SEO. What is it and why your practice won’t survive without it.
So I have this Web Developer friend and I asked him about SEO and he said “It’s a magical algorithm that Google uses to decide which sites come up first when you’re searching for something and it’s a mystery that nobody can solve.”
I found his take humorous but after a lot of research and experience I’ve learnt that he is only half correct. Yes, it's a magical algorithm but it’s not as much of a mystery as people think. There is a way to break the code and get your therapy website to rank higher on google, without paying for it and I’m gonna tell you what it is!
So let’s start at the beginning.
What is SEO?
It stands for Search Engine Optimization. Search engines are programs like Google, Safari or… is Bing still a thing? (There I go rhyming again) And the purpose of these programs is to find what you’re looking for when you type something in the search. They go through a database of keywords and some other stuff and THEY decide which sites to show you. SEO is a term for what you can do on your website to Optimize your chances to stand out so that Google picks you.
Picture all these websites, including yours, in a giant claw machine (the world wide web) and the kid(your client), is trying to get to the best toy (your website), but as you know, those fickle claws (Google), are rigged and if you’re not careful, they will drop you to the bottom of the pile.
Why does your Therapy Website need SEO?
Simply put, because the competition is steep!
Online therapy groups are killing private practice because they have a higher advertising budget. If you’ve been paying attention then you know that when you search for a service online, the first sites that come up say “sponsored”. That means that they paid to be in the top spots. Now, if you’re like me then you hopefully keep scrolling past the giant organizations and try to find the sites that got there without spending the big bucks. If you don’t know what I’m talking about then open a new tab and search for something, and because this is directly related to you, let’s try “Therapy”. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
See! Sites like BetterHelp are buying their way to the top. If you keep scrolling then you eventually find therapists like you. Yay for that!
Here’s how you do that.
5 simple ways to increase your Therapy Website SEO
Keywords. Start by doing a search the same way your ideal client would. Type in questions or phrases, and be specific. Those are the keywords that you want to include on your site.
Headings and Titles. Using those keywords in your headings and titles will make you stand out.
Blogs. An awesome way to get more keywords on your website and to actually get people to read them is by writing blogs. Make them fun, interesting and informative to make sure they get traction. This will show that your website is being updated regularly and make you more relevant. Which brings me to the ‘mystery’ part of SEO…
Meta Tags. So this is the background stuff on your website, kind of like hashtags on Instagram. Hopefully you know how to update them or have a web designer that does because they are important. And here’s one you may not have thought about…
Mobile Friendly Websites. 95.8% of people use their phones to search the web. That’s staggering, but you know that number is real because you’re doing it right now! If you are only focused on what your website looks like on a desktop then you need to change direction. Google cares if your site is mobile friendly.
Now you have a great place to start. Easy, right?
No? That’s right, you’re a busy therapist and you don’t have time for all that. Isn’t that why you started your practice in the first place? To have MORE time?
Do you really have time to write a thousand word blog every week?
Then let me help you. I am the Kat in Copy Kat Agency and I specialize in all things SEO.
Creating SEO Websites that are mobile friendly,
Writing SEO friendly web content and
Blogs, all specifically for mental health professionals like yourself.
I do the research, create the content and get you noticed.
Check out my site www.copykatagency.com or shoot me a text for more info
(210) 629-2764
