7 Easy Steps to Write a Killer Blog for Your Therapist Website (part 1)

According to TherapyNotes, blogging regularly can double the traffic to your therapy website. I’ve seen this in both my clients and my own private practice- targeted blogging has brought therapy clients to my practice but has also brought opportunities to be in the media and consultation opportunities.

There are some major differences between blogging on your therapist website that improves your business and that ends up basically invisible.

When you first start blogging, it’s easy to become bogged down with all the details. The temptation to let go of everything that will help and just write your opinions or vent is pretty strong. While that might feel easier, a blog without strategy won’t do the job you’re hoping it will.

Instead of writing about “negative self-talk in depression” (something you talk to your clients about when they’ve been with you a while) imagine writing about “why you can’t sleep even when you’re exhausted”- the words your clients are typing into their phones at 2 am. This blog brings new visitors or prospective clients to your website daily,

More goes into effective blogging than just writing. You need to consider SEO, understand your audience, and be intentional about certain parts of your blog. All of this helps potential clients find your content and get to know you better.

In this blog, I will walk you through the 7 simple steps I use as a professional copywriter to create high-converting blogs. If you follow these steps, you'll create posts that attract ideal clients who are actively searching for therapy, help them connect with your approach, and make them feel understood enough to reach out to you for support.

The first step to creating a blog that helps you do all these things is;

1. Focusing in on the Audience, Topic, and Purpose for Your Therapist Blog

The first step in blogging, that happens before you write anything down is getting straight about who you are writing for. If you write about the details of cognitive behavioral therapy or the latest research in trauma treatment, will your ideal client be interested? Is that what they are searching for desperately in the middle of the night?

Prospective therapy clients aren’t looking for a clinical lecture- if they were they would be looking at research papers. They’re looking for someone who understands what they’re going through. They’re looking for help in words they can apply quickly.

Consider your ideal client. What keeps them up? What pushes them to Google “therapist near me”? What questions do they ask in their first session? These are the topics you want for your blog.

In our blog we are trying to be as helpful as possible. Sharing helpful information builds trust, and shows prospective clients what it’s like working with you. Think of your blog as the beginning of your consultation with your prospective clients.

You are showing them what it’s like to work with you.

Each blog has three purposes; Help you future clients find you -through SEO-, help them feel understood, so that they get to know you and connect with you. You are helping them decide if you are the right therapist for them.

When you’re thinking about topics, ask yourself;

“Is this something my ideal therapy clients are actively searching before therapy?”

“Will this content help them take the next step towards therapy and a more fulfilling life?”

In a good blog we are trying to mesh what our clients are searching for and what we know they need but aren’t quite looking for yet.

An example of this is instead of writing the article titled “symptoms of depression” you write about “why you can’t get out of bed even when you have been sleeping all day”. This addresses the same topic but more specified to what they are looking for and in their language. 

You do want to avoid talking about things they might not be interested in this early in the therapy process. For example if you work with clients for whom you are their first therapist you don’t want to talk about how childhood trauma contributes to depression. This is a topic for clients who have been further in their therapy journey.  It will scare away clients who are early on because they may not be ready to address that yet.

2. Find the Right Keywords for Your Blog Post

Now that you have your ideal client, topic and purpose in mind it’s time to make sure your clients can find your blog. This is where keyword research comes in-these are the clues that direct clients to your helpful content.

Therapists often get overwhelmed by the technical terms involved in SEO. I admit I was one of them for years. But keywords are just the words and phrases your ideal clients type into Google when they are looking for information and help.

The example we talked about above of not being able to get out of bed, that’s a keyword phrase that potential clients are searching for.

They also get stuck with the idea that it’s a science and that it’s important to do it just right.  But in reality it’s an art form and sometimes you’ll do everything right and you’ll get tons of traffic and sometime it just won’t work.  But you increase your chances by doing the keyword research and having your keywords in your blog in specific places.

Then you put out a really good quality blog (not perfect).

Now it is really tempting to just guess what your clients are searching for, but there’s no guarantee that you really know. I use a tool called Ubersuggest (some others are SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz).

I usually start my keyword research by exploring my topic( I have a paid account so I can search as many times as I want). I type in some basic words associated with my topic “depression”, “therapy for depression”. I know these words are going to have a high volume and be hard to rank for.  But they will often give me some ideas.

Then I start to get more specific. I try sleep issues in depression and when I’m looking at the information I come up with my keyword phrase and a couple others..  I usually want one shorter keyword and a couple phrases or what is called a long tail keyword.

When I’m doing keyword research for blogs I am looking for words that have a higher monthly search volume and a lower difficulty level. Sometimes if it is a really niche topic the search volume isn’t going to be super high but you’ll still get ideal clients headed your way.

This is why it’s an art and not a science. There are guidelines but each topic is going to be different.

Before you commit to a keyword type it in to Google and see what pops up. This will tell you what people are actually looking for with that keyword.

If your writing is weird because the keyword doesn’t quite fit and everyone leaves your site then the blog isn’t going to help your business. So it’s better to aim for readability while placing the keyword where it makes sense.  

If you see people in person adding “in [your city]” can make a big impact for you. These words have lower search volumes but the people looking are ready to find a therapist.

3. Settling on an Engaging Title

Your title does two things. It uses SEO to rank in Google searches (keywords are important here) and it’s interesting and targeted enough that the people it is meant for actually click on it. It needs to be inviting and accurately describe what you are writing about.

Some types of titles that are really good for therapy blogs;

• Lists- Break things down into easy digestible bites (“7 Ways to Get Better Sleep When You Are Depressed”)

• “How to”- help solve a specific problem (“How to Get Better Sleep”)

• Informational- answer questions-(“Why Can’t I Sleep When I’m Depressed”)

The important part here is making sure that the title accurately reflects what you are writing about.

Once you have an idea brainstorm some different versions. Include your keyword, but make it sound natural. I use Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer (they have a free version) to help my titles. A score of 70 or higher is best. But make sure it is something that your ideal client will click on.  

Make sure that you are following through with whatever your blog title promises. If you say you are going to give them 5 ways to get better sleep. Make sure that you deliver that information.

Taking the First Steps Toward Your Therapy Blog

So we’ve covered the beginning steps to creating your first effective therapy blog.  A blog that is effective and findable- knowing your audience, finding your keywords and creating a title that is attractive to your audience. 

These steps might seem like a lot but once they are done the writing comes a lot easier. They are crucial to making your blogs engaging and worth doing.

Focus on taking the three basic steps we talked about this week.

Once you’ve got these done you’ll be ready next week to create an outline, write your blog, and polish it up.

Part 2 of this blog will walk you through the next steps and help you to write a blog post that will attract and connect with your ideal clients. Watch for it soon!

Need help figuring out your ideal clients or keyword research? I help therapists create blogs that bring consistent traffic to their websites. Click here to schedule a free 30-minute consultation where we can talk about your blog goals and how to make them happen.