Special Edition: Therapist Website
In this Special Edition Podcast from Counselling Tutor, your host Rory Lees-Oakes speaks with Daragh Mac Loughlin from WebHealer about the importance of therapists having a professionally built website to promote their services, and instill confidence into potential clients.
Why should you consider having your therapist website professionally built?
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- A professional web designer will be able to give a real sense of yourself and your practice to your potential client.
- Your website is a great way to boost your credibility – as will adding things such as your qualifications and practice hours to your website.
- Google itself needs to be able to recognise your therapist website as credible in order to place you at the top of searches.
- How can the client get in contact with you? Book an appointment? It’s important that there is a really clear way to get in contact with you on your website.
- Add a time frame for your responses to potential clients - do you usually respond within 24hrs? This increases the chances of someone reaching out.
- Consider adding a calendar to your website where people can book an introductory session – something immediate.
- It’s important that your website is maintained and kept up to date – consider including news/blogs on relevant subjects.
- You’ll want to keep your website relevant, alive, and content-rich – Google will be able to recognise this value in your website.
- Think of your therapist website as your own personal shop front.
What can a web designer help you with?
- There are so many things to think about when it comes to putting a website together – having professional help will ensure your website is the best it can be.
- They can put your website together in a way that is both visually appealing, and represents your practice.
- They can help advise what key data points you’ll want to add to your website.
- They will structure your website in a way that is readable – a large amount of websites are now viewed on mobile phones, is the text on your website digestible?
- Your content needs to be structured in a way that Google can recognise as relevant – a website designer will have key knowledge on search engine optimisation (SEO) and will be able to integrate this as your website is built.
- Data protection – looking to your ethical body and the policies of any third party privacy policies.
- Ask your website designer who keeps on top of your websites software updates – you or them? At WebHealer, they will look after this for you.
- They can link in your social media, showing you are current, active, and up to date! However, it is important to be aware that what you're posting is relevant to your practice and appropriate to be displayed on your website.
- You can look at your website analytics – what part of your website is getting the most attention? Can you do more of that?
- It can be very useful to see how people are interacting with your website and whether there are any changes you can make to improve.
The National Counselling Society is proud to sponsor Practice Matters.
NCS are really excited to have launched their Children and Young People Therapist Register for counsellors working with the younger age group.
To find out more, visit nationalcounsellingsociety.org or simply click the button below.