SEO for therapists: Get a free diagnosis of your rankings

With a full schedule of patients to care for, it’s hard for therapists to find time to focus on local SEO. But a good therapist SEO strategy doesn’t necessarily mean hours in front of a computer, a dedicated marketing team and expert knowledge of SEO for therapists. Semrush. Local is here for busy therapists who need to improve their online visibility without the huge investment of resources one might expect.

How SEO for therapists works

Since the pandemic, remote therapy has helped thousands of people navigate a dramatically changing world and the mental health issues that come with it. But traditional face-to-face therapy is still in high demand. These days, patients looking for a local therapist typically reach for their phone to conduct a “near me” or location-based search. The first results on the Google search engine results page (SERP) are paid ads, highlighted as “sponsored”. However, these results aren’t always the most useful for local searches. The above result is somewhat relevant, but BetterHelp is a 100% online therapy platform, so perhaps not the most helpful solution for a patient exclusively looking for a local therapist. Scrolling down, we come to rich results from popular websites. Credible directories like Yelp and social media platforms like Facebook are often used to find local services, and well-reviewed therapists should appear in their roundups. But local SEO for therapists is typically focused on the Local Pack, which lists the top three results in the area according to Google's algorithm. In the above example, the top result is the therapist with the highest number of reviews. However, the second result includes a review excerpt, giving it a little more real estate on the page and a specific reason for users to click. The third-place result has the highest average rating at 5.0, but with only one review, has failed to outrank competitors. With even minimal local SEO effort, any therapist in Wichita Falls could become the top-ranking result by far. 

Real progress: Getting published in top online directories doesn’t have to be anxiety inducing. Semrush Local's Listing Management tool distributes your therapy practice to 70+ of the top online directories in next to no time.

How to audit your therapist SEO for free

Before beginning your therapist SEO overhaul, you'll need to do an initial analysis of your listings. Start with a free Listing Management audit from Semrush. Simply enter your company name to bring up your local listings. In the above example, this therapist has several issues with their local listings that need to be fixed. Wrong numbers, inconsistent business names, missing addresses and listing opportunities yet to be seized can all negatively impact local SEO. And all it takes is a little extra attention to your citation building. 

Consistency is key: Semrush Local's Listing Management tool keeps a constant eye on your listings and alerts you to any errors.

Google Business Profile: A huge opportunity for therapist SEO

Good SEO for therapists focuses on optimizing for the number one engine for local search: Google. With a 92.63% market share across all devices, Google is most clients first stop for finding a local therapist online. And fortunately, there’s plenty you can do to make sure you present yourself as professionally as possible. Google Business Profile (GBP) gives therapists control over how their practice is presented with several opportunities for optimization. Google takes owner-submitted data from GBP and uses it to populate Search and Maps results. This means therapists have the power to make changes and stand out from other practices. First, create or claim your GBP . The most important information to get right is your NAP data (name, address, phone number). Once you’re sure your NAP is accurate, move on to providing a detailed business description (up to 750 characters) and your opening hours. Choose the most relevant GBP category from the below list as your primary category and add secondary categories, if relevant (you can select up to 10):

• Psychotherapist 
• Psychiatrist
• Psychologist 
• Psychoanalyst 
• Mental health clinic 
• Mental health service 

Add your opening date, website URL, and social media profiles. Upload photos that show your offices, the main entrance, and team so patients know what to expect when they arrive. Choose the therapy services you offer from the predefined list. Add information about the facilities like disabled access, toilets, and languages spoken. 

Finally, add any common patient questions in the Q&A to help people decide if they’ve found the right therapist before they get in touch. Once you’ve completed every section of your Google Business Profile, you should get a nice green circle on the manager’s interface showing your profile strength. Remember, it’s important that your Google Business Profile is consistent with other listings, so it’s worth connecting your profile to Listing Management. 

Simple reporting: Whenever you make big changes to your local SEO, it’s important to track your progress. Semrush Local brings all the insights from Google Business Profile into the platform, making it easier to create reports and cross reference with other valuable SEO data.

Online reviews: Getting your clients to open up

Reviews are important to all small businesses, but when you’re dealing with people’s mental health, they’re especially valuable. Potential clients are likely to check reviews before they get in touch, and they’ll pay particular attention to negative feedback. Google Local Pack results pull review extracts right onto the results page, so it’s important to take control of your online reputation. Generating reviews is actually quite simple and happy clients are usually willing to help you out with feedback if they’ve had a good experience. Send a text (SMS has the best open rate) with a brief message and link to your Google reviews . Reply to reviews to show customers you appreciate their opinions and encourage other patients to leave feedback. Prompt response: Semrush Local's Review Management tool brings all your reviews together so you can reply in your own time. For Google reviews, you can get back to clients right there on the platform.

Therapist SEO content: Building trust with clients

Great content is an important part of SEO for therapists. With thorough keyword and audience research, you can start creating content for your website that will attract potential clients organically. Informative articles establish you as an authoritative therapist and an expert on specific mental health issues potential patients may be suffering from. And by paying attention to local keywords, content can even boost your rankings for searches in your area. Content SEO for therapists is also a great way to attract links, whether you pitch it to websites as a valuable resource or attract them organically. 

Content is king: Semrush Guru subscribers get access to the platform’s suite of content marketing tools, including Content Shake , to help you write perfectly optimized articles.