January 19, 2021
Read time:
4 minutes
Have you planned investments for your private practice in 2021?
If you're still allocating your marketing budget, I suggest putting some of it towards SEO this year.
Here are the top reasons that you should invest in SEO in 2021.
Invest in SEO once, and you reap the rewards long after you've invested.
Unlike other marketing forms, which require time and/or money consistently, SEO eventually requires little effort.
For example, Instagram requires you to consistently put out new content and show up on stories every day. Paid advertising (like on Google or Facebook) requires a consistent (and often sizeable) marketing budget. With SEO, you invest in a strategy and do the work (I recommend for a year or so), and then you have to do less time-consuming upkeep.
If you're on page one, it's easier to stay there. Staying at the top of potential clients' Instagram feeds? Way tougher.
Everyone is on Psychology Today, but not everyone is on Google.
You avoid potentially thousands of other competitors on Psychology Today by simply investing in SEO.
Not everyone trusts ads! It's estimated that ads have a CTR (click-through rate, or the ratio of people who see an ad and click) of about 1% - 6%.
By ranking on Google, potential clients will tacitly (or consciously) trust your website more, and you'll notice higher CTRs.
SEO strategies are evergreen! Although Google's algorithm changes, you're far less likely to get completely screwed over by other algorithms (like Instagram's).
Although it's important to monitor features that you can optimize for, SEO best practices have remained mostly consistent over the past decade.
SEO takes the guesswork out of marketing.
Although you're increasing brand awareness, when you invest in ads, that money is gone. With SEO, you invest in your website: an asset that you own.
You don't own your Instagram account. You don't own your Facebook page. Although ads and social media can be hugely beneficial, it's essential to prioritize your owned marketing assets by investing in your website, for example.
When someone searches "anxiety therapist near me," we know exactly what they want: an anxiety therapist close to them. By ranking on Google for terms like these, we meet potential clients when they're ready to work with a therapist. Facebook and Instagram ads target people who are "interested" in therapy. They might not be ready to hire anyone for a while.
With SEO, there's no minimum ad spend. And if you're new to private practice, you likely don't have a huge marketing budget. That's why I offer clients several avenues of working with me, from online courses to individual consulting to me doing SEO for them.
Are you interested in investing in SEO this year? Schedule a free consultation to learn more about working with me.
Hi, I’m Kristie Plantinga, the founder of Therapieseo. After working in the digital marketing industry as a content strategist, writer, website production manager, associate, and content manager, I decided to start my own business and serve a population close to my heart: therapists.
