I work with psychotherapists that offer teletherapy pretty much every day. And one thing that’s striking, is how some therapists have more clients than they can handle, while others are barely getting by.
The reason some therapist succeed while others don't is due to visibility and message. This is why marketing teletherapy is so important. Now more than ever, there are many thousands of people that really need someone to help them deal with all the stress, anxiety and uncertainty going on in their lives. And the practices that are thriving are the ones that are both easy to find when a prospective client is searching online for teletherapy and demonstrate they understand the importance of online therapy.
Marketing Teletherapy
The demand for online therapy has gone through the roof. To illustrate this, I’ve included a screenshot showing monthly Google search volume for the keyword online therapy, below:
As a digital marketing agency, our goal is to deliver the best ROI (return on investment) we can for our clients. And since SEO still provides what is widely considered the best ROI, we almost always recommend it as a medium to long-term strategy. But there are many practices that need help now and are looking for a way to generate leads in less time than it takes for an SEO campaign to take effect.
In the past, I’ve usually recommended Google Ads/AdWords when a client needed “instant” leads. However, current keyword bidding has driven the pricing of many relevant keywords like marketing teletherapy, online therapy and online counseling to a point where the ROI isn’t nearly as attractive as it typically is for Google Ads.
And because of the “bidding up” going on right now with Google Ads, I’ve shifted my agency’s paid ad strategy to Facebook Ads. With seemingly everyone at home, Facebook usage is way up. And cost per lead related to Facebook Ads is generally down. For these reasons, Facebook Ads are currently an excellent alternative to Google Ads/AdWords.
More People Than Ever Need Your Help – Here’s how to Help Them Find You
In addition to SEO and Facebook Ads, there are other things that I’m recommending to a client to help them get more online counseling clients as well. Recommended marketing for psychotherapists includes SEO optimized, teletherapy themed content such as blog posts and landing pages for their therapy website. And marketing videos, that explain the benefits of teletherapy.
Even as I write this update, over eight months into the pandemic, it's more clear than ever that there's been a fundamental shift in the way people access healthcare. And once a secondary method of receiving treatment, online therapy is now a mainstream, fundamental and accepted method of treatment. It's a major source of growth. And yet, most therapists have put no effort into online counseling marketing. And since marketing teletherapy is such a great way to grow a practice, it's one of the first things I look at when evaluating ways to help a psychotherapist grow through marketing.
And if like most psychotherapists, you have never really focused getting the best search rankings for your practice, now is a great time to consider it. SEO still provides the best ROI of any form of digital marketing. And if you are looking for a quick boost, I hope I’ve shown that it’s possible to grow your teletherapy client base now. In fact, not only is it possible in these COVID-19 Coronavirus dominated times. Many practices have proven that if done correctly, it’s actually easier than before.
My agency specializes in marketing for therapists. And as always, I’m available to answer any marketing questions you may have, or to help you grow your psychotherapy practice through digital marketing.
And in the meantime, hope you stay safe and healthy – and prosper!
