“No one is booking on my website!” This is something I’ve heard many therapists share as a frustration. Maybe you’ve also had that experience too.
I’ve spoken ad-nauseam about ways to increase the number of visitors to your website. I’ve advocated for using SEO tools, Google Business Profile or social media.
Because if you don’t have folks visiting your website, then what good is it doing you and your potential clients?
But lately I’ve heard a new concern pop up from several therapists. They say: I have lots of people visiting my website, but no one is booking with me.
Is It Me?!
This is an incredibly frustrating situation. I’ve seen therapists take this personally and spiral a bit as a result. They fear that maybe their specialty isn’t in demand or that they’re not a good therapist.
But I assure you, these aren’t the reasons why no one is booking with you.
This article will offer some tools to help you problem-solve this in case you’re in this situation. I want to help you to have a steady flow of folks landing on your website and reaching out to you to book an appointment.
Check Your Website Traffic
First of all, if you’re not sure how much traffic is coming to your website, you can find out by checking the analytics of your website builder directly. Or you can sign up for Google Analytics.
If you check your traffic and it’s looking pretty meager, let’s say less than 100 visitors a month, then it may be a good idea to boost your strategies to help more people come to your page. You could use SEO tools, ads, or other means to help increase the traffic on your site.
I have videos and blog posts where I share more about how to attract potential clients.
Today we’re focusing on when you have some decent website traffic, say at least a few hundred visitors per month, but no one is booking through your website.
3 Tips For When No One Is Booking
There are so many different things you can take a look at to see where the miss is happening. I’m going to start with three tools you can implement to see if it makes a difference for your practice:
1) “5 Second Rule” Test
- Have three friends click on your website link. Ask them: within 5 seconds, can you tell what my practice is about?
- They don’t have to be therapists. We want potential clients to know within the first 5 seconds what our page is about. Because for most folks, if they’re not into it by then, they’ve already “x”-ed out of our page.
- If it’s not so clear within a few seconds what you and your practice are about, it’s time to emphasize that. Do so in the first “above the fold” area that you see when arriving on your homepage. Use the headers, photos, and colors to bring everything together.
- And if you’re not sure yet what you’re about, then I’d start there! I have some different resources and courses on knowing who you are and your brand. So feel free to check those out if you need help with that.
2) Take Potential Clients On A Journey
- Most folks won’t be ready to book with you after just a minute on your page.
- They need to already have developed some amount of trust with you before they even feel safe enough to email you, let alone book with you. So you need to give clients avenues to find out if they can trust you.
- Many therapists nail the “what they’re about” part that we covered in the first tip. Then they jump straight to a call to action, an invitation to book an appointment. But this is skipping the trust-building step.
- Consider all the reasons the folks you might work with may be nervous to reach out.
- You can make a list of their potential concerns and find ways to address each on your website. For example, if you work with folks with panic disorder, it may be helpful to acknowledge that you understand how difficult it can be to arrive in person in the office, so you offer the option of virtual therapy as well.
- For my practice, since I work with LGBTQ+ folks and I have a faith background as well, it’s important for me to acknowledge the harmful nature of conversion therapy. I want to be incredibly clear that this is not the work that I offer, given that many folks from a faith background still utilize this damaging practice with LGBTQ+ folks.
- Consider all the hang-ups someone might have that would keep them from reaching out. Try to kindly address each of them. You may have some of your responses on your homepage, others on your services pages, and others still on your FAQ page. You can also use hyperlinks to guide folks to where they can get more information about a concern as well.
3) Have A Clear Call To Action
- This doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it’s helpful on every page of your site to tell folks where to go next if they’re ready to learn more.
- Make it a little more specific than “contact me”. It may be as simple as, “Contact me to book a free 15-minute phone call to see if we’re a good fit.” Something to give folks a clue about what they can do next and what to expect from that action.
Consider Blogging
Of course, there are SO many different things you can do to help folks who land on your site have more tools to decide if you’re a good fit to work together. I am an absolute advocate of blogging! It can be a highly effective tool to bring traffic to your website as well as a means for folks to really get a feel for your style before ever speaking to you.
Many potential clients will tell me they have read my blog posts before contacting me. Sometimes it was a specific blog post addressing an issue just like theirs that led them to finally feel comfortable reaching out.
So blogging is a definite bonus tip, but I also understand it’s a larger investment of time and energy. If you address the three items I listed above, I definitely think you’re going to see improvement in how many folks book with you after visiting your website.
More Website Help
If you are wanting more info on how best to create a site that attracts the clients you are hoping to work with, my video on creating strong website copy may be of help! Or if you’d like a step-by-step tutorial to create a website from scratch, check out my course How to DIY a Therapist Website that Fills Your Practice.
And until next time, from one therapist to another: I wish you well!
-Marie
Photo by Pixabay
Image by Sophie Janotta from Pixabay
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