As you’ve probably heard, having a website is no longer optional for practitioners… or ANY business. With each passing year, more and more consumers are looking online for local businesses BEFORE they are willing to call and schedule an appointment; some sources even estimate as many as 90% of all people.
A common misconception, though, is that just having a website is enough.
Truth is, most people who search online use Google. If your website doesn’t show up when they search for you, they’ll never even know you exist. The good news, though, is that you can take some simple actions to make sure people find you on Google. Yes, it will take a bit of elbow grease. But it’s well worth the effort. It’s important to learn how to get more website visitors and therefore, clients, from Google.
Here are the most important things to keep in mind:
Google’s Algorithms
Google uses computer algorithms to decide which websites are displayed when someone searches. These algorithms automatically comb through websites and find the ones Google feels are the best. So if you can understand what Google wants… then all you have to do is simply provide what they want on your website… and you will be more likely to display when people search for you. To do that, you’ll want to learn search engine optimization (or “SEO” for short).
Search Terms
Google organizes websites based on “search terms.” Search terms are what people type into Google when they want to find something. For example: somewhat might type “great restaurant in new York” or “baseball glove for my son”.
For each search term, Google’s algorithms decide which websites are the best ones. So, you’ll want to make sure your website is the best one for the search terms that people use to find you.
Discover the search terms that matter most to your business
If you are a Hypnotherapist in Chicago, then the most important search terms to keep in mind are things such as “Hypnotherapist in Chicago.” Because the people searching for that term are looking for you.
To find the search terms that are most important to your business, you can use the Google Keyword Planner. Just enter your profession, and take note of the related search terms it shows you. You can find it here:
https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
Get backlinks for those search terms
A backlink is when another website links to your website. Google’s algorithms view these links similar to votes in an election. If 10 other websites are voting for you (linking to your website)… and then 10 more start voting for you… you’ll be more likely to show up when people search on Google than you were before.
So you’ll want to make sure other websites are linking to your website. It’s critical, though, that you only get backlinks from websites that are closely related to yours. Otherwise, this won’t work.
The simplest way to get back links is to get article backlinks. This is where you write an article and then submit it to someone else’s site. And, at the bottom of the article, you include a link back to your website.
Just make sure that each article is specifically about one of the search terms that matters most to your business.
To get started, you can submit articles at www.ezinearticles.com.
On-Page SEO
On-Page Search Engine Optimization (or “SEO” for short) refers to the things you can change on your website to make it more likely you’ll show up when someone searches on Google.
The most important thing you can do for On-Page SEO is having quality content on your website… that is relevant to the people who visit your website.
For example: if someone comes to your website looking for a chiropractor, they should only see things related to that. They shouldn’t see unrelated e-books for sale, or anything else that isn’t directly related to what they want.
Make sure your site is “Mobile-Friendly”
On April 21st 2015, Google updated their algorithm to REQUIRE that your website is “mobile-friendly.” If your website doesn’t display nicely on mobile devices, your website will be very unlikely to show when people search for you on Google.
And since statistics show only about 20% of businesses have a mobile-friendly site, this is going to be a big upset for a lot of people. To test if your website is mobile-friendly, you can use Google’s free website checker here:
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
If you’d like help with any of this, I offer free 20 minute consultations for practitioners. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to talk to everyone. But I make an effort to reach out and help as many as I can.
Just click the link below to sign up.
https://holistichubwebsites.com/we-would-love-to-know-you/
I wish you all the best in life.
Beverly Taylor