Search engine optimization is an easy "go to" for nearly every industry, especially those that serve residents in a local area. Although many therapists and mental health professionals may not immediately think of local SEO and search engines as playing pivotal roles in their business or career goals, investing in SEO can go a long way toward short- and long-term success.
Many mental health counselors and therapists today rely on directories like Psychology Today to guide a majority of people toward their practices; however, directories like this are both expensive and crowded. There is little opportunity to stand out and connect with potential clients. SEO, on the other hand, gives you an opportunity to present your therapy services along with engaging content that provides a great deal of value to someone before they ever sit down for counseling.
Considering this, when should a therapist use SEO?
A strong online presence is critical for all therapists and mental health professionals. Specifically, though, here are four instances when therapists should use SEO:
1. When they want to build and/or grow their own private practice
You've made the jump and for the first time, you're on your own, tasked with building a private practice. Congratulations! But, it can be a bit terrifying to get started. You probably had a base of clients in your last position; however, you may not have been able to bring them with you to your new private practice. Or perhaps you could bring them, but it's not enough to cover your new bills.
Understanding and following SEO best practices is essential to building your practice and getting it off the ground. Or if you have a practice and you're getting by, but you have growth goals you want to reach, SEO plays a critical role.
That's because, unlike posting on social media, running Facebook or Google ads, and traditional advertising like radio, television, and newspapers, search engine optimization helps people reach you exactly when they need help. Traditional advertising means throwing out your message to a broad audience and hoping that they need exactly your services when they just so happen to hear or see your ad. It takes a lot of money, spent every month in the long run, to build a business this way. That's not to say that advertising isn't important - my background was in radio and print advertising - but, it's not the best way to spend money. Many therapists and mental health counselors put all their marketing budget into advertising, when SEO is a smarter way to start off (and to invest in regularly to stay at the top of search results).
Choosing the right keywords (they're called "high intent," which means the right keywords that show someone needs help and wants to hire a therapist right now) and optimizing your website for them (along with other SEO best practices) is the best way to ensure you're ranked at the top of Google, reaching new clients who are looking exactly for you and your help.
2. Getting started or growing a side hustle
While building and growing an entire practice is intimidating, and the need for SEO is extremely urgent, it's similarly important when you're working full-time and trying to build a nice side hustle. An extra 10 to 15 (or more) private clients per week can be a super helpful way to generate thousands of dollars in additional income every month. But when you're working full-time, you don't have a ton of time to invest in social media content, or extra money to spend on advertising (plus, your employer may not appreciate you advertising your side business while you're working for them!). SEO can be a great way to start bringing in new clients and getting your side hustle off the ground. Or, when you're looking to expand, to add even more new clients.
Once you've found the right keywords (see the first bullet), consider using a platform (I like Wix) to build a simple website. I like Wix because they have a ton of tools to help ensure you're checking all your SEO boxes. And it's only $25 per month (less if you pay for the year up front) to both build and host your website (it's what I'm using for this site, actually!). Then, follow SEO best practices to start generating high-intent traffic to your site. Put in a simple contact form for people to reach you when they're interested in therapy services, and start building your side hustle!
3. Adding value to employment at your therapy practice
Learning about SEO has a ton of value for your own practice or side hustle, but, if you're simply looking to boost your value as an employee, understanding how SEO can help build private therapy practices can be an extremely valuable skill. Learn what you can about SEO (this blog can certainly help), then offer suggestions to leadership about how to improve your website, gain backlinks, and more. Adding value to your workplace contributions can be an excellent negotiation tactic during annual reviews (and salary considerations 😀), or to position yourself as a leader and contributor if and when you look for a new full-time job.
4. When you're thinking about starting your own private practice
If you're not quite ready to build a side hustle, and you don't want to build a private practice but, you are thinking about it in the next few months or even years, now is the time to start prioritizing SEO. That's because depending on the keywords and competition in your area, it can take anywhere from a few months to a year to get your website onto the first page of Google for ideal keywords (I've worked with companies that were able to rank in 10 days, and others that took 6 months).
Building and ranking a website is a nice way to build some stability into your career. At a minimum, you start getting contacted by prospective clients on your website, and you "sell" those leads to other mental health professionals in your network who are looking for new clients (this in and of itself can be a nice little side hustle!). You're also helping people who want to work with a mental health professional connect with someone you know and trust. It's a win/win.
But, if and when you ever decide to branch out on your own with a side hustle or to build your own practice, you'll have an optimized website, already generating consistent new client leads every month. You'll be able to seamlessly make the transition, without so much of the uncertainty that faces others when they leave full-time employment.
How do I get started with SEO?
There are countless local SEO firms and freelancers out there who say they can help. I actually used to own a boutique SEO firm myself at the end of my 20-year marketing career. But, the ones who are actually good are exceedingly expensive, and the rest use "black hat" tactics that actually hurt you with Google, or they outsource the work overseas and the results are shoddy. I've seen it all. While working with clients, I realized that the people I wanted to help the most couldn't afford the services they needed. Even charging just $500 a month was hard for many of the businesses I wanted to help, and I was making very little money because I wanted to help so badly. So, I stepped away from my agency, focusing instead on caring for my disabled daughter while also building an SEO course that teaches local business owners (like YOU) to do their own SEO.
I put over 1,000 into developing my course, Local SEO Accelerator, teaching the exact steps I used to get my clients into the first page of Google. It's so easy to follow, any therapist, mental health counselor, their spouse, or even a relative, can follow this and get results. I broke my exact process down into simple steps that anyone can follow (no writing or marketing experience required), and included over $5,000 worth of bonuses that make it even easier to be successful. It includes everything you need to get onto the first page of Google. And, because I know how tight it is for therapists and small business owners, I'm only charging $199 for the course. Check it out here and start bringing in new clients today!
Comments