Build Your Group Practice Website
As your group therapy practice grows, you may find that the most important marketing tool you have at your disposal in connecting with potential clients is your website. As the first point of contact, having your own comprehensive website is an invaluable marketing and outreach asset.
Having your own group practice website also greatly helps you to tailor your messaging for your ideal clients in your specific practice area. Effective marketing tools, copywriting, and effective planning in web design are all parts of the roadmap to make your clinicians visible to the right patients, and quickly move them through the process of choosing your specific group practice.
In this blog, we discuss the roadmap you can take in getting your own website ready to launch, including:
- Planning your group practice website
- What your website should include
- Who you should hire to help you
Planning Your Group Practice Website
One of the first things a service provider needs to do for their professional website is determine their Unique Service Proposition (USP). A USP identifies the specific service your practice renders to a target audience – identifying who you are, what you offer, and how. Many service providers will try to appeal to a wider audience, but, in truth, the more specific you can make this, the better.
Knowing the core purpose of the site itself – as a client intake tool, a source of information for subject matter expertise, or a way to offer resources to existing clients, will help with the next step: choosing a domain name. Having this identity in mind will help to select a domain name.
What Your Website Should Include
The next step of your preparation involves planning out your content on your site. This should include:
The home page – This is the first place a client sees, especially if they are coming to your site through direct traffic. This page serves as the first impression and navigation hub for the rest of the site, and will set the tone for the authority you’re working to establish for your practice. The homepage will internally link to the rest of the site. Critical call to action (CTA) links here will go to your contact pages, your service pages, and any resources you wish to promote (i.e. a newsletter).
Your About page – This acts as a way for potential clients to learn more about your mission as a group practice. While this is an important place to go into your practice’s story, remember that this is still a core marketing tool, and use your story to connect to potential clients to build trust.
Therapist Profiles – You’ll want your potential clients to choose the therapist who is well-equipped to help them with whatever issue they are having. Offering profiles of each therapist will allow clients to get to know the therapist they may be working with.
Services and Specialties – You’ll also want anyone coming to your site to know exactly what you specialize in. It’s important for your potential clients to know that you and your team can help them in whatever specific way they are seeking. List these services and specialties very specifically. Your clients will have a lot of knowledge about your practice just from reading your site. This page acts as a landing page, and can focus on the services as a whole while linking to individual therapist pages within your group practice from this hub.
Appointment Scheduling – Make it as easy as possible for clients to schedule appointments with you or your team. There are many scheduling apps that you can add to your site, which your webmaster can help you with. This can also act as your contact page, but you need to be clear and precise about location, and how potential clients can get in touch. Testimonials and Reviews – It’s always a good idea for potential clients to see how well you’ve helped others in the past. Of course, you’ll need to adhere to all HIPAA regulations, but including testimonials can give possible patients an extra vote of confidence that you are the right team for them.
Blog or Resources – It’s crucial to stay on top of news and trends in the area of mental health. The latest in treatment options, recognition of different mental health days, self-care options–all are important topics for your clients that will keep them coming to your website. This will most likely comprise the ongoing work for the website, but it also will be the thing bringing people in via organic traffic.
FAQs – Having an FAQ page saves your reception team untold hours in answering the same questions over and over. Think about things like your hours, your therapists’ hours, what insurance you accept, how can patients make an appointment as just some of the FAQs you can answer in this section.
Getting this information organized and ready to add your website can prevent significant delays once the website’s construction gets underway.
Who You Should Hire to Help You Build a Group Mental Health Practice Website
When you go to start building a website, there are so many options that it’s hard to know where to start. So much of what it takes to build a website is very technical; you also have to concern yourself with HIPAA regulations, confidentiality and privacy of your clients, as well as making your website attractive and user friendly.
This is one of those tasks that should be outsourced. I’ve talked several times about managing your time so that you concentrate on the things that you do best. Unless you’re a tech genius, or this is something that you really like to do, I believe this is a task best left to an expert. There are a wealth of web designers out there to help you. So many, in fact, that you need to spend some time finding the right one for your needs. How do you go about that?
- Find websites of other therapy practices that you particularly like. Then you can look for the designer’s name on the site.
- Ask people in your networking groups who they’ve used to design their sites, and who they like.
- Spend time interviewing potential web designers, once you’ve narrowed your choice down to 3-4. Ask them about pricing, technical support, and how they handle the privacy needs that come with your practice.
In the realm of mental healthcare, your group practice website is more than just an online presence – it’s a powerful marketing tool that can connect you with those in need of your therapeutic expertise. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you have the foundation to establish a strong online presence that attracts potential clients and offers valuable resources to your community. Remember, your website reflects your commitment to mental health services and is integral to your practice’s success. It’s not just a site; it’s the digital doorway to your expertise. So, go ahead and take action, create or enhance your group practice website as a way to consolidate the online presence of the clinicians in your therapy practice. Your journey to a successful group practice starts with a well-crafted website.
