In On The Secret: What Is SEO & How Do I Excel At It?

In on the Secret of SEO

​If you are an entrepreneur and owner of a private practice, you likely have heard this acronym ad nauseam. All of the business tips and tricks you are studying seems to be telling you that competing in SEO is a wise choice for your practice, but no one seems to be telling you why and how! We’re here to let you in on the secret. ​Gone are the days of being in the dark, of comparing yourself to other therapists and their practices, of wondering how in the world they have a waitlist miles long and never seem to fret about recurring revenue. ​

What in the World is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, and it is exactly what it sounds like: Optimizing your website to rank well and appear at the top of search results. For example, if you specialize in couples’ counseling, when someone Googles ‘couples’ counseling near me,’ quality SEO standards ideally put you towards the top of the list.  

Google and its fellow search engines are tough critics, and they are constantly culling your site to assess the following standards:

• Are you a reputable source in your niché market? 
• Do you take your business seriously?
• Is your website easily navigable so that, if Google chooses to rank your site well, your website visitors are having an optimal experience? 
• Can you stand toe-to-toe with other businesses in your market? 

After assessing these qualifications, Google puts you next to your competitors and decides who deserves to be ranked higher in search engine results. This results in increased visibility by potential clients. 

What Can I Do to Perform Well in SEO?

There are a number of steps you can take to optimize your website for search engines, but it is important to note that it isn’t quite a la carte. Every step you choose to take will, of course, better your SEO score, but in order to truly compete with other practices in your market, it is essential to commit to doing so with comprehensive SEO practices. 

(Think of it this way: Your Sunday morning French toast might taste fine without any toppings. It gets the job done anyway— fills your belly, right? But why even make French toast in the first place if you’re going to bypass the syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries, you know?) 

Here are some of the actionable steps you can take to performing well in SEO, as well as how we can help you with each of these steps:

​1. Within your blog posts, select a strong keyword that will be highly searched. Then write it into your blog post, strategically placing it in the locations that Google most frequently assesses. Be equally careful not to write in your keyword haphazardly; it is all too easy for it to become overkill, which Google penalizes you for. (Told you it's a harsh critic!)

HOW WE CAN HELP

In addition to our basic content writing package that offers engaging content curated to your values and goals, we offer an SEO-enhanced writing package. We always encourage our clients to invest in this version of the content writing package because, as with the French toast example, if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right. 

With this package, as noted above, we write compelling content based on topics you have chosen, your therapeutic modalities and styles, and your values and goals. We additionally research which keyword(s) will perform best based on your chosen topic(s), being sure to format your blog post appropriately for those "limelight locations" that Google frequents. 

2. Perform a full website SEO overhaul by fixing meta tags of all photos to include the specific page’s keyword(s), write SEO-rich page descriptions with keywords embedded in the <h1> and <h2> settings, check the length of your page titles, craft quality meta descriptions for each web page, etc. This is a lot of work, but it pays dividends in the long run.   

3. Run a web conversion audit to apply changes in web design that will improve your site’s conversion rate. If your site loads slowly, Google docks you some points for that, too. 
 
4. Set up your Google Analytics platform so you can make informed decisions utilizing Google’s tools for tracking SEO performance.

5. Optimize each of your directory profiles (Yelp, Good Therapy, Psychology Today, etc.) to include your keywords and engaging language. Many potential clients begin searching for a therapist on these directories because they tend to be credible, so you want to be certain these are up to snuff. 

HOW WE CAN HELP

Let’s be honest, there is no way and no how that you have the time to run a full audit and optimization of your website, and our guess is good that a lot of the above language was gibberish to you anyway! We know you have better things to do, so we offer both an SEO Audit + Optimization Starter Package, as well as a Comprehensive Package, based upon how thorough you hope to be. 

Our Directory Profile Optimization service offers engaging and optimized content writing specifically for profiles of this nature. We craft custom descriptions for the profiles of your choosing in an effort to make pursuing your care a no-brainer for potential clients. 

All in all, we won’t lie to you; competing in SEO is an investment. But it is one that truly pays off. Without good SEO practices, it will be more strenuous to get your practice seen and subsequently, acquire potential clients that fit your ideal client’s marketing message. Reach out today for further information on which services might suit you and your practice best. 
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About that French toast: Whipped cream and strawberries, anyone?