4 things you can do to your website to grow your private practice
Published on April 27, 2017. Author: Brighter Vision
Whether you have had your website up and running for quite some time now, or you just got it set up (congrats!) these private practice website tips will help you attract your ideal clients, turn website visitors into clients and increase your rank on search engines.
As you read through this post, consider making changes directly to your website as you see fit. If you are a Brighter Vision customer, let our support team (support@brightervision.com) know about the changes you want to make and see your website transform before your eyes! :)
Tip #1: add a video or high-quality recent photo of yourself where people can easily see it
Photo credit: Unsplash
A good rule-of-thumb is to include a high-quality, recent photo of yourself directly on your homepage where your visitors can see it upon first entering your site. You will also want to make sure you are including your photo/video on your about me page as well.
Why is this important?
For your clients, making the initial decision to contact you is monumental. When searching for a therapist, one will want to make sure that the therapist will not only be compatible with his/her issues, but also with his/her personality. Before the initial reach-out, your potential client may have reviewed dozen of other therapist profiles before finding you. When they do land on your page, having a recent, high-quality photo on your website is the first thing that a potential client will notice. Your photo will be the first step in creating trust amongst your potential client, so you want to make sure you are doing all you can to create a good first impression.
A video is even better in helping to create trust between you and a potential client. With a video, a potential client gets to know more about you and your office. Having a video on your website will connect you with your ideal clients in an effortless manner.
Amy Quinn, LMFT and Lourdes Viado, Ph.D., MFT both do a fantastic job incorporating tip #1 in their website. Both of their websites feature high-quality photos as well as beautiful videos. Their videos give the audience an idea of what a therapy session with them will be like.
Tip #2: offer something of value on your website in exchange for an email and continue to foster that relationship
Photo credit: Unsplash
By offering something of value to your website visitors (think blog posts, email courses, videos, downloadable worksheets etc.) you are able to capture email addresses (and then stay top-of-mind), and also further position yourself as a thought leader in the mental health community.
One of our favorite ways of doing this is adding an email opt-in in exchange for daily, weekly or monthly resources. When you get someone’s email address, you can foster the relationship by sending them resources directly to their inbox.
Joshua Watson, LMFT does a fantastic job of offering his visitors valuable content on his website. You will notice, when you first arrive on his website, a pop-up prompts you to provide your email in exchange for helpful resources. This seems like an easy trade-off, right? Then Joshua can continue to foster the relationship they have made with their website visitors through email blasts and hopefully, turn those website visitors into clients.
Tip #3: make sure all design aesthetics are consistent throughout your site
Colors
Did you know that certain colors can convey emotions? For example, red, orange and yellow are next to each other on the color wheel and are all warm colors. Warm colors often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy.
Pathways to Healing Counseling and Ashlie Brown Therapy both do a great job of using these colors. It's hard not to feel happy, optimistic and energized just by looking through their websites!
Cool colors include green, blue, and purple. Cool colors are usually calming and soothing but can also express sadness (so be careful using these colors!). Purple is often used to help spark creativity as it's a mixture of blue (calm) and red (intense). If you are looking to portray an image of health, beauty or security, incorporate these colors.
Dr. Lily Van Cleave Psychotherapy and Dr. Margie Slater Psychology both do a beautiful job at using purple, blue and green throughout their websites. The colors used throughout help to convey feelings of calmness, tranquility and security.
Photo credit: Unsplash
Photos
As the tale goes, photos are worth a thousand words, so you'll want to spend extra time picking the perfect photos for your website. Studies show that humans have an average attention span of only 8 seconds. This means that you need to capture your visitor's attention as soon as they arrive at your site. What's the best way to accomplish this? Through beautifully compelling photos.
It's important to showcase the right photos your ideal client will be drawn to.
Here are some beautiful websites that clearly communicate to their ideal client what they do, through the use of photos:
Similar to colors, you can also use photos to convey emotions and feelings. Beautiful photos draw people in, consider how you feel when you see these stunning photos upon entering these sites:
Tip #4: use keywords throughout your website
Photo credit: Unsplash
Using keywords throughout your website will help increase your rankings on Google. This is also known as search engine optimization. More specifically, search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website so that people can easily find it via search engines.
One way to rank higher in the search engines is by specifying throughout your website what exactly you do with keywords. Keywords can be descriptive words or phrases that you want Google to rank you for when searched. For example, if you are an LMFT, you want to use keywords throughout your site that you think a potential client will use when they search for an LMFT in their area, such as “marriage help Boulder” or “marriage counseling in Boulder”.
Another thing you can do to increase your ranking is specifying throughout your site where you are located with keywords. Make sure you are including your location throughout the content on your website.
For more tips on SEO help, visit this article here: www.brightervision.com/improve-therapist-seo.
Once you have implemented these 4 private practice website tips, take this website grader quiz: www.brightervision.com/website-grader and see how your website ranks!
Brighter Vision designs beautiful websites for therapists that are as unique as your practice. No two websites are ever the same, just take a look at this website and this website. Brighter Vision also provides unlimited tech support and complimentary SEO, so people will find you online. Do your practice a favor and let Brighter Vision showcase your unique business to your ideal clients.