Google For Therapists

Just some fun on a Friday night.

2012-01-20T23:54:00.000-08:00

Sometimes surfing on a Friday night just gets plain silly.

Made using the site quickmeme.com :-)

TGIF, Peter

If You Want to Make Google Laugh, Tell It Your Plans

2012-01-10T21:34:00.000-08:00

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans." - Woody Allen

So, dear readers, if you were reading this blog about 24 hours ago, the ever-silly Google Guy put out his ideas on what would happen with Google in 2012. HA! In the course of under a day, I was proved both right and wrong and perhaps wronger at the same time. But I digress.

Today, Google unveiled (without even consulting me) a very large change to how, and they process search engine results. It's called Google Search plus Your World, and to net it out, they integrated social network results with their old search results to create a totally personalized set of results for each searcher.

Oy vey! Throughout the planet right now, SEO consultants are losing sleep figuring out how this will impact their current Page 1 rankings, and how they will measure success for their clients, now that everyone in the world will see different %*@#$ results. UGH! This does make one of my predictions come true, though!

I still don't know if this will drive people to really *use* Google+, but darn, it will make every web marketer and SEO consultant to include it in their implementations.

OK, I am off to study this a bit more. Let's see how this will all shake out.

Best, Peter
Getting Therapists on Google

Web Marketing for Therapists – Predictions for 2012

2012-01-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

So it’s that time of year – predictions time! What does Your Google Guy see in his crystal ball? Besides a lot of political ads on TV? OK, here we go…

Many Trends Continue – Video, WordPress and Twitter will continue to all grow and become a normal part of web marketing this year. The bleeding-edge and leading-edge marketers have blazed a trail, and the middle of the pack will follow. #JustDoIt

Google+ Straggles Along – Remember all that noise in the middle of 2011, when everyone was SO excited about Google+? Yeah, now it’s crickets. I believe Google+ will be one of those things you do solely for SEO purposes (a +1 page for your business, a +1 button on your website) but don’t spend a lot of time on. But I would spend the time to do those two things, folks.

Facebook – Ch-ch-ch-changes! Facebook continues to change, and the question is whether they will manage it well (and continue to be the “stickiest” site on the Internet) or whether some combination of privacy issues, “spooky” or invasive advertisements, Timeline-backlash, or the depressing impacts of its use will cause the kingdom to start to crumble. I’m not saying it’s going anywhere, folks, just that the win-streak will end at some point.

Facebook Ads – will come of age, as marketers really learn how to take advantage of the treasure trove of demographic data they are sitting on. First adopters will learn lessons, and others will build on them. (Oh yes, keep an eye on YourGoogleGuy.com – you might see something on this soon).

Google – three solid, non-glamorous predictions. First, Google’s classic search engine (the core that most people think of as Google) will only change incrementally. They are too smart to mess with success too much, especially with no one currently nipping at their heels. Second, I predict the same for Google Adwords. Adwords is the “Golden Egg” for Google – it’s where the money is made. They won’t mess with it. What you created in 2008 should still work (with some increased bids). But prediction #3 is – ORGANIC results will continue to change rapidly. They’ll become more personalized. SEO will continue to become more difficult to predict & control. It will be harder to hold onto ranking, and you’ll need more attention on it, if organic rankings are what drive your web traffic.

Smart Phones – since they have become a center of human activity, it will be interesting how it will impact their use. I personally use mine to find things like restaurants, movie theaters, stores, etc. I still use the trusty computer when I am doing more in-depth research. In 2012, I would start making sure your website shows up to some degree on smart-phone browsers.

Siri – Danger, Google, Danger! What some wise people have noticed is that Siri now jumps in where a search engine might have been before. And chooses the results, editing them down for you. This might be the year we start seeing S.R.O. – Siri Results Optimization.

All the best, Peter

P.S. – Superbowl XLVI – Saints over Texans (since my Seahawks are out)

P.P.S. – 2012 Election – Obama over Romney (not politicking, just predicting, folks)

So You Think Adwords Clicks Cost a Lot for You?

2012-01-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

Ran into this amazing graphic today. I often hear from therapists how they think paying $1, $2 or $3 for a hot lead.

Well hold on to your hats. You could be in the insurance, loans, or mortage businesses, who pay OVER FORTY DOLLARS PER CLICK. Sorry for the all-caps yelling. But GEEZ, $40 a click! Whoa!

There is a local private practice business that has it just as bad. Attorneys come in at over $47/click. Yowch.

Anyway, here's the info:
http://ppbh.com/how-much-do-ads-on-google-cost

Best, Peter

Revisiting My Predictions for Therapist Web Marketing - 2011

2011-12-28T21:26:00.000-08:00

I rarely read or see pundits (political, financial or otherwise) go back and review their predictions. I'm going to try (and maybe see why those others don't!) :-)

So here's what I predicted on January 2, 2011, with my view of what really happened.

1) Google Stays #1, But Something Lurks in the Shadows
What Really Happened: I predicted others would try to eat away at Google's supremacy. But no one has truly come close: not Bing/Yahoo, not Yelp, not Groupon, not even Facebook (yet). I pondered Bing/Yahoo combining with Facebook to have FB be a place you search, too. Didn't happen. We still see three giants with three rather distinct kingdoms: Twitter for microblogging, Facebook for social, and Google for search.

2) The Therapist Directory Wars Continue
What Really Happened: Well, it was more an evolution than a revolution. Psychology Today brought in a new feature that tracked people calling you from their directory - helping prove their value (that the referral came from PT). Despite this, the murmurs I've heard from many therapists is that PT doesn't provide enough value for the higher cost. What I've really noticed is an upstart quality of smaller directories aimed at using video technology (doing the filming, editing and posting themselves). Examples include Therapick and NW Therapy Finder. This, by the way, plays into Prediction #3.

3) Video Takes Off
What Really Happened: It's finally happening, folks. When I go Google a therapist in my city and find new people ahead of ME each month in the video results you see on many search results pages. With the advent of Flip cameras, iPads, iPods, HD webcams and the like, the thing I've been waiting for is finally here (in my estimation). What do you think?

4) Dynamic Website Technology Takes Over
What Really Happened: I'd say I was right on this one. If you built a website in 2011, or started looking into it, I would bet you came across WordPress. Most of the new sites I see are WordPress now (if they are being done as a custom gig, not through GoDaddy, etc.).

5) Reputation Management/Social Media Optimization Becomes a New Focus
What Really Happened: I don't think the reputation management idea really took hold (though if you have gotten a bad review on Yelp or InsiderPages, you have painfully been initiated into it). Social Media? Well, hell yeah it bloomed in 2011. Look at all the Twitter handles you see on every TV show now. Look at the prevalence of "hashtags" now. I'll give myself a point on this one. #selfcongratulation

6) Mobile & How to Deal With It Enters the Conversation

What Really Happened: While the smartphone became ubiquitous, it's impact on therapy was less on marketing than on what happens in the room (from it disrupting families and marriages, to every gosh-darn client pulling out their phone when it's time to schedule the next appointment). But read my upcoming posts to see a NEW twist on this point in 2012.

7) Local! Local! Local!

What Really Happened: I'll give myself points here. The Google Places map took even more prominence in the search engine results. Google Places optimization is much hotter right now than engineering the organic results below. This has driven some people MORE towards Adwords, as the ability to show up for multiple city searches (especially a city you are not located in) did get harder in 2011.

8) Bing + Yahoo = Yawn

What Really Happened: Points, again. Have *you* been all hot and bothered over Bing or Yahoo? I didn't think so. Have you "Binged" anything lately? Have you "Yahoo'ed"? Yeah, me neither. But I Google things every day. Every. Day. Many times a day,

9) Twitter. OK, I Relent.

What Really Happened: From an SEO perspective, a marketing perspective, and a real-life use perspective (for news, fantasy football, breaking stories and the like), I really adopted Twitter in 2011. OK, so I was not a first adopter here. Give me a break, I have a toddler. And perhaps the kick-ass Android phone I got in mid-2011 helped me get into true Twitter-user mode. It's a fun way to kill 2 minutes waiting for a client. After I post this to my blog, I'll Tweet out the news of the post. #isurrender

9) More Use of Paid SEO Consultants

What Really Happened: I would give myself more points if I had said "more %&#@*% cold calls from SEO companies". Really, I get at least one a week, usually with some pseudo-truth about being "Google-authorized" or a "Google Partner". Ha! I've also, in selling SEO services myself, found myself competing against more people this year than ever before. I would bet a dollar you got a cold call from an SEO company this year, too.

OVERALL, I will give myself a solid "B+" grade on my predictions for 2011. But just you wait, I am cooking up a new set of predictions for 2012, that should come out sometime in early January.

Until then, happy marketing!

Sincerely, Peter Hannah

Your Oh-So-Googley Guy

Web Marketing Consulting for Therapists, Counselors and Psychologists

A New Take on Website Video for Therapists

2011-11-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

The world just keeps inventing new things, though few make me pay attention. This one did.

A website for a therapist in Montreal, Bianca Saia, includes a new kind of use of video. Apparently, the website uses a service call VYou, which in essence makes it looks like a) you're sitting there online on a webcam when people visit, and b) you can answer questions.

It seems you must record answers to some questions and the VYou service must use some kind of artificial intelligence to pick the right video answer to play.

It is sorta damn cool. And maybe a little spooky. Take a peek and tell me what you think! Peter

Google Adwords ads - some now appearing at the bottom of the page

2011-11-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Hi fellow therapists,

If you are already an Adwords customer, you may have been looking at the Google search results lately going "where is my ad?" You may want to scroll down and look for it at the bottom of the page.

According to this November 2nd post on Google's Inside Adwords blog Google has decided to move ads for some searches (seems like local service searches, mostly) from the right side to the bottom. It appears ads that were able to have a high enough CTR/bid for that keyword will still show at the top of the page. This will only impact the ads that were showing on the right side of the screen.

They claim this will often result in an INCREASE in click-thru rate. I don't know that I believe that will be true, but I don't have any data yet to back it up.

I do believe it will cause an increase in worried emails to Your Google Guy :-)

I'll be watching this to see what the impact of this change is.

Best, Peter

"The Blog Life-Cycle"

2011-10-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this article, found it yesterday. It echoes my belief that most people launch into blogging and will stop (pretty quickly).

Their stats are that 95% of blogs are abandoned within 120 days. 60-80% in the first month.

Well I can bore you to death or you can read it here.

If you're wondering whether to bother clicking, the very funny Blog Lifecycle is worth it!

Best, Peter
Your Web-Blog-Marketing-Twitter-Google Guy

The First "Death Watch" Article I've Seen for Google+

2011-10-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I've been pretty busy in both the counseling and SEO/Adwords sphere lately. Not a lot of time for fun and games. So, I've got to say I am one of the many who apparently spent a week on Google+, and then never went back. I've certainly been on Facebook, but have heard nary a peep from old +, or people inviting me/dogging me to get active on it.

I hadn't thought about it much (I've been basically waiting to see when they offered some kind of Business Page - I'll be the first to hop on and list mine when they do!) until today. One of the industry newsletters I follow had the following article: Google+ Goes Critical - But Not in a Good Way.

It's the first "death watch" article I've seen. I've always been pretty pessimistic that Google+ could break the hold Facebook had on us, or that there was enough attention to support both. Appears I was right.

Money quote:

Millions signed onto Google's service as soon as it went public. Critical mass seemed well on its way. If the trends held up, this could change everything.
And then it died.

How about you? Have you stayed active on Google+? Or tried it and forgot it? I'd love to know. Comment, tweet me or email.

Take care, Peter
Your Good Ole Google Guy

My newest SEO package for therapists!

2011-09-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well, fall is like an elixir for me, gets me refocused on work and getting stuff done! To that end, I am happy to present my newest SEO services package to you. It's based on the experienced, feedback and input of therapists along the way, and is really focused on providing value for your money.

The full details are at: http://www.yourgoogleguy.com/seofortherapists.htm but here's the gist of it:

MONTH 1

1/2 Hour Call with Peter - Feedback on Your Website to Help Make More Visitors Turn Into Clients!

Claim Google Places page

Optimize Google Places page

Keyword Research

Keyword Mapping - Identifying which pages should rank for each page

Title Tag Optimization

Meta Tag Optimization (Description & Keyword Tags)

Creation of Sitemap.xml File

Robots.txt File Review

Setup Google Webmaster Tools

On-site footer optimization

MONTH 2 and BEYOND

Rank Tracking for multiple keywords on Google & Google Local

Continued Link-Building to raise your rankings

Updates (and action if needed) on all major Google algorithm changes

Action Item for you to increase web & SEO visibility

PRICING:

First month: $399

Following months: $199

Minimum 2 months of service

Prices slightly higher for practitioners wishing to optimize multiple office locations

For this package, you'll be working with me and my business partner, Michael Borgelt. Michael's got an amazing track record of national and local SEO results. If this package doesn't meet your particular needs, please contact me to discuss a custom SEO services package.

I know this stuff can be confusing for many practitioners, so I am happy to offer a free 20-30 minute chat to answer all your questions. Drop me an email and we'll set something up! Best, Peter

About That Adwords Click-To-Call Email

2011-07-30T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

Getting a lot of questions about the announcement from Google about an enhancement to their Click-To-Call service. This is one that let's you actually call (from your computer) based on an Adwords ad.

Two things, first for people who I've worked with - this doesn't affect you. This feature is not something I use for therapy businesses. So, as with many Google things, just delete that email and enjoy your weekend.

For those out there, this only impacts you if you have ads with your phone # in them, or are using a very advanced feature called "Call Extensions".

I don't think that having the phone # in an ad is useful for us as therapists. For some businesses (let's say a locksmith, or a tow-truck) where you really don't care *who* provides the service, you just want it *now*, I see this as a useful thing. But, unless your ideal client really can pick a therapist from a 25-character headline, and 70 characters of ad copy, then I have never seen it as a useful thing.

In my counseling experience, I've found people who want a generic counselor to be difficult clients that don't stay long, don't do much work, and often have trouble paying.

As a client of other practitioners (therapy, massage, acupuncture, etc.) I cannot imagine calling from an Adwords ad. I'd need to go to the therapist's website (or some other web page about them) before wanting to call.

As always, you can count on me to have an opinion :-)

Now go get back to the weekend! Best, Peter
Google Adwords for Therapists

Today's Advice About Google Plus

2011-07-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Had some fun with an animating tool called Xtranormal. But the message is what I'd say if I had to type it. So take a look - two and a half minutes of fun (it made my wife laugh).

FYI, the link for a Google Plus button is at http://www.google.com/webmasters/+1/button/

Happy Summer! Peter in still rainy Seattle
Your Google (+?) Guy

How To Lose Me As a Twitter Follower

2011-07-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've often been a critic of Twitter. I've been using it a bit more lately, and find that it can be a useful business, P.R. and news tool.

As I've lived it a little more, I've found my personal pet peeves about Twitter. They are the things that can drive me to unfollow someone.

1) Too personal - I'm a business tweeter. Talk about your favorite TV shows on Facebook, for God's sake. I don't care what you ate for dinner, or are stuck in traffic. Buh-bye.

2) High-volume, Low-value - so if you tweet 10 times in 15 minutes, a few things happen for me. First, you are drowning out other people on my screen. Second, I can't tell which thing you've written is important. Usually if you say 10 things in 10 minutes, I find none of them are important. (Breaking news eyewitnessing is the sole exception). Buh-bye.

3) TOTD & QOTD - OMG, I am sooooo sick of Quote of the Day, Thought of the Day tweets. I am intelligent and so most of my friends and network are too. I like new information (find me a great article, or resource, for instance). If I see one more "Deep Thought" I am going to puke. Buh-bye.

What causes *you* to unfollow someone? Your Google Guy would like to know!

Best, Peter
Search Engine Marketing for Therapists
Follow my low-volume, high-value Tweets on Twitter!

More SEO Cold Calls

2011-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Got an email from a colleague today, saying "Google had called her". She was a bit upset, as the person on the phone got irate when she told them she didn't think she was interested.

I replied that I was pretty sure this wasn't Google calling. I want *you* to hear that, too, and let any of your friends know. Google *rarely* if *ever* calls people like us. We are small fish.

Who does call us? Salesmen making cold calls. And they use confusion and obfuscation as a tool. I had a voicemail last week from a man who said "he was from Google". He said he could get "get me on the search engines, Google, Yahoo and Bing." That was a good clue. Google would *never* mention, or try to help, Yahoo and Bing. Never, ever, ever. It was pretty bold-faced lying on his part.

Terms companies can used, which would be confusing, but not a lie, include:
- Google-certified
- Google-qualified
- Google-listed

They do *NOT* work for Google.

Finally, here is a strategy for getting true info and getting them off the phone (if they reach you in person).

1) Act nice, but say you have someone (a webmaster, a marketing coach, a spouse) who does your webmarketing for you, so you'll need to run this by them.
2) Ask for callback info (name, company, phone #) or to have them email you info.
3) Get the heck off the phone!
4) If you wonder who they are, Google the phone # you gave them. I'll be you a dollar it ain't Google!

OK, remember don't take the snake oil!

Best, Peter
Google SEO Help for Therapists

Marketing Info Products, Commitment, Success & ROI for Therapists

2011-06-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

I am working with a lovely therapist right now who has written a great book, and is looking to promote it and make money from it online. I really look up to what she's created and the value she can bring to people's lives. She's got something original to say. But, I'm worried for her.

See, she is like many people I know - she's heard that she should write a book, have an info product, build an email list. She is psyched. Thinks she'll be raking in the dough. I'm a bit dubious.

It reminds me of people over the last 3 years saying "I've heard I should blog! I've heard it will do wonders for my business!" If you've heard me speak on this topic (and I'm a pretty good Devil's Advocate on many things) you know I think most people aren't ready to write regularly and passionately about topics for weeks, then months, then years. A blog last updated in 2009, in my mind, looks crappy.

Anyway, back to information products. Selling e-books, MP3's & videos is something I think most anyone *can* do. I just don't think most people are ready to do everything necessary to make it successful. And, frankly, I don't think most people do the math about the ROI (return on investment) of it all.

See, to do this whole thing properly, you'll need to learn about, and either do (or outsource) a number of different things.

First, you'll need the information products themselves. You'll need things at least 3 different price points (free, cheap, and profitable). This is all part of working the "sales funnel".

Then, you'll need a website that sells the products. A good sales website is a LOT different than a therapist's site. It also operates to get people to trade their email addresses for a free e-book or white paper (this is called the "squeeze page" with the "ethical bribe").

Now, you're into auto-responders and email marketing. You have to send some emails to start trying to sell these new list-members your more profitable items.

And, I haven't even gotten to the question of "how do you get leads TO your website in the first place."

So, sorry to be a wet blanket, but for most people this level of learning and commitment (it takes continuing effort) isn't realistic.

Listen, most of the therapists I know really love doing therapy. They aren't great salesmen or marketers. There are exception - the Casey Truffos and Juliet Austins of the world - who actually DO it online, but they are skilled and stick to it.

When you look at what we can get for an hour of work ($100 at least, I hope) versus what you'll spend in either time, consulting or money to make an info products business run - I strongly suggest you do your homework before diving in.

Best to you all, Peter

Announcing My New Google Places SEO Service

2011-03-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to announce a new, exciting SEO service for the therapy community. It's goal is simple - to get you on Page 1 of Google, in the Places section (that Pushpin section which used to be called Google Local or Google Maps) for multiple phrases in your city.

It's simple - we do all the work. There's no long-term commitment, and you don't pay until we get you to Page 1! I don't know how you can get any lower-risk than that.

Here's the web page for the new SEO service as well as a brief video to describe it.

I'm doing this in partnership with the amazing Michael Borgelt, an SEO wizard who has been quietly working with me for a few years now. With my Adwords and his SEO, we make a heckuva 1-2 punch!

Please feel free to email me with any questions - or to get a quote for your city!

Best, Peter

It's Becoming An Email, Email World

2011-03-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

Found a very interesting NY Times article this weekend that indicates we are becoming less and less of a phone call culture, as email and text and Facebook supplant that form of communication.

This can important for therapists to know, as I've found many, especially older ones, are still in the telephone paradigm, and miss potential new clients because they don't check email often.

I'm working on a new White Paper on the different way we need to approach web-based potential clients, but becoming fluent in email, and checking it regularly, are definitely a must if you are going to be marketing your practice on the web.

OK, here's the article (linked via Seattle Times to avoid the new NYT paywall):
Don't call me, I won't call you

Happy, well, emailing! Peter

Why I Wouldn't Do Groupon For a Private Practice (and 2 Exceptions)

2011-01-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have probably been heard of Groupon by now. If not, you might take a moment to visit Groupon now (or one of it's evergrowing list of competitors, like LivingSocial, LocalTwist, or local newspaper & TV station ones) before reading onward.

In short, each of these companies markets a coupon promotion to a HUGE group of consumers (via a website and email list) that you can only purchase for a short time (24 hours to a few days). They are really quite a good deal for the consumer. In the last few months, I bought an Amazon Fresh deal ($100 worth of groceries for $50), a one-hour massage, and a deal from a hardware store ($20 for $40 of merchandise). Quite a good way to save money. I frankly feel a little guilty about buying the massage one, but I'm in need (too much sitting - you fellow therapists and computer people know what I mean).

But if you are thinking about ever doing this for your private practice (counseling, coaching, any other 1-on-1 service), we had better talk. In fact, STOP, do not sign anything yet. In most cases, it just is not good business.

The basic deal with Groupon looks like this: you must agree to offer a 50% discount off of your usual price. So if you're $100 a session, the consumer only pays $50. Groupon gets half of that, so you end up only getting $25.

There are several problems with driving business this way, the biggest being:

Most of these discount customers will not become repeat clients
If the coupon pushes you over capacity, you will lose spots that full-pay clients want, definitely costing you that $, and possibly costing you the client.

This was definitely the experience of the famous cafe in Portland - the owner of which blogged about her Groupon nightmare. When I look at any service where there is limited throughput (like only one person per hour, for example, or only 10 tables in the cafe), or a store where the profit margin is already low (most of retail, I'd think), you are basically driving down the profit per customer, and your pay per hour. In Seattle, with all the massage deals I've seen, it feels like people are now valuing massage at $30 an hour!

The only business model I've seen that makes sense, truly, is classes. My friend Dina runs an amazing Nia fitness program, and for each class, it doesn't really matter if she has 20, 25, or 30 customers. She can handle it. The costs are the same. If I were teaching a class, and the additional people didn't add to my costs or work, I would consider it.

Now, onto my 2 exceptions: the brand new coach or therapist, and the clinic/group practice.

The Brand New Coach or Therapist: In my first year, I remember when 3 clients a week was a lot! I had lots and lots of free time. The office sat unused most of the time. Time in which I earned exactly ZERO dollars an hour. If I could have had 10 clients @ $20 hour, I would have taken it! I would have taken it for the money, and the experience! So if you have an office sitting open, and you are not making money during those hours it can work for you. It can also provide PR, some SEO benefits, and possibly some long-term clients. (Dear full-fee therapists, please no *not* flame me for this suggestion, as these clients are *not* going to spend the $ for us, trust me on that. These are the people looking for the cheapest therapist they can find.)

The Clinic/Group Practice: My internship was at a wonderful group-practice that had some licensed supervisors, some interns (we were the ones who saw the sliding scale clients) and some externs. If I was running something like this, I might take a look at a coupon deal. You can negotiate fine-print in these deals, and I'd have it limited to sessions with the interns/externs - depending on the fee/pay deal you have with them. In my internship, I wanted the hours and experience (heck, I needed them!)

If you choose to do one of these deals, really focus on the fine-print! I might exclude insurance billing, limit which practitioners you can see, give it an end-date, make it subject to scheduling and availability, and you can even limit the numbers sold. If anyone does try this, please let me know about your results!

Best, Peter

My Predictions for Therapist Web Marketing in 2011

2011-01-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve been a webmaster since the term was coined (1996 @ Citizens Utilities in Stamford CT). I lived through the dot-com/dot-bomb era (ah, the mess that was ShopLocal.com), and doing PPC and SEO for therapists since 2005. The rate of change in 2010 in terms of search engines and overall web marketing, was astounding, and I expect that to continue in 2011.

Marketing for our particular business continues to be tricky, due to the ethical constraints of being a psychotherapist. We can’t (ethically) solicit for online reviews or testimonials from clients. We are even hamstrung in responding *to* poor reviews on Yelp, etc. (been there, and it hurts!). Heck, even having our office as a Facebook Place to be checked into is probably not something we should do. That said, here are some trends I see for 2011:

Google Stays #1, But Something Lurks in the Shadows: Google is still where to be at, folks. Some in the search engine community say the actual percentage of searches that goes on at Google is over 80%, not the 70% that is usually reported. The Bing/Yahoo combination hasn’t made much of a dent yet. Adwords continues to pour in money. (By the way, Adwords will continue to work for therapists, but get more and more expensive, complex and difficult – to me the ROI is really beginning to turn for SEO over Adwords in many cases). Google is taking on Yelp with its new HotPot offering. They pull off huge changes every month or so (Google Instant, the Local results integration that took place around Halloween, etc).

What Lurks in the Shadows is Facebook: Just imagine this – if instead of leaving Facebook to do your searches, you did them *from* your Facebook page. You’ve just entered Google’s worst nightmare. Of course, it wouldn’t be Google search. Likely Microsoft/Bing/Yahoo. This could be a game-changer. I’ve been wondering when Facebook would really change things for therapists (right now, Fan Pages, and FB ads are nice, but really not a big driver of therapy clients). This might be it. Watch Facebook in 2011, folks.

The Therapist Directory Wars Continue: For so long, PsychologyToday and AAMFT’s TherapistLocator.net had the directory business mainly to themselves. Not so anymore. Hungry upstarts have started eating their lunches. The most aggressive, and most impressive to me is GoodTherapy.org. They’ve rocketed to #2, and are much more innovative than PT, offering CEU’s, marketing webinars, media relations, audio and video, and lots more. I also see innovation in niche-related directories (for various communities or therapy approaches) which can provide good ROI. Directories continue to provide an easy, passive way of marketing your practice. They are not usually barn-burners as far as call volume, but usually more than pay for themselves.

Video – Get off the sidelines in 2011, folks! There are more and more inexpensive ways of creating videos (including some where it’s just your voice over images, like Jing, which I use extensively for Your Google Guy). Flip HD cameras can make some beautiful images. Just like headshots became more and more expected, video will be too. People will choose someone they get to see and get a feel of over a therapist who they only can measure by their written words.

Dynamic Website Technology Takes Over: More and more therapists will be moving their websites to platforms like WordPress and Joomla, or increasingly sophisticated templates on their ISPs. This both with be for practical reasons (the ability to update content without paying/waiting for a web designer) as well the very beautiful visual design aspects, and the ability to integrate social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc). If it’s time to update your site in 2011, I suggest looking at WordPress.

Reputation Mgmt/SMO: You’ll hear the acronym SMO a lot in 2011, it stands for “Social Media Optimization”. Pretty much SEO for Social Media. With review sites like Yelp and InsiderPages having a bigger influence, and with Twitter and Facebook the two dominant players in social media, it makes sense to pay attention to how other therapists in your markets are using these mediums. It also makes sense to check out what is being said about *you* - this is the idea of Reputation Management. Setting a Google Alerts to watch for your name is a good place to start.

Mobile: Smartphones are here to stay, folks (and iPads and other tablets). More and more people are doing more and more of their web-surfing from them. But at the same time, the browsers and screens are improving so much, that customizing a site for these devices is *not* something you need to be concerned with. So just do what you need to do for Local, and the carryover should be enough.

Local: I did a workshop here in Seattle a couple of months ago. One slide just said “LOCAL! LOCAL! LOCAL!” and for 2011 I’d just add a couple more exclamation points. The changes Google made in fall of 2010 (basically combining the map and non-map listings for searches they deem to be for local businesses) made it MUCH harder to rank in a city in which you do *not* have an office. This trend will continue in 2011.

Bing/Yahoo: See my Facebook comments. Otherwise, not much on my radar. I was initially excited by the combination, but have found running ads on their networks to be difficult and underwhelming. How do you beat Google? I just don't see it.

Twitter? OK, I Relent: So I have pooh-poohed Twitter for a long time. I still do from the standpoint of it being a place where your clients live – I still don’t believe that! But what is now obvious is that Twitter is weighing more and more heavily on SEO. If you write blog entries, or articles, or otherwise have news, you should be posting it on Twitter, for the search engines to find.

More Use of Paid SEO Consultants: 2010 was the year where I could see other SEO firms work showing up in the local search results for therapists (though many using tactics I think are unethical, like posting multiple fake reviews). I can only see this continuing and increasing in 2011. It’s a complex, ever-changing world out there on the Internet. I’ve always thought most therapists didn’t want to have to be marketing experts OR high-tech experts – they just want to do good therapy work with as many clients as they’d like. The smart and hungry will be hiring out – expect the rankings in your area to be very, very dynamic in 2011.

All the best, Peter

Yowza! Google Local Search Results Show Big Change!

2010-10-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

If you've Googled any local business in the last 3 days, you've seen a RADICALLY different results page on Google. This has all of us in the SEO & SEM (Search Engine Marketing) field in reaction mode, trying to figure out exactly how Google is figuring its new results, and what it means to our clients, both in terms of Organic rankings, as well as Google Adwords pay-per-click.

What I can tell you in the simplest terms is that Google has *combined* the old map results (known as the "7-pack" or "3-pack" depending on how dense an area you searched) with the organic search listings that were below the map.

This has a big impact on Adwords, too. Ads that are not in the top 3 results (showing in the lightly colored box on top), now get pushed down by the map, which is on the right side at the top of the screen now. Not only that, but the map stays in its place as you scroll down, blocking the view of ads on the right side of the screen. Google has, perhaps on purpose and in a not-very-nice way, made it so people will REALLY try to bid to be top 3 in the ads now.

I'll have more on this as my colleagues and I gauge the impacts on all of our efforts. In the meantime, fellow therapists, hold on to your hats!

Happy Halloween, Peter

Folks, it is NOT Google calling you!

2010-10-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow therapists,

So I was talking to a wonderful colleague in another state today, who told me that "Google called her to offer paid placement on page 1 for a particular phrase".

She seemed confused by my fervent reply, that it was certainly not Google calling her. Folks, there are a lot of not-so-ethical SEO companies out there who will drop Google's name as they explain who they are. But trust me - THEY ARE NOT GOOGLE.

How do I know? Well, first the ethical issue of Google selling results space (this was *not* Adwords, according to the caller) - sort of like the NY Times selling you the ability to get an article written about you. Secondly, our advertising budgets as therapists are not even a drop in Google's bucket (they took in $2.2 billion last quarter). Finally, this ones been known in my world for some time (we SEOs talk).

Anyways folks, if someone calls and offers you something to good to be true - it is. And if they say they are from Google, ask them to send you an email to prove it. They won't be able to.

Stay safe! Best, Peter

Join Me @ PBC2010 - October 25th-30th

2010-09-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hi!

I'm excited to announce I'll be presenting at the Practice Building Virtual Conference 2010 - put on by The International Therapist Leadership Institute. It's virtual - so no travel costs - all done by teleconference and webinar.

It's humbling to be on faculty with the likes of Bill O'Hanlon & Lynn Grodzki! It all goes on between October 25th and the 30th. Prices varies (depending on student, pre-licensed, etc.) from $197 to $297.

My talk will be The State of Web Marketing Today & Predictions for 2011. I sure hope you can join me. I think it will be worth your while.

Seattle Class coming up on Friday 9/17

2010-09-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hey!

If you're around Seattle, you may want to drop in at the Seattle Counselors Associations monthly meeting - next Friday, 9/17/10, from 9 to noon.

I'll be presenting "Web Marketing for Therapists - in Plain English". The goal is to both increase real understanding of the aspects of web marketing, and to send therapists away with some concrete to-do's to increase the effectiveness of their web marketing efforts.

Hope to see you there! Best, Peter

PS - contact SCA to sign up - http://www.seattlecounselors.org/meetings.php

So this is how the PT Phone # thing works....

2010-08-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, folks, the PT thing works.

Today, I saw someone had called and left a message. I was busy with something so I let it go to voicemail. A couple minutes later I get an email from PsychologyToday. It goes like this:

Hi Peter Hannah,

At 11:21 AM PDT you received a missed phone call. This caller found you on PsychologyToday.com.

Call to (206) 799-6566
Call from (206) xxx-xxxx/Seattle WA
(Note - The actual incoming number was listed here - nice for security.)
Date: August 9, 2010
Call Duration: 00:00:00 (missed call)

To view a record of this call, please log into your profile at
https://secure.sussexdirectories.com/rms-sec/mem_sign.php?u=phannah
and click on the Contact History tab.

FAQs:-

WHY AM I GETTING THIS CALL CONFIRMATION?

Psychology Today has recently introduced call tracking and call security
for your profile. People who find you on Psychology Today see a unique
local phone number for you that, when they call it, automatically
connects to your private number.

WHY DO I BENEFIT?

1: It's a simple way to tell who found your profile on the Therapy
Directory.

2: You get a record of the people who have called you (Check 'Contact
History' when you log in).

3: Spam phone calls from telemarketers are filtered out - about 99% such
calls can be screened.

To opt out of receiving these call confirmation emails, log into your
account and click the option in 'Contact History'.

---
The folks at PsychologyToday.com
---

*Don't reply to this email*

Pretty nice tracking, I have to say. I wouldn't have pegged this caller as coming from PT otherwise. Nice job, PT.

Psychology Today Directory's New Call Feature

2010-08-05T09:46:00.000-07:00

Hi, if you're listed in the PT directory (I still am, though rather ambivalently), you have probably seen this email (here's the heart of it):

The phone number on your profile is replaced by a unique local number
that connects seamlessly to your existing line. Each time you receive a
phone call from a client who found your details in the Therapy
Directory, we'll send you an email that tells you who called and when.
The details are stored in your account member area.

This is an interesting move. I can guess some of the motivations of it. I've often brainstormed how I would run a different kind of therapist directory - one that ONLY charged per lead generated or per client who successfully comes in. This is in many ways a great idea, but the main problem is TRACKING where the lead comes from, that it comes from a certain directory.

I'd guess that 5 years ago, a majority of PT therapists did not have websites, so people would mainly be going off the PT listing, and using the PT form to contact the therapist. (You'll notice the stats they email you list searches, views of your profile, and emails to you.)

Now, I would guess that most potential clients who actually use PT go off to the therapist's website, from the link in the profile, before contacting the therapist directly. This can hide the true source of the referral.

From hearing other therapists complain that PT doesn't drive as much traffic as it used to, I think this is a way to prove their worth to the therapists in the directory. I once did some "napkin math" about the directory - $29.95/month x 10,000 members (guesstimate) = $300,000/month = $3,600,000 a year. The directory may make more $ than the magazine does! So, they have a pretty darn vested interest in keeping it up to date.

I'll be interested in hearing people's experiences with the new call feature (oh yes, you can opt out of it, too).

Best, Peter

Will Adwords Spending Help My Organic Results?

2010-08-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing Google's own Adwords blog, and came across this. Since this is a question (and a misconception) of a lot of the therapists I work with - I thought I'd post it as is.

Myth # 1: Spending money on Google AdWords will influence my website’s ranking in Google's free search results.

Fact: Google AdWords and Google’s free search results are entirely independent of one another. Spending money on AdWords won’t impact your ranking in Google's free search results. Similarly, cancelling your AdWords account won’t lead to your website being banned from Google’s search results

I usually try to explain this as the way the NY Times treats editorial (news) and advertisements - they keep a firewall between the two so they don't influence each other. While that may not be the way some local magazines and free weekly newspapers run (where the biggest advertisers mysteriously often are featured in stories, too) it is the gold standard for ethical publications. I should know, I was on my college newspaper :-)

New Therapy Directory - Free Til 7/30!

2010-07-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Hope you are having a good summer.

A new therapist directory has shown up - and it's free for a year if you get in before July 30th.

It's at http://clinicalpsychotherapists.com - I signed up today. Not sure if it will be gangbusters, but every link helps your SEO a little bit, and the price is right!

Best, Peter

New Update to Google Search Results

2010-05-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

You might have noticed today, a major update to Google's results pages.

Opinions and feedback varies, but Google is known for stringently (some would say obsessively) testing every small change to its core search engine page. So, I'd expect the usual discomfort with the changes will fade as users get used to them.

As far as how this impacts all of you out there, it looks to be more of an impact to you as a user of Google (in how the results *look*), rather than in how results are calculated (which is what impacts where your site shows up).

I personally don't like the look of it, but I too will likely just get used to it in a few weeks.

All the best, Peter

Something to Ponder If You're Trying Adwords Alone

2010-01-29T14:14:00.000-08:00

Oh folks, Google changes so often. It gets more complex, and less transparent as we go along. Both on the Adwords and SEO side.

Right now, I am embroiled a handful of accounts where the people had tried (either alone or with another Google-Person) to do Adwords. And here's the rub - the results from the old campaigns are making trouble for the new campaigns I am creating. The problem stems from something called "Quality Score".

Now, Quality Score used to be rather straightforward, and it was about "relevance". Is *this* website and *this* ad really relevant to this search term? Makes sense, doesn't it! A good thing to weed out people who are mistakenly advertising at the wrong crowd, or whose ad doesn't really match the website's content.

But now it ALSO get's affected by the history of the account. Basically, if you start out crappy, it is an uphill battle to get back in Google's good graces. The end result is *much* higher click costs, and sometimes your ad not being seen for various keywords. It's a pain in the neck.

So, before you think "I'll try this first, THEN call Peter".....well, I'd really prefer you just call me first. Oh yeah, here's Google's official list of items that make up Quality Score....(the whole page can be seen here)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

While we continue to refine our Quality Score formulas for Google and the Search Network, the core components remain more or less the same:

*The historical clickthrough rate (CTR) of the keyword and the matched ad on Google; note that *CTR on the Google Network only ever impacts Quality Score on the Google Network -- not on Google
*Your account history, which is measured by the CTR of all the ads and keywords in your account
*The historical CTR of the display URLs in the ad group
*The quality of your landing page
*The relevance of the keyword to the ads in its ad group
*The relevance of the keyword and the matched ad to the search query
*Your account's performance in the geographical region where the ad will be shown
*Other relevance factors

About Facebook Ads - Part 1

2010-01-18T23:34:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

New Year, new energies! I downloaded a great new screen capture video software called Jing Pro that is allowing me to do some new videos , for this blog and my therapist friends.

So without further ado, here's some info on Facebook ads - part 1 (part 2 is already "in the can" and will be posted soon). Best, Peter

View the video at Screencast.com
(working to get it rightly sized inline right now)

The New Year's Spike

2010-01-06T19:42:00.000-08:00

Folks, the New Year marks a time when people take action. It is especially true in our business. I just logged into Google Analytics and this year is no exception.

Yesterday, Tuesday January 4th showed the biggest number of visitors to my counseling website ever. I didn't do anything new - no big news out there on me. This day was about 3x a normal Tuesday.

The spike would have been sooner if New Years Day hadn't been on a Friday, I'm sure.

Just something to put into your mental bank for next year.

All the best, Peter

Jot Form, Something new I Like

2010-01-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Web forms can be tricky for even savvy coders to create - often because we do it infrequently enough that we forget all the in's and out's. I have found a new, free resource to do that and wanted to share it with you - JotForm.com.

Simply, JotForm lets you create WYSIWIG forms simply and easily (and for free - always my favorite price). I've already created one that is integrated into my counseling site. It's something I've thought of for a long time - a contact form that includes the insurance info - so I can call and check benefits for them. It's already paid off, I've gotten one person filling it out within 24 hours of it being up.

Check it out for yourself! Best, Peter

New Year, New Copyright

2010-01-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It's the New Year, and one thing I do that is a subtle reminder to web visitors that the site is well-tended is to update the Copyright notice at the bottom of each page.

My private practice website sports the brand new 2010 date.

Just a little something I always like to suggest.

Best, Peter

Search-Placement.com Goes Trolling For Customers

2009-11-04T11:33:00.000-08:00

I'm writing after getting two emails from therapists, in different parts of the country, who got unsolicited emails from a company called search-placement.com.

Basically, the problem with their pitch is this: no one can guarantee where you will land on Google's organic listings, at least not without an unlimited budget (and then, it might require some serious black-hat trickery).

When you do SEO, you influence the search engines. But that's it, you can influence them, you cannot control them. Google *hates* to be played, and if it thinks you are playing them (rigging the game) or trying to, it *will* punish you on the search engine rankings.

I have written to these guys to try to find out what the cost model is - I figure they have a high monthly fee involved. Will write more as I find out.

Best, Peter

I'm Going to Be Presenting in October

2009-08-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular reader of this blog, I'm sure you know Casey Truffo and the Therapist Leadership Institute. I am excited to announce I will be one of the presenters at the Practice Building Virtual Conference running October 13-17.

The focus will be, as the name says, on building your practice. I'm still fine-tuning my presentation, and will give you some teasers :-) as we get closer.

There are CEUs available for this, and since it is a virtual conference, there's no travel involved (which saves so much time and money).

This will be the second conference of Casey's that I am involved in - I'm a big fan of hers. So check out all the details!

First Thoughts on Bing

2009-06-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

If you've been busy doing other things, you might have missed the launch of Bing.com, Microsoft's latest attempt at taking on Google.

A few first impressions and thoughts:

- while it has some improvements over Google, I don't yet see anything groundbreaking.

- it's going to take something big to overcome Google's mindshare in the community of web users. To "Google" someone is a verb now, like to "Xerox" something used to be.

- in my search of Seattle counselors, I got ads for a California therapist, as well as an Indiana one and an Atlanta one. Might be an end-used mistake, but seems like a lot.

- if you want some impressions, might be a good place to advertise on in the short term as people try it out. I'll withhold bothering with it until I see more.

- I haven't yet gone out on the SEO blogs and seen how people are tuning for this particular search engine, but I bet there is already some speculation and results.

OK, back to work! Best, Peter

Wired on Google Adwords

2009-05-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of Wired has not only a great piece on the history of Google Adwords but one of best explanations of the bidding process I have seen.

Really a "can't miss" article if you are interested in Adwords.

Best, Peter

Clients Googling You (in a Different Way)

2009-05-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

At the Casey Truffo conference I spoke at a few weeks back, there was another very interesting fellow presenting on therapeutic boundaries, partly on how they are changing in the age of the Internet.

One of his points was we should expect that our clients (and potential clients) will Google us and find out various things about us – not necessarily from our practice websites. I thought it was an interesting idea, and then it was proven true in my own caseload.

A fairly new client, upon hearing me sing in my office before I came out to greet him said “I read that you sing and dance between clients, and I now I see it is true.” This was something I wrote on a blog that is not linked from my therapy practice site.

This does lead me to believe it has happened to more than just this one client, and that it will happen more and more. The analytic “blank slate” will be harder and harder to come by (not something I rely on, but something I know many like). And the “resonance niche” as I’ve come to put it – that people will choose you to be their therapist based on small facts (you are from Boston, you were a nurse, you play rugby) or just your general personality (how you come across in a web video) will come more and more into play.

For those of us who enter the Internet age with some maturity and discretion, it will be fine. I feel bad for those counselors who are 18 now and posting pictures of themselves drunk, stoned and/or naked. Or maybe it will give them “street cred”.

My best to you, Peter

Interesting Annual Trend in Counseling Searches

2009-04-27T00:09:00.001-07:00

So the baby is *still* sleeping, and thus I am wandering around the Internet looking for new information to use (and to share, too).

Found an interesting trend I hadn't realized was there. If you look at each year, you see a huge crater in searches for "counseling" in November and December. This makes intuitive sense - people are too busy with holidays, vacations, shopping & family to delve into their own psyches. I don't think I expected it to be so sharp and so regular though.

The lesson from this is, of course, don't be counting on big additions to your client ranks during November and December. One oddity in the stats is that in 2008, and only in 2008, there was a large spike in marriage counseling searches in late December. The economy? That would be my guess.

2 New Negative Keywords on a Sunday Night

2009-04-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

I haven't logged into my Statcounter account in a little while, but I did tonight, and as always there was some interesting information.

While I do not share my negative keyword file (it's a secret sauce thing, ya know?) I'll share a new addition to it from tonight - ftm.

I found a search for an ftm counselor in seattle. My ad appeared. They clicked. Guess what? I am not a female-to-male transexual, nor am I likely the appropriate counselor for that person.

And thus is born two new negative keywords (mtf is the other).

Happy Sunday! Peter

I'm Presenting on Monday!

2009-04-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I'm a late and happy addition to the Therapist Leadership Virtual Conference starting this Monday (April 20th). It's a non-travel way to learn a whole lot.

I'll be presenting "Traffic x Conversion = Clients: The Two Sides of the Web Marketing Equation for Therapists" at 5:00 PM Pacific (I think the whole thing gets recorded too, so if you miss it, you can buy it later).

I am really thrilled about this - I'm part of something that includes luminaries like Cloe Madanes, Bill O'Hanlon and many more. I encourage you to read about it, maybe it's something you'd like to do.

I have to get offline and work on my presentation. I'm also getting something ready for the "goodie bag" with the latest SEO intelligence for therapists.

All the best, Peter

Your Customers Don't Care About You

2009-04-09T01:18:00.001-07:00

OK, so that's a shortened version of a great article I ran across today on Biznik

I've written before about what I call the "ego-driven" site, where we focus too much on ourselves. I should know, I did it myself once (see V1.0 and V1.1 of my therapy website). This author hits that nail *right* on the head.

I'll just finish with this drop-quote from the piece, and let you decide if you want to read it:

On the top of every prospect’s mind is one question. When you answer it, you’ll be in business.

Best, Peter

Twitter Gets To Me: An Offline Manifesto

2009-03-31T00:47:00.000-07:00

With this post, I am outing myself as a Twitter heretic. I officially am sick of Twitter. From curious, to experimenting, to diving in, to just sick of it in the course of three short weeks.

Why?

Well, it might feel hypocritical coming from Your Google Guy, but I'll get to it, if you have the patience to read more than 140 characters.

Basically, after 20+ years of being online, having emailed and IM'ed (at IBM, all done on mainframes, before the Internet - it was called PROFS) for most of it, I can see the course of Twitter. I think it represents a nuclear arms race of online ubiquity. It is a quantum leap in the race to be constantly online, and become a persona, rather than a person.

Perhaps I should say that this is not a new concept, really. For years, videogamers have fallen to this weakness. Especially those in such social and all-encompassing games like EverQuest (aka EverCrack) and World of Warcraft (WOW) and the text-based games that preceded them, fully jumping into a virtual world was not unusual. I had an ex-girlfriend who (after we broke up) spent months arranging her "online marriage" to some German guy in EverQuest (this was 1998 or so).

But to this point, those sucked into that life were the computer people to start with. People who maybe didn't have the best social skills or social standing. The strange thing now is watching the business-people do it.

My experience with Twitter thus far has been like being at a Multi-Level-Marketing expo! Everyone has a booth! Or is selling! Or is buying! Or is promoting their business of coaching you on how to sell or buy! Follow me! Then I'll follow you! Then we can race to see how many followers we can get! Oy vey. (I say this, admitting my attempts at Twitter have been based around extending the Your Google Guy brand, and my Nice Guy counseling biz). It's like a gold-rush where everyone is selling picks and pans, and I have yet to see the gold.

The second agenda of Twitter seems to be the cleverness contest. Look how smart I am! Ugh, I get really sick of this too. I guess I see that true friendship, true relationship-building, is *not* what I see going on on Twitter. (I contrast this to Facebook, but I keep Facebook as an extension of people I know/have known in the physical plane).

Twitter makes me ponder ideas like how much information we can take in? as well as how many relationships we can simultaneously handle? This amazing story from The Economist says we have an internal mental limit at 148 "friends". It's called the Dunbar number. But even with 148 Facebook "friends" they found people only really connect with (keep up with) 7-10 of them.

On Twitter, people are reaching for "followers" in the thousands. I repeat, THOUSANDS. There are of course new tools springing up to help you manage all the followers, and all the "tweets". Ugh. I truly believe Twitter will collapse under its own weight, a victim of its own success. When are all "friends" of everyone, it will be cacophony. The other option is an intermediary layer. A filter. Someone to separate wheat from chaff and help you decide what to attend to. This is no different than a newscaster/reporter/blogger, folks. And thus we re-invent the wheel.

I know I was just blogging about Twitter optimistically a few days ago. But as I get around the Twitter culture, I've gotten disturbed. Oh yeah, and the culture says you are a jerk (my nicer word for a word that begins with an "A") if someone follows you and you don't follow back. There are now online social-media consultants. I guess this should be expected. Hell, I do SEO, and that's what, five years old at most? I shouldn't throw stones. But to me, all this has always been to try to create more non-virtual relationships. To see more people in my counseling office, and for you to too. To keep in touch with people I have known in all 5 senses.

I'm not sure what all is driving this in me. It may be the arrival of our baby, now some 3 1/2 months old. It's an extremely visceral and sensory experience with a baby. Drool and warmth and spit-up and poop and skin and rocking and cooing. I've always been an Attachment guy, and I am experiencing it as it is created in a little person right in front of me. It also could be the feeling of pressure in me to keep up with the unending flow of new Tweets and tools and direct messages. I've survived the pressure email, MySpace, texting and Facebook so far, but nothing like the snowball that is Twitter. I come in, sit down at my PC, and am 10 feet away from my lovely wife as she is emailing too. We are close but not connected. It is disturbing to me as a marriage counselor, and as a human being.

Some years ago, when I was at IBM, I saw Clifford Stoll speak - he was a guy who famously tracked down a hacker in Germany, and his talk was rousing for us techies (he wrote a book about it called The Cuckoo's Egg). Later he changed his position on technology and the Internet, and wrote a book called Silicon Snake Oil - in which he extolled the virtues of the physical, slow, face-to-face world over the virtual. I believe he too was strongly influenced in this new position by becoming a father.

So, as someone who has seen tech fads come and go (I worked for a dot-bomb, sorry, dot-com here in Seattle, and that's just one of many things that have lit up the tech sky like a shooting star) I think all the heat here may burn out.

If you want to help your search engine rankings by starting an account, go right ahead. Want to try to drive traffic to your blog, Twitter when you post. If you have something national to sell, yup, dive in. But for the local therapist, I think Twitter is not going to be much of a business tool for you.

I shall now don my bullet-proof vest, as the Twitter-holics find me an take aim.

Best, Your Google Guy

Splash Page = Bad News

2009-03-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Just a quick note. I did an initial consult today with an academic admissions counselor for possible Adwords work. His site is pretty, but there was a rub - he has a splash page.

A splash page is a home page or landing page that has no real content on it - it's just a good-looking image (be that Flash, or a static image). It's the more modern version of the old sites that said "Click Here to Enter" (ugh I hated those!).

The problem with splash pages is two-fold: 1) no/low information, and 2) any information is not machine-readable.

I explained to the site owner that if we pointed Google Adwords to his home page, it would quickly judge it not be relevant, and would punish him greatly (via a "Poor" Quality Score).

This same advice goes to those of you doing DIY SEO.

OK, that's it for today! Best, Peter

Twitter Part 2: Choosing a Use, and Choosing a Username

2009-03-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

OK, folks, these are going to be free lessons that I have learned the hard way (so don't ding me for hypocrisy) on two fundamental issues of Twitter. How you choose to use it, and the username you choose. The two are linked.

First and foremost, its use. I have chosen, and would advise others, to use Twitter as a business tool. To be your business-self while on it. To think of it that way - as a business mini-blog. This means, since I assume you are a therapist like me and like some boundaries and privacy, that you don't twitter your personal matters on it (that great date you had, the annoying client you had, etc. etc.).

I would contrast this to Facebook. I made a decision at one point to make Facebook a business-free zone. Since I work with a lot of therapists, I actually had to de-friend some people (there was some sadness on both sides about this, but it felt like a good move). Facebook is built to allow privacy, and really is not a great business resource (for therapists, at this point), and I think we therapists need a place where we can be silly and stupid and just people and not have to watch what we say/think/post.

OK, back off my soapbox. Since Twitter is going to be business tool, I suggest you pick a username that is either 1) your name (Peter Hannah), or 2) your service + your city (SeattleTherapist). I established my username before I had figured out how I was going to use Twitter. Don't make my mistake. But do realize that Google is now adding Twitter into it's search engine results. For instance, go search Google for gratefulguy. Guess what's the first entry? Moi.

Oh yeah, and to show the power of this thing - guess where I first found out about this new (it's quite new) Google/Twitter thing? From http://twitter.com/jeanlucr @jeanlucr on Twitter. Here's the actual news item - http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10203095-2.html

Best, Peter

When Bad Adwords Strike!

2009-03-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

OK, folks, I just sometimes see web marketing done badly and it ticks me off. And I want to save you from it. Of course I'd love you to use my services, but even more, I'd love you to use me or someone else good, not crappy services. Too many therapists pay too much money for bad web marketing services!

Today, it is DexKnows that has my goat. I've seen their ads up before - horribly written, crazy long and ugly domain names. I saw one of these the other night, while Googling "seattle counseling" (I do my own competitive analysis quite often).

I found it again today (actually when I first saw it, the headline just said "counseling". For those not familiar with my area, Seattle is a good hour plus drive from Olympia and Lacey. The URL just looked weird, so I did my usual (I visited it, but didn't click on the ad and cost them $, that would just be rude). Where did I end up? Take a look for yourself.

Ah yes, a DexKnows page. The silly thing about these DexKnows pages is that most of the people have good websites already. This Marston center has a very nicely done website. I think they really get who they are across in it, in a quick manner. But for some dumb reason, their Adwords $ gets you to a yellow pages ad. Ugh.

OK, my spleen is vented. Time for some coffee.

Best to you, Your Google Guy

Always Check For Cross-Browser Compatibility

2009-03-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

A tired, but always learning (or in this case, remembering) Google Guy, here with your handy note of the day.

When re-designing your website (as I am currently doing with YourGoogleGuy - new one scheduled to drop on 4/1 - no kidding), always check it on multiple browsers before you go live.

In order, the big browsers you need to check are Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSN IE, or just IE), Mozilla Firefox, and finally Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome (the last two have much smaller pieces of the market).

I was lazily checking my work on Firefox and it all looked fine. Went over to Chrome tonight and half the menu disappeared. Zoinks! Things like that happen. You'll want to check on layout, fonts (especially if you designed it on a Mac - gorgeous fonts installed on Macs will often look like poop when seen on PCs), and the execution of Javascript and such.

OK, back to the web saltmine. I know you are dying for Twitter Part 2, but this was on my mind.

Best, Peter

A Therapist's Basic Guide to Twitter - Part One, What is Twitter?

2009-03-20T23:22:00.000-07:00

TGIF fellow therapists,

If you have not been hearing about Twitter lately, then you must be living under a rock. Twitter is definitely a hot topic right now, and is growing at an insane rate. So, what is this thing, and why would a therapist in private practice care? Well, let's start simple.

Twitter can most accurately be described as a micro-blog. As a Twitter user, you post updates of up to 140 characters. Reading different Twitter users, you'll see that the posts range from small personal news (what restaurant they are at, what band they are seeing) to online news articles or websites that they found interesting and wanted to share.

It really brings together aspects of Facebook's status update, and the editorial filtering/spinning of blogs. The difference between it and Facebook is that any user can see your postings (unless you lock down privacy options), and people can search on keywords and see previous posts of yours. So this is more public, like a blog. Also, just as in both Facebook and a blog, people "follow" people they find interesting (so that they see their posts automatically).

Like a blog, the posting of links is definitely part of the culture. People are culling the web for you, and saying "take a look at this". All in short little posts called "tweets".

To see an example of a Twitter account and tweets, take a look at my Twitter page - serving both my counseling and web consulting businesses.

In my next posts, I'll get into how I think you can use a Twitter account for your business, and some of the finer details of this medium.

On to the weekend! Best, Peter

Ah, How Refreshing (For Your Website)

2009-03-20T00:30:00.001-07:00

Howdy everyone,

The Goo-Gaa baby is asleep on the couch, giving me a chance to catch up on some stuff. Wanted to post based on some thoughts from a website consult I did earlier today.

Basically, I was looking at a website that had been designed some years back. It's age was showing. To a visitor, they would likely not be able to tell why this, but I think they would either feels its age on a conscious or unconscious level, and this would negatively impact the website owner's chance of getting a client out of it.

To a webdesigner, the age of the site was apparent, in several ways. The font was one used quite often in the 90's but rarely anymore. The photo was black & white, and not sharply focused. The banner and menu graphics were not crisp.

I point this out because your website might need a refresher, and you might be able to do it without doing a full re-design (I know money is tight for many out there).

What kind of things can you do to refresh a site?

1) Change the text font to a new font-face, size and/or color. I might suggest trying Verdana or Tahoma, especially if you are currently using a serifed font.

2) Change how links appear. Make them bold, or non-underlined, or something other than a bright-blue.

3) Post a new photo, a sharp, big, color photo. Even non-web people notice hair, make-up, clothing and glasses that are dated.

4) Just change the banner. Seriously, you'd be amazed how much difference that can be.

5) Update your darn COPYRIGHT notice to 2009!

6) Update any "I've been doing this x years" to be the right # of years.

The sense that your website is well-kept will be a turn-on to potential clients. I've heard the saying "Never go to a therapist who has dead plants", and while I don't think a bad website reflects on one's quality as a therapist, I think it will impact your business success.

All the best! Peter

Don't Call Yourself Something You Are Not

2009-03-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

So I just got a worried message from a Google Adwords client. She's a psychotherapist.

Apparently a psychologist friend of hers is part of the state association and they are going to try to take legal action against non-psychologists who advertise against the keyword "psychologist" on Google. Mind you, I don't think the ad is mentioning psychologist anywhere, it's just showing for that search.

Hmmmmmm, I think. This is not something I tend to do with my clients - I don't believe we should advertise when people are looking for something that we aren't. But I do think legal action is bit of a stretch, though. But maybe that's just my spiritual beliefs coming through (being for something, and against nothing).

Ah well, nothing I need to worry about at midnight on a Monday. But something to keep in mind for all you out there if you've got this going on.

Reminds me of a guy out here in Seattle who had a witch-hunt against people using MA ABS on their sites (ABS = Applied Behavioral Science). But that is a story best left in the past.

I hope this finds you well, yours, Your Google Guy

PS - if you ever use dynamic keyword insertion, this kind of thing could be sticky, though.

Babies Mess With To-Do Lists

2009-01-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

So, you may have heard, but yours truly was blessed by an adoption going through - we got a 3 week-old baby boy, who came home to us just this Monday night. Those of you who have kids probably can understand the chaos, wonderfulness, sleepiness, and re-prioritization that is going on at Google Central.

This will, though, likely delay some of the site reviews. Just wanted you to know. I'll not make you sit through baby photos, videos, or anecdotes. Though I get it a lot more now.

Now back to several day-old emails.

Best, Peter

Why Your Adwords Might Not Be Working Like It Used To

2009-01-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

I've been setting up Google Adwords campaigns for therapists for over 2 years now. In the last couple of months, I've had some people come back and say "hey, my ads aren't working like they once were." And it's true. Google has made the whole Adwords business a lot more complex - and the main cause is an innocuous phrase - Quality Score.

Back in the old days, where your ad showed up was based on only two things: your bid ($) and how often your ad got clicked (click-thru-rate, or CTR). But during 2008 Google started adding in more and more criteria for whether your ad showed, how high it showed, and what the minimum bid was. For some people, they found that their minimum bid had gone from 25 cents to $5 or $10! (That's what is known in the biz as a "Google Slap").

Google is as mysterious as the Wizard of Oz, so while they do point and describe some of the things that go into Quality Score, they never come out and tell you exactly what it is based on. So, as usual, cottage industries have been born to figure it out and read the tea-leaves. It's really quite similar to SEO.

That said, dear reader, do not panic. This is all based on relevancy (as seen by Google's computer). If your ads are relevant to the search, and the site is relevant to the ads, then it'll all work fine. But there are times when it goes haywire.

The hardest times for me have been telling people who just invested in a gorgeous Flash-based site, or a frames-based site, that Adwords was going to be a nightmare for them, because the spiders couldn't see their content. Then there is the issue of getting out of a hole, because Google includes your history as part of the Quality Score.

This is not meant to dissuade you from pursuing Adwords, I still think it's the best mechanism I know for marketing. It is meant to explain the growing complexity of it, and why what you did in 2006 and 2007 might not work as we enter 2009.

But if you need a consultant, I know this one guy....... :-)

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy - Web Marketing for Therapists

Still Don't Think You Need a Website?

2009-01-03T10:32:00.001-08:00

Almost half of Americans now spend more than one hour a day on the Internet, according to this Gallup poll. Also, if you look at the poll data, if your ideal client has a graduate degree, or makes more than $75,000 a year, those numbers rise to over 2/3.

Best, Peter

More Reviews, Happy New Years, and Hopeful YGG News

2009-01-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

First of all, Happy New Year! I enjoyed getting away from town, and getting away from the computer and counseling for a week. Of course, the deluge of to-do's is here and I am diligently getting at them.

To all those who have sent in their websites for review (over 15 now) - be patient, but know you are on the list.

Finally, I may have a new web designer on the horizon - someone to do custom therapist websites. I'll leave it at that for now, but from what I've seen, I am excited.

Now back to the emails! All the best for a healthy, happy, abundant 2009! Peter

Wow! A Dozen More Reviews to Come!

2008-12-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday, and I'm about to get snowed in here in Seattle (again). And, I'm not really in a work mood, so no reviews tonight, but my call for websites to review (on the Forums at PsychologyToday.com) garnered over 10 sites to reviews. They'll be coming up in next 2-3 weeks.

Happy holidays everyone! Drive (and fly) safely!

Peter

Website Review #2 (by Request)

2008-12-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today, for your viewing pleasure, I present the website of Samuel Rainey, MA.

(click on the image to visit his site)

I think I'll go in reverse order of how I did the last review - starting with overall impressions and what I like and then "what I'd change".

OVERALL, a pleasant, relaxing site to look at. This is partly due to the clean and sparse design (note how crisp every element is, how nicely laid out and spaced it all is). I love the matching of the shirt color to the overall color! The photo is direct and yet relaxed. It's not busy, and is pretty clear to see how to navigate around it.

HOW I'D IMPROVE IT: If this were my site I would....

Eliminate the horizontal scrolling on the home page
Not use italics for the word "Therapist" on the home page
Mention my city/area somewhere on the home page
Have my phone number & email address more visible and persistent
Fix weird font-style shift in first paragraph of "About Me" page
Beef up content about the therapy services offered.
Consider whether all clip-art makes sense for my geographic area (I am looking at the FAQ page). I have a pet peeve about clip art that seems from a different geography (like an ocean beach on a site in Nebraska).

That's it! Good job Samuel!

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy - Always Ready With An Opinion :-)

First Website Review (That's By Request)

2008-12-15T00:31:00.000-08:00

Hi Googlers,

Well, two people have requested reviews, and tonight I am getting to the first one. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on mckinziecounseling.com.

I'll take this on in my new-found way, which is by saying is this were my website I would...

Not have the headshot fade out - I'd have it all strong
Not have the "search the web" box on top - why send people off your site?
Have something about my geographic location visible (maybe in the top banner, like adding "in Frisco and Plano, TX")
Have contact info (phone & email) on every page (at the bottom is a great way to do it, or under the menu system on the left).
Clean up the pronoun usage in "About Cheryl" (it says "I" and "my" and then "she" in the next sentence).

Those are my quick to-dos. Overall, I like the site. It's got a nice feel to it. My reaction is it's professional, I get a feel for who this person is, it's easy to navigate, the menu is laid out clearly, the colors soothing (and they do together - this has been designed not just thrown together). It looks to be a Microsoft product (so much nicer than the old FrontPage crap).

I could find things to critique in the text but these would be nits (other than the pronoun consistancy, as noted).

Good job Cheryl!

Best, Peter
YourGoogleGuy - All the Web Marketing a Good Therapist Needs

My Thoughts on TherapyTribe

2008-12-10T00:25:00.000-08:00

So I bet some of you have also gotten an email for TherapyTribe.com. It's a new Therapist Directory, costing $20/month or $199/year. It touts itself as being different as traffic is driven by its large social networks.

Those social networks are ones such as AnxietyTribe.com
and DepressionTribe.com, as well as a few others.

I feel like a big wet blanket sometimes, because I find lots of web marketing to be full of holes. And, I am raining on this parade as well.

In going through some of the other Tribe websites, I find social networks built around the symptoms and conditions listed. The people who are there seem to be invested in their symptomology - and they seem to be pretty chronic. This is not my ideal client. I'm also not certain that this population is really going to be seeking new therapists - they have likely been down that road a few times before.

Thus, I am going to give my thumbs down. If this population seems like your ideal client, it may be for you.

Best, Peter

The Best Websites to Publish Your Articles

2008-12-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

It's Saturday, I am busy catching up on gobs and gobs of emails and to-dos. My Biznik newsletter had a good story I will share with you (cuz heck, I don't have to think of all this stuff myself!).

One search engine strategy is to publish articles - ones filled with pertinent keywords and with a link back to yourself. This article goes over the best places to post them

Happy Saturdaying! Peter

Website Review - Well-done & Straightforward

2008-11-29T16:50:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

I was doing a weekly thing, Googling therapists in my area to see who shows up, and who is new. I ran into a new ad (a Content Network ad) and pasted the link (I never cost my colleagues money by clicking their ads!), and voila, a site that was concise, and I thought really well done.

I present for your perusal, Bellevue Therapist Kim Gilliland.

I like straightforward sites, and this is one of them. From the URL (her last name + "therapy") on, it's all direct and done right.

On her home page, she presents herself (in photo and words), where she is located, and what she does (both generally and specialties) in a pithy manner.

The design is compact, professional looking and attractive. This site does an interesting job of bringing much of the information from an "About Me" page onto the home page, which works here very well.

If you were looking for an example to go from, it wouldn't hurt to use this one.

Best, Peter

CORRECTION - Updated Info on GoodTherapy.org

2008-11-29T16:38:00.000-08:00

Hi folks,

My posts on Google's statistics on the therapy sites garnered the attention of GoodTherapy.org's Noah Rubinstein. Noah is the man behind GoodTherapy, and I've watched him really take on search engine optimization for his site with a lot of energy and zeal. Whereas PsychologyToday is more of a corporate entity, GT has an actual wizard running the show :-)

I'll let Noah tell you the stats on his site, which turn out to be higher than I previously reported (this also reminds us all to take Google's stats with a grain of salt).

It's Noah Rubinstein, from GoodTherapy.org....I want to let you know that your information is either very very outdated or incorrect. For example, for October we had well over 40,000 unique and over 200,000 page views.

Noah, I'm happy to report what you're telling me. Let the record be noted as more straightened now. :-)

Happy surfing, Peter

Visitor Demographics Info - GoodTherapy.org

2008-11-27T01:00:00.000-08:00

NEW INFO ADDED 12/1/08! - Please see this post for more accurate stats from GoodTherapy themselves......Peter

Continuing our visit to Google's statistics about therapy directory sites - here's their take on GoodTherapy.org.

Google reports 11,000 unique monthly visitors (US) with 83,000 pageviews.

Here's the rest of the info! Best, Peter

Your Website is Your Salesman

2008-11-27T00:10:00.000-08:00

I love a good analogy, and one came to my mind today - Your Website is Your Salesman.

A salesman is a representative, the one who is the initial contact point to the potential client. They represent you, they reflect you, and they make a big difference on whether you get a sale or not.

So let's imagine some different salesmen, the websites they would be, and their impacts on your prospects.

Would you buy from a salesman who is sloppy, disorganized and makes mistakes?
That's a website with typos, broken links, a poor menu system, and content that isn't organized well.

Would you buy from a salesman who can't answer questions about his product or service?
That's a website that's missing basic information such as your phone number, email address, fees, insurance information, a photo, or what school you went to.

Would you buy from a salesman who doesn't believe in his product?
That's a website with text in which you don't speak confidently about what you do, the people you help, and the benefits they often get from seeing you.

It's hard to look at your own site objectively, but I encourage you to take a cold hard look, and see what kind of salesman your site it.

Best, Peter Hannah

Google Demographics Info on NetworkTherapy.com

2008-11-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

Following on my post the other day on PsychologyToday.com's stats, I thought I'd follow up on some of the other big directories. Today, NetworkTherapy.com (known to many on forums as NT).

According to Google (their stats, I am just reporting them), NT gathers about 18,000 unique visitors per month, and gets about 130,000 page views.

Here's the rest of the graphs....

Let me know which sites you want to hear about!

Best, Peter

Marketing to Women on the Web

2008-11-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

Folks, here's one from Casey Truffo of BeaWealthyTherapist.com. I respect and admire Casey's work (sometimes disagree with some of her opinions, but always in with the best of spirits).

If you don't get her newsletters, I thought this one was pretty good - How to Market Counseling to Women.

Best, Peter

Web Design Lessons from WebsitesThatSuck

2008-11-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, here's a little resource for ya! My friends at WsTS have a great little checklist to help you give yourself an honest assessment of your website's design quality.

You'll need to pardon their use of the word 'suck' and 'hell' - but there is gold in this list. This guys been doing this for 13 years.

Without further ado.....Does My Website Suck? Checklist #1

best, Peter
Guy Who Makes Therapist Sites Not Suck

Website Review #1 - A Bushel of Pet Peeves

2008-11-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

OK folks, I've been pondering this idea. I am going to try it here and see what happens. It might hurt feelings (and being a recovering Nice Guy that might be hard), but I learned so much back in the 1990's about web design from a site called WebSitesThatSuck. This guy would find poorly designed sites, and use them as teaching tools. That's what I am going to try here.

So tonight's victim, er, I mean example, came while I was Googling "Seattle Counseling" (I do this about every day, to see who is new, who is offline, etc.) There are a flood of newbies tonight, which is odd. One is Christian Counseling in Lynnwood, WA. (Editor's note - I have nothing against Christian Counselors, Christians, Jesus himself, or God).

I could spend several hours on this - but will just hit the overall points:

*The blinking "Call" makes me want to scratch my eyes out. Or, it could be that it's 1997 all over again. Woo hoo! I'm young again!
*For a text-only site, it's text design is....just bad. Different sizes of fonts, odd justifying of text, etc.
*Lacking in content - so very little info to go on here.

Perhaps I should have just let this one go, but knowing that this guy is spending $2-$3 a click to get people to visit this site makes me feel sad. FYI, when I do this, I never click the ads - I just type in the URL on a fresh browser screen.

If you'd like your website reviewed (both the good and the bad) - send me an email!

Best, Peter

If You Thought Horizontal Scrolling Was a Keen Idea

2008-11-18T00:07:00.000-08:00

Just another tidbit from the killer Adwords class (of which I get no toaster, I just was really jazzed to have a class that was filled with value and given by a smart and experienced individual).

One piece of research he gave us was called "Where Users Click" - a study of the surfing habits of individuals. It turns out that if your link is right of the visible area on the screen (meaning you need to horizontally scroll to see it), all the clicks there total only 0.4% of clicks!

And if you want to see the value of having your most important links visible without vertical scrolling (which is called "Above The Fold" after the newspaper term) - 76.5% of all clicks happen here.

Best, Peter
Your ever-lovin' Google Guy

Google Demographics Info on Psychology Today

2008-11-17T23:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I went to a killer Adwords class last week - and one of the sections was on a new Adwords tool called AdPlanner. It has all sorts of demographics data on major websites.

Since I know a lot of us advertise on PsychologyToday.com - I thought I'd let you see what Google has to say about their visitors. Please note this is Google's data - not mine - and is all based on U.S. data.

They estimate 240,000 unique visitors a month come to PT, and accumulate 1.3 million page views.

And I've pasted the other info below - enjoy! Best, Peter

If I Were Buying a URL For My Private Practice Today

2008-11-13T23:25:00.000-08:00

I'm often asked for advice on domain names - what web address should I try to get for my new private practice website. Folks, this is an easy one for me.

If you're planning on laying down roots in a locality, you're going to want to try to get a URL that incorporates your locality name, and a word that describes your service.

So I'm here in Seattle. If I had graduated with my Masters in 1996, I might have been able to jump on SeattleCounseling.com. Wow that would have been great. I graduated long after that and it was taken, and because in 2002 we were not really thinking about Search Engine Optimization, I got good ole ChangingForGood.com for my Seattle-based practice.

I think the locality word is obvious (if you are in a big city, this may mean a neighborhood, like SoHo - if you are in some states, it might mean a county name - just think how people search where you are).

The service word can vary a bit. If you are a counselor, therapist, or social worker, I would try to get "counseling". It is searched much more than "counselor". If you specialize in couples, couplescounseling or marriagecounseling are about even (I'd lean to marriage counseling, I think it includes couples, but not the other way around).

If I were a psychologist, I would go for that word (never, ever "psychology", though).

Definitely go for a .com address - please do not bother with .net, .org, .edu. .us, .info, .biz or any other (if you are in the US). It will just lead to confusion for people, and seems second class to the consumer.

So, there is a great chance that your primary domain choice will be taken (HoustonCounseling.com, for instance). Here are some other ways to go.....

CounselinginHouston.com

Counseling-Houston.com

CounselingforHouston.com

YourHoustonCounselor.com

Counseling-in-Houston.com

Counseling-for-Houston.com

HoustonTXCounseling.com

Best, Peter

PS - domain names are not case-sensitive. I add in capitals so you can see the words better (I do at in ads I place, too).

Watch out for Adwords Phishing Email

2008-11-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

Friends,

While I have often gotten phishing emails (ones that try to look legit, to get your userid info - but are fraudulent), some "from" banks, many more "from" eBay. Yesterday I got one "from" Google.

This email was very well crafted, but I have seen enough of them, so I hovered over the link in the email and it was something meant to look like the Adwords URL of course.

So, please remember, always, ALWAYS just go straight to a site (eBay, Adwords, your bank) from a fresh browser window if you get an unsolicited email from them. Never click the link in the email.

Save surfing! Peace, Peter

Getting Ready for Holidays - Marketing Advantages

2008-11-12T00:45:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

If you read my post a while back about the book "Click", you might remember he noted special search traffic patterns around January 1st.

I think it's a good time right now to start pondering the use of the holidays to make our ads stand out.

From mid-November until just after Christmas, most people will be focused on the holidays. This bring certain problems to the fore:

Family Relationship Stress
Feeling Lonely (Singles)
Feeling Disconnected from Joy

This might be a good time to engage people with ads like "Got The Holiday Blues?" and the like.

If you want to take this approach, here is an important part 2 (which could be implemented instead of the above). From December 30th to January 7th, there will be a huge spike in searches for diets, smoking cessation, gyms, and other things related to New Years resolutions. The spike is *huge*, people!

If I were a life coach, personal trainer, nutritionist, or hypnotherapist - I would be all over this.

That's it for now. 15 days 'til Thanksgiving!

Best, Peter
Unwrap the gift of new clients!

When? (Part 5 of 5 W's & 1 H)

2008-10-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

OK folks, I'll be real with you. I am sitting here stumped. What the heck does "When" have to do with therapy websites? I'm not really sure.

I think this is the least important of the 5 W's, but let's explore together and see what we can come up with. Let's see some "Whens".

When do you see clients? (evenings? weekends? M-F?)
When am I ready for therapy? (how about getting started right now?)
When can we get started? ("I can usually see new clients within a week")
When will we know we're done? (when we reach your goal)

That's all on this one folks. I promise, "How" will have a little more to it than this :-)

Best, Peter

Why? (Part 4 of 5W's and 1 H)

2008-10-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

So far we've focused on Who, What and Where. Tonight's post in on Why.

Why is a powerful question - I think the most powerful of them all. For our purposes it frames two particular questions:

Why are people visiting your website?
and
Why should they pick you to work with?

Let's start with the former. Why are people visiting your website? The bulk of them (or, the ones you hope to reach most - potential clients) have a problem that they need help with. Again, going to the 80/20 rule, most of those people are suffering from anxiety, depression, or relationship troubles.

Mark that one word - suffering. Many of the top therapy marketing experts talk about this - meeting your clients pain. You need to write in a way that recognizes that people are coming to your site in pain - in trouble. Your job is to communicate that you understand the kinds of pain they suffer, and that you can help them with it.

Let's go then to the latter question. There will likely be a number of therapist websites in your area - and most will at least list anxiety, depression & relationships somewhere in their site. Why will they pick you?

This has different layers to it. First, you need to be legitimate - you have to seem credible, professional and confident. This is relayed in everything on your website - the design, text, photos, all of it. This is the gestalt of your website.

Secondly, if you've passed that "sniff test", people will see if they think you cover their problem. If you have a specialty and they need help with that, you are in.

Finally, they want to see if they resonate with you. I call this idea the "Resonance Niche". It says that who you are (your history, your personality, your style) will determine some of the people who choose you. No use in faking this stuff. Some people will be into it, some won't. I don't know anyone, though, who is into incongruence.

OK - off to work!

Happy Counseling! Peter
Get Therapy Clients Online Thru Google

What? (Part 3 of 5 W's and 1 H)

2008-10-18T00:16:00.000-07:00

I brainstormed several different ways of starting this post. Here's the winner:

Q: What?
A: Counseling. For human problems. That gives your client some benefit.

OK, that might be too succinct, but if you just get that question and answer, you'll improve your site.

The What of our sites (whether you call yourself counselor, social worker, therapist, analyst, or psychologist) is our paid services. To me, the goal of our sites is to get clients to come in, let us provide counseling services, and then pay us for it.

I know there are people who want to have other streams of income - sell e-books, tapes, etc. That's fine, but for a vast majority of you therapists out there, that income is going to vastly overshadowed by your fee-for-service income. I bring up this point because I think in developing your content for your website you should make it crystal clear that you...

1) provide counseling services - and be direct about whether your services are geared to the individual, family, marriage, pre-marital, child, adolescent and/or teen.

2) you do services for with certain complaints. Depression, anxiety, relationships (these 3 words cover the vast majority of client complaints - it is the 80/20 rule in effect) are the clearest examples.

3) if you have a niche or specialty, that you do these services for those issues too.

4) and that the counseling is given to provide benefits to your clients. There's a saying in advertising - "Features tell, benefits sell". People don't come for the DBT or the CBT or the EFT, they come for the peace of mind, or the returning of hope and energy, or the end of fighting in their marriage.

OK, I'm getting off my soapbox now.

Best, Peter
Market Your Private Practice With Adwords!

Who? (Part 2 of 5 W's & 1 H)

2008-10-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Continuing down our journalistic path, we come to "Who".

Not just Who as in "Who is this website about?"

No, I think the more important focus is "Who is this website for?"

And you know the answer already - it's for clients and potential clients. So this helps us frame the conversation right away.

The first generation of my website (and many others I've run across over the years) was, to be clinical, ego-centric. The pages? "Who I Am" - "What I Do" - "What I Think".

Guess what? This site did not generate a lot of calls.

I learned, the hard way (which seems to be how I learn, and why I now teach and consult) to focus on the potential clients as the main "Who" of the website. I learned to focus on their problems, their lives, their issues, their pain, and what I would do for them. This made all the difference in the world.

I put myself in their shoes, and wondered what I would want to know before I'd feel good about making a call.

Now don't get dogmatic here, and think that who I am, the therapist, doesn't matter at all. I still let people know who I am. And they do want to know this. They want to know I am qualified, that I have some experience and some confidence in what I do. Many like to know a little about me, too (I coined the term "Resonance Niche" to acknowledge my belief that potential clients will often be drawn to a similarity in your life - such as a high-tech background, motherhood, being from a different part of the country, etc).

So, I've got to run to see my own clients, so thus endeth the lesson for today.

Just remember the Who is them, not you :-)

Best, Peter
Get Clicks, Get Clients - Your Google Guy

Where? (Part 1 of "The 5 W's and 1 H")

2008-10-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

When I was on my college newspaper, I learned about the basic questions to answer in a news story - the 5 W's (who, what, where, why, when) and 1 H (how). The same can be said of therapy websites. Let me elaborate with my favorite pet peeve W - Where.

Now, what's a difference between a therapist's site and, say, a website for a service like telephone coaching, or for a web designer? The answer is our customer-base is local. Therefore, our sites are for a local audience.

It amazes me that I can visit a counselor's homepage, and not know where in the US they are located. This is a problem on a couple of levels.

First, I believe potential clients quickly orient themselves on a site (or don't) - to ensure the website they are on is what they were looking for - that this is in fact the right service (counseling) in the right place (their city). People may keep going if you don't meet these standards, but they tend to be easily dissuaded while surfing the web.

Secondly, think of how people are searching for a local service. They tend to be entering a city name in their search - otherwise they get results for all over the country. If your site doesn't have your city or town listed, the search engines certainly won't show your site in the results for a local search.

Coming next - More W's.....

A Small Post on Web Page Width

2008-10-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Folks, for what seems like ever, we web designers have made our pages just over 700 pixels wide. Why? Because the vast majority of people had small screens with the resolution set to 800*600 (that's 800 pixels wide, and 600 pixels tall). Take away scroll bars, and browser window panes, and most people shot for 712 or so.

Not anymore. I'm working on a new site (code name: Peter's New Site), and doing the first bits of design, and am now free to go wider! The vast majority (over 90%) of US visitors now have their screens set to 1024*768 or 1280*1024. My statistics package agrees with other posts I have found around the web that says only around 7% of people are using 800*600 now.

A little geeky of a post, I know :-), but just more info for you.

Best, Peter

Custom vs Template-Based Websites

2008-10-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

I am often asked this question: should I pay a designer for a custom website, or use templates on my web host?

Well, here is a great article about that.

By the way, Biznik is another great networking site. For me, it is my #2 professional networking site behind LinkedIn.

Best, Peter

Breaking News! LeapFish Pricing!

2008-10-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

Folks,

I asked for pricing on some of those permanent LeapFish ad spots, originally mentioned in this post and they sent it to me. Thought you'd like to see it.

Note, they sell only one keyword combo, and that they will sell you different ad slots (first, second, third) for different prices. These prices are the current ones (rep said they would keep going up) and only for Seattle.

Keyword(s)

Seattle Counseling
Pos.1 - $ 3,739.94
Pos.2 - $ 2,617.96
Pos.3 - $ 1,495.97

Seattle counselor
Pos.1 - $ 3,689.32
Pos.2 - $ 2,582.52
Pos.3 - $ 1,475.73

seattle therapy
Pos.1 - $ 3,201.11
Pos.2 - $ 2,240.78
Pos.3 - $ 1,280.44

seattle therapist
Pos.1 - $ 3,362.29
Pos.2 - $ 2,353.60
Pos.3 - $ 1,344.92

Best, Peter

Latest Search Engine Market Share Results

2008-10-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Search Engine Watch has reported the latest news on search engine market share - for July 2008.

Who is #1? Google, of course. Of all searches done in the US, 61.9% were done on Google or Google-fed sites. The next highest is Yahoo at 20.5%. MSN comes in third at 8.9%.

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy
Get Clicks, Get Clients

New Report on % of People Clicking Ads

2008-10-07T01:09:00.001-07:00

I hear the question sometime - "do people really click on those little Google Adwords ads?". The answer has always been "Yes" but some now research gives me some numbers to back that up.

According to a new iPerceptions report, 25% of consumers are likely to click on simple text ads (such as Adwords ads). This is higher than banner ads and video ads, no matter the format and the placement.

Good news for people using Adwords!

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy
Get Clicks, Get Clients

LeapFish - what to do?

2008-10-06T23:11:00.001-07:00

So I have been contacted by a sales rep from LeapFish, a new
aggregate search engine. Of course, he's selling something. At least one of my Google Guy clients has been contacted too, and was asking for advice, so I've decided to post my thoughts here.

Their basic sales pitch is that you buy a permanent advertising slot on their results page - for a certain phrase (such as "Seattle counselors" - which is different to them from "Seattle counselor" by the way). You pay a 5% fee (5% of the original sales price) each year. You then "own" this advertising slot for....well, forever.

It's an interesting idea. It's like buying a Google Adwords slot....except LeapFish is no Google. They are a new and unknown search engine, and are basically re-vamping a concept that was tried by DogPile and Mamma.com. People get quite used to their habits, and so I don't foresee LeapFish changing people's searching habits.

In short - I wouldn't do it.

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy
Get Clicks, Get Clients

From the book "Click"

2008-10-06T22:46:00.000-07:00

For those tech-heads out there, the new book Click - What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters is an interesting read.

The author, Bill Tancer, has been writing about how people use the Internet, and especially search engines, for years.

Overall, a complex and fascinating read, I think there is one nugget I can definitely give out as advice - if you do anything regarding diets, stopping smoking, or other habit changes, you should absolutely binge on pay-per-click advertising from December 30th-January 4th. The bulk of New Year's resolution searching is made at that time. By the time the 5th has rolled around, search volume on New Year's resolution items drops down to pre-holiday levels.

This should stand out especially for hypnotherapists and coaches.

Best, Peter
Your Google Guy

Welcome to the Google for Therapists Blog!

2008-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Many therapists around the US know me as "Your Google Guy", because of my site YourGoogleGuy.com. I'm a busy guy, having helped well over 100 therapists, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and coaches around the country with their web marketing.

I'm launching this blog to help you understand a bit more about this whole web marketing business. It gets more and more complex each day (really, and I was a computer guy before I was a therapist).

To launch this, I wanted to link to a video from the man at Google named Matt Cutts. He's Google's chief "Spam fighter". You might think of Spam as that annoying bunch of unwanted email you get. It is, but it also now means tricks people try to do to get their website listed higher on search engines.

I know there are do-it-yourselfers out there. If you're not one of them, give me a call - 206-799-6566.

Best, Peter Hannah
Your Google Guy
Get Clicks, Get Clients