Maximizing Your Therapy Website's Potential: A Strategy for Attracting Your Ideal Clients
You’ve built a website (or had it built by someone!) and it’s looking great, but how do you use it to get people signing up to be your client?
It can feel like an impossible task. Even if you’re getting some traffic, you may not be seeing the traffic convert into clients who want to work with you. So, how can you turn your website into a platform that really helps you connect with your ideal clients and, just as importantly, turn away the ones who aren’t ideal?
In this post, we are going to share with you our top 7 tips to help you improve your website so that you can create deeper connections with those who land on it, take them through a journey with call-to-actions and turn them into paying clients.
The (common) number one mistake
One of the biggest reasons why websites don’t convert visitors into clients is that the journey that leads them to book a consultation or session isn’t clear enough. It could be that there aren’t enough call-to-actions (CTAs) or it’s unclear for your site visitors whether you’re the right therapist for them.
Potential clients do not want to (and they won’t) search through every page of your website to find out how they can work with you. They will simply click off and go elsewhere. So, before you keep reading, our first BIG tip is to go to your website now and make sure you have at least one call-to-action on every page of your website.
Aside from this, though, let’s dive into our top 7 tips for connecting with your customers, as well as some bonus tips for creating emotional connection once they’re on your site.
1. Clearly state where you work and who you work with
This might sound like an obvious one, but it’s something many websites forget to mention. Clearly outlining who your services are for is essential for building a connection.
Make sure to state where you work, too:
Do you do in-person sessions?
Are they at an office or somewhere else?
Do you do online only?
These factors can make a difference in whether someone wants to work with you or not, and will help to give potential clients a bigger overall picture.
2. Clearly state who you don’t want to work with
As with clearly outlining who you do want to work with, it’s okay to set boundaries for the types of clients you don’t want to work with. For example, “I do not work with children under the age of 10” or “I only provide virtual therapy and do not see clients in person.”
It can be worded kindly, for example, ‘In order to give the best service to all my clients, I only take on people within the [name your location] area.’ Yes, it will mean that some people won’t be able to work with you, but that’s the point – you’re setting your boundaries and sticking to them.
3. Write copy that speaks to the clients you want to connect with - be specific to their experience and pain points
Writing website copy that connects with your ideal client requires a deep understanding of who you’re speaking to. If the client you’re hoping to attract is the type of client you are already working with then you have a unique insight into the problems and goals of this client. When writing your website copy, it’s important to use words and phrases that your ideal client will connect with. Ask yourself, “What do I hear my clients saying about their struggles in session? How do they talk about their hopes and dreams?” Craft copy that weaves in this language.
Want to outsource your copywriting? We can help you! Learn more here.
4. Write blog posts that answer common questions your ideal clients may have or that support their common pain points
We’ve done a whole post on how to write a great blog post so make sure to check that out so that you can start creating high-quality content.
Having a blog allows you to provide in-depth, useful information and it helps you get across more of your personality. Creating blog posts that answer your ideal client’s common questions Having a blog will also make your website more searchable by Google, so it’s a great way to drive additional traffic (i.e. potential customers) to your site.
5. Use SEO best practices to attract ideal clients using short- and long-tail keywords
Keywords are really important for making sure the right people come to your website. Short-tail keywords are those that your client will immediately think of when looking for your service - think ‘therapist’, ‘therapy’ or ‘counselor’. Long-tail keywords are generally longer, for example, ‘couples-therapist-toronto’. Include keywords in your website description, copy and blog posts.
Also, make sure you’re providing links to other pages of your website on each page, as search engines prefer websites that provide an engaging customer experience.
6. Make the journey easy
The customer experience on the website should be as easy and enjoyable as possible.
What does this mean?
The website should be clean and relatively minimal and the menus and sub-menus shouldn’t be over-complicated (avoid using vague headings - if it’s an ‘About You’ page, call it that. People don’t want to have to decipher meanings!). Each page should have information and links to other pages so that your customers don’t reach a dead end.
Because the main reason you’ve built your website is to get your services visible to people (with a potential secondary goal of providing information and free advice), you must do just that. Some websites tend to be somewhat shady about what they offer and, more importantly, how much it costs.
We recommend being transparent. The reason for this is two-fold: firstly, people like to know what they’re getting into before enquiring. Many people associate no numbers with high numbers, so they may not even send you a message because they think you’re out of their price range. Secondly, by having your prices (or even a price range), you’ll eliminate anyone who simply cannot afford it at that time.
There is no point in them contacting you only for them to ghost you when you disclose the price - it’s a waste of their time and yours.
Bonus: Creating an emotional connection
Be YOU!
This is all about truly building connection.
Although you’re creating a website that’s informative and educational, you can still put your personality into it. The thing that will make you stand it is who you are as a person, as well as a therapist, so let some of your inner self shine through.
This works to attract those who will align with you as a therapist and put off those who won’t gel with you. That’s ok - you want to work with people who you can get along with in a professional capacity.
Finally…
With a few tweaks and some thoughtful additions to your website, you’ll soon have created an interesting, searchable and personable place where people can come to find out more about you and the services you offer.
Combined with a marketing plan to get your website linked – i.e. on social media – you’ll soon see your inbox filling up with emails asking to work with you.
