When I first opened my private practice in 2004, I was one of the first in my area to build a website and marketing online. When you looked for a therapist in Boca Raton, boom, there I was. I didn’t even have to advertise for the first year or so in order to make it on the first page of the search results. And when I did start advertising with Google Adwords, pay-per-click advertising was a whole new ballgame. (I remember setting my maximum bid at $0.05 because there was NO WAY I was paying more than a nickel for measly click to my site.)
In fact, this was so new that someone filed a complaint against me with the Department of Health. I was listed as a psychotherapist, but Google would show my results on the search term for psychologists (because there weren’t any psychologists advertising at that point). Nowhere was I stating that I was a psychologist, Google just matched me up the best it could. Well, there was a local psychologist who saw this and filed a complaint against me. When I explained that I had nothing to do it with, he demanded that I contact Google to have them change their keyword search term algorithm. (Because of course Google is going to take instruction on how to rewrite their program from me.) Needless to say, I made it through that incident, but there are two important points from this that I want to share with you.
First, when you are marketing yourself online, you are putting yourself out in the vast wilderness of the internet for people to take shots at. This level of visibility means that we have to carefully brand ourselves online and make sure every aspect of our online presence is consistent with that brand. In order to have this level of branding, you need to have a carefully constructed strategy for where you will (and won’t) have a presence, and make sure you clearly articulate your marketing message in a way that is compelling to your potential clients.
Second, the internet has changed so much since I began my practice 11 years ago. The strategies I used are no longer effective. The advertising I paid for is no longer a sure thing. As a practice owner, you need to ensure that your online marketing strategies reflect the internet we are using today. This means that even strategies that worked six months or a year ago may not provide you with the same results they once did. Email open rates are down, Facebook business pages are not getting much attention, and Google click rates are down.
If online marketing is one of your primary sources of clients (or if you wish it was), then you need to make sure that you are at the top of your game with everything from Search Engine Optimization to Social Media Strategies.
If you’re ready to attract more clients online, and implement strategies that are working RIGHT NOW, download our FREE diagram, The 4-Step Process to Attracting Clients Online.
The 4-Step Strategic Process for Attracting Clients Online The (It AIN’T About the Website)
