Establishing an Internet Presence For Therapists

Self-Assessment

Y N I come up on first page when I Google my name and zip code.
Y N I come up on first page when I Google my specialty and zip code.
Y N I regularly get new clients who said they found me on the internet.
Y N I don't want any more new clients.

If you answered No on these questions, this can be turned around. This information is targeted for mental health professionals who do not currently have much of an internet presence and who want to grow their practices. You can begin expanding your presence for free in less than 30 minutes.

More people are now finding therapists through internet searches than printed yellow pages and other means.

Some advantages of a web presence are:

1. It allows potential clients to find you, determine if you might help them, if you are an expert with their problem, and if they think you may be a good fit for them;
2. It helps establish your legitimacy as a professional and expert;
3. Provide contact information;
4. Provide articles, links, other resources, etc. that might be helpful to potential (and current) clients;
5. The information is available 24 hours a day;
6. It is an inexpensive, effective advertising tool;
7. It makes it easier for former clients to find us, refer to us, etc;
8. It is more likely to attract self-pay clients;
9. For those of us who are not inclined to market ourselves, once we are online, there is not much "upkeep," unless we maintain a blog, do a newsletter, etc. Those tasks can be done at our convenience, not just during business hours.

As you hone and grow your internet presence, you can anticipate growing numbers of potential clients contacting you.

Some will not come to you without your having a website. A website is probably the single most important thing that you can do to expand your marketing efforts. It will greatly increase your presence and legitimacy beyond having your profile listed in different places. One can quickly and inexpensively create a simple site. Don't wait until you have every detail worked out. Better to get a functional site up asap. Websites are dynamic entities.

There is no reason to not sign up for many different free listings. One that I suggest as a start is http://Therapist-psychologist.com, as they give you a free profile page. Next would be to list your practice on Google http://www.google.com/local/add/lookup?hl=en-US&gl=US.

There are also paid listing sites. Psychology Today is the most widely used site to find potential therapists. I recommend trying the site and work on honing your profile towards your "Ideal client." They have several professional forums. The other therapists who are active are friendly and very helpful. You can request feedback on your profile, as well as ask such things as which credit card service people use, request clinical feedback on cases, etc.

Another way to increase your presence is to write online articles and submit them to different sites. Most sites that post professional profiles welcome articles. Submitting articles can help establish yourself as an "Expert" on your niche You often can add a link back to your web site at the bottom of the article. There are both free and paid services that will submit articles to numerous sites.

REALITY CHECK: DON'T expect that your efforts will immediately show your website on the first page of Google and that you will receive 10 contacts the first (or other) day. However, if you see what Does show on the first page of searches, you can add yourself to those listings and also quickly be found. It is imperative to have patience and to continue to see how you can increase your presence. I believe it took me about 3 months after listing a profile on Psychology Today before I got a client who found me on the internet. Remember, like most other things, this is a PROCESS, NOT a DESTINATION.