I've recently blogged about the pros and cons of group practice. Watch next week for more on running a solo practice. Until then, I'm curious how many of you practice in a group practice setting versus a solo practice. Take this poll and please pass it along to colleagues.
Do you practice in a group or solo practice? (c) Can Stock Photo
Incoming links to your site can help boost search engine rankings and act as a "vote of confidence" which increases traffic and brings in new clients to your therapy practice.
Here's quick way to find out which sites are linking to your website:
How to get more sites linking to your site:
One of the simplest ways to increase links is to incorporate a blog on your website and writing weekly. If you're providing valuable information and resources, others will share your information and link to your site.
Write guest blogs or articles for other sites and include links to your website in the article or your author information. You'll notice at the end of each of my blog posts on this site is a paragraph about me with links to my website. That's what I'm talking about.
Whenever you do any kind of media interview that has an online article ask that a link to your site be included in the story. The writers or producers may not automatically include links in the story. They aren't thinking about how to boost your SEO. That's your job. I did two interviews this week on different sites that included links to my websites: Taking Mental Health Therapy Online (WCG Common Sense blog) and The Virtual Therapist Can See You Now (Sharecare blog).
If you have colleagues who refer to you, or other professional partners, ask them to put a link to your site on their website and offer to link to their site too. I have a page on my practice website called "partners" that links to professionals that we trust (<--did you notice that I just linked to my practice website).
photo credit: Ravages
Check Alexa.com and see how many sites are linking to your practice website. Post the number in the comments below.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Nicole Bonsol, a writing, branding, and graphic designer for healers. She helps therapists create an inviting and powerful website and best craft their message to engage with their viewers. I was fascinated at what Nicole had to say, especially because of her unique role in the process of helping clinicians reach their audience. Here are some highlights of our discussion:
As therapists in 2016, we understand that having a functioning, informational, and attractive website isn’t just a good idea-it’s a necessity. But if you’re just starting out in private practice, it can be intimidating to build one from the ground up. How do you design your home page so a user can easily navigate and find what they need? How do you present information in a way that isn’t overwhelming or too “busy”? What’s the best way to make sure your content is mobile-friendly? And even when you figure out the answers to these questions, how do you make the vision in your head actually become reality on a website?
As healers, we genuinely like to do our work. Guiding clients through the therapy process and seeing them make progress is why we do what we do. But if you're in private practice, you know there's a lot going on in the back end and that it's crucial to run an efficient and organized business.