Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an important consideration for any therapist wanting to attract new business via a website. It’s all very well creating your brand spanking new therapy website, but if you’re not attracting visitors and potential customers your online business ventures will soon falter.
SEO refers to the visibility of websites in search engine results and therapy sites with good SEO will have improved ranking, ideally appearing on page one of searches. It is possible to pay for top rankings with search engines, and Google reserves a few top places for paid advertisers, however, you could consider this as a last resort option.
4 ways to improve your Search Engine Optimisation
1. Keywords
One of the most important factors that will affect the ranking of your site is the use of relevant keywords. Take some time to brainstorm and research all the potential search terms your clients (and target demographic) use when searching for therapy services like yours and incorporate these into the content on your site. Bear in mind the readability of your site when you do this, as all terms should be included in the most natural way within the content on your site. You should pay particular attention to the titles used on your site, as these are the first texts crawled by search engines.
2. Use meta tag or page descriptions
This is quite an important job to carry out, as the meta tag description is also the text displayed by search engines when describing what your site is all about. Ensure you use one or more keywords here. You can edit this within the page admin area, depending on the search software you have installed. We use either Yoast or SEOPress. Here are screenshots of where add in your meta description on a page.
Yoast Meta Description
SEOPress Meta Description
3. Post fresh content, often
If you have a blog on your site, it’s a good idea to update it on a regular basis with content relating to your field of expertise. This can be a very valuable way of connecting with potential clients, as visitors finding your posts useful will return on a regular basis and are more likely to book sessions with you. It’s an easy and informal way to get the identity of your practice across and build rapport with your audience, especially as it gives you unique content to share on social media platforms.
4. Boost your online presence
Finally, getting found in local search results is a major factor in the success of your therapy business. Create a Google business listing, to ensure your services are highlighted in local search. You may also want to consider setting up a Facebook business page and a Yelp listing.
If all this is too baffling and cuts out time available for treating your patients, get in touch with the HealthHosts Team. We’re the professionals in providing expert website design and SEO services for therapists of any kind, helping you increase your traffic, grow your business and boost profits.
