The SEO Therapist
1. Will I rank as high as you for my area?
I hope so and will work hard to get you there or as close as I can. I cannot guarantee results but it would be extremely rare for you to not rank well with time, and I have always been successful with ranking. My goal will be to get you ranked in both the local pack and the rest of the results on the google search results page for phrases and words people enter into their search related to your profession, their needs, and your location to name a few.
As much as I would like to, I do not own and therefore cannot control what Google does. What I can say is that for the past 7 years since I started the trends have not really changed much, my ranking gets higher each year, and I have stayed for the past years at the top of Google's highlighted and coveted local professionals pack and am usually right under Psychology Today in the rest of the search results.
I am almost always above all other individual providers other major therapy directories for certain search phrases that include my city and the word therapist or sometimes even just the word therapist or anxiety therapist if someone is doing a search from my city. Currently I get between 1 - 10 calls a day, while when I had tried PT or ads years ago before seo, the few calls I got a year were people who were looking for a psychiatrist.
Ask yourself which investment makes more sense over the course of a few months to a year. No form of marketing (ads, pt, networking events, paper) comes close to what you can get with SEO. Some time after you get SEO you may have to (like I did) find ways to manage all these calls without having to get an assistant! You can always ask me what I do to dramatically reduce contact time while still keeping a good image and helping clients who need services. Sounds like a great problem to have, and it is!
2. How long does it take to rank well?
After the bulk of the seo work takes place, how soon you see results depends on what else is in place. For example, if you have a website and domain name for at least a year before starting SEO with decent enough content, I have seen results start to happen in as little as a week to a month in my experience.
Google, as long as the site is trustworthy and a bit relevant rewards seniority... think of it as being similar in this way: An older domain (www.xyz.com) is like Bob's diner around the corner that has decent food and everyone trusts them and goes there since they have been reliable for over 40 years. They may be stuck in their ways, only serve a few things, and the food is pretty good at best but they are a loved spot in the community. I call this the Bob's Diner Effect!
You can have a new domain/website that is SEOed to the stars with amazing content and not only will 'Bob' still beat you but you may not rank AT ALL until google trusts you enough.
You have to wait for search bots to crawl your site enough times, and just give them some time in general. As one of my clients would put it, you need to earn some 'street cred' first. It can take 3 to 6 months to rank well with a new site according to online sources.
From what I have seen personally though, and for our field and with me as your SEO person, I think it is very possible to rank well in less than three months if you follow my suggestions as well. Also, with my local SEO approach you have a good chance of showing up near the map at the top in less than a month using my strategy.
Although there are at most 20 to 40 therapists in your surrounding area actively trying to compete, we are only competing with practices within a half hour drive from you and not selling merchandise online nationwide, which is much harder in terms of SEO work.
I have gotten new and existing sites to rank fast before and also have SEO strategies that may help you some without relying on your website while your domain name and website are percolating.
3. I don't have a website, can you make one for me?
Yes, I can build a website for you for an additional fee. You can read more about my web design services and see a sample here.
4. Will you do my branding, blogging, and write my text for me?
I am not a brander in terms of creating an image for yourself or logos. I am however good with photoshop (for example if you look at my services page I was able to take two separate photos of a computer and a couch and make it look like one), so if you have a clear vision and idea I can tell you if I can do it or not and let you know the fee.
I don't write textual content about you and your services (copy edit), but I suggest doing a google search for "content writing for therapists" if you would like this service as some companies offer it. If you are not inclined to written word or find it daunting this can help. You can also look at what others write in their profiles to get inspired and I have a strategy I can share with you as well when we consult.
I DO integrate SEO elements as much as possible with any of these things however (your branding, copy edit, etc.) In fact, when it comes to the text that you write, part of my strategy is enhancing it with SEO which you and I can collaborate on.
I can also install a blog into your site and give you suggestions on what to post and how to structure it for SEO. Google loves fresh content; you do not always have to write an in depth blog, sometimes just sharing a helpful link that is already popular and writing three sentences about what it includes and some thoughts can be enough. Some people write detailed blogs but it does not help because there is no SEO structure.
Lastly, if you would just like my opinion as a therapist on certain things I am happy to give my two cents. We all like some reassurance!
5. Will you keep my SEO work with you private?
Yes, SEO is something people want some privacy with. Sharing with the world who designed your website is different from sharing your SEO person.
You may not want clients to google your name and find you here. Just like how I like going into my office first and setting things up before a client comes in, I do not need them to know about my SEO or the rest of my life unless it helps them in some way. It is nice when new clients see my furniture that I love but they do not need to see my boxes, tools, etc. laying there. To put it another way, you may like showing off your partner (website) to a ton of acquaintances, but you probably do not need or want them to know all your personal relationship stuff (SEO) until you are close if at all.
The privacy of course also helps you stay competitive. It can be fun to share your new SEO swag with colleagues who are friends though, so if you do, just make sure their practice is at least 15 minutes from you. :)
FAQ & Transparent Information about SEO for Therapists
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