, ,

How Much Should I Pay for Local SEO as a Functional Medicine Doctor?

In today’s digital age, it’s no secret that search engine optimization (SEO) plays a pivotal role in the success of businesses, including medical practices in the field of holistic medicine. As a functional medicine doctor running a private practice, you’re likely aware of the importance of having a strong online presence. However, understanding how much you should invest in local SEO services can be a daunting task, especially with the myriad of options available.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the world of local SEO for holistic medicine practitioners and answer the burning question: “How much should I pay for local SEO?” We’ll explore the key factors that influence the cost of local SEO services, the value they bring to your practice, and why it’s crucial to view local SEO as an integral part of your overall SEO strategy. So, let’s dive in and demystify the world of local SEO pricing.

The Significance of Local SEO

Local SEO is like a puzzle piece that perfectly fits into the larger picture of your overall SEO strategy. It’s essential to recognize that local SEO doesn’t operate in isolation but is intricately connected to your broader SEO efforts. While optimizing your website for search engines is undoubtedly crucial, local SEO takes it a step further by honing in on location-specific searches. It ensures that potential patients in your area can easily find you when they’re seeking holistic healthcare services. So, think of local SEO as the neighborhood map guiding patients straight to your doorstep within the vast landscape of the digital world. It’s a vital component that complements your comprehensive SEO strategy, helping you connect with the right audience effectively.

Local SEO in the Healthcare Industry

Local SEO holds a unique significance in the healthcare industry due to its nature. Most healthcare professionals, whether they are physicians, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, psychiatrists, chiropractors, or others, primarily serve patients within a specific geographic area. Unlike some businesses that can cater to a global audience, healthcare providers rely heavily on attracting patients from their immediate vicinity. This localized approach makes local SEO an indispensable tool for healthcare practitioners. It ensures that when someone in your community searches for healthcare services, your practice appears prominently in their search results. In essence, local SEO enables you to tap into the pool of potential patients within your neighborhood, establishing your practice as the go-to healthcare destination in your local area. It’s a strategic advantage that’s tailor-made for healthcare professionals looking to grow their practices and serve their communities effectively.

Local SEO in the Holistic Medicine Niche Specifically

When it comes to the holistic medicine niche, the importance of local SEO takes on an even more profound role. Holistic practitioners often have a unique approach to healthcare, focusing on whole-body wellness and personalized treatment plans. This approach attracts individuals who are not only seeking medical expertise but also a deeper connection with their healthcare providers.

Local SEO becomes a potent tool in this context. It allows holistic medicine practitioners to connect with individuals who share their values and are actively seeking holistic healthcare options within their local community. Whether you’re a functional medicine doctor, acupuncturist, herbalist, or any other holistic practitioner, local SEO can help you stand out in a crowded field.

People interested in holistic medicine often place a high value on trust, expertise, and a strong doctor-patient relationship. Local SEO ensures that your practice appears prominently in local search results when individuals search for holistic healthcare services. This visibility not only helps you attract more patients but also establishes trust, as potential patients see that your practice is conveniently located nearby.

Furthermore, local SEO strategies can highlight your holistic approach, emphasizing your commitment to personalized care and holistic wellness. By optimizing your online presence for local searches, you can effectively communicate your unique value proposition and connect with individuals who resonate with your holistic healthcare philosophy. In essence, local SEO in the holistic medicine niche is about bringing like-minded patients to your doorstep, fostering a deeper connection, and ultimately helping you grow your practice while staying true to your holistic principles.

Is Local SEO Expensive: The Range of Local SEO Costs

Now that we understand the significance of local SEO, let’s delve into a critical aspect of it: the range of local SEO costs. As a small business owner in the healthcare industry, you’re undoubtedly invested in growing your practice and attracting patients who align with your approach to the practice of medicine. While it’s tempting to seek out the most budget-friendly local SEO options, it’s essential to recognize that quality and expertise come at a cost. In this section, we’ll explore the various factors that influence local SEO pricing, helping you gain clarity on what to expect when investing in this crucial aspect of your online presence. So, let’s unravel the intricacies of local SEO costs and find the best approach to enhance your practice’s visibility within your community.

The Danger of Cheap SEO Services

In the world of SEO, you might come across enticing offers for cheap SEO services that promise quick results at a bargain price. While the idea of saving money is appealing, it’s essential to approach these offers with caution, especially when considering local SEO for your holistic medicine practice. Cheap SEO services often come with a significant downside – they’re usually too good to be true.

Red keys with the words scam on them. Trying to avoid scams when it comes to healthcare SEO? Our team can help you avoid those scams and teach you about local SEO for doctors. Visit us today!

List Management Services: Too Good to Be True?

One common type of low-cost SEO service is list management. These services typically charge a minimal monthly fee, often around $50, to ensure your business listings across various online directories are accurate and consistent. While this might seem like a convenient and affordable way to improve your online presence, it’s essential to recognize the limitations of list management services, especially for healthcare professionals like holistic medicine practitioners.

A couple of years ago SEO companies were marketing these so effectively that even I fell for it. Was I missing something? Could I truly get results for our clients that were just as good just by doing this? I talked to a bunch of third-party providers and they had me sold. So, we signed up for one and tested it. And I was seriously disappointed. So, we tried another. And another.

I learned an important lesson. First, list management services alone aren’t true “Local SEO.” That’s one component of SEO. Second, that alone is nowhere near enough to get you ranking well. I knew that. I was just confused by all the great salesmanship.

So, list management services or pure “Local SEO” packages aren’t bad. They’re just not effective on their own.

The Pitfalls of Cheap SEO Packages

The allure of a cheap monthly fee for SEO services can be tempting. After all, who wouldn’t want to boost their online visibility without breaking the bank? However, it’s crucial to understand the potential pitfalls of bargain-basement SEO. Many of these services lack the expertise and industry-specific knowledge needed to deliver meaningful results for healthcare professionals. When it comes to holistic medicine and the healthcare industry in general, a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work.

Bargain-basement SEO packages often aren’t doing enough to really get you results. Or, worse yet, occasionally they’re doing shady, unethical things that violate Google’s guidelines. In these more rare instances, you may temporarily get good results but then we’ve seen people end up with manual penalties or just big drops with Google’s next algorithm change. So, even if you do see some initial results they don’t last.

Unfortunately, investing in ineffective SEO services can be costly in more ways than one. Not only are you spending money on a service that doesn’t deliver the desired outcomes, but you’re also wasting valuable time that could be better spent on your patients and growing your practice. It’s frustrating to realize that the inexpensive SEO service you chose isn’t making a significant impact on your online visibility or patient acquisition.

Investing in Holistic SEO: A Smart Move

So, what’s the alternative? For holistic medicine practitioners, investing in holistic SEO is a smart move. Holistic SEO goes beyond list management and takes a comprehensive approach to boost your online presence, engage your target audience, and drive more patients to your practice. While it might come at a higher price point than cheap SEO services, the value it provides in terms of genuine results and long-term success is immeasurable.

Understanding the Value of Comprehensive SEO

Comprehensive SEO services encompass various aspects of online marketing, including optimizing your website for search engines, creating high-quality content, and implementing local SEO strategies. These services are tailored to your specific niche, ensuring that your practice stands out in a crowded digital landscape. While the initial investment may be higher, the returns in terms of increased patient inquiries and practice growth are well worth it.

The Holistic Approach: Blending Local SEO with Your Overall Strategy

Local SEO is an essential component of the larger SEO strategy for holistic medicine practitioners. It’s not just about managing business listings; it’s about creating a holistic approach that aligns with your practice’s goals and values. By blending local SEO with your overall strategy, you ensure that your online presence accurately represents your practice’s commitment to holistic wellness.

The Real Cost of Quality: What to Expect

When considering the cost of quality local SEO services for your holistic medicine practice, it’s essential to have realistic expectations. A reasonable monthly investment in comprehensive SEO can range from $750 to $2500, depending on various factors like your practice’s location, competition, and customization needs. While this might seem like a significant investment, it’s crucial to view it as an investment in the long-term success and growth of your practice. Quality local SEO is an invaluable tool for attracting patients interested in holistic medicine, and the returns it brings can far exceed the initial cost.

How much does local SEO cost per month?

The cost of local SEO services can vary significantly based on several factors. For practitioners in the healthcare industry, like holistic medicine specialists, it’s crucial to strike a balance between affordability and effectiveness. Here’s a breakdown of some key factors that influence local SEO costs:

  • Scope of Services: Local SEO isn’t just about managing listings; it encompasses a range of tasks, from optimizing your Google Business Profile to on-page SEO and content creation. A comprehensive approach that addresses all these aspects tends to yield better results but may come at a higher cost.
  • Monthly vs. One-time Fee: Many local SEO agencies charge a monthly fee, which reflects ongoing efforts to maintain and improve your online presence. This aligns with the nature of SEO, as it’s an ongoing process. Be cautious of services offering one-time fees, as they may not provide the sustained effort needed for long-term success.
  • Expertise in the Healthcare Niche: When choosing an agency or specialist for local SEO, it’s vital to partner with someone who understands the unique dynamics of the healthcare industry. They should be familiar with medical SEO best practices and the specific needs of holistic medicine practitioners.
  • Location and Competition: Your practice’s location plays a role in pricing. If you’re in a highly competitive area, you may need a more comprehensive strategy, which can affect costs. Additionally, the size and competitiveness of your local market can influence pricing.
  • Customization: Tailoring your local SEO strategy to your practice’s unique needs and goals is essential. Cookie-cutter approaches may not deliver the desired results. Customization may come at a slightly higher cost, but it’s an investment in your practice’s success.

Blue and Green SEO words laying on top of a keyboard. Looking to learn about local SEO for doctors? Our specialists can teach you all you need to know about SEO in healthcare.

For holistic medicine professionals, a reasonable monthly investment in local SEO services can range from $750 to $2500. Remember, local SEO is just one piece of the larger SEO puzzle. To maximize your online visibility and attract patients interested in holistic medicine, it’s essential to complement local SEO with a well-branded website, high-quality content, and on-page optimization. This holistic approach ensures that your practice stands out and thrives in the digital landscape while delivering genuine value to your community.

Can I do SEO on my own?

Certainly, you can embark on the journey of SEO by yourself. Personally, I did after starting my private psychotherapy practice and I’ve had great fun looking at it. However, let’s take a closer look at what that entails so you know what to expect. The world of search engine optimization is vast and continually evolving, making it both exciting and challenging. Here’s the deal: if you decide to go solo with your SEO efforts, you’ll need to be prepared for a significant investment—of time and learning.

The Pros and Cons of Going Solo

Pros:

  • Cost-Efficiency: DIY SEO means you won’t incur the expenses associated with hiring an SEO agency. That’s money saved, right?
  • Learning Opportunity: SEO is a valuable skill that can benefit your practice in the long run. By learning the ropes, you gain a deeper understanding of how online marketing works.
  • Complete Control: I personally love having complete control over my strategy so I see this as a huge “pro,” although to be honest, I still often consult others before making significant changes.

Cons:

  • Steep Learning Curve: SEO is complex, and it takes time to grasp its intricacies. You’ll need to invest hours in learning and staying updated with the latest trends and algorithms.
  • Time-Consuming: Implementing SEO strategies can be time-intensive, and as a healthcare professional, your time is precious. Balancing SEO tasks with patient care may become challenging.
  • Trial and Error: SEO often involves a fair share of trial and error. Mistakes can be costly, and it may take a while to see results.
  • Risk of Ineffectiveness: Without specialized knowledge of healthcare SEO, there’s a risk that your efforts may not yield the desired outcomes. SEO for holistic medicine practices demands a unique approach.

The Investment of Learning

Learning SEO is like delving into a new field of medicine. It requires patience, dedication, and a thirst for knowledge. You’ll need to educate yourself on SEO principles, keyword research, content optimization, and more. Additionally, keeping up with Google’s ever-changing algorithms is a never-ending task.

While taking the DIY route is commendable, it’s vital to recognize that the learning curve can be steep, and the path to SEO success can be winding. To truly thrive in the digital landscape and attract patients interested in holistic medicine, you may want to consider seeking support from SEO experts who understand your niche and can guide you on this rewarding journey.

Is Local SEO Worth it?

Absolutely. Local SEO isn’t a mere marketing accessory; it’s an essential tool for a private practice. Here’s why it’s worth the investment:

  • Targeted Reach: Your practice serves a specific community. Local SEO ensures you appear in local search results when potential patients in your area seek holistic healthcare. This precision saves resources and attracts qualified patients.
  • Credibility: Consistent local visibility builds trust. Patients trust Google’s recommendations, making your practice a credible choice.
  • Competitive Edge: Your competitors are likely using local SEO. Stay competitive and thrive in the holistic medicine niche by being visible where patients are searching.
  • Cost-Efficiency: Local SEO offers significant ROI when used as part of a comprehensive SEO plan. It’s a modest investment for substantial, long-term practice growth.

In essence, local SEO isn’t just worth it; it’s a crucial investment that guides your practice to success in the digital age.

How do I find the best local SEO company for my private practice?

Finding the right local SEO company for your private practice can be a significant decision. Start by seeking agencies that specialize in healthcare or medical SEO, as they understand the unique needs of your industry. Look for expertise in local SEO, as well as a proven track record of helping healthcare professionals. Additionally, consider their communication skills, their ability to tailor strategies to your practice, and whether their pricing aligns with your budget. Reading client reviews and asking for referrals can also provide valuable insights. Ultimately, partnering with the right local SEO company can significantly boost your online visibility and help you reach more patients effectively. Here at Simplified SEO Consulting, our team works to help those looking to learn about SEO for functional medicine doctors or SEO for medical practices. Schedule a free Zoom consultation to begin learning about and improving your local SEO. 

/0 Comments/by
,

SEO, A New Perspective: How to build your site strategically as a content area expert.

SEO, times they are a-changing!

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of optimizing a website in order to improve its ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). When people think of traditional SEO they generally think about optimizing your pages for specific keywords. These then show up in SERPS when people search for them. This mindset leans less toward content and more toward strategic placement of keywords in headings, subheadings, and other areas of the page in order to get Google’s attention.

While this straightforward approach has worked well in the past, times are certainly changing! More and more Google is turning its focus away from standard keyword use. It’s now about looking at the content itself to determine if there is useful and helpful information being presented along with those keywords! In effect, you need to show Google and its users that YOU are a content area expert with the information you are presenting on your site. At Simplified SEO Consulting, we understand this process and our skilled team is here to help you tap into your huge professional potential. Let’s dive in!

Photo of a cartoon with characters climbing on the letters SEO. Discover what page depth is and how it might be affecting your SEO.

Become a content area expert in your field!

One developing way to improve a website’s SEO is to position your site and yourself as a content area expert.

This can be done by creating high-quality, informative content that is relevant to the target audience and using keywords that are relevant to the site’s subject matter. Additionally, it’s important to make sure the site’s technical elements, such as its structure and code, are optimized for search engines. Building backlinks and social signals also play a role in SEO.

Becoming a content area expert in a particular field or industry takes time and effort but is well worth it.

Here are a few steps you can take to establish yourself as a content area expert:

Build knowledge:

Stay up-to-date with the latest trends, news, and developments in your industry by reading relevant publications, attending conferences, and networking with other experts in your field.

Create high-quality content:

Share your knowledge and expertise through blog posts, articles, whitepapers, videos, and other types of content that provide value to your target audience.

Promote your content:

Share your content on social media, through email marketing, and by reaching out to influencers and other experts in your industry to get your content in front of more people.

Engage with your audience:

Respond to comments and questions on your blog and social media accounts and participate in online communities related to your industry.

Continuously learn and improve to maintain your status as a content area expert:

Keep updating your knowledge and skills, and use feedback from your audience to improve your content and approach.

Being a content area expert can be beneficial for your SEO in numerous ways as well. When you position yourself as an authority in your industry and create high-quality, informative content that provides value to your target audience, it can help to improve your website’s visibility and search engine rankings.

Computer screen with SEO graphics surrounding it representing the positive SEO growth that can come with being a content area expert in you field.

Here are a few ways that being a content area expert can benefit your SEO:

Increased website traffic:

By creating valuable content that is relevant to your target audience, you can attract more visitors to your website, which can help to improve your search engine rankings.

Improved engagement:

When you provide valuable information, your audience will be more likely to engage with your content by sharing it on social media, leaving comments, and linking to it from their own websites.

Established authority:

When you position yourself as an authority in your industry and consistently produce high-quality content, it can help establish your website as a trusted and respected source of information, which can improve your search engine rankings.

Better backlinks:

When other websites and authorities in your industry see that you’re a content area expert and link to your content, it can help to improve the authority and trust of your website, which can have a positive impact on your search engine rankings.

Long-term benefits of being a content area expert:

Building a reputation as a content area expert takes time but it’s a long-term strategy that can continuously benefit your SEO and online presence.

By positioning yourself as a content expert and creating high-quality content, you can improve your website’s visibility and search engine rankings, which can ultimately drive more traffic and leads to your site.

Laptop with graphs surrounding it demonstrating the upward trajectory of SEO statistics when you become a content area expert in SEO.

General guidelines for optimizing your content as a content area expert.

Lastly, here are some general guidelines for optimizing your content in the most effective way. Optimizing your content for SEO involves several steps, and these include:

Keyword research:

Identify the keywords that are relevant to your content and that your target audience is searching for. Use these keywords in the title, headings, and body of your content.

On-page optimization:

Use proper formatting, such as headings, lists, and images, to make your content easy to read and scan. Use alt text to describe images and videos.

Meta tags:

Add meta tags such as the title and meta description tags to your content, which summarize the content for search engines and help them understand the context.

Quality content:

Create high-quality, informative, and engaging content that provides value to your target audience. The more valuable and informative your content is, the more likely it is to be shared, linked to, and rank well in search results.

Interlinking:

Link to other relevant pages on your website within your content. This will help to improve the user experience and also help search engines understand the structure of your site.

Backlinks:

Reach out to other websites and ask them to link to your content. The more high-quality backlinks you have pointing to your site, the more likely it is to rank well in search results.

Social sharing:

Encourage your readers to share your content on social media. Which can help increase its visibility and drive more traffic to your site.

Closing thoughts about SEO content area experts.

By following the steps listed here you can help search engines understand the context and more importantly, the value of your content and improve its chances of ranking well in search results and demonstrating to not only Google but also potential clients that YOU are an expert in your field!

Become a Content Area Expert with Simplified SEO Consulting

Our team works closely with therapists nationwide to optimize their SEO based on analytical metrics! If you have been searching for an SEO company that understands analytics and its real-world applications, you’re in the right place. Our wonderful team of mental health SEO specialists at Simplified SEO Consulting would love to talk strategy with you and help you get connected with the best service for you. To get started with our service follow these simple steps:

  1. Apply to Start SEO Services
  2. Learn more about our talented team of mental health SEO Specialists
  3. Start learning SEO for Mental Health Professionals!

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, fill out our application to start SEO services today!

Picture of the author. Simplified SEO Consulting is here to help you navigate the world of Analytics and SEO. Learn more here.

About Mary, the Author of this SEO Article!

Mary is one of the members of our dedicated and knowledgeable SEO Specialists here at Simplified SEO Consulting. She brings with her certification in Google Analytics (Google Analytics IQ Certification). And she also understands the importance of analytics and their application. She loves staying up to date on all things analytical in order to bring clients the most informed service possible.

If you are ready to start your analytical SEO journey with us, fill out our application to start SEO services with us now. Mary and the rest of our team are ready to support you!

/0 Comments/by
,

What is Page Speed and How Can it Affect Your SEO?

What is Page Speed?

Can you think of a time that you’ve searched for something online and clicked on a website where the content on the page loaded slowly? Or maybe you clicked on a website that loaded immediately. Page speed is known as the time it takes for your website to upload content on a specific page. When a user clicks on your website from the search results page they expect a page to load fairly quickly. If the page is taking it’s time to load the user will more than likely return to the previous search results page and find a site that will load faster. Our goal with SEO is to ensure that users stay on your website, so when page speed is slow or lagging, users are less likely to stay.

Page speed will always be one important factor when it comes to users navigating your site easier. If users continually leave your website page due to slow uploading of content, you’re not going to have many users that will stick around and read your helpful content. 

Photo of white blocks in front of a keyboard that spells out SEO. This photo represents how important SEO consulting is to a website and how SEO specialists can help you.

How Page Speed Affects Your SEO

When a user accesses your website to visit a certain page that has appeared in their search results, they expect the page to load at a fast rate. If your page isn’t loading properly the user will more than likely return to the search results page and find another link for another website that will load faster. 

This can affect your SEO as having a slow page speed also creates a higher bounce rate. The bounce rate happens when a user lands on a specific page but returns back to the search engine results page without doing anything on your site. When a page is too slow this is where the user will want to return to the search results to find what they are looking for.

Another way the slow speed can affect your SEO is when your pages are being crawled by search engines. Having a slow page speed will have search engines crawl less of your pages. This can impact the way you index your pages.

How To Improve Page Speed

A few ways you can easily improve your page speed are by compressing your photos, reducing the number of redirects on a page, and being sure to cache the pages on your site. Each of these is important to fix when it comes to your website’s performance. 

Photo of an African American man using his laptop to work on his website and improve his SEO. Learn how seo coaching can help you improve your website rankings.

Compressing and Optimizing Photos

When compressing and optimizing your photos you’re increasing the quality of the content on your page. Images also help with the appearance of your pages. If a photo hasn’t been compressed it will more than likely keep your page from loading as fast as it should. Compressing your photos is a super easy way to help with page speed. By using tinypng.com you can start compressing your photos more easily.

Reducing The Number of Redirects on a Page

When a page has many redirects, it can cause your page to load slowly. A redirect is typically used when a website owner needs the content from one website to be moved to another. For example, a therapist might change their practice name and have to create a whole new domain. The therapist might want to use the content from the old domain and link to it from their new domain. In this case, redirects may be necessary for your website.

Caching Your Website Pages

By caching you can ensure that the content on your website will load quickly. Caching stores data so that when using a page the server is able to access all the content quickly. When you have multiple copies of the same data, you start taking up space on your server and your website starts to slow down. By deleting the duplicate caches you are freeing up data on the server and your server begins to load the final result of the page content without going through so many steps.

How To Measure Your Page Speed

An easy way to check your page speed is to view the results with Page Speed Insights. By simply copying and pasting your URL in the box at the top of the page and analyzing the site, you can see your results for the specific page. This page is super helpful and offers insight into both Mobile and Desktop versions of your pages. The further you review, Page Speed Insights suggests to you the causes of your page lagging. It also gives suggestions to get the page to load faster. This is a helpful tool as it can quickly diagnose your page speed problems.

Animated photo showing different SEO trends. Learn how seo coaching can help you improve your website rankings.

Page speed can be really beneficial to your SEO. By improving your page speed you will create a better user experience to keep and maintain the users on your website. Improving the speed of your page isn’t difficult. It is something that needs to be checked on and fixed when necessary.

Learn More SEO Basics With Simplified SEO Consulting

Our team at Simplified SEO Consulting wants to help you learn the right SEO basics to help you get the right clients to view your website. With our guidance and support, you will have the right clients calling your practice. To start your SEO journey follow these three simple steps:

  1. Apply to work with us on your SEO
  2. Meet with one of our Skilled SEO Specialists
  3. Begin SEO Services for Therapists

Other Services Offered With Simplified SEO Consulting

Looking for a different way we might be able to support you? Our team at Simplified want to support you no matter what your SEO journey is. We offer support in both our Done For You SEO Services and DIY Online SEO Courses. Simplified SEO Consulting also offers a 12-week Done With You Intensive Program. Check out our blog for more helpful tips and guides to SEO!

About The Author:

Photo of Brianna Joplin, a mental health SEO specialist who offers SEO for therapists at Simplified SEO Consulting.

Brianna is a Mental Health SEO Specialist at Simplified SEO Consulting. As an SEO Specialist, Brianna enjoys optimizing client websites and interacting with them to help them achieve their SEO goals for their website. Her main goal while working with Simplified clients is to ensure they enjoy their SEO journey as well as to help them understand how the SEO process works.

Looking for extra support? Schedule a consult with the consulting team to see who can help you and how.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

What are SEO Examples in Healthcare?

In the ever-evolving world of healthcare, digital visibility has become a cornerstone for practitioners seeking to connect with patients in need. As functional medicine doctors, psychiatrists, speech-language pathologists, chiropractors, and other healthcare professionals embrace the digital landscape, the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is undeniable. Yet, the SEO strategy for the healthcare industry can look a little different than some other businesses. While the technicalities of SEO may seem complex, understanding practical examples tailored to healthcare can shed light on its effectiveness in driving patient engagement.

The Functional Medicine Doctor’s Online Presence

In a world where patients increasingly turn to online resources for health solutions, functional medicine doctors can utilize SEO to their advantage. SEO for functional medicine doctors should include a holistic approach to SEO and include working on a number of ranking tractors. For example, by optimizing their service pages, these doctors can attract patients seeking specific treatments, such as “Gut Health Restoration” or “Hormone Balancing.” Incorporating long-tail keywords like “natural hormone balancing in NYC” empowers patients to find precise solutions for their health concerns.

Psychiatry in the Digital Sphere

With mental health awareness on the rise, psychiatrists can leverage SEO to address patients’ mental health inquiries. Crafting informative blog posts on topics like “Managing Anxiety During Uncertain Times” not only offers valuable insights but also enhances search engine visibility. Utilizing schema markup for services like “Child and Adolescent Counseling” elevates search results, providing concise and informative snippets.

Simplified SEO Consulting has been working on SEO for private practice psychiatrists for years. It was a really natural evolution from working on counselor, therapist, and psychologist websites. So, we’ve fine-tuned a pretty comprehensive strategy to get psychiatrists great results. Don’t get me wrong, as psychiatrists there’s a lot more medical terminology than with the therapists we served when we started. But it’s this nice happy space between the world of psychotherapy and the wider world of healthcare SEO that we’re doing now.

The Speech Language Pathologist and Local SEO

Local SEO plays a pivotal role for speech-language pathologists aiming to connect with nearby patients. Optimizing Google My Business listings with accurate details and patient reviews ensures higher visibility in local searches. Crafting localized blog posts, such as “Effective Speech Therapy for Children in [City Name],” establishes authority within the local community and addresses the needs of potential patients.

Chiropractors and On-Page Optimization

Healthcare professionals can harness the power of on-page optimization to attract patients seeking relief from specific conditions. For example, a chiropractor can target keywords like “Sciatica Relief Through Chiropractic Care,” chiropractors can reach patients actively searching for solutions. Furthermore, strategic internal linking, such as directing readers to “The Benefits of Spinal Alignment,” enhances user experience and supports SEO efforts.

Integrating Keywords for Health Services

Tailoring SEO strategies with relevant keywords is essential. For functional medicine doctors, terms like “holistic wellness,” “natural treatments,” and “preventive healthcare” resonate with their approach. Psychiatrists can expand their reach using keyword variations like “mental health therapy,” “psychiatric counseling,” and “mind-body wellness,” connecting with a wider patient base.

Content Creation and Value

Sharing knowledge through educational blog posts establishes healthcare professionals as reliable sources of information. Topics like “Understanding Neurological Speech Disorders” provide insights into the expertise they offer. Introducing multimedia content, such as videos demonstrating chiropractic techniques or explaining psychiatric approaches, engages patients through diverse mediums.

Mobile-Friendly and User Experience

In an era dominated by smartphones, healthcare websites must be responsive and mobile-friendly. Ensuring websites adapt seamlessly to different devices enhances user experience and contributes to higher search rankings. Implementing alt text for images not only aligns with SEO accessibility guidelines but also accommodates users with visual impairments.

Analytics and Data Insights

Regularly monitoring website analytics offers healthcare professionals valuable insights into their online performance. By analyzing which pages attract the most traffic and engagement, practitioners can refine their strategies accordingly. Furthermore, assessing the effectiveness of targeted keywords helps fine-tune the overall SEO approach.

Medical Search Engine Optimization can Help a Wide Range of Medical Providers

As functional medicine doctors, psychiatrists, speech-language pathologists, chiropractors, and other healthcare providers navigate the intricate realm of healthcare marketing, the practicality of SEO becomes evident. By tailoring strategies to their respective specialties, these practitioners can elevate their digital presence, connect with patients in need, and ensure their expertise remains accessible in the vast landscape of healthcare information. SEO isn’t just about visibility—it’s about reaching those who require expert care, making it a vital tool for healthcare professionals committed to making a difference.

Search Engine Optimization with Simplified SEO Consulting

Finding the right SEO consulting provider can be daunting, as each company offers a unique approach and varying levels of expertise. Simplified SEO Consulting specializes in healthcare-specific search engine optimization strategies, offering customized solutions based on the individual needs of practitioners. By using keyword research, content creation, on-page optimization, local SEO strategies, and analytics tracking tools to monitor performance, Simplified SEO Consulting takes a holistic, ethical approach to medical search engine optimization services. With Simplified SEO Consulting, healthcare providers can reap the benefits of SEO for their business and patients alike.

To begin, find a time to join one of our SEO specialists for a complimentary Zoom consultation. During the meeting, you’ll discuss your current SEO needs and create a customized plan to help you reach more patients. With our strategic approach and comprehensive services, Simplified SEO Consulting can help your practice succeed in the digital sphere. We’re ready to help you grow your practice by helping more patients find your services & get the care they need.

/0 Comments/by
,

On-Page SEO for Therapists, Psychiatrists & Mental Health Providers

On page SEO is one of the most important aspects of getting a website to rank well on Google. It involves optimizing your website so that Google understands what your website is about, and ranks it higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). There are many different on page SEO techniques that you can use, but we will discuss some of the most common ones that we recommend private practice owners target in their SEO efforts in this blog post.

What is On-Page SEO?

So…let’s start with the basics. What is on-page SEO?  On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing content on your website (service pages, your home page, your blogs, etc) for search engines. I like to think of it as what you do to make it crystal clear to Google what your page is about. You’re demonstrating to Google the value your page offers to website visitors looking for information ona specific topic.

On-Page SEO as Part of Your Bigger SEO Plan

When I first started optimizing therapist websites 5.5 years ago, we were able to add a few specific service pages to a website, do a little on page SEO (even with very imperfect keyword research) and the site would start ranking well.

SEO is a bit more complicated now as more and more people in the mental health field are taking the time to create a comprehensive SEO plan. Your on page optimization should be part of a larger SEO strategy that includes keyword research, off-page optimization (link building, guest blogging, etc), local SEO (including both on and off page elements) and technical elements as well.

However, I still find that On-Page SEO is a critical piece of the puzzle. And if you do everything else but don’t do On-Page SEO, Google will come to trust your website more but won’t have a solid understanding of what your page is about. Therefore, without solid on-page SEO you’ll never rank as well as you could.

Specific On-Page Techniques Private Practice Owners Should be Using

Some on-page SEO things you may want to work on if you’re optimizing a specific page of your website:

High Quality Contentgreat content writing word cloud in a art sketchbook with a cup of coffee - business writing and content marketing concept

Great content! First and foremost, make sure you have quality content on the page that really provides valuable information to website visitors! Google likes content that is well written, relevant to the topic and comprehensive.

Title Tag & Meta Descriptions

Make sure you have a unique title tag and meta description for the page. This is what will show up in search engine results pages, which can help draw people to click on your link over someone else’s. We’ve written a lot of blog posts about this in the past including a recent one with examples of how you might write these for various pages of your site.

Headers (H1, H2 etc.)

Make strategic use of headings & subheadings. Google uses the H1, H2, etc tags to “figure out” what your page is about. Each page of your website should generally have one “H1” or title of the page. Then, the page will be divided into several H2s and possibly use some H3s.

H2s should be a short description of what’s below that. For example, on this page an H2 is “Specific On-Page SEO Techniques Private Practice Owners.” As Google would assume, the section goes on to describe specific on-page SEO techniques.

Then, you’ll notice that I am using H3s on this post to describe sub-topics. For example, this particular section has an Level 3 heading, or an H3, that reads “Headers (H1, H2 etc.).

Photo of a child on a frozen lake representing how a Canadian therapist might carefully choose a hopeful photo such as this one as part of their on page optimization plan. Carefully choosing & optimizing photos is a great on-page SEO strategy.Use Photos Strategically

Use photos to break up text and illustrate points. However, it’s important to make sure the photo file size isn’t too big as that can slow a page down. Additionally, you can get more “SEO juice” from photos if you make sure to name the photo file something relevant to the topic and include ta keyword phrase in the Alt tag for each photo.

Use Keywords

Naturally include keywords a couple of times on the page. However, make sure it’s natural and doesn’t compromise the quality of the content. I think people can get overly stressed about this. My advice is to write the page without worrying about keywords. Then, go back through the page and see if there’s a natural way to include your keywords.

Consider Readability: Is Your Page Easy to Read?

Make sure your website is easy to read. This is a huge issue we see on private practice websites. People want to fit as much information as possible into a small space. And, you really know what you are talking about. So, it’s easy to fall into the trap of using words that the average person may not understand.

When I talk about readability, some people immediately respond, “But my ideal clients are educated.” That may be true. However, YOU are the expert at mental health at the moment. So, even if they have a Ph.D, if it’s not in psychology, then they may have trouble understanding some of the words you use.

So, make sure to use language that is easy for everyone to understand and break up text with images and other visuals.

Internal Linking

If you have other relevant content on your website, link to it from the page you are working on. This is an important part of creating content that Google loves. By linking to other pages, you’re helping organize your website in a way that Google can understand. Additionally, internal Links help point people who do visit your website to other pages of your site. The more they read on your site, the more likely they are to become a client.

External Linking

This is similar to internal linking, but you will be finding other websites to link to. This will help Google understand the topic of your page and give your website “social proof” that other sites are talking about the same topic.

So, I generally recommend using one or two external links when it’s appropriate. Just make sure they are to other authoritative websites and that they open in a new window

Take On-Page SEO One Step at a Time

On-page SEO can seem overwhelming. But, the best way to tackle it is one page at a time. Just focus on making each page of your website the best it can be in terms of SEO. That way, when visitors arrive at your page, they will find helpful and relevant content that is easy to read and navigate.

This may only be one component of your SEO plan, but it’s a really important one. So, take some time to make sure key pages on your site are fully optimized. It will be worth it in the long run!

On-Page SEO Training on a Cruise This JulyPhoto of a princess cruise outside Vancouver, Canada representing the princess cruise we'll bring private practice owners on from LA to Hawaii in July. We'll focus on teaching private practice owners on-page SEO in training sessions.

Have trouble finding the time to optimize? Or maybe you find yourself feeling stuck or overwhelmed by the process. We are offering a really unique SEO training experience this July. The number one concern we’ve heard from our training clients is that they have trouble finding the time to put into practice what we teach. So…we’re looking to solve that problem. We’re asking that you set aside a little time to focus really intently on learning these techniques, applying them and receiving quick feedback from us.

Join us for a 14-day SEO training cruise leaving out of LA, visiting 4 Hawaiian Islands and a final stop in Mexico. We’ll have ten days at sea where you’ll receive lots of training. Danica and I will go more depth than we’ve ever gone before teaching you on-page SEO techniques with real time feedback and lots of 1:1 support. Then, you’ll have the added benefit of some amazing digital marketing training and support from our friend Ernesto who is a true expert on video marketing, social media and more for therapists and mental health professionals.

Can’t make it on the cruise? We’ll be sad to miss you. We do offer a variety of other SEO training opportunities including affordable DIY courses, small group intensives each semester, various webinars on specific SEO topics & an individualized 12-week training program.

/0 Comments/by
,

Using the GoDaddy platform for your Private Practice Website SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

With all the platforms for creating and maintaining websites, it can be overwhelming to decide which will be the best for your private practice website and its SEO. Often we are asked which website builders we prefer, and much like anything else, they all have Pros and Cons. For those of you looking to invest in GoDaddy or already have, this blog is for you! 

How to choose the best hosting option for your Private Practice Website

The importance of search engine optimization (SEO) cannot be overstated. Search engines rely on SEO to find our websites, which means that it’s essential to understand precisely what it is and how it can benefit your private practice in Arkansas, Online, and beyond! Finding ways to utilize SEO for your website and career can be the best decision you make for yourself. 

 

First of all, it’s important to know that with GoDaddy, you have the option of:

Image of a woman looking at a computer while talking on the phone. This represents how SEO services for therapists are a call away when you need them, reach out to us today!

Hosting your URL on GoDaddy with another platform’s website builder.
OR
Hosting & Using GoDaddys’ Website builder for your site. (Free and Paid options)  
 For a lot of people, competitive pricing is an essential factor when selecting a provider. As a domain registrar and web hosting company, GoDaddy is a very well-known brand. Aside from registrars, they also provide their customers with web hosting, website builders, and email services. 

If you are a GoDaddy customer but don’t use their website builder, you need to get your SEO up to speed with the platform your website is built on. 

Does GoDaddys Website Builder boost SEO rankings for an Online Private Practice Website?

As far as website building is concerned, GoDaddy has one of the more user-friendly interfaces available. This hosting service comes with a very simple and intuitive graphical interface. This is designed to cater to beginners since you don’t have to have great coding skills to get started publishing and managing your website.

However, web administrators seeking more control can encounter problems when it comes to email addresses, database files, and memory. When trying to navigate the GoDaddy policies regarding web forms, wikis, and auto-generated content, you will find that you will need to put more effort into it. There are a number of other hosting services that have fewer restrictions on their use.

The Rundown on GoDaddys’ Digital Marketing Suite 

GoDaddy provides a tool that costs $6.99 per month and analyzes your website for keyword and phrase suggestions. You can ‘start for free’  and use it for more than SEO with social media content templates and related content to provide support in getting traffic for your private practice.Image of a typewriter and a notepad with the word "blog'. Blogs are important additions to your SEO and we can help with that! Let our SEO experts help your Private Practice Website today! Even though this tool is helpful and can be used to make a difference, it has some limitations. This is likely why they also offer SEO services as part of one of their packages. It is without saying that at Simplified SEO Consulting, we recommend hiring us if you need Search Engine Optimization services for your private practice. This is because we help mental health professionals focus on the clients they want to attract. In contrast, GoDaddy provides services in a generic manner that primarily targets getting website views rather than booking clients.

After completing the suggested changes, such as changing your homepage title to include a keyword, you can track your website’s search rankings on the Search Engine Optimization dashboard after implementing these changes.

 

You specialize in mental health, and so should the SEO experts you lean on for advice and support. 

 

Using WordPress and GoDaddy for your online Private Practice Website 

WordPress and GoDaddy have partnered to offer users WordPress hosting plans. With their auto-install Quick Start Wizard, you can get started quickly with the creation of your website. 

In the event that you already have a WordPress site that you would like to migrate to GoDaddy, it may take some technical expertise. Even experienced website owners may find it challenging to follow the steps for moving a WordPress website to GoDaddy, even though there are step-by-step instructions. WordPress has its own SEO tools and tips that can be used to optimize your service pages or blog posts. 

 

Person at the computer representing the private practice website owners we help on daily basis. Reach out to us today!   The Summary:

 Many people have criticized the GoDaddy company because of its marketing tactics, aggressive up-selling practices, and poor customer service. Because of its affordability, brand recognition, and comprehensive set of tools, it has become a popular choice for users.

Owners of small private practices with very limited technical expertise can easily register a domain name and build a website with relative ease, but making use of GoDaddy’s hosting services may not be the most appropriate choice for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The majority of our clients use WordPress or Squarespace to build their websites. We have found that these two platforms make it easily possible to implement search engine optimization techniques.  

 

Fun Fact: SEO is a millennial! It was created in the mid-90s. 

 

SEO Marketing for Therapists & Counselors Made Simple!

To begin working with Simplified, follow these three simple steps:

  1. Book a Session with Simplified SEO Consulting
  2. Learn about SEO Consulting for Therapists
  3. Take a breath and relax, knowing your SEO is handled!

Other Services at Simplified SEO Consulting:

We can also help if you need other types of support! We offer a variety of training options to meet your needs, including a 12-week training program, small group intensives, and courses. If you are ready to start using SEO, or you are planning to move your site or redesign your site, then the strategy session may be an excellent option for you. We can also assist you with our Done for You Program if you want to work with a dedicated and skilled team of professionals.

 

About the Author

Amber has a BA in Psychology at APU and is working towards her MA in Psychology at SNHU while working with the best team in the world, Simplified SEO Consulting. She is a mother, animal & space enthusiast, and public relations volunteer at a fine arts nonprofit who enjoys helping others succeed.

/0 Comments/by
,

Page Depth: What It Is And Why It Matters

In the world of SEO, there are many terms that describe what effect our website and the users who click on it. But what do they really mean? These terms can be really overwhelming, but understanding them can help you boost your website rankings. Page depth can be crucial if you want certain pages to rank and they aren’t. In this post, you’ll learn about the term page depth, what it is, and why it matters when it comes to SEO.

Photo of nails with coloful string attached to them connecting each nail. Interested in how many pages users look at on your website? Discover how page depth can help you.

What is Page Depth?

Page depth refers to the number of clicks it takes to reach a specific page on a website. If the page is easily accessible, the page depth is low, whereas a high page depth means the page is buried deeper within a website. In SEO, optimizing page depth helps make important information more easily accessible to users.

The homepage always has a page depth of one, while a page directly linked from the home page will have a page depth of two. Anything after that is a depth of three or more with the number of clicks it takes to reach that specific page.

With a page depth of three or more the pages are more than likely going to perform poorly when it comes to showing up on search engines. This is due to search engines, such as Google, having a hard time crawling the pages. With search engines having a harder time crawling these pages, they will also have a lower page rank. Even when they do crawl those pages, the search engine assumes they are less important since they’re less accessible to website visitors. 

Why Does Page Depth Matter?

Page depth matters on a private practice owner’s website because it can affect the user’s experience and ability to find important information quickly. By optimizing page depth, important pages and information can be easily accessible, improving the user experience and increasing the chances of attracting and retaining clients.

Furthermore, page depth matters because if it takes a user more than three clicks to be reached, then search engines will have a harder time crawling the page. This will cause the page to rank less often in search results. Then, it will have less engagement compared to other pages found within two clicks.

These pages will also rank lower as the search engine crawlers won’t check or even find them as often as pages that have a typical depth of two. If Google sees that a certain page is taking three or more clicks to reach, it may see it as less important than other pages on your site that can be reached in fewer clicks.

Photo of a cartoon graph showing an upward trend with two cartoon characters on their phone and laptop. Interested in learning about page depth? Learn what page depth is and how it works here.

Ways to Improve Your Site Structure So Pages Can Be Reached

Improving your site structure makes it easier for the user to navigate. It can be very important, as it keeps a user intrigued with your content without any distractions. With an easier-to-use site, users have a more enjoyable experience and want to continue to use your site if they find the content you have intriguing them. Here are a few ways you can help improve your site structure: 

Use Internal Linking

When you use internal links, you can help lower the number of clicks it takes to reach a specific page. These links help provide additional content and easy access to the new page the user will navigate to. Internal links also help provide a better user experience and can keep a user interested in your content. Using internal links is also valuable to your search rankings as it can help boost your site. This is because it provides page authority for the important pages on your site. Using anchor-rich text when adding internal links also gives search engines easy access to navigate your page.

Utilize Breadcrumbs

By using breadcrumbs, you give the user an easy way for them to know where they are on your website. You can have breadcrumbs on your site that create a navigation bar to help the user see where they’ve navigated and how they can navigate back to their original page. The breadcrumbs can help the user view the categories of the site as well so they have the opportunity to navigate to another page.

Make Sure Photos Are Compressed

When you add photos to your site, make sure you have compressed your pictures. If you don’t compress your photos before adding them they might keep your page from loading. We know from experience when a page or site takes too long to load, we’re more likely to exit and find another site. Compressing photos is an easy way to ensure your page loads quickly. The website tinypng.com is a great (and free!) tool when compressing photos.

Photo of an older woman taking notes from her laptop with paper and a pencil. Learn how to improve your site structure and improve your SEO with page depth.

Learning new SEO terms can be challenging. But the terms you learn are important as they help you figure out what users need when they access your site. Like the term page depth, you begin to learn little things that maintain your website ranking, and help search engines such as Google, notice more of the pages on your site and help with page ranking. Once you understand page depth you can help make your website a more enjoyable experience to keep users interested in viewing other pages on your site.

Learn How To Improve Your Rankings With Simplified SEO Consulting

Our team at Simplified SEO Consulting wants to help you learn all you can when it comes to getting the right clients to view your page. Having guidance in your SEO journey is important for both you and your website to ensure you get the right users to your site. To start your SEO journey follow these three simple steps:

  1. Apply to work with us on your SEO
  2. Meet with one of our Skilled SEO Specialists
  3. Begin SEO Services for Therapists

Other Services Offered With Simplified SEO Consulting

Looking for a different way we might be able to support you? Our team at Simplified wants to support you no matter what your SEO journey is. We offer support in both our Done For You SEO Services and DIY Online SEO Courses. Simplified SEO Consulting also offers a 12-week Done With You Intensive Program. Check out our blog for more helpful tips and guides to SEO!

About the Author: Photo of Brianna Joplin, a mental health SEO specialist who offers SEO for therapists at Simplified SEO Consulting.

Brianna is a Mental Health SEO Specialist at Simplified SEO Consulting. At Simplified, Brianna enjoys optimizing websites and interacting with her clients to help them achieve their SEO goals. Her goal while working with our clients is to ensure they enjoy their SEO journey and to help them understand how the SEO process works.

 

Looking for extra support? Schedule a consult with the consulting team to see who can help you and how.

/0 Comments/by
,

Examples of Meta Descriptions for a Sample Therapist Website

Meta descriptions are often overlooked on websites, but they are a very important part of your website’s SEO. This is especially true for private practice websites. A good meta description can entice people to click through to your website, and a bad one can cause them to skip over you entirely. In this blog post, we will give specific examples of effective meta descriptions for a therapist’s website.

Tips for Writing Great Meta Descriptions

– Keep it brief. Aim for less than 155 characters, as that is the maximum number of characters Google will display in search results.

– Make sure your description is relevant to the page content. You don’t want readers clicking on a page only to be disappointed with what they find upon entering the website.

– Don’t include too many keywords, as this does not look natural. Instead, focus on making the meta description sound appealing and informative to readers while naturally incorporating a couple of the top keywords you’re targeting on that page.

To illustrate these points further, I’ve provided some examples of what a good meta description could look like for a sample website.  For this illustration, all of these examples will be for a private practice that specializes in treating eating disorders in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Sample Meta Descriptions

I have often heard that  the best way to learn is by example, so with that in mind here are some examples of meta descriptions our SEO clients could use on their website:

Home Page Meta Description Example:

Title Tag: The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center | Treatment for Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder | Bismarck, North Dakota

Meta Description: The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center is a counseling center that offers effective eating disorder treatment with experienced Eating Disorder Therapists to treat anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder & other eating disorders.

You can see more examples of meta descriptions for a private practice website homepage here.

A Specific Therapist’s About Page Example:

Title Tag: Meet Dr. Bruno Madrigal, The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center |Bismarck, ND

Meta Description: Dr. Bruno Madrigal is an eating disorder therapist who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders. He has extensive training in DBT, family-based therapy, CBT & interpersonal psychotherapy to help his clients recover.

You can see more examples of meta descriptions for a therapist about page here.

An “Our Office” Example:

Title Tag: Directions to Our Office, The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center in Bismarck, ND

Meta Description: If you’re looking for treatment for an eating disorder, Our Office, The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center in Bismarck, ND can help. Located just 5 minutes from Sanford Medical Center, we offer eating disorder treatments that work.

Two Blog Post Examples

Title Tag: Signs Your Teen Has Binge Eating Disorder

Meta Description: Do you know the signs of binge eating disorder in teenagers? Learn what to look for and how to get help if your teen is struggling. Licensed Professional Counselor Nala Rafiki at The Hope Eating Disorder Recovery Center in Bismarck, ND offers tips and advice.

Title Tag: Introduction to Types of Eating Disorders

Meta Description: This post provides an introduction to the five types of eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder, pica, and rumination disorder.

You can see more examples of meta descriptions for mental health blog posts here.

Begin Writing Your Meta Descriptions

Ok, so hopefully that gives you a bit of a picture of what a good meta description looks like on a private practice or mental health-related business’ website.  In short, think of your meta descriptions as an opportunity to entice readers and provide accurate information about the page content at the same time. Keep it brief, relevant and informative, but also make sure it’s interesting enough to draw people in!

More SEO Help for Therapists, Psychiatrists & Private Practice Owners

If you need more help optimizing your website for search engine results, we offer comprehensive SEO services for mental health-related businesses. We believe your ideal clients are looking for you. They deserve your help. But first, they have to find you.

To get started, simply schedule a time to chat with one of our team about which one of our SEO services would be the best fit for your practice.

Good luck with your meta description writing efforts! I’m sure your website visitors will thank you for it!

About the Author

Jessica Tappana is a private practice owner herself. Additionally, she is an SEO consultant specializing in helping healthcare professionals, private practice owners and therapists rank higher in search engine results. With over 5 years of experience in digital marketing & over 13 in the mental health field, she’s seen firsthand how effective SEO can be for a private practice business. Jessica is passionate about helping her clients succeed online, so they can reach more people and help them get the help they need. She hires team members who are just as passionate about mental health and her team invests substantial amounts in making sure every team member is trained in the current best practices for online marketing in the field of mental health.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

How Much to Spend on SEO Part 2

When it comes to investment in SEO for therapists, mental health professionals need to consider the return on investment. Investing in SEO can be a great way to boost clientele and reach more potential clients. With that said, there are some basic principles to follow when determining how much investment is necessary.Magnifying glass with colored arrows pointing to SEO strategy. If you are a mental health professional looking for SEO for therapists, SEO for psychologists, or SEO for counselors, you are in the right place. Learn about what factors influence how much to spend in SEO.

SEO for Therapists: Consider Location, Competition, Size

First of all, depending on your industry and the size of your practice, you should consider what budget to set for your SEO investment. You may want to invest more heavily if you have a more extensive practice or specialize in a certain area of mental health. Often we see clinicians in more competitive and populated areas. What we know about SEO is that it is getting more and more competitive. Therefore, we know that it’s taking longer to get results in the field compared to how it was a few years ago. It is possible to get results and we have seen that time and time again. However, doing more content, building backlinks, and blogging regularly is often one of the best ways to ensure the success you are looking for.

Recognize How Much You Know and What You Are Willing to Learn

The second consideration is how well-versed you are in SEO tactics. If you don’t have much knowledge about SEO, you may want to invest in consulting services or hire someone who specializes in SEO. By investing upfront, you will be able to save money in the long run by improving your visibility and rankings on search engines. The truth is that SEO specialists especially highly specialized ones like our team train extensively to understand the lay of the land in every state.

We also know that SEO is constantly changing, which means we are constantly learning and adjusting. With that being said, we want to invest in our employees like you want to invest in yours. Therefore, know that SEO will cost a lot, but not for nothing. We strive to inform, educate, collaborate, and provide the highest quality of care to our clients, just as we know you do too!

Investing in SEO for Therapists Means Investing Time!SEO strategy map. If you are a mental health professional looking for SEO for therapists, SEO for psychologists, or SEO for counselors, you are in the right place. Learn about what factors influence how much to spend in SEO.

Thirdly, you need to consider how much time and effort you are willing to put into SEO investment. If you don’t have the time to research and implement strategies, you may want to outsource the task.

Additionally, if you are a small practice, you might have more success by investing in specific services such as content creation or link building. This is because if you are a postpartum clinician versus a generalist practice, you are more likely to have more clarity ranking on the Google search engine. It doesn’t mean that you won’t be competitive, but you are more focused which will help in the long term.

if you are a generalist or group practice with many niches, to be honest, as SEO changes so have our strategy. That means you may want to think about who you’re trying to get full within six months and that may mean focusing heavily on 3 niches, blogging, and building backlinks, then going back and focusing on additional niches.

What Results Do You Want with Your Investment in SEO for Therapists?

Finally, consider what kind of results you expect from your investment. Are you looking for immediate returns? Or are you more focused on long-term gains? Plan out what investment you are willing to make upfront and then track your results as you go along. The truth is that SEO will never be a quick fix to get in clients, that was never its intended purpose, however, if you are looking to sustain organic traffic, it is the most cost-efficient long-haul investment.

What’s Next?Yellow arrow pointing to SEO increases. If you are a mental health professional looking for SEO for therapists, SEO for psychologists, or SEO for counselors, you are in the right place. Learn about what factors influence how much to spend in SEO.

Now that you have some of the basics of investing in SEO, stay tuned for the last part of this series on investing in SEO. We are going to talk about getting the best return on investment by doing SEO yourself versus having a company optimize for you. Be sure to check out part 1 if you haven’t read it yet.

Start Getting the SEO Support You Need!

Our team would love to consult with you. If you want to learn more, you are in the right place. Contact us today to learn more about our services and start growing your private pay clients today! To start with our SEO Specialists and Trainers, follow these simple steps:

  1. Book a Consult with a Member of Our Consultation Team
  2. Learn About Our Skilled SEO Specialists and Trainers
  3. Begin Reaping the Rewards of Your Marketing Efforts

Other Services at Simplified SEO Consulting

Jasmine, a Training and Consulting Specialist. Are you looking support with SEO consulting? We can help. Schedule a consult and learn more about large scale seo.

If you’re looking for other forms of support, we can help! We offer options such as our 12-week training, small group intensives, and courses. Our strategy session can be a great option if you need support getting started with SEO or doing a site move or redesign. Or, if you’re ready to work with a passionate and skilled team, our Done for You Program may be a great following approach.

About the Author

Jasmine is the SEO Training Coordinator and offers free consultations for Simplified’s SEO Consulting on our services. Jasmine is a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and recently earned her degree from Northwestern University. She works to help people with a strategy with national rankings, eating disorder specialties, sports psychology, high achievers, and much more. Schedule a consult soon!

/0 Comments/by
,

SEO Strategy for the Healthcare Industry: A Comprehensive Guide

The healthcare industry is constantly evolving, and in recent years, it has seen a significant shift towards digitalization. With the majority of patients now turning to search engines for healthcare-related information, it has become more crucial for healthcare providers to have a strong online presence. A robust SEO strategy is the key to attracting new patients, improving brand awareness, and increasing website traffic. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the best SEO practices that healthcare providers can implement to improve their online visibility. 

What is SEO in healthcare?

You may be wondering, “What is SEO in healthcare?” As you’ve been trying to grow a healthcare business, you’ve gotten various advice and part of that has been to do “SEO,” but you aren’t yet exactly sure what that means.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of strategies that healthcare providers can use to optimize their websites for search engines. With the help of SEO, healthcare providers can improve their website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs) so that search engines like Google show your website more often when potential patients are searching for a provider. This improved visibility will ensure that potential patients are more likely to find your website and easily access the information they need about your services.

By leveraging the potential of SEO, healthcare providers can reach a broader audience and establish credibility in the online space.

Developing an SEO Strategy

SEO can be a bit complicated, because you need to develop a strategy that takes into account different factors, such as content optimization, link building, and keyword research. To make the process easier, let’s go over the process that Simplified SEO Consulting generally recommends.

Define Your Audience

Who are you wanting to visit your website the most? Likely, this is your patients. So, get really clear on who you are trying to help. Where do your ideal patients live? What kinds of problems are they struggling with?

Before developing an SEO strategy, you need to identify your target audience. Understanding your ideal patient’s demographics, interests, and needs will help you tailor your SEO efforts more effectively. You can research your target audience through various tools, such as Google Analytics, social media analytics, and surveys.

Perform Keyword Research

Now that you know who your target audience is, it’s time to conduct keyword research. Knowing the keywords that your patients are likely to use when searching for a healthcare provider will help you optimize your website content and improve visibility in search engine results.

Using relevant keywords throughout your website content is essential for SEO. Yet, many healthcare professionals we’ve worked with have made the mistake of assuming they know exactly what their patients are searching for when in fact they really don’t. So, keyword research is an important step in the process.

Create a Website With Your Patient in Mind

When it comes to building any sort of business, having a website that is clear and easy to navigate can make all the difference. By building a website with your ideal patients in mind, you can effectively communicate who you help and what kinds of medical care you provide. But don’t overlook the importance of technical aspects – a website that’s free from errors can improve user satisfaction and boost your SEO. We recommend using a website platform like WordPress or Squarespace and investing in a technically sound website. As a healthcare provider, your website should empower patients to take charge of their own well-being.

Create Quality Content

Quality content is key to attracting and retaining patients on your website. In addition to providing informative content that addresses your patient’s needs, you should also focus on creating content that demonstrates your expertise and authority in your field. You can do this by creating blog posts, videos, case studies, and other content that is relevant to your niche.

Overall, create content that is very useful for your ideal clients. It should speak to the conditions and concerns that your patients have both before they call you and after they start working with you.

On-Page Optimization

Next, it’s time to start optimizing key pages of your website. You should start by optimizing your home page and services pages.

We recommend including meta-descriptions, headings (H1s, H2s, etc.), internal linking, keyword usage, and optimizing your photos. All of these components work together to ensure that search engines can easily index your website’s content and understand the context of each page.

Local SEO

Optimize your website for local searches by adding your location and contact information to your website’s footer, having consistent information about your website on various directories, and an updated Google Business Profile listing.

Build High-quality Backlinks

Backlinks are an important ranking factor for search engines. When other high-quality websites link back to your website, it signals to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant. You can build backlinks by creating valuable content, guest posting on relevant websites in your niche, and reaching out to other websites and asking them to link back to your website.

What are the best practices for healthcare SEO?

SEO best practices are honestly constantly changing. At Simplified SEO Consulting, we are often having conversations about how Google’s guidelines, search algorithms, the medical field, and other factors come together and what that means for best practices for healthcare SEO.

Here are a few of the things we’ve identified are important when developing a comprehensive SEO strategy:

  • Comprehensive keyword research is essential in crafting an effective healthcare SEO strategy.
  • Optimizing on-page content creates valuable and informative pages that both patients and search engines appreciate.
  • Building high-quality backlinks establishes authority and trust with potential patients.
  • Analyzing website performance can help track the impact of your SEO strategy and its contribution to the practice’s growth.
  • Avoid common SEO mistakes such as keyword stuffing, which can deter readers and negatively affect rankings.
  • Ensure content accuracy by verifying information from reputable sources before sharing with readers.
  • Regularly review outdated or unwanted pages and properly redirect visitors to relevant information.
  • Ethical approaches should be prioritized over any “black hat” strategies to ensure optimal rankings.
  • Understand Google’s recommendations for optimal SEO, focusing on creating user-centric content with natural language integration for voice search optimization.

What are SEO Examples in Healthcare?

To illustrate how SEO can benefit healthcare providers, let’s consider the following examples:

  1. Website Optimization: A dermatologist in Boston optimizes their website to rank for keywords such as “best dermatologist in Boston” or “skin allergy treatment in Boston”. This makes their website more visible to potential patients searching for these terms.
  2. Local SEO: A small town dental clinic updates their Google Business Profile, including hours of operation, contact details, and services offered. When people in the area search for “dentist near me”, the dental clinic appears in local search results.
  3. Content Creation: A physiotherapy clinic publishes regular blog posts about common injuries, treatment methods, and preventive measures. These high-quality, keyword-optimized posts attract individuals searching for this information online, thus driving more traffic to the clinic’s website.
  4. Backlink Building: A nutritionist contributes a guest post to a popular health and wellness blog, including a link back to their website. This backlink not only brings direct traffic from the blog’s readership, but also improves the nutritionist’s website authority, helping it rank higher in search results.
  5. On-Page Optimization: A psychiatrist includes relevant keywords in their website’s meta descriptions, headings, and image alt texts. This optimization helps search engines understand the context of the website’s content and improves its visibility in search results.

These examples demonstrate how implementing effective SEO strategies can help healthcare providers enhance their online presence, attract more potential patients, and ultimately grow their businesses.

What Are the Top 5 SEO Strategies Every Healthcare Professional Should Use?

Honestly, this is a difficult question to answer but one that gets asked of us from time to time. So, we’ve done our best to put together a list of some of the really important ones:

  • Great Content: By crafting engaging and informative content, healthcare providers can address patient concerns, demonstrate their expertise, and attract more potential patients to their websites.
  • Local SEO: Optimizing for local SEO can help healthcare providers become more visible in local search results, connecting them with potential patients in their geographical area.
  • Backlinks: Building high-quality backlinks boosts website authority, signaling to search engines that the content is valuable and enhancing the website’s ranking in search results.
  • User-Friendly Design: A website that is easy to navigate and visually appealing enhances user experience, encouraging more visitors to stay on the site and interact with the content.
  • Using Keywords (Especially Long Tail Keywords): Keyword optimization helps search engines understand the context of the website’s content, with long tail keywords providing opportunities for reaching more specific search queries that potential patients might use.

The Importance of Holistic SEO Strategy for Healthcare Practices

In this blog post, we’ve shared a lot of really specific strategies to optimize a healthcare practice’s website for search engines. However, it’s important to remember that SEO is not just about technical details or keyword optimization. A holistic SEO strategy takes into account all aspects of a website – from content optimization and backlink building to user experience design and local search engine optimization.

And, it’s been our experience that those who get the best results from their SEO efforts are those who take a really comprehensive approach. It’s those who take their time and invest in the process. Often, it’s those who seek outside expertise and advice, maybe even outsourcing their SEO work.

By taking a comprehensive approach to healthcare SEO, healthcare providers can create an effective online presence that engages potential patients, increases website traffic, and ultimately helps them grow their businesses.

A Strong SEO Strategy Can Help You Grow

A strong SEO strategy is essential for healthcare providers who want to improve their online visibility, attract new patients, and improve their brand awareness. Follow the above guide and implement the best practices for defining your target audience, conducting keyword research, optimizing your website, creating quality content, and building high-quality backlinks. With patience and persistence, you can improve your search engine ranking, attract more patients to your website, and grow your healthcare practice.

Why Simplified SEO Consulting for Your Healthcare SEO?

A group of three people sitting at a table working on their laptops. Interested in learning how SEO in the healthcare industry is important? Our services can help you better understand SEO in healthcare. Visit us today!

Simplified SEO Consulting began when our founder, Jessica, began her own group psychotherapy practice. She had done some initial marketing as a solo practice owner and when she expanded to a group practice, she found most people were calling to see her and it was difficult to book those clients with the very capable clinicians she had added to her practice.

When Jessica turned to SEO, she found that it was a great way to get her practice more visible online. As she started ranking on Google, people started calling the practice, not her. And it was easy to help match new clients with the right therapist.

Jessica’s passion for helping other healthcare professionals grow their practices led her to create Simplified SEO Consulting. And at first, we just focused on helping other therapists and psychologists. But over time, we’ve worked with clinics and providers in a variety of healthcare settings. We’ve done great work with effective SEO for functional medicine doctors, psychiatrists, and other healthcare providers. We’ve found ways to tweak our original SEO services to really work in other parts of the healthcare industry.

Today, Simplified SEO Consulting specializes in helping healthcare providers achieve their goals by leveraging the power of SEO. We understand the unique challenges that the healthcare industry faces and have developed strategies to help our clients succeed online. Our team has deep knowledge of local search engine optimization, content optimization, keyword

Begin SEO Services with Simplified SEO Consulting

At Simplified SEO Consulting, we specialize in healthcare SEO and understand the unique challenges that healthcare providers face. We’re here to help you get the most out of your SEO strategy and ensure that it is tailored to your specific needs.

To start the process, schedule a consultation with one of our SEO Specialists. Come to this free consultation over Zoom prepared to discuss your website, your practice, your typical patients, and your goals for growth. Then, it’s our job to help craft an SEO strategy that will fuel that growth. 

/0 Comments/by