Adding Content for SEO AND Your Clients
.You have a beautiful website, but nobody’s finding it. You’re not sure what needs to happen, but you’ve heard that you need to add more content to your website. Where should you even start?
The Value of Content on a Website
Most websites I look at when people are asking for my help with SEO, simply don’t have enough content. Which means Google doesn’t have the information it needs. It needs this information to rank your website for the search terms your clients are searching for.
The First Thing to Add: Service Pages
I often joke that if you have an “Individual Therapy” or a “Coaching” page that lists everything you can potentially help with including the word “stress,” Google now knows that you can spell stress. When you have a little paragraph on each of those topics instead and have written 50-100 words on stress, Google figures you can define the word. But if you have a whole service page with 500-2,000 words of content really explaining what stress is.
It also describes how you help and gives people hope that things CAN get better, Google is much more likely to realize how helpful your page will be for people searching for “help with stress.” I think it’s important to note that search engines really do want to show the websites people will find most helpful. So, instead of seeing adding these service pages as a “game” or something, try to see it as offering potential clients a clear glimpse into why they should see YOU for that particular issue. You can start building a positive relationship with your clients and start giving them hope just by having some well-written service pages!
The Second Thing to Add: Blog Posts
Blogging regularly is great for SEO. However, I’m a big believer that blog posts are about more than just SEO…they are also about genuinely providing useful content for your audience.
I generally recommend that for each service page, you slowly build up over time at least 3 blog posts. For instance, if I treat addictions, I might write a blog post on, “3 signs you have an addiction,” “Addiction Recovery: Do you ever truly recover?” and “What to expect in counseling for an addiction.” On each of these blog posts, I’m linking back to my service page (see above) on addiction. This was, these pages help support that service page and will actually help your site as a whole rank better for terms related to addiction.
Another general rule of thumb is to aim for posting a new blog about twice a month. However, the true key here is consistency. So, it would be better to post one blog per month for 4 months than to post once a week for a month and then not at all for three months. Last tip: make sure you are writing long enough blog posts! Again, you want to make sure you’re providing useful information to your audience and also giving Google enough information to improve your SEO.
Content on Your Home Page
You’re probably expecting me to say here that you need to add a bunch of content to your home page. And some people DO have a lot of content on their home page. That is ok. However, I don’t always recommend adding 2,000 words to your home page. The truth is that if you are adding tons of content to other pages of your site, adding internal links back to your home page, and have a GREAT meta description on your home page, you will probably be ok with less content on the actual home page. Focus really intently on having a great design for your home page. And making the words that are on that page really speak to your ideal client. This is important because as you optimize the rest of your site, it will be your home page showing up most frequently in search results. And your home page people most frequently visit!
Looking for more information?
I go into a lot more detail about what content to add to your website in my online SEO course called “SEO First Steps.” We review keyword research, content strategy, and how to make sure your website is set up with Google Search Console.
Enroll in “SEO First Steps” Now
Not sure what the next step is?
I believe therapists can learn SEO. I also believe not every therapist wants to or that it’s really the best use of their time. Maybe you’re just not sure what will get you the best return on investment right now. If so, go ahead and schedule a free Zoom consultation with us. We’ll take a look at your site together and figure out what will help you the most!
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