Unlock the Power of SEO to Boost Therapy Practice Success

Would you love to move your therapy website up through the search engine rankings? Are you eager to grasp a first-page position? Do you want to rank more highly so potential clients can find you?

Have you heard of search engine optimization or SEO?

SEO is the practice of optimizing your website and its content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines like Google and Bing. This is a necessity for driving more organic traffic to your site. After all, if you don’t get ranked you won’t be found.

Appealing to search engines requires a variety of above-board approaches. Unique, valuable, in-depth website content, metadata, and backlinks included. In this article, we’ll share how to get this right.

If you ever feel overwhelmed remember; most things come back to one simple point. The ultimate goal is to create a site that is highly relevant and useful for your visitors. This will result in higher search engine rankings and increased traffic to your website.

That said, let me share a vital tip before I share the good stuff…

Always be above board. Even if you managed to find a loophole once, you won’t trick a search engine for long. Their algorithms are incredibly clever. If you don’t want your site to get blacklisted, stay “within the lines” so to speak.

Now, let’s dive in!

Conduct keyword research to inform your SEO strategy

Keyword, what?

Keywords are the search phrases that people type into the search box or ask virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant when looking for information. You might have landed on this page by using this process yourself. (That’s because we know a thing or two about SEO!)

By understanding the commonly searched keywords, you can optimize your site and its content to better match these queries. This will increase the likelihood that your website will appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). In short, you’re more likely to get found by the people you can help.

There are many tools available to help you conduct keyword research, such as Google’s Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz. These tools allow you to enter specific keywords or phrases related to your therapy practice, and see how often — yes, in numbers — they are being searched for and how difficult it is to rank for them.

Once you have identified a list of relevant keywords, you can incorporate them strategically into your website’s content. This includes using them in your page titles, meta descriptions, headings, and throughout your website’s text.

Keyword use should be natural. Don’t engage in what’s called keyword stuffing. As the name suggests, keyword stuffing is the practice of overusing (“stuffing”) keywords into a page or article in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings.

Remember, your primary goal is to create a website that is useful and relevant to its visitors. If your site is filled with an excessive amount of keywords, it will detract from the user experience and make your content seem spammy or of low quality. You’ll drive visitors away. You’ll also invite the wrath of the search engines, which can push your site down the listings. Always, always opt for natural.

And once you’ve got your keywords uploaded?

Know that SEO is an ongoing process. As what people search for morphs, and as your position in the search engines changes, so should the keywords you target. Regularly monitor and adjust your keyword strategy. By analyzing your site’s traffic and search engine ranking data, you can make informed decisions about which keywords to focus on and which content is resonating with your following. Guessing is a risky play.

Optimize your site’s metadata for better search engine visibility

When many beginners start, they believe that search engine optimization is solely about incorporating keywords within their blog posts and pages: the parts visitors can see. This is important, but it’s not the complete picture.

Think of keywords like a painting. The blog post and site page keywords are the top layer of the image, the part you see on your site. But there are the under-layers, the canvas, the easel. Things you don’t see but that are nonetheless vital for a painting’s — and website’s — success and structure. Metadata is like a site’s little-noticed components — the under-layers.

Optimizing your website’s metadata will improve its visibility in search engine results pages. But what exactly is metadata?

Metadata is the information that appears in search engine results, such as page titles and meta descriptions. Optimizing your website’s metadata involves incorporating relevant keywords and crafting compelling, informative narratives that encourage searchers to click through to your website. It’s like using a muse to attract an artist.

Here are 4 tips to optimize your website’s metadata:

1. Use descriptive, relevant page titles: Your site’s titles should be concise and include relevant keywords. This helps search engines clearly understand the content of your pages. In return, they are more likely to improve your ranking and visibility. (Tip: Avoid using the same page title for multiple pages on your website. This can confuse search engines, making it harder for them to rank your site well. Remember, their job is to provide searchers with the most accurate and valuable content.)
2. Craft compelling meta-descriptions: Your website’s meta-descriptions should concisely summarize what your page is about and include relevant keywords. Meta descriptions are the text that appears beneath the page title in search results. When compelling, it can oblige searchers to click through to your website. (Tip: Make sure your meta descriptions accurately reflect the content of your page and provide a compelling reason for a searcher to visit your site.)
3. Avoid keyword stuffing: Yes, I’ll repeat it. While it’s vital to incorporate relevant keywords into your website’s metadata, it’s important not to overuse — or “stuff in” — keywords. Instead, focus on creating concise, descriptive titles and meta descriptions that naturally use relevant keywords.
4. Monitor and adjust your metadata regularly: As with your keywords, you should monitor your website’s metadata regularly. Then revise, as needed, based on your website’s performance in search engine rankings.

By analyzing your site’s traffic and search engine ranking data, you can decide which keywords to focus on and which meta descriptions resonate with and attract website visitors.

Create high-quality content to attract organic traffic

As a therapist, finding time to create high-quality content can be difficult. You might be tempted to produce short, generic blog posts because you can finish them. But when it comes to content creation, half-hearted attempts won’t bring you the success you crave.

Search engines favor quality. They rank according to what they believe will best serve their searchers. Their empires are built on giving people what they want. So, to do well, you need to produce content that satisfies their customers and their algorithms.

Google wants sites to embrace the acronym, E-A-T.

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google uses E-A-T to evaluate the quality of content on websites and determine how they should rank in the search results. Your content must meet these requirements.

To help you create fantastic content, we’ve written two guides:

1. How to Write the Best Content for Your Private Practice Websiteexplores just that; how to write amazing content that wows.
2. Our 5-Step Guide for How To Write an Effective and Engaging Therapist Blog walks you through how to attract eyeballs, connect with your visitors, and begin to build rapport and position yourself as an industry expert — one who exudes expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.

And remember, sprinkle in relevant keywords so that the search engines understand your content.

Build high-quality backlinks to boost your SEO

If you’ve noticed hyperlinked text that directs you from the site you’re visiting toward another site, you’ve seen a backlink in action. For you, backlinks are clickable links on a website that directs visitors to your website.

These backlinks are hugely influential!

Google considers backlinks a vote of confidence for your website. Building up a robust network of backlinks can improve your search engine ranking and drive more traffic to your site, especially if the sites that link back to you are quality sites.

So, how can you build high-quality backlinks that boost your SEO?

• Create original, high-quality content that people can’t help but share.
• Network with other website owners in your field to collaborate on content projects that offer real value.
• Focus on quality over quantity.
• Avoid junk forums or links from spammy blog posts or sites.

Discover a range of success tips in our article, Why Backlinks Are Important to Your SEO & How to Get Them.

Implement local SEO strategies to attract local clients

SEO can seem daunting when you think about competing with the big players in your space. Good Therapy, Psychology Today, and Therapy Tribe, for example. But these vast platforms target the broader market. They aim for mass appeal. You, on the other hand, are likely focused on a geographical — or local — location. This is an advantage.

Local SEO involves optimizing your website and online presence to increase visibility for local searches. For example, “therapists in [your city]” or “marriage counselor Urbandale, Iowa.” Here are some key strategies for implementing local SEO:

1. Optimize your website for local search: Make sure your website includes your location. Add your city, state, and zip code to your homepage, contact page, and other relevant pages. Create high-quality content tailored to your local audience. For example, blog posts that address clients’ specific needs and concerns in your area.
2. Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile listing: This free tool lets you manage your online presence on Google, including appearing in local search results, on Google Maps, and in the knowledge panel. Ensure your listing is complete and accurate, including your address, phone number, and hours of operation.
3. Build local backlinks: Backlinks from local businesses, directories, and organizations can help improve your local search rankings. Contact companies in your area and ask if they will link to your website or include your information in their directory.
4. Use local keywords: Include local keywords in your website content — for example, the name of your city and references to key neighborhood places or events. Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to research local search terms relevant to your practice.
5. Get involved in your local community: Engage with your local community by attending events, sponsoring community organizations, and joining local business groups. Doing so can help improve your local visibility and reputation and may lead to new backlinks and collaboration opportunities.

The SEO takeaway

Implementing effective SEO strategies can be a game-changer for your therapy practice website. By conducting thorough keyword research, optimizing your metadata, creating top-notch content, building high-quality backlinks, and implementing local SEO strategies, you can significantly improve your website’s search engine visibility and attract more potential clients.

As part of our phenomenal (if we say so ourselves!) service, our customers receive complimentary SEO services customized for their websites.

We have years of experience getting ranking results for our therapists. Are you ready to take advantage?

Then we look forward to helping you and your practice to thrive!

About Jocelyn Van Saun

Jocelyn is a Marketing Manager at Brighter Vision. When she's not creating and sharing content for our network of therapists, she loves spending time outdoors - rock climbing, trail running, hiking, camping, mountain biking, and skiing!