A Four Month Plan to Create Well Ranking Website Copy

If you’re like most therapists, you may feel overwhelmed when it comes to creating quality content for your website. You may not even know where to start! In this blog post, we will give you a step-by-step plan that will help improve your website’s SEO over the next four months. Having quality content is one of the most important factors in getting Google to notice your website, so following this plan is essential if you want to see results!

It’s hard for Google to rank your website well if it doesn’t fully understand what you’re website is about. So, creating quality, meaningful content is an important step in optimizing your website.

Furthermore, if your website doesn’t have much copy, Google is likely to think that other websites are going to be more useful to website visitors searching for answers to their mental health questions. So, having a lot of fresh content on your website that addresses the specific things clients are searching for in a comprehensive, direct way will go a long way toward convincing Google to share your website with people searching.

A Plan to Build Well-Ranking Content

Over the next four months, we suggest you follow this copywriting plan to systematically build up your content and visibility.

Month One

Rewrite your home page, a personalized FAQ page about page and an “our office” page. We recommend using the Storybrand website page wireframe at least on the home page and potentially for some of your service pages. If you’re getting really stuck writing these, you can use Empathy Copy for a first draft of these pages to get you going quickly. Then, continue personalizing it to make sure your website is speaking directly to your clients’ needs.

Months 2, 3 & 4

Create one service page (example: Addiction Counseling or Couples Therapy), publish one blog post each week related to that topic & also post weekly on Google My Business about that topic.

Our SEO Content Strategy is Evolving

This is a little bit different than the strategy we used to recommend. I used to have great success helping therapists write and optimize several service pages per month. And, we sometimes still recommend this.

However, more and more we’re finding ourselves recommending instead that private practices focus on building up their authority and trust with Google by creating content around one topic at a time. As the world of SEO for mental health providers becomes more competitive, we’re constantly researching, experimenting and tweaking our strategy to keep offering you the advice that will get you the best possible ROI.

A Sample Plan for a Group Practice Specializing in Couples Therapy

Here is how this plan might look for a small group practice with an in person office that specializes in couples therapy. Below I’ve made a bullet point list of what content you’d write each month and post on the website for four months.

Month 1

• Rewrite the home page (if needed)
• Write a custom FAQ page with photos
• Write an “Our Office” page with pictures of the office
• Write a simple “Our Couples Counselors” page introducing each clinician

Month 2

• Write a Premarital Counseling Page
• Write four blog posts about premarital counseling
  • 10 Questions Every Couple Should Discuss Before Marriage
  • All Your Premarital Counseling Questions Answered
  • 3 Surprising Benefits to Premarital Counseling
  • How to Find a Great Premarital Counselor
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

Month 3

• Write a Discernment Counseling Page
• Write four blog posts about discernment counseling
  • What is discernment counseling?
  • What can I expect from discernment counseling?
  • Can Discernment counseling save my marriage?
  • Everything You Need to Know About Discernment Counseling (this one can very briefly describe the answers to the other questions and link back to those blog posts for more detailed information)
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

Month 4

• Write a Marriage Counseling Page
• Write four blog posts about Marriage counseling
  • 5 basic relationship tips from a marriage counselor
  • A local marriage counselor recommends 3 great date spots
  • How long does marriage counseling take?
  • Do I have to be married to benefit from couples counseling?
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

A Sample Copywriting Plan for a Private Pay Psychiatry & Medication Management Practice

This plan is going to look a little different for each practice, so I wanted to give you at least two examples. Here is how this plan might look for a private pay psychiatry and medication management practice with one medication provider providing online medication management services.

Month 1

• Rewrite the home page (if needed)
• A “Service” page (describing the initial evaluation, follow up appointments, telehealth, etc)
• A personalized FAQ page
• An “Online Psychiatric Medication Management” page describing the benefits of online appointments

Month 2

• Start a new tab for “Conditions Treated”
• Write a “Depression” page describing your approach to medication management for depression & common medications that might be prescribed
• Write blog posts related to depression
  • Can medicine really help with depression?
  • Should I see a therapist or a psychiatrist for my depression?
  • What are the most common antidepressants?
  • How does my psychiatrist decide which antidepressant to prescribe for me?
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

Month 3

• Write a “Anxiety” page describing your approach to medication management for anxiety & common medications that might be prescribed
• Write blog posts related to anxiety
  • Can medicine really help with anxiety?
  • Benzodiazapines: The good and the bad
  • PRNs for Anxiety: What they are and when to use them
  • I thought SSRIs were an antidepressant, so why did my psychiatrist prescribe them for anxiety?
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

Month 4

• Write a “Bipolar Disorder” page describing your approach to medication management for bipolar disorder & common medications that might be prescribed
• Write blog posts related to bipolar disorder
  • What’s the difference between Bipolar 1 and Bipolar 2?
  • Will I have to take medication for Bipolar Disorder forever?
  • Everything You Need to Know About Mood Stabilizers
  • Common Medications Prescribed for Bipolar Disorder
• Post the new blog as an “update” on Google My Business each week

Stuck on what to include in your copywriting plan?

Writer’s block is so very real. Here are some other blog posts from our team about copywriting:

• A Guide to Copywriting Part 1
• A Guide to Copywriting Part 2
• Writing an Effective FAQ Page
• Why Therapists Should Write Their Own Blog Posts
• Blogging is Not Just for SEO
• Using Service Pages to Inspire Blog Posts

It’s Time to Get Writing

We hope this four-month copywriting plan gives you the confidence and structure to get started with improving your website’s SEO. Just remember that quality content is key and it takes time for Google to recognize your efforts. Good luck!

More Help for SEO & Your CopywritingPlan

If you’re looking for more help creating a personalized copywriting plan and/or optimizing your website for SEO, our team would love to help. We have a copywriter who can help you create amazing content. Then, we have a great Done for You Team who can help optimize the pages you’ve written. OR, we have several options to help you optimize the pages you’ve written yourself including affordable DIY courses, a small group training intensive (Danica is great about giving you structure and accountability so you get the optimizing done!), a 12 week individual training program tailored totally to your needs or an upcoming Hawaii July 2023 cruise where we’ll sit next to you and give you optimizing support while also soaking up some sun!

About the Author

Jessica Tappana is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, owner of a group practice in Missouri and the founder of Simplified SEO Consulting. She’s passionate about helping therapists attract their ideal clients by utilizing organic SEO, copywriting and marketing skills.