Got an amazing website? Great! Now, where do you land in Google search results?
(aka can potential clients find your website when they search for you?)
Let’s talk about the basics of SEO this week. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and simply put, it means how optimized your website is to perform in searches. The science of SEO is more complex than what we can cover in one blog post but we will start with the basics and build from there.
There are several keys to optimizing your website, and to simplify we will break them up into on-site and off-site elements. On-site elements are features you can have within your site to help it perform better while off-site elements are found outside of your site, including other websites, social media, Google tools, etc. More about off-site elements later, today we will be focusing on on-site elements to help boost your SEO.
You’ve probably heard about the importance of keywords, and we will tell you that keywords for therapists are crucial and the best place to start when thinking about SEO. Spend some time thinking about what your clients are typing into the Google search bar when looking for a therapist online. Do some research! Ask around, and check out Google Keyword Tool (a topic for a different post!) to get an idea of what people type when searching for the services you provide. You might be surprised that what you find is different than what you predicted or perhaps, what you would like clients to be searching for.
Compile a list of 5 solid key words, and optimize your site for those searches. Meaning, if your keyword is “Teen therapist San Diego”, will your site appear on the front page if I type that keyword into Google? Your keywords should be used wisely within your context of your website. When I say wisely, I mean it should not be every other word, but it should appear frequently in your text. The optimal amount? About 2-4% of your words.
Size and age matter! If Google notices that your site has tons of relevant content and that you are constantly adding new relevant content, your site will get a big boost in SEO. The best way to accomplish this is by adding a blog to your site. Blogging once a week adds a whole page of quality material to your site and keeps it relevant at the same time.
The next big on-site element is user experience. Your site should be visually appealing, quick and easy to navigate. All of this matters because if visitors don’t like the look and feel of your site when they land there, they’ll quickly “bounce” or leave after seeing only one page, which will affect your SEO.
So was this everything you wanted to know about SEO and more? We hope not! This is merely the tip of the iceburg (if that). But we’re here to help and teach. This is a great place to start from and build your way to a fantastic website. Next, we’ll cover off-site elements and from there build on each of these concepts to give you a clear understanding of each piece of the SEO puzzle.
(aka can potential clients find your website when they search for you?)
Let’s talk about the basics of SEO this week. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and simply put, it means how optimized your website is to perform in searches. The science of SEO is more complex than what we can cover in one blog post but we will start with the basics and build from there.
There are several keys to optimizing your website, and to simplify we will break them up into on-site and off-site elements. On-site elements are features you can have within your site to help it perform better while off-site elements are found outside of your site, including other websites, social media, Google tools, etc. More about off-site elements later, today we will be focusing on on-site elements to help boost your SEO.
You’ve probably heard about the importance of keywords, and we will tell you that keywords for therapists are crucial and the best place to start when thinking about SEO. Spend some time thinking about what your clients are typing into the Google search bar when looking for a therapist online. Do some research! Ask around, and check out Google Keyword Tool (a topic for a different post!) to get an idea of what people type when searching for the services you provide. You might be surprised that what you find is different than what you predicted or perhaps, what you would like clients to be searching for.
Compile a list of 5 solid key words, and optimize your site for those searches. Meaning, if your keyword is “Teen therapist San Diego”, will your site appear on the front page if I type that keyword into Google? Your keywords should be used wisely within your context of your website. When I say wisely, I mean it should not be every other word, but it should appear frequently in your text. The optimal amount? About 2-4% of your words.
Size and age matter! If Google notices that your site has tons of relevant content and that you are constantly adding new relevant content, your site will get a big boost in SEO. The best way to accomplish this is by adding a blog to your site. Blogging once a week adds a whole page of quality material to your site and keeps it relevant at the same time.
The next big on-site element is user experience. Your site should be visually appealing, quick and easy to navigate. All of this matters because if visitors don’t like the look and feel of your site when they land there, they’ll quickly “bounce” or leave after seeing only one page, which will affect your SEO.
So was this everything you wanted to know about SEO and more? We hope not! This is merely the tip of the iceburg (if that). But we’re here to help and teach. This is a great place to start from and build your way to a fantastic website. Next, we’ll cover off-site elements and from there build on each of these concepts to give you a clear understanding of each piece of the SEO puzzle.