It’s no secret that the end of the year is a slow season for the counseling world.

You’ve likely noticed that you probably have more canceled appointments than you usually do. In addition, you might notice that fewer people are reaching out for your services. If you know a thing or two about SEO, you’ll probably see that your website is receiving less traffic than it was previously. In addition, some of your rankings could be dropping. Does this mean that you’re no longer a quality clinician? No. Does this mean that investing in SEO from November to January is a waste of time and money? No. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.

This time of year is the perfect time to build SEO.

Why is this the case? Well, for a few different reasons. First, you likely have more free time this month than most of the other months of the year. This is because you’ll likely have more canceled appointments. Sometimes, even the clients that swore they would still come end up canceling their appointments. This time of year can be really busy for folks and they need something to take off their to-do list. Unfortunately, that’s often their appointment with their counselor. So, this means that you’ll have more time in your workday to focus your energy on other aspects of your practice. And, to finally get to the other tasks on your to-do list.

Second, using this time to focus on boosting your SEO will help you promote your practice’s results later on. SEO is a long-term strategy. And, it can take a few months to see the fruit of your labor. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense to focus on your SEO in the slow season so your “busy” season is even more successful! In addition, this can help you to finetune your approach in reaching your ideal clients.  Overall, focusing your efforts to build SEO during this time of year will help to promote the longevity of your results.

Okay, but how do we build SEO during the slow season?

Great question! There are many different avenues that you can use if you decide to venture down this path. From our experience of optimizing therapists’ websites, we have found a few options that will likely be the best ROI for your practice. Below are 5 ways to build SEO during this season.

1. Write the blogs that you previously didn’t have time for.

I know, I know. You’ve heard this 1,000 times. But, as an additional reminder, blogging is very important for SEO. Blogging can help you to build backlinks, which essentially serves as an SEO “savings account.” Backlinks come in handy when you make big changes to your site, as these changes often result in loss of SEO. So, the more backlinks you have, the better. Ultimately, backlinks assist you to build SEO.

When you start blogging during this time, there are many different paths you can go down. One option is to finally articulate the amazing ideas you’ve kept on a sticky note or a word doc. A second option, and possibly a more timely option, is to think about your current clients. What would be helpful for them to read right now? Would it be tips on assertive communication? Could it be grounding skills that they can pull out when they need them? Or how to ask what they need from those around them? Consider what would make sense for your ideal clients. Regardless of the approach you take to this blog, aim for it to a resource. The more helpful your blog is, the more eyeballs see it.

2. Respond to HARO listings.

HARO (help a reporter out) is a website that reporters use to obtain sources for their stories. HARO is a widely used website by reporters all over the country. After you sign up, you’ll receive listings for upcoming stories for which a reporter needs a reliable source. You can respond to the inquiry (doesn’t need to be longer than 2 to 3 paragraphs) including your name, the name of your practice, and your practice’s website. It’s important to keep in mind that you should respond to these inquiries as quickly as you can. Many people use HARO, so good inquiries typically go quickly!

3. Beef up your about page.

Your practice’s about page can help build the know, like, and trust factor. This page can be a deciding factor for some of your clients if they use your services. So, you’ll want to make your about page as unique as possible. Challenge yourself to include other components aside from your credentials. Yes, they are important. And, your ideal client seeing that you’re certified in EMDR will not separate from the other EMDR therapists in your town.

In addition to your certifications and credentials, include some things about you as a human. Do you have a favorite snack? What was your favorite book growing up? What made you want to be a therapist?  If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Do you have pets? (10 bonus points if you include pictures!) These tidbits will help your future clients get to know you. And, will separate you from the competition.

Don’t forget about your location!

On top of including things about your life as a human, it’s also a good idea to provide a very detailed description of your office location. Feel free to include landmarks, street names, parks, large districts (shopping, business, etc.), schools, popular restaurants and/or coffee shops. Or, anything else that will give the user a very clear image of where you are. What’s more, this is also helpful for Google. This detailed description “shows” Google where you and what other locations are near. In addition, this lets Google know the other searches you’re wanting to show up for.

4. Use free resources to do some keyword research.

Doing a little keyword research during this time could be exponentially beneficial for your practice. The purpose of keyword research is to see what your ideal clients are searching for to find a therapist. Keyword research can inform what words and verbiage you use on your site. Using the keywords that your clients are searching for = more of your ideal clients seeing your site. Overall, using the right keywords helps to build SEO. A great free tool to use is Google Trends. Google Trends works by allowing you to compare the search volume for different terms in an area. In addition, it offers suggestions of other terms that are related to the words that you’re searching for.

Here’s an example of how you can use Google Trends to build SEO

Let’s say that you’re an LMFT in Atlanta, GA and you really enjoy working with couples. Your ideal clients are couples that need counseling to work on their communication to navigate the aftermath of an affair. You also prefer to work with couples that are married as opposed to unmarried couples. On your website, you include the term “marriage therapy.” When searching “marriage therapy in Atlanta, GA” in Google Trends, you see that 0 people have searched that term from November 1st, 2020 to December 5th, 2020. Google suggests that you search “marriage counseling,” as it’s a related term. When you search “marriage counseling” in Google Trends, you see that 183 people have searched it in the same timeframe. So, with this in mind, it would make more sense to include “marriage counseling” significantly more than “marriage therapy.”

Now that you have this information, apply it to build SEO!

After you do some keyword research, apply what you learned. Switch out the terms that people don’t search for with the terms that people do search for. Often, it’s a small price to pay to build SEO and reach out to new future clients.

5. Do some “housekeeping” on your website.

This might be the least exciting suggestion that we have. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s not important! Doing “housekeeping” tasks on your site essentially means making sure that the information on your site is still accurate. In addition to SEO benefits, this also benefits the user. The user is more likely to stay on your site (and hopefully convert to becoming a client) if it is updated and accurate. This can include a lot of different areas, so here’s a quick list of some things to look out for:

• Hours of operation/location are updated
• You have service pages for each service you offer
• Your “meet the team” page is updated
  • If a clinician left, remove them from the listing; add any new clinicians
  • Update any certifications anyone in the practice received
    • Awards, certificates, public speaking events, etc.
• You have a footer at the bottom of each page
  • This should include your location
  • If you’re strictly online, it will likely read “Providing Online Therapy in (insert state name)”
• Service modality
  • If you’re online, in person, or a hybrid, make sure that’s clearly stated on your site

Wrapping on ways to build SEO during the slow season

Overall, there isn’t a “bad” time to build SEO. However, being intentional to build SEO during a slower season will likely result in a higher ROI. Working to build SEO during this season will help you make the most out of your “busy” season. And, will help you reach your ideal clients. Incorporating these tips can get you started on a great foot for the upcoming year!

Begin working with Simplified SEO Consulting

We’re here to help with all of your SEO needs! We offer many different services to help you reach your SEO goals. We offer Done For You Services where do the optimization for your site. If you’re the hands-on type, we can teach you how to do the optimization in our 12-Week Intensive Program. In addition, we offer a variety of helpful courses and ala carte services. When you’re ready to begin services with us, follow these steps:

1. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us. 
2. Get to know our team of highly skilled SEO specialists.
3. Build SEO and continue to do what you love.

About the Author

Alyssa has been a member of the Simplified family for the past few months. And, is now stepping into a role providing training and additional support for folks learning SEO. As a current graduate student in the Advanced Placement MSW Program at Mizzou, Alyssa loves the world of mental health and technology. In addition, Alyssa has a growing interest in using social media to grow a practice, the importance of live feed, and building backlinks. She also wrote a two-part blog post series about the importance of blogging for SEO. This series addressed the importance of blogging and original content. In addition, she is co-hosting a blogging masterclass that will soon be available for purchase.

Blogging.

There are some strong feelings associated with blogging. For some, it’s the bane of their existence. For others, they seize the opportunity to spew all of their wisdom into a digital format. Blogging can be done in many different ways. And, as of late, we’ve seen folks get pretty creative with blogs. Some people have started incorporating video in their blogging, often referred to as “vlogging.” In addition, others have started blog post series about a topic that’s relevant to their work.

Aside from the style of blogging, blogging looks different for each discipline. In the land of mental health services, we often focus on incorporating content that’s relevant and helpful to our ideal clients. Sometimes our blogs offer tips about navigating anxiety. Other times, our blogs help instill courage in our clients to fully embrace their identity. And, to live fearlessly.

Now that all of the fun and feel-good stuff is out of the way, let’s get down to business. You’re here for a reason. I know the burning question that’s been keeping you awake at night.

Do I have to blog for SEO?

Ah, the million-dollar question. You can get a variety of different answers depending on who you ask. The short answer? Yes. The longer answer? Still yes. In terms of building SEO, “blog posts are a quintessential component of maintaining the longevity of results.”

So, what does that mean in human (non-SEO) language?

For the folks that aren’t engulfed in the underworld of SEO land, this means that blog posts help your website rank towards the top of Google. This is good. This means that more people are seeing your website because you’re on the first page.  As a search engine, Google strives to provide the user with relevant, reputable, and fresh content. When ranking websites, Google takes this into consideration, along with over 200 other factors. A way to show Google that your website is relevant, reputable, and fresh is by posting new content on it fairly often. This “new content” can be original blog posts that you create for your ideal clients.

How Often Do I Need To Blog?

The second million-dollar question! The short answer? Consistently. The long answer? Consistently and it depends. Blogging consistently helps to show Google that you’re staying ‘hip’ with the times. And, Google loves that. Consistently blogging looks different for each person. For some people, this means they post an original and stellar blog every Monday. For others, the second and the fourth week of the month are when they create original blogs.

The longer answer, how often you blog depends on the SEO goals for your practice. There’s no magic number for how many blogs you should create. And, for each practice, it will be different.

New Practices

Let’s say your practice is brand new. It’s so new that it doesn’t show up when you search the name. In this case, heavily focusing on blogging might not be the best use of time. Yes, you should still be consistent. But, you should focus your efforts on optimizing services pages. Service pages are important because they lay the groundwork for SEO.

Established Practices

What if your practice is established, but you want to boost your SEO so you’re on the first page? With this goal, you can expect to blog on a weekly basis. In addition to optimizing the service pages, too.  How often you create original blogs depends on how competitive your specialty is. If you’re an anxiety therapist on the coast, you probably should be blogging about twice a week. But, if you’re a sex therapist in the midwest, blogging once a week will likely boost your rankings. Again, a large factor that contributes to this is how competitive your area is.

Maintenance Mode

What if you’re satisfied with your rankings and just want to maintain your SEO? In this case, your SEO is likely established and relatively consistent. To maintain your rankings, blogging twice a month can be the “sweet spot” for your practice. Again, your specialty and geographic area decides if blogging once or twice a month is a better fit. A suggestion for practices in the maintenance stage is to create original blog series. Original blog post series typically have blogs that build off of each other. In a blog post series, you can use suspense and curiosity to your benefit. Use phrases like, “next week, we’ll take a closer look at (super cool topic that you wrote an entire blog post about).”

But is it possible to rank without blogging?

Absolutely it’s possible. It’s just harder. If you want to rank well on Google as part of the marketing strategy for your health and wellness business and absolutely 110% are committed to NOT blogging you still can. It just might be a harder path.

Blogging is the “easier” path to great ranking so to speak. So, we recommend blogging to all of our clients. Whether that’s you writing blog posts, encouraging other professionals in your group practice to write a blog post, having an intern do a little writing or even outsourcing your blog posts.  We truly do think it’s worth it.

But if you REALLY aren’t going to blog, please make sure you’re focusing your energy on other factors. For example, make sure you have some superbly optimized service pages.  Then, work heavily on backlink building.

Some Burning Questions

So, we covered quite a bit this week! We all know that blogging is very important for SEO. We also know that consistency is key in terms of creating original blog posts. In addition, we know that how many original blogs you should post depends on your SEO goals. However, you might be curious about a few other things. I frequently specify “original blog posts.” I also reference that these blog posts should be “relevant” to your practice or your ideal client. Why is it important that blog posts are original? Does relevance actually play an important role in blog posts? Stick around, because next week we’ll dive into these questions in part 2 of our blogging webinar posts!

Curious to Learn More About All Things Blogging? Sign Up For Our Upcoming Webinar!

We’re excited to announce that we’re hosting a two-part webinar on December 4th and December 11th! In this two-part webinar series, we’ll discuss all things blogging and SEO. In addition, we’ll give you some practical tips to kickstart your blog. I will be the cohost, along with Jessica Tappana. We look forward to seeing you there!

Other Services With Simplified SEO Consulting

At Simplified SEO Consulting, we’re pretty smart cookies. We can help you with all things SEO! We offer Done For You Services where do the optimization. Or, we can teach you how to do the optimization in our 12-Week Intensive Program. In addition, we offer a variety of helpful courses and ala carte services. When you’re ready to begin services with us, follow these steps:

1. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us. 
2. Get to know our team of highly skilled SEO specialists.
3. Reach your SEO goals!

About the Author

Alyssa has been a member of the Simplified family for the past few months and is now stepping into a role providing training and additional support for folks learning SEO. As a current graduate student in the Advanced Placement MSW Program at Mizzou, Alyssa loves the intersect of mental health and technology. In addition, Alyssa has a growing interest in using social media to grow a practice, the importance of live feed, and building backlinks. Alyssa will be cohosting the blogging webinar and would love to see you there!

A fun fact about me: I’m a geek for blog post series.

I think that when they’re done well, they can be super informative. I appreciate that the information builds throughout the series and incorporates a multifaceted approach. And, that the end result is practically a novel of all of the things you didn’t know before spending 3 hours reading blog posts. Really, it’s so fun. Or, it’s just fun for me.

A second fun fact about me: I have a growing fascination with the algorithms of social media.

I can spend hours reading blog posts, listening to podcasts, and searching the interweb (old reference there, I hope someone gets it) to learn more about how social media works. “Works” as in how to utilize it as a tool for marketing. I’m by no means an expert, but I have learned a thing or two.

So why am I telling you this?

Well, friends, this blog post will combine my two fun facts. Previously, I wrote an unofficial part 1 blog post about how social media affects SEO. In this post, I talk about the correlation between social media use and SEO. The reader’s digest version is that social media, in and of itself, cannot “boost” your SEO. It can help you get in front of more users, but that connection has to be established.

Based on context clues, you may have guessed where this is heading: this blog is the unofficial part 2 in the social media series. I’ll share some tidbits of information I’ve learned about how to utilize social media in a way that is beneficial for your practice.

Live Feed

In social media land, the buzz has been live feed. This means going “live” on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and other social media platforms.  It’s been found that live feed has higher retention of viewers and platforms prioritize live feed. I’ll break these concepts down a bit more.

Higher Retention of Viewers

Live feed has a similar marketing strategy as flash sales: it creates the idea that the product (in this case, your video) is first come first serve. Viewers often stick around longer to watch live feed versus prerecorded content. There are many different factors that contribute to this phenomenon. It often generates curiosity among consumers. Live feed produces excitement among viewers. In addition, studies show that 80% of viewers prefer live feed over previously recorded. Live feed has an aspect of authenticity and vulnerability that viewers are seeking. Which, makes sense in our current climate of experiencing a global pandemic. It’s fair to say that some people are engaging in less social interaction than they were previously. Because of this, many viewers crave that human connection. And, live feed captures that better than prerecorded feed.

Interaction Through Live Feed

Additionally, live feed can turn into a conversation. Viewers can post comments or “react” to the video. This aspect ties into the connection piece that often attracts viewers. Interacting through comments and live responses often encourage viewers to watch the video longer.

Social Media Platforms Prioritize Live Feed

Yep, they sure do. You know how you get notifications when a Facebook friend or Instagram follow goes live? This is why. Social media platforms prioritize live feed, as it’s seen as more “urgent” than other content. This way, you won’t have to engage in the social media battle of viewers seeing your content. An example of this is Facebook Live. On average, Facebook Live videos receive six times more interactions than prerecorded feed. The more reactions we get, the more people see our videos. Make sense?

So, How Can You Use This Information For Your Practice?

Well, a lot of ways. You can use live feed on social media as a marketing tool to reach potential clients in a different way. Maybe you have an amazing idea for a blog post, but you can’t stand writing blog posts. An alternative is to share your thoughts by streaming live feed!  You may have better results capturing the authenticity you feel about a topic in an organic way. Additionally, it can be used as a networking tool. You can invite someone in your community to join you on live feed and discuss topics that are relevant to your climate. Of course, these are only a few options you can explore with live feed. The possibilities are endless!

Moving Forward

Channel your creativity and reach your ideal client through an avenue you might not have considered before. Navigating the waters of social media can feel overwhelming. So, come up with a plan you can stick to that’s realistic for you and your practice. Don’t have expectations of yourself to go viral after week 1. And, challenge yourself put some effort into establishing your social media presence.

Begin Working With One Of Our SEO Specialists

So, I hope you like what you read! Granted, our SEO specialists are not experts. But, we do have a few helpful tricks. You know what we are experts in? All things SEO and we’d love to work with you! At Simplified, we offer many different services to help boost your SEO. We offer Done For You services as well as a 12-week training option. If you’d like to learn more, schedule a free 30-minute consultation with us. 

About The Author

Alyssa is one of the SEO specialists with Simplified. She has been part of the team for the last few months and has loved every minute of it. She is currently in the Advanced Placement MSW Program at Mizzou. So, this provides a unique opportunity to apply the concepts she’s learning in class in real practice! She’s written a few blogs about Google Ads and SEO, a guide to building backlinks, and the unofficial part 1 of incorporating social media with SEO.