SEO Training for Therapists: What are the Benefits of Learning SEO Yourself?

So you’re thinking about SEO! Maybe you heard about it on a podcast or read about it in a Facebook group for therapists. Perhaps a colleague mentioned to you that SEO helped them grow their practice, and now you’re considering it too.

Many of our clients come to us with a very basic understanding of SEO. They know that it helps people get found in search engines, but they aren’t really sure what it means. You might not even know what “SEO” stands for. (Psst, it stands for search engine optimization.)

Because of this, a fair amount of our clients don’t even consider the idea of learning SEO for their own website. They think that it’s too technical and confusing, and that only a computer-wiz could figure it out. But believe it or not, SEO actually isn’t that complicated. And there are plenty of benefits to learning SEO yourself!

SEO is Actually Pretty Simple Once You Learn the Basics

For context, I (like many of my team members) have a Bachelor’s degree in psychology. I never studied computer science or digital marketing, and honestly the only computer class I took in college was related to statistics for psychology! I’ve worked as an Intake Coordinator for a private practice, and had heard about SEO, but before I started working here I had no idea how it worked.

I wouldn’t have considered myself tech-savvy in the least, but after a bit of training I realized that SEO is actually pretty simple! Now, there are a wide range of SEO strategies, and yes there are some components of SEO that are a bit more “technical”. However, once you understand the basic principles of SEO, you can make big improvements in your website’s online rankings!

What are the Benefits of Learning SEO?

You Have Full Control Over the Content on Your Private Practice Website

When you learn how to optimize your website yourself, you have full control over the content on your website. Everything from the writing on your service pages and blogs, to the photos, and how you choose to incorporate keywords all comes from you. This ensures that everything on your website aligns with your values and brand. It also means that clients get a very authentic sense of your perspective, your voice, and your practice’s unique approach.

Now, if you outsource your SEO with us, we will do everything we can to match your voice and approach. However, many of our clients who learn how to optimize their own website find it very rewarding to know that all of the content on their website comes directly from them.

You’ll be Able to Maintain Your SEO for Years to Come

Another great benefit of learning how to optimize your website is that you’ll be able to maintain it for years to come! One of the great things about SEO is that once you are ranking well, your rankings should remain relatively stable.

However, we know that other practices and websites will pop up that also want a great ranking. So we recommend doing a few things to maintain your SEO, such as keeping up with a consistent blogging strategy or doing an “SEO tune-up” every once in a while. If you learn SEO, you’ll be able to handle these things yourself without having to pay someone else to do it. Which means that you’ll be able to stretch your investment even further!

You’ll be Able to Use Your SEO Training as You Grow Your Practice

Learning SEO is great for maintaining your current site, however it’s especially helpful if you plan on growing your practice. Let’s say you add a new member to your team with a new speciality. If you have the skills to optimize your site, you can get this new page added and optimized as soon as you need to.

Or, if you want to change directions and open a practice in a new location or start a consulting business, you can apply these skills to an entirely new website! When you learn SEO, the possibilities of how you use those skills are pretty endless.

Learning SEO is a More Affordable Option

You can probably gather from the reasons I listed above that learning how to optimize your website yourself is a more affordable option compared to outsourcing. When you gain SEO skills, you won’t need to pay someone to add and optimize new content to your website down the line. As your practice grows, you can even teach another member of your team how to optimize your blogs or do an SEO tune-up for you, and stretch your knowledge even further!

We always say that SEO is either an investment of time or money. It just depends on how you want to allocate your resources.

On That Note, Who Should Learn SEO?

It’s important to mention that learning how to optimize your website isn’t for everyone. While anyone can learn how to optimize their website, not everyone necessarily should.

Now, we actually have an entire blog dedicated to answering the question of who should do their own optimization. So I recommend checking that out for all of our thoughts. But in this blog I wanted to briefly mention that learning how to optimize your website does take some time and energy. So if you are an incredibly busy practice owner, it may not be the best option for you. (Though, you could always have a member of your team learn SEO!)

However, we know that learning optimization isn’t the best option for every practice. That’s why we offer Done-For-You services too! If you need help deciding what option is best for you, our team would be happy to give you our advice!

Interested in Learning More About Our SEO Training Options?

At Simplified SEO Consulting we offer a range of options to teach therapists and helping professionals how to optimize their websites! For those who want a personalized approach, we offer one-on-one SEO trainings. If you want to learn SEO in a group, our Small Group SEO Intensives are a great fit. Or, if you’re looking for an affordable option to get started, we have several DIY online courses that cover different SEO strategies!

If you’re interested in learning more about our different options and getting our suggestions on which is best for you, you can schedule a free video consultation with a member of our team. We’d be happy to learn more about your practice, your SEO goals, and give your advice!

Other SEO Services Offered at Simplified SEO Consulting

We understand that training and DIY options aren’t suitable for all practices. So for those who want to outsource, we offer Done-For-You SEO services at different levels. You can also start learning a bit more with our free 7-day SEO email series or by reading our other blogs on SEO. We are happy to be a part of your business’s journey in any way that we can.

About the Author

Kaite Ritchie is our Administrative Assistant, Alumni Specialist, and a Mental Health SEO Copywriter at Simplified SEO Consulting. Before joining our team, she worked at our founder’s private practice as an Intake Coordinator. Since she worked at the practice where it all began, when Jessica taught herself how to optimize her own website, she learned how powerful of a tool SEO can be! Now she enjoys writing and optimizing content for our clients, and helping therapists decide if learning SEO is the right path for them during our free consultations. You can schedule a free consultation with Kaite to learn more about our SEO services and get help deciding whether one of our trainings is right for you!