A name is the most intimate thing any of us own. It’s a personal expression of who we are and defines us over the course of our lives.
That’s why it’s so important to choose a name for your private practice that aligns with both who you are and the type of counseling practice you want to own.
Your name will ultimately determine how you represent yourself to potential clients both offline and online, as a domain name.
In this post we’re covering everything you need to know to find a catchy name that works for you so you can get to work on your private practice business plan:
- Why your counseling name is important.
- How to choose a good private practice name.
- How a counseling practice name connects to its website.
- Where to purchase a domain name for your business.
Where To Start In Choosing A Name For My Private Practice?
Don’t settle for a name that doesn’t feel as great as it sounds. Whatever name you choose will stick with you for the rest of your career (or until you rebrand).
It helps to ask yourself a few questions right at the outset:
- What do you plan to specialize in?
- What does your clientele look like?
- What strategies do you use?
- Is the domain name available?
- Who do you want to be as a therapist?
And Most Important
Examples of Creative Names for Your Counseling Practice
Even if they don’t work for you they will help you brainstorm ideas to find the name that does.
Using your name establishes yourself immediately as a counselor, and makes it easy for both potential clients and current clients to find your business and know who you are. And as far as your website is concerned, personal brands tend to drive higher conversion rates over the long-term.
Some marketers recommend against using your own name for your practice’s company name. They argue that it limits your ability to expand or rebrand. At the same time, they go on, if you wanted to sell your practice, who’s going to buy a business with your name on it?
I disagree with this line of thinking. If you’re committed to your practice, and feel most comfortable using your name, then go for it. We’ve worked with many counselors who use their own name and are so booked with clients they can’t accept new ones.
You can always change to a new domain from your old site if you wish to scale to a group practice. The process is simple, inexpensive—it can be done for less than $150 in many cases—and can be done without affecting your website’s traffic.
- Specialty + City (e.g. Anxiety Counseling Denver)
- Specialty + Therapeutic Term (e.g. Anxiety Counseling)
Names that incorporate your zip code may provide both name recognition and SEO value. Practices like “Denver Recovery Center,” or “Boulder Therapy” may not have as much personal value as using your name but they are easily remembered and are recognizable.
However, names based on your location may not be as readily available in larger metropolitan areas.
One way to test names is to combine keyword terms with the name of your city:
- Therapy + city name
- Counseling + city name
- Therapist + city name
- Psychotherapy + city name
- Counselor + city name
A Personal Brand
There are a few rules when it comes to generating a personal brand name:
And then there’s the most important point about any name you choose for your private practice.
If you can’t buy a domain name that matches your brand name, try again.
How Your Practice Name and Domain Name Connect
Why?
- It makes it easier for potential clients to remember your practice’s website.
- It makes branding easier.
- It creates a singular identity linking your website and practice.
That’s why it might be helpful to generate your practice name by starting with the domain.
Head to a domain name registrar where you can search for available URLs and type in the private practice name you want to see if it’s available. (Any of the sites below will work for your search.)
Registrars include:
Examples of Creative Names for Your Counseling Practice
When choosing a practice name, and by extension a domain name, it’s never a bad idea to include keywords. Though including keywords is not necessary either to create a thriving practice.
But it does help you gain traction in Google’s eyes in the short-term, and creates easy brand-recognition.
By including the right keywords, you send a very clear message to Google and your audience about what your website provides.
We’ve already mentioned quite a few keywords above, without calling attention to them. They include terms like you city or specialty. But the main ones call attention to the fact that you’re in private practice, such as…
- Therapy
- Counseling
- Counselor
- Therapist
- Psychotherapy
Domain Naming Tips
Final Thoughts on Keywords and Your Practice Name
While we recommend including one of the most common related keywords (e.g. therapy, counseling, therapist, etc.) plus your city name, doing so is not a guaranteed win.
Therapy websites that employ a sound strategy will always pull ahead of private practice counselors who use keywords in their domain name and don’t implement a strategy. A keyword-focused domain name is just one piece of a larger puzzle.
Ultimately, whether or not a site succeeds is due to long-term commitment, not a domain name.
Final Note
Humans have a cognitive bias toward things we can easily think about and say. If site visitors have a hard time processing or pronouncing your URL, they’re less likely to remember it (or remember it positively).
A name should be short and sweet, and capture your practice.
Whether clients are finding you through organic searches, paid ads, directory listings, or social media, your domain name is the online door to your private practice.