How to Do Keyword Research Effectively for Your Mental Health Practice
Make the Most of Your Time and Efforts and Learn How to Do Effective Keyword Research.
You’re used to doing research. After all, you’re a professional in the health and wellness industry, so research isn’t something new.
You wouldn’t write an article, case study, clinical guideline, or commentary without research. The piece of writing would hold no authority and would be useless in propelling you as a leader in your industry.
Research gives your writing credibility, adds value, and gets you in front of the right people.
But what about keyword research? When it comes to marketing your practice, how much time do you spend researching keywords?
The words you use on your website define what your practice is about and the people you serve. Using the right keywords helps search engine result pages (SERPs) rank your website.
Keyword research, or keyword Search Engine Optimization (SEO), reveals:
The best keywords that are in demand in your industry
What searchers are looking for
How you can provide the information they’re looking for
Increase your ranking by sprinkling these keywords throughout your blog posts and website copy. The number one result in Google gets 32% of the clicks, (1) so positioning yourself in that spot is a worthy goal.
But there are more benefits to doing keyword research than ranking higher in Google.
Three additional benefits include:
#1. Understanding Marketing Trends.
Keyword research gives you a behind-the-scenes look at current marketing trends. You can focus your content on topics and questions your audience finds interesting right now.
#2. Increasing Your Traffic.
Creating the right kind of content for your audience drives more traffic to your website. The more traffic you get, the better standing your website has on SERPs.
#3. Getting More Clients.
Finding the keywords your ideal client is typing into Google is the first step. The second step is including a call to action. What do you want this reader to do once they’ve typed in a query into Google, and landed on your web page?
More people are turning to the internet to find answers to their questions. Learning how to market your practice online isn’t a luxury anymore – it’s a necessity.
If used correctly, your website is your most valuable employee.
Most therapists find having a blog on their websites useful. They see it as a great place to provide helpful content and information to their clients.
But is this content actually getting to your ideal client?
Without search intent keywords, your content isn’t showing up in front of the very people who need it. The same people you want as clients. The reason for this is that you’ve forgotten to do your research – keyword research, that is.
As a mental health and wellness copywriter, I see beautifully written blogs lacking quality keywords. It’s such a huge miss in the world of digital marketing and SEO.
You might be asking yourself, “How do I know where to find these keywords? And how will I know what makes a word a good keyword?”
These are all great questions.
In this extensive guide, I’ll go over all you need to know when it comes to keyword research for SEO.
This article will cover the following:
What Are Keywords and Why Are They Important for SEO?
Three Things to Pay Attention to When Doing Keyword Research.
How to Do Keyword Research Effectively and Efficiently.
What to Do With Your Keywords.
Why is a Mental Health Strategy Important for Your Practice?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the idea of adding one more task to your already very busy day, no worries. There’s someone who can help you with this task.
My name is Mary and I’m a copywriter for health and wellness professionals.
I write copy that’s optimized for SEO and done with the right keywords in mind so your ideal client can find you. Email me today and schedule a 15-minute Discovery Call.
Let’s talk about your goals and the obstacles you have in getting you there.
What Are Keywords and Why Are They Important for SEO?
Keywords are the words, phrases, or questions people type into search engines. This is done hoping to find relevant content and answers.
You and I do this all the time.
We head to our favorite search engine (hello, Google) and type something in the search bar. We’re confident knowing it will produce the best answer to our question.
A common way people use search engines is when trying to find a specialist.
For example, someone might search for “Best mental health therapist near me” in Google’s search bar. Google then spits out a list of therapy practices near this person’s location. It’s a pretty straightforward query with logical results based on location.
But, what if someone typed in “How to manage depression without medication?” Because this isn’t a location-based query, it will produce a different set of results.
This is where having a solid keyword strategy comes in.
The best keywords come from common search queries. So using them in your content is a fantastic marketing strategy. Those keywords help search engines understand what your content is about.
Using the same example, you’d write a blog using the keywords “Managing depression without medication”. You’ve taken commonly searched keywords and answered that specific question in your blog.
The person then clicks on your webpage and reads your valuable content. And if you’re really on top of your game, your blog has instructed them to take action. This could be following you on social media or opting into your newsletter.
It’s a pretty straightforward concept. What gets a little hairy is connecting SEO and keyword research.
As a quick memory jogger, SEO refers to a number of strategies that help your website rank higher on SERPs. When you use SEO techniques, your website grows in authority and ranking.
Keyword research is one of those SEO techniques.
Of course, there are plenty of other SEO strategies that will help your website rank higher. But in this article, we’re going to focus on keyword research.
There are two kinds of keywords you should know.
Short-Tail Keywords
These keywords have the following characteristics:
1-3 words long
Broader terms
Best used in the title of your pillar page or within your text
Here’s an example. If your short-tail keyword is “self-care” you could create a pillar post with self-care in the title. Within the text of the article, you incorporate other short-tail keywords. Including managing self-care, self-care ideas, or self-care activities.
Short-tail keywords have a higher search volume because they’re broader terms.
These keywords might bring more people to your website, but are they your ideal client?
Someone who typed “self-care” into Google might land on your website. If their search intent was gift ideas for self-care, they would leave your website once realizing this isn’t what they’re looking for. They’d head back to Google with a more specific search (we’ll talk more about this a little later).
Because short-tail keywords are broad and more competitive, they’re harder to rank for.
2. Long-Tail Keywords
In contrast, long-tail keywords have these characteristics:
Longer than three words
Can be a question or even a full sentence
Great for blogs supporting your pillar posts
Used within the text of your blogs
Using the example of self-care, a long-tail keyword could be “Why is self-care important for teachers?” This is a very specific query intended for a very specific audience – teachers.
Long-tail keywords don’t have as high a search volume as short-tail keywords.
This is because they’re more specific and have a very clear search intent. Long-tail keywords might not drive as much traffic to your website. But the traffic they do bring is higher quality.
How do long-tail and short-tail keywords differ? This graph helps explain the main differences.
Long-tail keyword searches have 3-5% higher click-through rates, resulting in higher conversion. (2) Always keep this in mind when doing your research.
With a better understanding of keywords and their importance, it’s time to learn how to find them.
Three Things to Pay Attention to When Doing Keyword Research.
Relevancy
Google ranks content based on how relevant, or important it is. Search engines use keyword relevancy to figure out what your page is about. This also helps determine which keywords you’ll rank for.
You want your content to provide thorough and relevant information for the searcher.
When optimizing your website, only target a few keywords per page. You want Google and other search engines to know what your web page is about. Too many keywords and phrases confuse them.
It can be tempting to *keyword stuff*. Stick to the rule of keeping your content natural, as though you were talking with another human. Overstuffing actually hurts your SEO.
2. Authority
Most of us don’t take advice from anyone. We want to know a person’s credentials and expertise. What sort of authority does a person have when speaking about a specific topic?
Google wants the same thing from you and gives more weight to websites it sees as authoritative.
How do you become authoritative online? A great place to start is with thorough keyword research.
The more keywords you rank for, the greater chance you’ll have of increasing your authority. Well-written and researched content tells SERPs your website is legit and you’re an expert in this area.
3. Volume
You may rank number one for a keyword, but if no one’s actually searching for that keyword it isn’t helping you.
Paying attention to the monthly search volume (MSV) tells you a lot about a keyword. It reveals how popular keywords are. And it even predicts what sort of search traffic you can expect when ranking for them.
MSV shows you the search trends for phrases, allowing you to create content around that.
How to Do Keyword Research Effectively and Efficiently.
Researching keywords can lead you down endless paths if you aren’t careful.
Your time is valuable. Make the most of your efforts spent on researching keywords using these steps to keep you on track.
Start with a broad list of topics relevant to your practice.
What topics or areas of interest do you want to specialize in?
Here are a few examples to get you thinking:
Marriage counseling
Premarital counseling
Addiction specialist
Eating disorder therapist
School therapist
These are general topics you want your practice to be known for. Keep this list simple, sticking with five to ten services or topics. These are your short-tail keywords.
2. Go deeper with each topic.
Taking one topic or category at a time, dig a little deeper and think about what someone might search for with this broad term. Ask yourself, “What would someone type into Google when looking for an addiction specialist?”
Often, when you start typing something into Google, it will pre-populate a query it thinks you’re asking. These are great keywords to make note of.
Using the addiction specialist example, expanding on this might include keywords such as:
Addiction specialist near me
Addiction specialist therapist
Drug addiction specialist
Food addiction specialist
Addiction recovery specialist
You want to do this for each of your five to ten broad categories. This is not intended to be the final list, but it’s a great way to get you thinking like your ideal client.
4. Look for related search terms.
This is where most people start veering off. Stay focused on what the original keyword was and do your best not to get sidetracked.
Related search terms are queries people type into Google connected to your keyword.
An easy way to find related keywords is to type your keyword into Google and then head to the bottom of the page. Google has a list of common search phrases related to your keyword. Google knows we get lost, so they put these searches in bold. Thanks, Google.
There are other tools available to use. A few of the best free keyword research tools you can use include:
Keywords Everywhere
AnswerThePublic
Pinterest
Ubersuggest
Yoast
Keep your original keyword as your focal point and use a keyword planner to help you organize it all.
Use this time to continue discovering what people are typing into search engines. This step lets you know if you and your ideal client are talking about the same thing when it comes to addiction specialists.
4. Take a look at how user intent influences your keywords.
User intent (or search intent, or even audience intent) is how you describe the purpose of an online search. It’s the reason behind a search on Google. Your web page needs to provide an answer or solution to the searcher’s query.
If not, the searcher will leave your webpage and head somewhere else, affecting your SEO.
There are four types of search intent your potential client might have. Understanding the intent behind their queries lets you know where they are in the buying process.
Here’s a quick breakdown of user search intent and the behavior associated with it:
Informational: They want more info
Navigational: They’re trying to find a website or company
Transactional: They’re comparing different products and services and are closer to buying
Commercial: They’re ready to buy
A simple example of understanding the intent behind a search would be the word “Amazon.”
Most everyone knows this to be a huge online retailer. But it’s also a river in South America. Without clarifying for Google, the results you get may or may not be helpful to you.
Understanding the user’s intent behind a search affects your ranking. Typing your keywords into Google and seeing what comes up is a great way to confirm you and Google are on the same page in regard to a particular word.
5. Analyze the difficulty of your keywords.
By now you know search volume is a huge component when it comes to keyword research for SEO. But an equally important metric is understanding how difficult it is to rank for that keyword.
Any of the keyword research tools mentioned in step three give you insight into an important metric – keyword difficulty.
Keyword difficulty tells you how competitive a keyword is. It’s an SEO metric estimating how challenging it is to rank for that keyword. Using a scale of 0-100, the higher the score the harder it is to rank for that keyword.
A few things you want to pay attention to include:
Seeing what your competitors are doing
Knowing the authority of your own website
Looking at the search intent behind the keywords
What’s the quality of the content you're creating
This metric also gives you an idea of popular keywords. Then you can find alternative keywords specific to your niche, or the areas you want to specialize in. These keywords give you a better chance of ranking.
You want keywords that have high search volume, but low organic search competition.
Now let’s talk about what to do with these keywords.
What to Do With Your Keyword List.
You’ve completed the five steps and you’ve got a list with fruitful keywords. It’s time to organize and map out your keywords and start creating content designed to:
Reach your ideal client
Improve your SEO
Convert your readers
A few techniques when it comes to optimizing your SEO keyword research include:
Using the keywords in your title tags and meta descriptions
Optimizing headings and subheadings
Incorporating the keywords into the body of your text
Using keywords in your alt tags
Including keywords in your URLs
It’s important to track how well your keywords are doing and make any adjustments or updates as needed. This continues to improve your website's ranking and plays a role in your practice’s SEO strategy.
Why is a Keyword Strategy Important for Your Mental Health Practice?
An effective content marketing strategy involves choosing the right keywords. Creating engaging, informative content takes a lot of time and resources. Keyword research ensures all your efforts are worth the investment.
After all, what good is a well-written blog if no one can see it?
Keyword research can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Especially if you aren’t sure where to look, or your plate is already full of tasks connected to running a successful practice. But creating content without researching keywords is like shooting an arrow in the dark hoping it hits the target.
Thankfully, there’s another option that doesn’t involve more work on your part.
Streamline your online marketing efforts and let me handle your content and copywriting needs. I have the tools and knowledge to create a blogging and marketing strategy with the right keywords for your practice.
Preserve your time, talents, and energy, and hire a copywriter to craft your content. Let me make sure your content provides the answers your ideal client is searching for.
Email me today and let’s get your keyword research started.