You probably know that a website can make or break your practice, but do you know what it takes to rank among the best therapy websites?
You know that an effective website is crucial to marketing your private therapy practice, but how do you go about creating one? The task of rebuilding or building a site from scratch can seem overwhelming.
1. Should your Therapy Site be built with Squarespace or WordPress?
We love Squarespace and WordPress. The two platforms have become the de facto leaders for building therapy sites.
Why?
Because they’re better, easier to use, and cheaper than other content management systems (CMS) out there. You no longer have to be a programmer, or know how to code, to load content onto your site.
Funny enough, WordPress and Squarespace are so smart they make the hard stuff easy.
And guess what? Developers are making awesome new plugins all the time to make life easier (to find the best plugins for your website, read more here) (to find the best plugins for your website, read more here). Best of all? Because the market is so big they can sell them to you for pennies on the dollar!
The point is that you can choose either Squarespace or WordPress for your therapy site and still have a great website. You cannot go wrong.
2. Your Therapy Site Needs Content
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Of course therapist websites need content. But you’d be amazed at how content-poor your site may appear to users.
For example, let’s imagine a confused father is searching for an ADHD evaluation for his teenage daughter. He stumbles across your site by Googling “ADHD” and lands on a page listing the entirety of your skillset.
“ADHD” happens to be one of those bullet-points. But it’s lumped in with twenty other specializations from eating disorders (see also ‘Eating Disorder Training For Therapists‘) to anger management.
Confused, the father bounces right off your page. Why? Because you haven’t answered his question; you haven’t presented yourself as an answer.
It’s not enough to load your site with content. It has to be the right kind of content. And that means understanding not only your audience but how people browse the web. This principle is at the heart of why some therapy sites excel beyond others.
(If you don’t have time to write great content, click here to learn more about how we can interview you, capture your voice and expertise, and write content on your behalf.)
3. Use Beautiful Pictures to Keep People's Attention
A picture is worth a thousand words (and probably a few dozen clients annually).
Attractive photographs and design on your site can catch the attention of your readers, encouraging them to stay awhile and read more about you and your practice.
The images on your site can show happy people whose problems have been solved or unhappy people who reflect the problems of your potential clients. Nature photos can emulate the calm, soothing atmosphere of your practice.
Here are some sites where you can download images for free.
Regardless of the images you choose for your website, the bottom line is photos are a must. By choosing not to display engaging photos on your site, you run the risk of losing your visitors.
4. "SEO"is the Magic Term That Ranks Therapy Sites
You’ve probably heard of it. You may have seen it. It’s that mysterious, elusive formula that speaks algorithm and can elevate or doom your site.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and, when it’s done well, it increases your web signal to searchers (potential clients) ten-fold.
If you’re wondering how to get your practice on the first page listing on Google, the answer is SEO. But beware of unscrupulous web marketers (don’t look at us) who prey on unsuspecting therapists and sell blackhat SEO “services” as bogus link building.
With these kind of services, your site will bubble up the web for a couple of months, only to come crashing down when the Google algorithm catches up to the fact that your backlinks lack value.
BAM! Your ranking tumbles down, or worse, Google determines your site is fishy and stops indexing it completely, causing it to vanish.
What you really need is user-friendly site structure, great content that provides VALUE to your potential clients, as well as page specificity.
5. Start Blogging on Your Website
You may not like to blog. You may be too busy to blog. But you should blog. Why?
Because you are an expert in your field. People are searching therapy websites for answers to questions, and you have them.
If you don’t blog, they can’t find the information they seek, and they can’t find YOU.
Consider this scenario: a mother in your area is concerned her toddler may be autistic. Even before she talks to her spouse, sister, friend, or doctor, she will probably type, “what are the symptoms of autism” into a search engine.
If you are an autism expert and blog about autism regularly,
your site will appear in the search results. If people click on your link and
find value in your blog post, they are likely to stay on your therapist website
longer and may even schedule a consultation.
AND, Google will see people clicking and rate your entire
site a bit higher on the search results. Because it thinks, “Hey, people spend
a great deal of time on this site, so they must really relate to the content,
and this site therefore must be an authority.”
As if that were not enough, Google weights fresh, relevant
content heavily in its algorithm. Bingo! Higher rankings equals more clients.
If you lack the time or inclination to blog, we offer a
blogging service that captures your voice and expertise.
6. Free Offerings (Quiz, Email Course, Report, etc.)
Free quizzes, email courses, reports, etc. serve a dual purpose on your therapist site.
First, they’re an easy way to share valuable information with your potential clients. If your free report is about “The 8 Signs of Clinical Depression” or your quiz is entitled “Are You Suffering from Depression?” many of the individuals visiting your site will find it useful, assuming it is well-written and informative.
Second, it helps you build your email list, and hence your relationships with potential clients. Individuals input their email address in order to sign up for an email course, download a report or view their quiz results, and then you continue to send them useful and compelling information about related topics in an email newsletter/blog, say, once a month.
You are establishing a relationship with each of those potential clients, and when the time comes for them to seek therapy, you will be foremost in their mind.
And you guess it – we offer these writing services!
7. A Video Says Even More Than A Picture
OK, a video is not actually essential, but creating one is a really good idea.
A video is intimate. It’s a way for people to hear your voice, get to know you, and listen to what you have to say.
A video can highlight your expertise, professionalism, and personality, and establish an initial connection between you and your potential client. It could be the reason someone decides to schedule an in-person consultation. Or, if someone is on the fence it may be the video that convinces them to seek your services.
Increasingly, people are searching the web using video. In fact, some countries search for almost all of the information they’re looking for on video platforms. Which has lead YouTube to become the second biggest search engine after Google.com.
The point is, if you have a camera or at the very least a decent microphone, there’s no reason not to create a video.
Learn More About Creating the Perfect Therapy Site
Therapy sites reviews rank Counseling Wise at the top. If you’re interested in our Smart Therapy Websites Program, which would help you implement these essentials, you can learn more here.
If you are ready to learn more, check out these 3 videos that will explain the fundamentals of
building a successful online therapy website and strategy. Let us know if we can help.
In the meantime, happy therapy site building from the team at CounselingWise.