We needed to move to a fee for service model, but had not been successful in the past because… drum roll… we didn’t know how to MARKET the practice.
— Dr. Jim Davidson, PHD – Davidson Counseling Group
In 2012, Drs. Jim and Nancy Davidson closed their Ohio practice of 30 years to move closer to their kids and grandkids in Plano, Texas. They wanted to bring their extensive therapy experience to their new home, and saw how valuable a strong online presence would be in establishing Davidson Counseling Group (DCG) in Plano. But in the past they had relied heavily on insurance panels, struggling to market their practice as effectively as they knew they could. So, in 2014, the Davidsons came to CounselingWise to launch a new, fully optimized website. After just eight months, the strategic approach the Davidsons developed with CounselingWise allowed them to build a profitable, recognized practice, as well as to move from insurance panels to largely private pay clients.
The Challenge: Establish Davidson Counseling Group in Plano, TX While Moving From Insurance Panels to Private Pay Client Base
While in Plano, the two initially relied on insurance panels, seeing between 90 and 110 clients every week. Despite their workload, insurance pay kept their profits low. So, in addition to establishing their practice in a new city, the Davidsons were committed to moving to private pay, or fee for service. Not only would this allow them to create a more profitable practice, but being able to work with fewer clients meant more time to spend with their family, which was why they had moved to Plano in the first place.
The Davidsons have built a series of websites since the early 90s, creating strong content and a thriving Ohio practice. But Jim and Nancy realized they would have to do more with their online presence if they wished to establish themselves in a new city while shifting from insurance panels to private pay clients.
It is no small feat building a practice and name recognition over 30 years, then moving to do it all over again. But, embracing the role web presence and technology would play in the success of their new practice, and because of their commitment to developing a complete and welcoming online presence for their clients, Davidson Counseling Group is now well-established in Plano, and almost entirely private pay.
The Solution: A Complete Online Presence to Reach New and Desired Clients While Staying True to Their Therapy Approach
When Jim Davidson approached CounselingWise, he had already done his homework. Having reviewed many of the free resources on the CounselingWise site, Jim wanted to get started right away. He knew Davidson Counseling Group would need to build richer content and a better online experience to begin attracting the right clients to their new practice. With this in mind, Jim came to CounselingWise for help with establishing a stronger, targeted and more complete online experience for DCG clients.
We recommended a number of steps Jim and Nancy could take to grow their online presence, each of which were planned and executed with superior quality and efficiency. We began by creating a website that represented their approach and the specialties they treat, including downloadable free reports to help build a subscriber list. With 80 percent of clients hiring a therapist only after seeing that therapist’s content 5 to 12 times, these steps helped create a welcoming site where clients could take their time and feel comfortable with Jim and Nancy before reaching out.
To supplement the DCG website, we fully optimized Jim and Nancy’s Google+ profile and created an expansive and effective Google AdWords campaign. In addition, Jim has taken a CounselingWise webinar on how to give your own webinar, a powerful marketing tool he has already used to help grow the Davidson Counseling Group in Plano.
Received the Adwords campaign today from CW. What a phenomenal job!!! If you’ve been running your own Adwords campaigns (done a few), the work will humble you. What a great value. In Texas talk, I’m just sayin’….
— Dr. Jim Davidson, PhD – Davidson Counseling Group
Finally, we continue to provide blog content for DCG in an ongoing capacity, ensuring his website remains relevant in web searches and clients have a wide variety of resources available to them – which keeps them on the DCG website, and increases the likelihood they will contact Jim and Nancy for counseling.
Results: Davidson Counseling Group Has Established a Strong Presence in Plano in Less Than One Year and Moved Almost Entirely to Private Pay Clients
In our first year working with the Davidson Counseling Group, they were already receiving four to five calls every week from potential new clients, and almost all were private pay rather than insurance. By creating a strategic approach with specific messaging and optimization, we were able to move DCG’s search results to page one for four of their six specialties, as well as showing up on the first page when potential clients search “counseling Plano”.
Currently DCG has 10 page-one rankings, and the combination of their targeted AdWords campaign and organic ranking gives the practice a credibility that cannot be gained from advertising alone. In short order, Jim and Nancy were able to establish their practice in a new city and move from insurance panels to private pay clients. In fact, they have increased their gross income while cutting caseload in half, which even gave Jim time to restart his forensic practice – in addition to his clinical practice – in December of 2014.
I’ve used almost every aspect of CounselingWise’s services, and our practice is busy, compliments regarding our web presence and content are offered regularly. You can be the best therapist on the block, but if folks don’t know how and where to find you – what’s the point?
— Dr. Jim Davidson, PhD – Davidson Counseling Group
If you are interested in learning more about how you can improve your online presence and search results to help you attract and convert clients, we invite you to contact us today.