How to Get Therapy Clients With Your Website
As a therapist, your website is your #1 marketing tool. When done correctly, it has the potential to fill your practice for you—working even when you’re not—to bring in ideal-fit clients who say things like “I know you are the therapist I want to work with.”
But many therapists don’t experience this, even though they’ve invested countless hours into their marketing and their websites.
How do you make sure yours does?
Create an immediate connection
Studies show us that potential clients will make a judgment about you in less than 1 second of landing on your website. That’s not very much time to make a first impression!
The second your site loads, potential clients need to immediately know:
That you are trustworthy
If you can help them
Over 90% of the judgment clients make about you in this instant is related to design. If your website doesn’t convey a high level of professionalism, studies show us they will be turned off and more likely to click away and not return. (If you need help with this, check out my website templates for therapists.)
But it’s not only about looking good; it’s also about showing them that they’re in the right place. Your clients should know right off the bat that you are a therapist who can actually help them. The top of your website should convey what you do, who you do it for, and where you’re located. Here’s a great example from a client of mine:
(If you were a woman in NY or NJ seeking therapy, wouldn’t you feel like you’d landed somewhere you truly belong?)
Display understanding
Your client is on your website because they’ve reached a level of distress or overwhelm that they’re realizing they need some support. They are motivated by the problems they’re experiencing right now.
The most powerful way to begin connecting with this person? Empathy. Each page of your website (yes, even your about page!) should include empathy and communication about what your ideal client is experiencing right now. By doing this, you show them that you do, in fact, understand them—so much so that you can name the things they’re facing right now.
If you leave this out of your website or make it all about you and how you can help, you lose out on the most powerful way to begin cultivating relationship with your potential clients.
There are countless ways to bring empathy into your website, but here is an example of what this can look like in action:
(If you were someone experiencing anxiety as a result of a major life transition, how would this make you feel?)
Invite them into the next step
Some therapists shy away from marketing because they don’t want to be “pushy” or “salesy.” What if, instead, you looked at marketing as simply letting clients know that help is available to them?
This can be a very helpful reframe when it comes to all of your marketing, especially your website. If your site doesn’t make it clear what a client needs to do next to connect with you—what the process is like and what they can expect—you are only making it more difficult for them to experience the relief they’re looking for.
To have a truly effective website, you must include a clear path to the next step (a free consultation, first appointment, however your practice works). This should be done in the form of clear, easy-to-understand buttons throughout your site, as well as sections that give them an understanding of your process.
Check out this example from my ISLE Squarespace template for therapists:
(If you were a potential client, would this help put you at ease about the process?)
If your website can accomplish these 3 things, you’ll be cultivating relationship with potential clients before they even pick up the phone.
I want to see every therapist get results from their practice websites, to get on those consultations with clients who say “I called because of your site!” If you need support making this happen in your practice, check out the resources linked below or click this link to learn more about how I support therapists with their marketing.
Ready for some support with your marketing? Check out these resources:
