Why Every Therapist Needs a Website

As a mental health professional, your primary focus is likely on taking care of your clients. But to do that, a strong connection with them needs to be formed. To do that in today’s modern world, they need to be able to find you. Not only find you, but learn about you and decide if you’re the right fit for them. 

When pondering how best to do this, you may have asked yourself, “Do I need a therapist website?” 

Simply put, the answer is YES. In today’s digital, fast-moving world, people seek immediate gratification. Upwards of40% of clients search for mental health services online. 

If you’re serious about growing your business and attracting more clients, a website is a must. 

In this blog, I’ll cover many of the reasons why it’s in your best interest to have a compelling therapist website. I'll also throw in some helpful tips and examples to help you get started on – and enhance – your website. 

Why You Need a Professional Therapist Website

When you’re looking for a specific service, what’s the first resource you turn to? Years ago, it might have been the yellow pages of a phonebook, or by asking a trusted friend or physician. Now, an estimated 80% of Americans turn to the internet first in their search for healthcare. 

Your website is your best salesperson - it works for you 24 hours a day - even when you’re sleeping. Consider it your digital billboard or storefront.

This applies whether you’re just starting out in private practice, or are already up and running. You want clients to be able to find your business easily. You also want to appear credible and likable. 

The best (although maybe not the easiest) way to do that is to build a quality website. This website should showcase both your talents and your personality. 

And without a professional website, you're making it more difficult for yourself. Websites are one of the most important attributes for a business in our hyper-connected digital world. A powerful, legitimate, and compelling online presence can take you far. 

A Website for Therapists Connects You with Clients

Our field has made a lot of progress and many open minded clients have come through our doors. Yet, there's still a lingering stigma when talking about mental health and emotions. 

Seeking help can be a difficult decision. Even individuals well aware that they need life-affirming support will still avoid it. Around the world, 45% to 81% of people don’t seek help for clinical-level mental health challenges.

When asked why, the reasons vary. Many say they don't have confidence in mental health treatment. They don’t believe treatment will be effective. Others have a lack of knowledge of its benefits. Others are afraid of judgment or feeling shame with seeking help. Then there are those that can't afford or access care.

While a website isn't going to solve societal or shame-based issues; it can still benefit the general public. It'll improve your accessibility to your prospective clients. 

An online presence puts you and your services within reach of a potential client. Especially those that are actively searching and ready to enter therapy. 

You can structure your website however you’d like. An example of a page is one where you list your services and explain your therapeutic approach. You could also include more information about the specific mental health challenges you'd like to work with. 

You could have a blog for insightful articles on topics related to mental health and therapy. 

You could have an “About” page detailing how your practice was founded and grown over the years. You could also highlight testimonials and reviews from past clients.

A compelling therapy website also does something important. It establishes your credibility as a mental health professional. You can establish your website's level of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. This is done by getting endorsements from colleagues, press features, and client testimonials. 

In fact, Google has special guidelines for websites that involve YMYL (Your Money or Your Life). It descirbes having content that is misleading or inaccurate. If so, it could impact the reader's health, safety, wellbeing or finances. As a result of this, Google created search algorithms. These algorithms assess website content according to “EEAT” -Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. 

If a reader on your website lacks confidence in their knowledge about therapy, your content can help. You can include information that can help ease any potential client's doubts. For those that are afraid of being stimatized, you can offer online resources. These can help ease any anxities about being vulnerable. It can also help someone gather the emotional courage to seek help. 

For those who worried about affordability, clearly detailed information can help. A therapist website can help by offering information about insurance and payments. Most people don't understand how in-network or out-of-network benefits work when paying for therapy.
 

Online Visibility: Are You Who You Say You Are?

The sum of your website should be able to answer the question, “Are you who you say you are?” You want to help your clients. It’s not enough to say it —  you have to show it. The information you offer cultivates the publics perception of your professional presentation.

Consumers nowadays can remain wary. They question the information online. Some might worry about falling into the care of someone unqualified. To combat this, your therapist website should establish your credibility. Clients should also be able to research your credentials easily. 

Other Platforms for Therapists Online Marketing Efforts 

If you already have a professional therapy website, you might consider branching out to social media.

Do you already have a substantial social media presence? After all, social media grants you even more online visibility.

Social media can be a powerful tool in marketing your business. The audience from social media can be funneled to a single platform – your website. Once they reach your website, you can inspire them to take action and reach out. 

Social media comes with the benefit of a large audience. It can be a good way to spread your message and plant the seed of awareness, but it does have its limitations. 

On social media, you’re limited by the platform’s rules. Your posts can only be a certain character count, you can only format images a certain way, and so on and so forth. The rules surrounding social media are also constantly changing and evolving. This can make it difficult to carve out a niche for yourself exactly the way you want it. All while delivering the information potential clients are seeking. 

This is why websites can remain an integral part of the client’s therapy journey. If you catch their interest with a short post on social media, they’re more likely to visit your website. Here they can find more for more information on you and your offerings. If you don’t have a website, every online marketing strategy could be used to boost your social media pages. Still, it may end up being for nothing. Many will perceive you as having low credibility without a website. 

Therapist Websites and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website can also offer great opportunities for outreach and marketing.  

Search engine optimization, or SEO, may seem like one of those buzzwords with how often it’s thrown around. But, it does have its merits and can be a great value. 

Every day, Google handles around 5.6 billion searches. Your ideal client might search for something like “anxiety therapy” or “therapy near me.” You'll want your website to be as close to the first search result. Around 25% of peoplewill click on the first result and 75% won’t even progress to the second page of results. 

A properly optimized website can bring you to the higher echelon of rankings. This is more likely to attract your potential clients. They’ll see you on their search results, click through to you website link, and browse through your site. If what they see on your website aligns with what they’re looking for, they’re highly likely to want to reach out. They might look for things like your background, personality, services, style, endorsements, etc.

If you don’t have a website, you’ll miss out on these opportunities. This could be a considerable amount of clients that you're not connecting with. 

Even if you do have a therapist website, don’t assume you’re off the hook when it comes to keeping it up to date. Search algorithms and marketing trends change over time. Other practices and competitors will also be investing time in improving their websites. Your place in the search rankings is never set in stone. It’s vital to run a health check on your website every now and then to ensure it’s still performing well.

Things To Keep in Mind When Building a Therapist Website

By now, we hope that we’ve convinced you of the value of having a website for your private practice.

I understand that if you’re not tech-savvy, the idea of building a website may be intimidating. There are a few basic principles you can apply regardless of your skillset. You can still create a powerful and compelling website that works for you. 

1. Define your niche — 
   As tempting as it is to cast as wide a net as possible, your website will be most effective when it draws in a specific set of clients. These will be the clients that have challenges you want to, and can help with. Are you focusing on a specific demographic, style of therapy, or mental health challenge? In being vague or too generalist in your offerings, you’re not standing out in the crowd. Give yourself an edge and define who you are. Who can you help, and how will you help them? Use this to guide your website development. It will also guide your ideal clients to you.
2. Develop your value proposition — 
   Your value proposition is what sets you apart from the crowd. It’s the beating heart of your marketing efforts. To come up with your value proposition, consider your niche or target audience. What do you want to help them with? What can they gain from working with you, instead of other therapists? Knowing what makes your practice special will help you market it. This will help formulate your about page and calls to action (CTAs).
3. Map out your therapist website — 
   This is a simple but helpful exercise for envisioning the navigation of your site. Create a “map” by listing out the pages you want to have and where they should. Some will be main pages, and others nested (e.g. Your main pages should be Services, About Us, and Contact Us. Under Services, you should have individual pages for the types of therapy you offer).
4. Learn from real-world examples — 
   Check out the competition! This will help you get a better idea of where you need to stand out. You can get started by checking here and here for great therapist websites. These are from a web designer who specializes in working with therapists.
5. Do research on hosting services — 
   To launch your website, you’ll need to pay a service provider to “host” it (i.e. you’ll use their servers to host your content). There are plenty of hosting providers available. Some popular and reliable ones are Bluehost, GoDaddy, Hostinger, HostGator, InMotion, and more. They differ in their prices, services, and ease of use, so shop around to see what works best for you.
6. Consider hiring a website designer — 
   If you want to go above and beyond, the help of a skilled website designer can elevate your website. They’ll be able to optimize your site for both desktop and mobile. They can also ensure all the features are responsive and glitch-free.

If you want to dive deeper into therapist website design, check out our guide: Key Parts of a Stellar Therapist Website. We break down exactly what you need to include in your website, and what to do before it goes live. We also go over how to use your website to attract your ideal clients.  

Once your site up and running, read our guide about Online Marketing for Therapists: 10 Strategies to Grow Your Practice. This is a simple guide designed to help you grow your online presence with real, actionable steps.  

Build Your Website for Therapists Confidently with Clarity Cooperative

It’s natural to want your practice to grow. It’s also ok to struggle with it, many therapist do. Growing your practice requires skills and knowledge that are out of your comfort zone. Not to mention that it seems like competition is around every corner. If you’re out of your depth with websites and online marketing, reach out to us at the Clarity Cooperative. 

We’re a group of therapists dedicated to helping other therapists grow their businesses. Visit our website today to learn more about our community, resources, and much more.