Why Keywords Research is the Foundation of SEO

As we know, stories, papers, and treatments come from a great foundation. There is an art to telling a great story and presenting information. Your approach doesn’t need to be the same as others, but there is a similar formula. If you want to convince someone that a treatment modality works, the base of your argument needs to be well-researched. Likewise, if I am trying to tell a creative story, I need to set the storyline up well. Ultimately, a successful delivery begins with a firm foundation. Otherwise, you have no hope of convincing your audience you’re knowledgeable or that you’re someone credible to listen to. And we know you’re intelligent mental health professionals!

So why is this so important to keyword research? Well, Google is essentially the buffer between you and your ideal client. If Google’s algorithm isn’t impressed by your foundation, then there is no way it will reach your audience. So where do we begin to connect with Google so you can reach your ideal client? Let’s talk about some strategies involved in keyword research.

Optimizing Keywords with Locations

Ideally, when page optimization occurs we want to optimize with the intention of adding in long tail keywords. What this means is that a keyword with 3 or more words is considered a long tail. We may add a keyword phrase such as addressing mental health or anxiety treatment in Tulsa, OK. When you add a location indicator, Google is more likely to find you. Location indicators are better for people to find you on Google than keywords without locations and short tail phrases. So in the case of long vs. short, anxiety treatment in Tulsa will rank faster, than just anxiety treatment. If you ever wonder why your SEO specialist takes this approach to your subheadings and copy, this is a strategy to help you rank better. Once you are ranking very well in your area, then your SEO specialist will branch out to more short-tail keywords because you will likely rank for them better after the initial long-tail optimization.

Optimizing for Keywords in Common Searches

When your SEO specialist meets with you, their goal is to draw out common pain points your clients are talking about. What do you commonly hear in your practice and what are the questions you commonly answer? We are trying to see what your ideal client may be looking for. Therefore, when we do our initial keyword research, it’s based on what a client would search for and not what a clinician would be looking for. It’s key to keep in mind that what we think and what a client thinks, especially with the 2 am trauma brain, are not the same. In other words “speak the same language as your ideal client.” Therefore, we encourage you as we talk strategy to really think back to what is happening in your sessions and bring this feedback into your SEO planning calls. Likewise, if you’re doing SEO training on your own with us, take some time to brainstorm common pain points and questions for your own keyword research.

What You Need to Know About Researching Keywords

So as a client or a future client, what do you need to know when it comes to keywords? First, know that when you work with us we will add keywords to alt text, copy, meta descriptions, and subheadings. It’s part of our strategy and it’s meant to help you rank. We understand that there is a dance between good SEO and addressing your clients authentically. If you’re someone who doesn’t like your copy being messed with, then let your specialist know and you together, can find a healthy balance so you can keep your voice and get proper ROI. Ultimately, know you’re in good hands with us and we will get you a ranking.

What Research for Keywords is not

A tip for the future is to remember that keyword research is not about ranking for the most technical terms. We want you to rank for specializations such as perinatal mental health and DBT. These are important components of what makes you a good and effective therapist or counselor, however, you do need to be mindful of your audience. If you’re working with high-functioning medical professionals, then this may be perfectly fine to reach your ideal audience.

However, we commonly talk about the 2 am stress brain. If a parent is looking for therapy for teens and you’re talking about the technical side of CBT, then this isn’t going to turn into a client most likely. Ultimately, we want to find a healthy balance between what keywords are important for you to rank for. Plus we want to find keywords that are what your client is actually searching for. Now that you know the importance of keyword research, check out Jessica’s blog post on where you put keywords.

Keyword Pro tip:

You can use Google Trends if you want to do your own research for your blogs before we go into our optimization. Likewise, using the Google search engine for a topic you want to provide an answer for is very useful.

Begin SEO Services at Simplified SEO Consulting

Whether you’re trying SEO on your own or using our Done for You services, we also offer packages for SEO alumni as you want to do maintenance for your site. If you have any questions or your question was not answered, please reach out. Our passionate team of SEO experts would be happy to answer your question and talk about what services might work well for your business. Follow these three steps to begin ranking better on Google.

• Apply to work with us and schedule a free 45-minute consultation with a member of the Simplified SEO Consulting staff
• Learn more about our SEO packages and training opportunities
• Start doing better keyword research and get your ideal clients

Other Services offered by Simplified SEO Consulting

Simplified SEO Consulting is passionate about providing SEO services for helping professionals and therapists. Our comprehensive SEO services are included in our Done for You SEO Service packages. Also, we offer alumni packages and al la carte SEO services. Our SEO staff provides several SEO training opportunities. including our “Top of Google” online course and 12 weeks of online video training. We also offer an SEO Strategy package to learn more about SEO and what you can do to rank better on search engines.

Contact Simplified SEO to learn more, or book a free SEO Consultation to decide which option is best for your business. We hope to hear from you soon!

About the Author:

Jasmine is the SEO Training Coordinator and offers free consultations for Simplified’s SEO Consulting on our services. Jasmine is a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and recently earned her degree from Northwestern University. She works to help people with a strategy with national rankings, eating disorder specialties, trauma, sports psychology, postpartum/pregnancy/parenting, high achievers, and much more. Schedule a consult soon!