Impact of PSYPACT & SEO (Part 2)

Impact of PsyPACT and Your SEO Strategy

Now that you have a better understanding of the basics of PsyPACT, it’s important to understand how to optimize for the newly added states. It’s important to know that we recommend optimizing for one or two states over a six-month period of time. Some areas in the US are easier to rank for depending on therapist saturation and niche. The goal here is to help you better understand the impact of PsyPACT and the strategy behind SEO optimization. 

Figure out what few states you want to get referrals from

Choose some states that you would like to optimize for. Be realistic with your goals as we cannot get you immediately on the first page of Google and it does take time. Consider starting with some of the easier states to rank for such as Ohio or Maryland. Then, consider picking some harder-to-rank areas such as Colorado, Illinois, and Texas.  We typically recommend working on getting ranking for 1-2 states at a time to make steady SEO progress.  Gradually, ranking for new areas will become easier once Google trusts you a bit more. But you may need to really throw a lot of SEO juice at the first few states you try to rank for to really help Google understand that you’re relevant in more than one area.

You also want to give some thoughts to the areas within a state that you want to rank for. There is some strategy for trying to rank in the biggest cities within the state, although those may be more competitive to rank in. Other times, therapists may want to target specific parts of the state where more of their ideal clients may life. For example, a practice specializing in maternal mental health may choose to focus on the more “family friendly” areas of the state. Once you’ve identified a couple specific parts of the state, you can refer to those areas of the state on your pages about offering online services in that state, create that area’s own landing page (not everyone does this, but it can be helpful in those most competitive areas) and/or refer casually to those areas in blog posts.

PsyPACT makes SEO a little more competitive/complicated

Know that while there is a capacity to rank in the 29 other states, with psyPACT it would take a significant amount of SEO overtime to get rankings. Therefore, it is a much better strategy to invest your time/money/energy into working on states where you know your ideal people will be. For example, if you’re trying to rank for professionals who work in the tech industry, consider where in the US these people would be. Or if you are private pay, how would you draw in your ideal people. 

Do Some Geographical Keyword Research 

Figure out what you want to get referrals for and then find keywords that are relevant to your search. Such as “online therapist in Georgia”. Always add a location and remember that counseling versus therapy may be different in various states. So, when talking about what services you offer in one state you may talk about “therapy” and “couples therapy” whereas in another state you may focus on “online counseling” and “marriage counseling.” So, when your targeting each individual state, figure out what the highest search volume is for keywords related to your niche in that particular state and go from there. Check out our free keyword research guide for support. 

Create Individual Location Pages for PsyPACT States

Just like when you optimize for service pages, you must optimize for specific locations. One of the best ways to do this is to create individual location pages.  We recommend creating a specific page of your website for each PsyPACT state you’d like to target. For example, if you decide to focus on Georgia you’d create a specific page about how you offer online therapy in Georgia. Then, create a domain slug such as online-therapy-Georgia. You can follow the same general outline as other online therapy pages you’ve written, but somewhat rewrite it on each page to be relevant to that location. So, in the example of targeting Georgia, you’d make references to Savannah and Atlanta and perhaps other parts of the state.  You may even choose photos of locations in that state so you can easily reference locations in that state in your photo file names & alt text. 

Maybe even consider landing pages for specific cities or areas

As referenced above, in some cases we’ve even had clients create landing pages for specific areas within a state. So, if targeting Colorado they might choose not to only have an “Online Therapy in Colorado” page but also a “Online therapy in Denver” page and an “Online Therapy in Colorado Springs” type page.  Obviously, this is an even bigger time and money investment. However, it is an option we’ve seen be helpful for some people.

On each of these location pages, you can link to services certain specialists offer, sliding scale options, or references to landmarks in various cities so you can show up easier. For more information, refer to our blog on multiple locations for support.

Do not Repeat Copy, it must be Unique

Although creating several location pages may seem repetitive it’s important to know that it will hurt your SEO if you repeat content on each page. Each PsyPACT state you’d like to rank in needs to have it’s own page with truly unique content. In fact, if you’d like to rank in some of the most competitive PsyPACT states you may want to create pages specific to individual cities. But again, unique content. So,  Make sure you restructure the pages so they do not read to Google as duplicate content. 

Invest in SEO

After setting up your pages and laying down the groundwork for Psycpact, next to it’s important to have these pages well optimized. You don’t have to list all locations on your drop-down, but what you can do is make sure that have the pages are live, linked, and available so you can show up for various search terms. Perhaps having locations landing page and all the locations on the website linked to hidden pages will suffice. If you need more support about SEO for therapists, refer to our Comprehensive Guide to SEO for therapists here. 

The Future and Impact of PsyPACT for Psychologists

PsyPACT is still in the process of adding states to their pact. However, it can have great benefits on the accessibility of healthcare for individuals. PysPACT allows licensed psychologists to practice telepsychology and/or conduct temporary in-person, face-to-face practice
across state lines without having to become licensed in additional PSYPACT states. This is a huge benefit for individuals looking for specialists and those who are unable to find a psychologist that they click with. The benefit about this that goes along with our codes and values as a profession means that this permits psychologists to provide services to populations currently underserved or geographically
isolated. Additionally, as individuals have been recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for more mental health services has become evident. Therefore, this standardizes time allowances for temporary practice regulations in PSYPACT states

If you are unsure about the impact of PsyPACT, here is a recap

• Increases client/patient access to care
• Certifies that psychologists have met acceptable standards
  of practice
• Offers a higher degree of consumer protection across the state
  lines
• Facilitates continuity of care when client/patient relocates,
  travels, etc.
• Promotes cooperation between PSYPACT states in the
  areas of licensure and regulation

The impact of PsyPact and Support

We have specialists who understand the strategy behind this opportunity. While we will not guarantee you being on the first page of Google for every state, we can work through a just as beneficial strategy to get more people to click on your site and convert to clients. If this sounds like what you’re looking for, let’s work together. Our specialists would be thrilled to help you grow and reach out to people in need of accessible support. If you haven’t read part one to this, check out the impact of PsyPACT part 1.

Learn the Impact of PsyPACT and SEO Interact With US!

Are you a psychologist wanting to understand the strategy of psyPACT and SEO? We can help! Our skilled and passionate team of SEO specialists is here to make sure your SEO journey is tailored to your brand and identity. Simplified SEO Consulting would be excited to help you on your SEO journey. To get started with our service follow these simple steps:

1. Schedule a consult with our Client Success Specialist or Consult Team 
2. Learn more about our wonderful team of SEO Specialists.
3. Start connecting better when you learn more about SEO for therapists

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 (about 3 months) of intensive SEO for therapists who want to learn with a guide. Additionally, we are offering a limited-time SEO Mastermind group if you want a great training opportunity for a steal, this is for you. For those looking for a more specialized package, we also offer an SEO strategy package. To get started, schedule a consultation with our Client Success Specialist today!

About the Author: 

As an SEO specialist at Simplified, Jasmine is an SEO services consultant and helps new clients become oriented to our services. If you are ready to begin SEO services, then get in touch and schedule your free consultation today!

Jasmine Jaquess is currently working towards her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwestern University. Currently, she is seeing clients in practice as part of her practicum. She serves as the Client Success Specialist in new client consultations with Simplified SEO Consulting. Plus she is one of our Mental Health SEO Specialists. She specializes in platforms such as Squarespace and Wix. If you’re ready to see how Simplified can serve you, schedule your next consultation. As our Client Success Specialist, see how Jasmine can support your business needs!