The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to SEO for Therapists
These days, clients seeking services like yours typically start online. In fact, Google’s 2021 Year in Search data indicates more mental health-related searches than ever before. A potential client may type the keyword ‘therapist near me’, and instantly, they have pages full of therapy websites at their fingertips.
The thing is, sites at the top of Google’s search results aren’t there by accident. They got there by following best practices of search engine optimization (SEO).
You may be intimidated by SEO, but don’t worry—everyone is at first. After reading through this beginner’s guide, you’ll come away with a better idea of how to incorporate it into your therapy or counselling website. Read on to discover how to get more clients and improve your online presence with the power of SEO.
What is SEO?
Before we go continue, I want to offer a clear definition of SEO you can refer back to as you develop your understanding of the concept.
“Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process of using specific tools and techniques to improve your website's rank and visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).”
Basically, Google and other search engines aim to offer the most relevant and valuable results possible for every search. Here are some things they look for to determine your site’s relevance and value.
Pages containing keywords and reputable links related to the search query
Fast loading times and smooth navigation across your web pages
Engaging, relevant content that keeps users on your site, rather than leaving quickly
Why do therapist websites need SEO?
SEO is beneficial for any business, and this includes therapy practices. It’s a relatively low-cost, set-it-and-forget-it way to ensure the right clients find you, without needing to spend so much on paid ads and other marketing materials. Here are a few of the benefits of SEO as a part of online marketing for therapists.
1. Expand your reach:
SEO exposes your website to a wider audience and gets more eyes on your web pages.
2. Build trust and authority:
Ranking higher in search results goes a long way when it comes to building trust. When you’re on Google’s front page, people will view you as an established, credible expert.
3. Connect with people who need you:
The goal of a good SEO strategy is that the people who find you would benefit from your services. Rather than broadcasting yourself to the masses, you can target specific criteria to increase the likelihood that visitors become clients.
The types of SEO you should know
In discovering SEO for the first time, you may feel nervous about the unfamiliar words and concepts. To make things easier, let’s break down the SEO tactics most relevant to mental health professionals.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO is about the elements on your actual web pages, like page titles, headers, and content. The goal is to show Google exactly what each page is about using clear, keyword-rich, and engaging content.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO involves tactics that happen outside of your website. For example, if a reputable website shares a link to yours, that can positively affect your ranking in search engines.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is about the behind-the-scenes aspects of your site. You want your counselling website design to have SEO-friendly code, working links, and quality web design and hosting.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a crucial element for therapists with brick and mortar practices, as it’s designed to improve your visibility to people in your area. This involves claiming your practice on relevant directories, listing your address on your website, including keywords with the name of your city, and optimizing your Google My Business page.
Creating content to rank in search engines
Great, so now that you know some SEO basics, how exactly do you optimize your site to win over Google? One of the best places to start is the content on your page.
Say you want to create an engaging blog post that offers value and support for your readers. Here are some steps to follow to ensure the content is optimized for search engines.
Research SEO keywords potential clients might use to find information related to your blog topic and services. We’ll cover this more below.
Incorporate these keywords into an engaging title, headers that break up the post, and naturally throughout the content.
Write SEO-friendly content using short paragraphs, clear sentences, and relevant images.
Use links to direct readers to other reputable sources and pages on your website.
Create a meta title and description for the post in your content management system, including a related keyword in each. (This is the bit of text displayed on Google that tells readers what to expect from your blog.)
The basics of keyword research for therapy websites
Simply put, keywords are the words we enter into Google’s search bar. For example, some keywords related to therapy might be psychologist near me, therapy for depression, or counselling in (your city name).
The goal behind keyword research is to find the ones most relevant to your services. As an intro to keyword research, you can start at the source. Here are a few ways our friend Google can help with keyword research.
1. Use Google’s autocomplete feature.
Type a few words related to your services into the search bar, and Google will provide you with a list of suggested queries. These might be useful keywords to consider as you develop your content.
2. Explore the 'People also ask' section.
These are popular queries related to yours. As you expand and collapse questions, more will pop up. Related questions might make great keywords or headers for your web content.
3. Check related searches.
At the bottom of the results page, you’ll find a list of related keywords and phrases that people have used to find your current search query. These may also be relevant to your content strategy.
There are plenty of other tools to make keyword research easier once you get started. A few to consider are Ahrefs, SEMRush, and KWFinder.
How website design for therapists affects SEO
A crucial design element that affects your website’s SEO is mobile-friendliness. In 2021, 63 percent of search engine visits happened on mobile devices. That means the majority of people visiting your site might not stick around if it doesn’t work on their phones.
Page loading speeds are another factor that impacts SEO. Google analytics data suggests that more than half of visitors will abandon a website that takes over three seconds to load.
Another important consideration is the ease of navigating around your website. If it’s difficult for users to find the content they are looking for, they will likely leave. When people consistently leave your site soon after arriving, Google starts to think it doesn't offer value, and it will lower your ranking in search results accordingly.
Final thoughts
Here’s a quick summary of ways you’ve learned to use SEO as a key part of your therapy marketing online.
Use it to expand your reach, build trust, and connect with best-fit clients.
Apply on-page, off-page, technical, and local SEO to maximize results.
Create content using SEO best practices to convey your website’s value and relevancy.
Explore approaches to keyword research to find the ways that work best for you.
Make sure your therapy website is mobile-friendly, fast to load pages, and easy to navigate.
SEO for therapists may feel a little overwhelming at first, but it’s worth taking the time to learn best practices. And luckily, there is plenty of support available to you, so you don’t have to worry about tackling it all on your own.
Book a free consultation today to find out how a therapist website can improve your online presence. Let’s chat through your website goals and the results possible for your practice with an expert marketing strategy for therapists.
