but clients that we are staying on top of new advances and we intend to assist clients in the best way possible.  

Ready to Begin Your SEO Journey to Writing Quality Cornerstone Content?

What other questions come up for you when you consider cornerstone content? Reach out to the Simplified Team if you have further questions on how we can help you. If you’re working on cornerstone content, you’re probably our ideal client, because we love optimizing these blog posts for SEO! In summary, cornerstones are the next step in our process to make sure your SEO maintains, and you continue to draw in your people. How you put yourself out on the internet professionally impacts your direct traffic. Write meaningful and useful blogs that provoke action, thought, and give resources to your current and potential clients. If you’re looking for someone to guide you in that process, get in touch with Simplified SEO Consulting. You will work with skilled mental health SEO specialists who are passionate about the field. To get started follow these simple steps: 

1. Schedule a consultation with our Client Success Specialist 
2. Learn about the Simplified Team! 
3. Start working with the clients that you serve best. 

Other Services offered by Simplified SEO Consulting 

Simplified SEO consulting offers a wide range of services that can help you begin working with your people. We offer Done for You SEO Service packages, online courses, and SEO training opportunities. Our most popular course includes our “Top of Google” online course and we have 12 weeks of intensive SEO for those who want to learn with a guide. For those looking for a more specialized package, we also offer an SEO strategy package. To get started, schedule a consultation with our Client Success Specialist today! 

About the Author:

Jasmine Jaquess is currently working towards her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University. She has been doing SEO with Simplified for the last few months. Currently, she serves as the Client Success Specialist in new client consultation with Simplified SEO Consulting and is an SEO specialist. She specializes in platforms such as Squarespace and Wix but has learned to love WordPress sites as well. She really enjoys hearing the clients’ goals for their businesses and helping them achieve them.