Website Mistakes: 3 Common Ones Private Practice Owners Make

When I am optimizing pages for private practice owners, I have found that there are three common mistakes therapists make with their websites. I see these mistakes come up again and again and again. Let’s take a look at these mistakes, and learn how we can edit our websites to better optimize them for SEO purposes.

SEO Mistake Number 1: Not investing in the website you love

The first mistake I see therapists make is not investing in a website they really love. Often, when I talk to therapists about their websites, for SEO purposes, they tell me that they don’t love their website to begin with. Maybe you’ve done a DIY website, and now you realize that you want a fancier website. Or maybe you’ve changed the population that you’re working with and your website needs to reflect your current clients. You website really should put your best foot forward. I think that it is much easier for you to change website before you work on SEO. But, it is possible to change your website platform or design after you’ve worked on SEO.

The bottom line is that a good website is worth investing in. You want to have a website that you like. Your website should be clearly branded and should speak to your ideal client. For example, If your ideal client is someone who is artsy, then you want to have a more artistic website. On the other hand, if your ideal client is an anxious mom, maybe you want to have a really peaceful website. It is worth it to invest in a website that represents your brand well and speaks to the type of clients that you see in your practice.

SEO Mistake number 2: Not having enough content

The next mistake I often see is not having enough content on the website for your private practice. It is important that you have enough service pages, and enough content on those pages. This really communicates that you are a mental health expert, and will help you rank well on Google. Having more content, whether that’s more service pages or more words, will help give Google more information about your website.

Aside from ranking well on Google, put yourself in your client’s shoes. Think about what they would want to see when looking for therapists in their area. For example, if you were ready to start therapy because you’ve had severe anxiety and have been having debilitating panic attacks, who would you rather see? Someone who has ten specialties listed on one page titled ‘Individual Therapy? Or someone who has an entire page on panic attacks and the treatment of panic disorder? I’m guessing you’d rather see the specialist. If you treat anxiety, consider having service pages on Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Panic Disorder, etc. When clients see you have all of these different service pages, they assume you really know your stuff. They will be more likely to come and see you, and possibly be willing to pay more because you are such an anxiety specialist.

If you are in the early stage of your practice and don’t have a clear niche yet, that is okay. There are probably two or three things that you’re really good at and could have a specific service page about.

SEO Mistake number 3: Not using enough simple language

The third common mistake I’ve found on therapist websites is talking over the clients’ heads. As therapists, it’s really easy for us to do this. In the previous example I provided on the therapist specializing in anxiety, they might refer to the term ‘panic attacks’ on their website. However, in some areas, ‘anxiety attacks’ are searched just as often because that’s the kind of wording that people use. Often, the words that we’re using are not the words that our clients are using to describe what they’re experiencing. Here’s another example, therapists specializing in women’s issues sometimes mention ‘perinatal mood disorders’ on their websites. Yet, it is almost never a commonly searched for key word in any area. I’m guessing that the handful of people who are searching for perinatal mood disorders or depression, are probably your colleagues or physicians who are looking for referrals. It’s fine to rank well for perinatal depression. But, if you’re wanting to get in front of more potential clients, you should use more common terms like ‘postpartum depression’ instead.

For more information on key words please read my blog post: Counseling Keywords: Search Terms to Target for Your Private Practice Website.

I usually encourage people to aim for about a third to fifth grade reading level when working on your websites. We try to reduce the number of syllables used in a word. We also replace commonly used academic wording to ones commonly used in speech. One thing I tell people is, when you’re writing a blog post or service page, imagine you’re telling a ten-year-old about the work you do. That way, you can keep on reminding yourself to keep your language simple.

One of the reasons I love working with WordPress sites is that they have that Yoast plug-in. In the Yoast plug-in, you will see a ‘reading score.’ This score reflects how easy it is for your page to be read by individuals with different levels of education. This is helpful to take note of when writing content for your pages, but focus on simplifying your wording. Even well-educated professionals who may be looking at your website don’t need to struggle to understand what you are trying to say.

Begin optimizing your private practice

Are you ready to optimize your website for SEO purposes so you will rank higher on Google? Learn more about how to begin by following these easy steps:

Book a free consultation,
Speak to one of our SEO specialists to find what service is the best fit for your private practice,
Start ranking better on Google and get more clients!

Other Services offered by Simplified SEO Consulting

Simplified SEO Consulting is proud to offer you a variety of SEO services designed to meet your needs. We offer the popular done for you SEO services where our team of SEO specialists will optimize your page for you. We also offer SEO training packages, and an opportunity for you to learn SEO in a weekend at one of our intensive training sessions for private practice owners who want to learn SEO themselves. Additionally, we also offer Simplified SEO alumni packages and maintenance packages to keep you ranking well, and à la carte SEO services for those of you who just need a little guidance. Contact us with specific questions or book a free SEO Consultation to figure out which service is best for your business!

About the author:

Jessica Tappana is a therapist, group practice owner & an SEO expert. Jessica is passionate about helping therapists and their ideal clients find one another. She believes quality mental health care can change the world. Her group practice has grown primarily through great SEO and now has seven clinicians and one virtual assistant and she still sees around 10 individual therapy clients a week herself. However, most of her focus has shifted to helping other therapists around the world get in front of their ideal clients on Google.

October 15, 2019/0 Comments/by Jessica

Websites

Do I need a Website Designer?

Up until now, you’ve managed your own website. Maybe it’s out of necessity….creating your own website saved some money. Maybe it’s because you’re the DIY type. I know there’s a huge thrill in creating something yourself AND it gives you the ultimate control over your own brand.

But let’s face it….managing your own website can be time consuming. And sometimes pretty technical. Even if you use a native-friendly platform such as Weebly or Wix, technical issues can still come up. For instance, I’ve had SEO clients where we’ve discovered one thing holding their site back was several problems listed on Google’s Page Speed test. Figuring out how to fix those things can be challenging…especially when the platform was designed for people who aren’t tech savvy.

You’ve honestly designed a good therapist website yourself…

Ok, some of you design AMAZING websites on your own. The DIY websites I get to see when I consult with practice owners often blow me away!!! Some are beautiful, have a consistent brand and include excellent, client-centered copy.

If this is you – you’re awesome! You know your own “brand” the best, and if you’ve really gotten this across and your website is converting clients, you deserve some major props!

You’ve wondered if you need a website designer…

Whether you are happy with the design of your website or not, maybe you’ve thought about having someone create a new site for you. Maybe you’re sick of sinking the time into your site. Or perhaps the design just doesn’t “wow.” Or you are frustrated with the limitations of templates on the website platform you’ve been using…

Benefits of Hiring a Good Website Designer:

I’m personally a big fan of hiring a website designer. Designing websites isn’t my strength, so it makes sense to outsource that to a professional who will do it more efficiently and better than I will. It’s similar to the reason so many of you use our “Done for You” monthly SEO packages – because your time is better spent with clients or working on your business.

They can create a beautiful website with a consistent brand.

I highly recommend looking at several samples of sites they’ve created before to make sure you like their look. But honestly, my favorite therapist websites I’ve worked on have been created by website designers. There are some super snazzy looking sites out there!

You’ll have support for the technical stuff.

When things come up, you have someone to turn to with questions. And trust me, if you’re really paying attention to your site’s SEO, some technical questions will eventually come up!

Your time is valuable.

Can you create a decent website? Probably. But how much time is it going to take you? Now take that and multiple it by your hourly rate. Can you pay someone to create a site for that? And the truth is that you’ve most likely underestimated how much time you’ll spend on the site. It’s been my experience that website designers can usually do a better job in less time than we can as therapists.

Why I paid someone to create Simplified SEO Consulting’s site…

When I started Simplified SEO Consulting, I created our website on Wix. And using Wix was pretty easy. I had to look up a couple of things, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to learn a new platform (I was used to WordPress). To be honest, I even got it ranking for some keywords faster than I’d expected.

But it didn’t look right. I’m just not a designer. I am not great at figuring out what colors go well together or choosing the right font. I realized that I needed help with the design portion.

If my problem was with Wix, I could have transitioned to WordPress on my own, because I actually took a course on building WP sites awhile back. But my problem was with the design side of things.

So, I decided to hire Brighter Vision to create the site. I knew once they created the site I could do most things on my own. I know my way around the backend of a WordPress site. But I wanted them to put the time and effort into creating something that looked more cohesive than my first attempt. Since my site went “live” I’ve done most things on it myself.

But sometimes I get lazy…or busy. Like last week, I wanted to add a page with the resources I recommend for therapists wanting to grow a private practice. But I had deadlines I was trying to meet and about a thousand things to do. So, even though I know how, I just sent Brighter Vision the text I wanted to include. They created the page and added it to the drop down menu. I still need to go optimize the page myself and will get to that. But in the meantime? They got the page up.

*Note I’m now an affiliate for Brighter Vision. The good news is that means if you use the code JT100 you’ll receive TWO months free!

And if you have truly mastered the art of managing your own counseling website?

Then you need to consider our SEO Training services. DIY type therapists who learn to make their own successful website also do really well learning to manage their own SEO! Our SEO training sessions focus on teaching YOU to optimize your own site. I teach you to do keyword research for your counseling website, write effective meta descriptions, optimize photos and write copy that will help convert website visitors to counseling clients.

Begin SEO Services with Simplified SEO Consulting

Simplified SEO Consulting is an SEO Service Provider for Therapists. We offer both “Done for You” monthly SEO packages where we optimize several pages each month for you as well as SEO Training services. Our SEO services go really in depth working to optimize every aspect of your page AND help convert clients once they do find your site! So, if you’re ready to get your page too the top of Google, e-mail us using the contact form on this page or schedule your free 30 minute consultation today!

July 16, 2019/0 Comments/by Jessica

Websites

Page Speed for Therapist Websites

Why a Post About Website Speed?

Car moving fast | Page Speed for Counseling Websites | Monthly SEO Service | Psychotherapists & Mental Health Providers

Photo by Alex Powell from Pexels

First of all, why is an SEO gal talking about speed? Because Google (and other search engines! I don’t discriminate against Yahoo or Bing or any others!) like speed. They know that website viewers in the year 2019 are impatient. We get spoiled by fast websites across the web, so when we run into a small one it’s annoying.

How many times in the past have you clicked off a website just because it took too long to load?

Don’t kid yourself…if you’ve done it, so will your counseling clients.

Website Page Speed is one of those “tech” things therapists know very little about…

So, page speed is one of those “tech” things…

So, you remember how I am NOT a tech person? As in, I needed help to *finally* set up payment on my Starbucks app last week and the week before that I had to admit to one of my 1099s that I haven’t even had the patience to set up the app for our work e-mail yet in the 2 years that I’ve had the system up!

I learned SEO to adapt to my environment, because getting to the first page of search engines is a 21st century marketing strategy I could do from my bed sitting at my computer after my kids go to sleep. Ironically…I’m working on this blog post sitting on my bed with my kids sleeping in the other room. This is why I love my job…it gives me the work/life balance I need. And it lets my competitive bone come out as I try to beat out the competition and get therapist websites to the top of Google! 🙂

But…Sometimes Even as a Therapist I have to Learn the Tech Stuff

There is still so much I am learning! Especially as I help therapists around the country with their SEO,

Photo of students studying | SEO Marketing for therapists | Learn how a counseling website can rank well

Just like in the old days of college…I find myself constantly studying and trying to learn more, just about SEO this time.

I’m trying to learn at least the tech stuff relevant to website SEO. So…Last week I was talking to my cousin. He actually is a tech geek. In fact, he’s a WordPress geek. I mean this with the utmost respect. Essentially, I’m in awe of his patience and knowledge about all things tech! I was explaining to him how I encourage practice owners to work with a competent website designer, but told him I’ve felt frustrated with knowing that a couple clients’ sites were too slow and not having data to give their website developers.

The Answer? PageSpeed Insights

Next, 2 awesome things happened. First, my cousin made me promise to e-mail him with tech centered questions that I encounter as I’m helping therapists with their website. Score! I’m a social worker and know how to use my resources, so you can bet I’ll be reaching out in the future.

Second, he gave me one really quick tool that every private practice owner should be using! Best of all…it’s free. Check out PageSpeed Insights ASAP. Seriously…it only takes a minute, so click here now! You enter your website and it pops out a score telling you how fast your website is. Best of all? It gives you suggestions for how to improve your speed!

Working with Your Website Designer to Improve Your Score

One of these days I’m going to write much needed blog posts on why every psychotherapy private practice owner needs to hire a website developer and another on how to get the most from your website developer. But suffice it to say that this is one of those reasons for hiring someone. The cool “opportunities” they suggest will improve your page speed and are pretty technical. Of course, if you’re a WordPress fan like I am, there are plugins you can use to follow up on the “opportunities” so you can very quickly improve your load speed! In the past week I’ve improved the speed of my own site and a couple of clients’ by downloading some of those plugins.

But there are other things they list that use boring techno babble. So, that’s where I’ve been screen shorting pages and sending the photos off to website designers. My SEO clients are already seeing great results even in the past week from changes their website designers have made when we’ve given them these screen shots!

On Page SEO Services | Results of Monthly SEO Package | Therapists, Private Practice Owners & Mental Health Professionals

This could be you. This was the result of only one month of a therapist’s SEO work. We optimized & edited copy on 4 pages of their website.

Are You Ready to Focus on Your SEO?

As you can tell from this post, I’m not an expert at the technical aspects of websites. And I don’t personally design therapist websites…I’m just not that artistic! However, I often catch those technical things that impact SEO that a private practice owner may never notice themselves. Thus, I’ve learned how to reach out to your website designer or how to give you as the private practice owner the information you need to explain the issue to your website developer.

But mostly, I stay in my wheelhouse as an SEO Consultant for therapists & mental health providers. And that’s being really good at basic on-page SEO. I’m proud of the results I’ve gotten for private practice owners around the country. In fact, during a consultation call I’m happy to share some of those results with you. If you’re interested in ranking better on Google and getting in front of more of your ideal counseling clients, I can help. I offer SEO training for therapists where we meet over Zoom and I walk you step by step through how to improve your own site. We also offer really effective “Done for You” monthly SEO packages. These aren’t like other SEO packages out there. We don’t just do a little keyword research, add a couple links and call it a day. No, we go in and do in depth work editing text on your website, adding photos, add a call to action and write a compelling meta description that will help convince people to click on your site when you do start showing up in search results.

So, reach out today and schedule a free 30 minute consultation so we can talk about how SEO can help you get more counseling clients!

A young plant | SEO marketing for therapists | Monthly SEO Packages for private practice owners | Simplified SEO Consulting

As small business owners, we must constantly learn, grow & evolve. A beautiful website that ranks well on search engines can be part of that growth process.

July 2, 2019/0 Comments/by Jessica

SEO Tips, Websites

Your Counseling Website: The Four Things It Must Do

When I’m talking about Search Engine Optimization with therapists and other private practice owners, I emphasize that there are essentially 5 things that your website must do in order to bring you more clients. I want to go over each of those briefly today, because if your website does one or two of these but doesn’t do all four it’s not (yet) bringing in new clients.

#1 Your Counseling Website Must Show up in Search Engine Results

This one might seem kind of obvious since you’re reading this on a private practice SEO Consultant’s blog, but it’s critical. If people are searching for a therapist online and your site doesn’t show up, you aren’t even in the running for their business! So, it’s pretty important. The first couple months I work with a new SEO client, this is without a doubt our biggest goal.

#2 Convince Potential Clients to Click on Your Website

Once you’re showing up on the first or second page of search engine listings, it doesn’t do you much good if nobody’s actually clicking on your site. After a couple of months working on SEO with private practice owners, we start paying really close attention to their “click through rate”. That measures how many people actually click on a website after it shows up in search engine results. If you’re showing up on the first page for a keyword people are searching but nobody’s clicking on your website, all you can really do is adjust your meta data. If this is you, I recommend reading my blog post with tips for writing the perfect meta description.

#3 Convert Potential Clients

Once someone is on your counseling website, it has to speak directly to their need. And make them believe that you are the right therapist for them. This is why I encourage that people focus on developing a great website before even beginning to think about SEO. A lot of therapists start with websites they design themselves, but this part is so critical that I usually recommend working with a website designer.

Brighter Vision is one super affordable option for therapists wanting a designer to help make a nice looking website. I also recommend focusing on writing excellent website copy (the words or text). Marissa Lawton helps therapists write compelling content or you may want to research the Storybrand framework. One other option is that we do offer copywriting services as an add on to our “Done for You” services. Having a well designed website with plenty of excellent content is an important step in preparing your website for SEO work.

#4 Attract the RIGHT Clients

Lately I’ve had a couple SEO clients who ranked relatively well but weren’t getting calls for their ideal clients. For instance, a private pay practice was getting lots of calls for people looking for Medicaid. When this happens, we look at both the website text and also which keywords are best to target. Often we find that your ideal clients are searching for different phrases than you first thought they were. That’s where keyword research comes in really handy!

Improve Search Engine Rankings for Your Private Practice Website

If you have a website that you love but wanting more clients to see it, you may be ready for SEO Consulting services. Whether you’re wanting to learn to do your own SEO work or wanting someone else to optimize your counseling website for you; Simplified SEO Consulting would love to help. Please reach out by e-mail or simply go ahead and schedule your free consultation to talk about how our services might be able to help you.

May 27, 2019/0 Comments/by Jessica