The

ULTIMATE
SEO Checklist:
for Therapists

therapyden.com
 The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

INTRODUCTION:
HOW TO USE THIS CHECKLIST

The checklist is divided up into three color coded categories. Items in green are high
priority and should be addressed first. Next, you’ll want to move on to the orange
items, which are medium priority. These items take a bit more time and may require
a little more thought. The red colored items are low priority. That doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t complete them though. It’s just that they’ll take the longest to complete and
are geared towards making sure your site doesn’t just rank on the first page of results,
but ranks high on the first page of results.

First, quickly run through your current site and jot down the score you get.
High priority: /54 + Medium priority: /44 + Low priority: /19 =
Now run through a few of your competitors sites and recored their scores.
Competitor:
High priority: /54 + Medium priority: /44 + Low priority: /19 =

Competitor:

High priority: /54 + Medium priority: /44 + Low priority: /19 =

Competitor:

High priority: /54 + Medium priority: /44 + Low priority: /19 =

After you have your competitors scores you’ll have a good idea of the score you need
to beat them.

Once Google notices your changes it still takes time for them to adjust your search
ranking. On average it takes about 3 weeks for your website to change it’s position.

The checklist is pretty straight forward and easy to understand. If you don’t know
what something means a quick Google search will easily answer your question. You
can also search the Practice Academy site by scrolling down to the footer and typing in
your search query.

therapyden.com
The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

SECTION ONE:
KEYWORDS

When someone is searching for information online, they will usually visit a search
engine and enter some words describing what they are looking for. The term
“keywords” refers to the word or string of words they type in.
Keyword Content
1. Each page has at least three identifiable keywords

2. Keywords are in layman’s terms

3. Keywords and phrases are relevant to the individual page’s content

4. Some pages target mid-tail keywords

5. Some pages target long-tail keywords

6. Keywords are integrated in conversational language

7. Multiple synonyms of each keyword or keyword phrase are present

Keyword Placement
8. Important keywords are placed at the front of page titles

9. Keywords appear in the headings and sub headings of content

10. Keywords appear at least 3 to 5 times throughout content (more if the content
is long)
11. Keywords are in the url
12. Keywords are in the navigation menu

13. Keywords appear in the first 100 words of the page’s copy

14. Keywords are found in image alt descriptions

15. Keywords appear in the anchor text on internal and external links

16. Keywords are found in the file names of images

therapyden.com
The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

SECTION TWO:
PAGE TITLES

Each page on your website has its very own title. The page title tells Google what
keywords are most important to your site. If you don’t enter a custom title for your
site, it will be given a default title, which isn’t always the best way to go because it
often won’t contain your most popular keywords for that page and, as a consequence,
your page will not get indexed in the right place.

17. Every page has a unique page title

18. Title employs some coherent sentence structure and is not just a list of
keywords
19. Titles are 55 to 60 characters long (512 pixels max are shown on search engine
result pages)
20. Important keywords for the page are at the front of title

21. Company name or practitioner name at the back of title

SECTION THREE:
PAGE DESCRIPTIONS

Meta descriptions are just for search engine result pages and are displayed under the
page title. If you don’t enter a custom description for each page, than Google will
provide one for you based on the content that is on that page.
22. Every page has a unique page description

23. The description matches the content of the webpage

24. The description provides valuable information about the page’s content
25. The description contains some of the keywords from the page

26. The description is no more than 160 characters in length

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

27. The description is engaging and welcoming

28. The description has a call to action, such as: “learn more,” “free consult,” or
“reduce stress”

SECTION FOUR:
URL (WEB ADDRESS)

A website URL, or domain name, is one of the most important parts of your website. It
is the address for your website and without it you wouldn’t be able to get any traffic.

29. Domain name includes a keyword or name of city (however, don’t try to force it
if it’s not a natural fit)
30. Sub domains contain keywords for the page

31. Domain length is no longer than 115 characters long

32. Use hyphens to separate words

33. URL makes sense to the reader

SECTION FIVE:
IMAGES AND GRAPHICS

Adding visual elements to your website in the form of images and graphics is an im-
portant part of providing an elegant user experience.

34. Images, graphics and icons are used when appropriate, throughout the website

35. Image alt text contains important keywords for the page

36. Graphics are unique and not widely used stock photos

37. Image file names contain some keywords from the page where it appears

38. Reduce file size of image for faster loading

The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

SECTION SIX:
SITE STRUCTURE

Setting up the structure of your website in a predictable and intuitive way is

important. If visitors click on your site and then immediately click back to the search
results page because your site structure looks confusing to them, then Google will not
rank your site as high in the future because they can see that people are not getting
the experience or info they need and want.
39. Mobile ready: your website is designed to fit all screen sizes

40. All pages load quickly

41. No java or flash animations is used anywhere on your website

42. Your webpages have no duplicate content: make sure text is not repeated
anywhere
43. Your site is secure (your site is a “secure site” if your web address starts with
“https://”)

SECTION SEVEN:
CONTENT

Search engines, such as Google, will read all the content on your website to figure out
what service you offer and where you should rank on search engine result pages. The
content on your site is one of the most important factors when it comes to ranking
high.

Homepage
44. Contains the most basic and general keywords and phrases

45. Links to all of the most important pages of the website in one click

46. Through images or text, the homepage communicates to the visitor that you
are a healthcare practitioner providing a specific service in a specific city, town
or neighborhood

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

47. Has, at the very least, 150 words to give search engines an idea of what the
page is about
48. Provides a call to action and/or contact information

49. Answers to some really basic and intuitive questions that potential clients will
likely have

About Page
50. Keywords should include the type of practitioner you are, your business and
company name, the location of your practice, and any other identifying
information
51. Content of the page goes deeper into what you offer, the special trainings,
certificates and degrees you hold, and the population that you serve.
52. The About page includes a photo of you

53. Keywords should appear in each of the headings and subheadings

54. Keywords should appear naturally and organically throughout the content

55. Your photo should have “alt text” with 3 or 4 keywords in the sentence
describing the picture

56. A call to action to make an appointment or ask more questions

57. Synonyms should appear for as many keywords as possible throughout content

58. A welcome video of you describing your background, approach to treatment,

and the population you serve
59. The file name of your photo should have one or two keywords

Services Page(s)

60. Individual webpages created for each service you provide (e.g. individual
therapy, couples counseling, family therapy)
61. Individual webpages created for each population you serve (e.g. developmen-
tally delayed, pregnant women, veterans)

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

62. Keywords for each page should contain the service name, synonyms for the
service, issues treated by the service and the name of city you practice in
63. Keywords should appear in each of the headings and subheadings

64. Keywords should appear naturally and organically throughout content

65. Clearly define the service you provide

66. Frequently asked questions that should be addressed in services pages:

Why are you good at offering this service?

Are you an expert of some kind? If so, what makes you one?
How long have you been offering this service?

What are some typical results clients will get?

Will it get worse before it gets better?

Do you have a passion for offering this service?

Why do you think it works?

Exactly how does it work?

How long will it take?

What are some typical outcomes?

67. Mention services that you have provided for local groups, organizations and
places of business in the city you work in
68. Mentions of other services and specialties that you treat should link internally
to other services and specialty pages about those topics

69. When possible, there should be external links to outside websites that help to
define and clarify the services that are provided (e.g. websites such as WebMD,
Mayo Clinic, or Wikipedia)
70. Provide examples of issues and problems that are treated by the service you
provide

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

Specialty Page(s)
71. Individual webpages created for each issue that you specialize in (e.g. anxiety,
insomnia, PTSD)
72. Keywords for each page should contain the name of the issue or presenting
problem, synonyms for the issue and how you treat the issue
73. Keywords should appear in each of the headings and subheadings

74. Keywords should appear naturally and organically throughout content

75. Long-tail keywords should be a priority for each specialty page (e.g. “how to
stop feeling anxious in a new relationship,” “will acupuncture help me stop
smoking?”)

76. Local context should be weaved into each page (e.g. how seasonal affective
disorder effects people in Seattle)

77. Without breaking confidentiality, provide case studies of clients you have
treated with the issue and what the outcome was
78. Internally link to other specialty pages when they are mentioned in the content

79. Add a frequently asked question section that answers common questions
clients have. Such as:
Define the issue
List the signs and symptoms
How will somebody know if they are suffering from it?
What causes the issue?
How do you, as a healthcare practitioner, treat the issue?
What are the outcomes of your treatment?
What are questions people are asking about the issue?
80. Externally link to other professional webpages or videos that compliment the
content on your page
81. Add video to the page explaining how the issue manifests in clients, the
struggles they may be going through and how you can treat them
The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

Blog
82. Create a blog page that is connected to your website (the blog page should be a
subdomain of your main domain, not disconnected from it)
83. Blog once a month

84. For each blog that you create, focus on at least 3 keywords

85. Create blogs with original content that:

Solves problems about issues you treat

Answers questions about services you provide
Provides easy tips and techniques that people can try at home that will
address issues you treat
Blog about current events that are connected to your industry and field of
practice
86. Provide a unique page title for each blog post with important keywords

87. Provide a unique meta description for each blog post with important keywords

88. The titles of your blogs should be based on long-tail keyword that someone
might type into a search engine

89. Blog twice a month

90. Use images in your blog and put keywords in the image alt text

91. The URL of the blog should contain important keywords

92. Social share icons should be displayed at the top and bottom of the blog

93. You should share each blog on all the social media platforms you use

94. Reach out to fellow colleagues and bloggers that write about the similar topics
and ask them to share your blogs with their followers
95. Scroll through Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to see what is trending and
write articles about the most shared posts relevant to your field

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

96. Create videos for your blogs

97. Blog once a week

SECTION EIGHT:
LINK BUILDING

In order to rank as high as possible in search results, you need to acquire as many
links to your website as possible. The more links on the Internet pointing to your site,
the more search engines will see your website as important and rank you accordingly.
First, make sure that you link to all the pages on your site internally on your own
website. Then, focus on getting other sites on the Internet to link to your website.

Internal Links
98. Your website should have the minimum amount of links possible between the
homepage and any given page on your site

99. Every page that is on your site should be linked to

100. Do not have more than 150 links on a single page

101. Do not link to pages through images

102. Link to pages through text

103. The text that is used to link to another page should contain a keyword (instead
of linking “click here to read more,” your anchor text should be “read more
about depression”)

External Links
104. Sign up for free and paid directory listings that will provide a link to your
website
105. Sign up for a Google business listing

106. Sign up for a Yelp listing

107. Create a Facebook for business page and link to your website

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The Ultimate SEO Checklist: For Therapists

108. List your practice with the top local website directories in your city

109. Ask local colleagues in the healthcare industry in your town to link to you from
their website
110. Get 20 external links

111. Start guest blogging on local and national sites and provide a link to your
website at the end of each article
112. Join the Better Business Bureau

113. List your practice on craigslist

114. Contact major influencers in your industry, that have a large social media
following, and ask if you can guest blog for them
115. Get 50 external links

116. Make a list of websites that you are competing with for keywords. Find out
who is linking to them. Reach out to the website owners that are linking to
your competitors and ask them to link to you. Watch this video to learn how.

117. Get 100 external links

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