9 Common Questions at Website Audits for Therapists
Introduction
I’m Liz Zhou, a web designer & copywriter. I build beautiful, thoughtful websites for therapists so they can connect with their ideal clients. I draw from my own experience of running a successful private therapy practice, sustained by the power of website marketing.
This blog post shares common questions that come up at website audits for therapists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 🔍
I’ve heard you need SEO to have a successful business. How true is this?
Why aren’t clients reaching out & booking with me (at all, or as consistently as I’d like)?
How can I get more traction for my new offer (intensives, retreats, coaching)?
Should I share about my personal identities on my therapy website?
I’m overwhelmed & busy. Where should I focus my website efforts for maximum impact?
What is SEO? Why does it matter for therapist websites?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It refers to how easily your website can be found on Google (and other search engines) when people search for specific key terms.
For example, if you’re a therapist specializing in trauma in New York City, great SEO would allow your website to show up on page 1 of Google when people in NYC look up “trauma therapy near me,” “what’s the best therapy for trauma,” and similar key terms.
Poor SEO would mean that your website is not visible at all, or buried behind several pages of search results (and much less likely to be found by your ideal clients).
SEO matters because it allows your business to be visible online & reach people searching for your services.
I’ve heard you need SEO to have a successful business. How true is this?
It’s true that SEO helps to strengthen your online presence & your ability to be found via organic Google searches. Great SEO can do the heavy lifting for your marketing – i.e., great-fit clients find your website online, without you needing to pay for ads, show up everywhere on social media, or hand out flyers & business cards.
However, SEO isn’t absolutely necessary to have a successful business, because there are many ways to market & bring attention to your practice! Google & ChatGPT searches aren’t the only way that people find therapists. Consider what other ways your ideal clients might find you – via a referral from their doctor or trusted friend? Browsing a therapist directory? After attending one of your public workshops or speaking engagements?
Ultimately, SEO is extremely helpful for driving traffic to your website, which increases the likelihood of converting clients – but lack of SEO doesn’t mean that your business won’t be successful.
How can I improve SEO for my therapy website?
SEO is a vast topic, so this could be its own blog post (or series). Here are a couple ideas to get you started:
Consider what words & phrases your ideal clients are typing into Google / ChatGPT / their search engine of choice when they’re looking for a therapist. Maybe it’s: “IFS therapist in City, State” or “therapy to improve low self-esteem” or “can therapy help me with X issue?”
Then, create specialty pages or blog posts that organically include these key words & phrases. Remember, the goal is to provide helpful & relevant information for your audience.
Other ways to improve SEO involve technical steps like:
writing optimized page titles & meta-descriptions on the back end of your website
including strategic keys words in URL slugs
using H1 font to emphasize the most important key words on each page
Why aren’t clients reaching out & booking with me (at all, or as consistently as I’d like)?
Here are a few possible reasons.
Your ideal clients can’t find you. They don’t know that your practice exists.
HOW TO FIX THIS: Improve your website’s SEO, or lean into other marketing strategies (networking, social media, public speaking) so more people can know you exist!
Your ideal clients don’t feel seen & heard by the copywriting (text) on your website. Your messaging is not connecting with them.
HOW TO FIX THIS: Audit your copy. Make sure it sounds like you & sends a clear message: Here’s who I help & how I help.
Your ideal clients don’t resonate with your website – it’s hard to navigate, looks “off,” or doesn’t reflect a high quality of service.
HOW TO FIX THIS: Audit your website design. Do any sections feel cluttered, confusing, or overwhelming? Do the images tell a visual story that makes sense? How easy is it to get from point A to point B? Where do you see possibilities to improve the user experience?
Your ideal clients don’t know what the next step is to work with you.
HOW TO FIX THIS: Make sure you have a clear Call to Action on your website (i.e., book a consultation on my calendar, fill out this form, etc.). Include buttons & links leading to your Call to Action on every page of your website, so your clients can’t miss the next step.
How can I get more traction for my new offer (intensives, retreats, coaching)?
New offers are so exciting! It means your practice is evolving, and you’re growing as a practitioner. The next part is getting the word out so clients actually book these services.
Let’s assume that you’ve set up a plan on how to drive traffic to your website – whether via SEO, networking, social media, or a combination of strategies.
Now, consider how you can inform & educate your website visitors that 1) this service exists, and 2) this service may be valuable & helpful for them.
Create a new page on your website dedicated to this new offering (Therapy Intensives, Retreats, Coaching, Consulting). Clearly explain what the service is (structure & pricing), who it’s for, and what the benefits may be.
Turn on the announcement bar* at the top of your website, and edit it to say: “Now offering Therapy Intensives in City, State” or “Spots available for (Grief Retreat, Psychedelic Medicine Retreat) on X date in X location.” The announcement bar is what visitors see first, at the top of your website, and is a great way to draw attention to your offering.
Set up a promotional pop-up* (a flyer that pops up on each website page, after a certain number of seconds), to bring even more attention to your offering & direct readers to a page where they can learn more information.
*These options are available on Squarespace, and possibly other website platforms.
Put simply: if you have a new offer that you want people to book, it’s best to explicitly market it on your website.
I like to work with different types of clients. How do I make sure my website copy is clear & speaks to all the people I want to work with?
You might be a therapist who enjoys working with different populations – like individuals and couples, teens and families, queer and neurodivergent folks, people with anxiety and people who are grieving; athletes and students; the list goes on.
In order for your copy to reach all these people, consider:
creating specialty pages that speak to each population / experience specifically (ex: therapy for teens, therapy for families, therapy for anxiety)
on your home page, finding the common thread across all these experiences & speaking to this general theme
(ex: if you work with individuals and couples, and a common thread is that most of your clients have anxiety, maybe the copy of your home page focuses on anxiety)
How do I make my copy sound like me (and not like ChatGPT)?
If you’re using ChatGPT to write your copy, in part or in whole, then it’s possible your copy might sound robotic, stiff, inauthentic, flat, or “off” – like it wasn’t written by a human. Since therapy is all about human connection, copywriting that fails to connect is unlikely to convert clients.
Conversely, you might have written your copy on your own – but it still ended up sounding stiff or overly clinical.
So, how do you write copy that actually connects with clients?
Write like you’re having a kind, professional conversation with the person on the other end of the screen. Include words and phrases that you’d use in a real session.
Review notes from past intake sessions with great-fit clients, looking for key themes. What are people saying is bringing them into therapy? What are they struggling with? What are they hoping to get out of therapy? Use these notes as a jumping-off point for the copywriting on your website (while being mindful to respect the privacy of real client experiences).
Record a voice memo where you talk candidly about your services, what you’re like as a therapist, and what types of clients you work with. Then, transcribe the voice memo and use that as a base for your copy. That’s what you actually sound like – so let your website reflect that.
Should I share about my personal identities on my therapy website?
Your personal identities include: race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion/spirituality, neurotype, disability/ability, and more. Ultimately, it is up to you which identities you share on your professional therapy website (if any), and how you do so.
Some identities are visible; others are invisible. Naming your identities (to the extent that you are comfortable) may increase trust & connection between you and your clients.
Ask yourself:
What do I want my clients to know about me? In what ways does that impact the work we do together?
If I were a client seeking therapy, what would I want to know about my therapist before I reach out to them?
I’m overwhelmed & busy. Where should I focus my website efforts for maximum impact?
First: I get what it’s like to try to build your practice while running low on spoons (energy). It’s hard! Plus, you went to grad school to become a therapist, not a marketing strategist.
If you have a website that’s not converting as well as you’d like, there are many possible reasons why – design, copywriting, SEO, or all of the above. It’s likely that some things are working well for your current website, and other things could use some tweaks & optimization.
As a website strategist, my general advice is to focus on copywriting first.
Do your words connect with people? (Or do they sound robotic & vague?)
Are your services clearly explained?
Does your ideal client feel seen & heard by the words on your website?
When it comes to filling your therapy practice, I believe that high-quality, connection-building copywriting in a “boring" template is better than generic copywriting in a fancy design.
(That’s not to say design doesn’t matter – it absolutely has an impact as well! But even the best design can’t make up for a lackluster message.)
Once your copywriting is all set, then I’d focus on design + SEO.
Need another pair of eyes on your website?
👉🏽 Book a website audit with Liz.
I’ll provide personalized feedback on your site, and you’ll leave with 3+ actionable steps to improve your design, copywriting, and SEO.
Need help building or updating your therapy website?
Whether you’re starting from scratch or revamping your existing website, I’ve got you covered. Explore web design & copywriting services — so you can have a website that saves you time + energy, markets for you 24/7, and brings aligned clients to your practice.
👉🏽 Book an intro call for a website project with Liz.
