Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing a website’s visibility in search engine results. The goal of SEO is to improve a website’s relevance to specific search inquiries, which drives organic, unpaid traffic to a website.

SimplePractice Professional Websites and Monarch profiles are already optimized for SEO. However, you can customize both to further boost SEO, allowing new clients to find your practice more easily.

In this guide, we'll cover:

• Understanding SEO
• Optimizing SEO for your Professional Website
• Improving your Monarch profile SEO
• FAQs

Understanding SEO

SEO works by optimizing a web page with relevant information, so that these details can be stored by search engines when they’re scanning the page. This process is known as indexing, during which search engines crawl web pages to analyze the information they contain.

For Professional Websites and Monarch profiles, these are the details that represent you and your practice, such as the services you offer, how you treat clients, what payment methods you accept, and where you’re located. 

Google and other search engines automatically index new web pages on a rolling basis. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks for each search engine to index new or updated web page content. Once a web page is indexed by a search engine, it will surface in location-based and keyword-based search results based on the web page’s content.

Optimizing SEO for your Professional Website

There are many variables that can impact the SEO of your Professional Website.

Generally, search engines favor websites that offer optimized experiences for both mobile and desktop views. The Professional Website is already designed to provide a seamless experience across mobile and web platforms, but you can customize certain sections to increase your ranking in searches.

Search engines rank websites based on their relevance to the keywords entered by users. You can customize the page title and description of your Professional Website to align with these searches.

To customize these details:

• Navigate to Marketing > Website and domain
• Click Edit website

• Once you’re redirected to the Professional Website builder, select Edit Website in the upper right corner

• Click Online Discoverability (SEO)

• Enter a Page Title
• Use complete phrases to fill out the Page Description
  • Tip: Search engines recognize how sentences are structured and tend to give lower rankings when only a string of keywords are present

• Click Save Changes

Additionally, the following strategies can help you increase the ranking of your Professional Website:

• Include your practice information on other online business directories, such as Yelp and LinkedIn
  • Adding your practice to online business directories boosts visibility, improving SEO ranking
  • Each link mentioning your business acts as an endorsement, increasing your ranking with more mentions across multiple web pages
• Keep your Professional Website up-to-date
  • Your Professional Website pulls your public information from what’s listed within Marketing > Profile, including your Contact options, Associated Identities, Insurance and Fees, and Social Media entries
  • For more information, see Updating your Public Information settings
• Collect testimonials
  • Search engines value endorsements and reviews, and you can add these to the Testimonials section of your Professional Website
  • Colleagues and clients who provide testimonials should first complete and sign a Testimonial Release Form, which can be found in Settings > Documentation > Template library > Pre-built templates
• Display your social media(s)
  • Adding your social media links to your Professional Website allows new and existing clients to access your different web pages, helping build traffic across all your pages and increase your ranking in search engine results
  • To do this:
    • Navigate to Marketing > Website and domain > Edit website
    • Once you’re on the Professional Website builder, click Edit Website in the upper right corner
    • Select Social Media
    • Update relevant fields and click Save Changes

• Manage your introduction’s word count
  • At Marketing > Profile, you can update Your Introduction
  • Limiting your introduction to 700-750 words allows search engines to recognize that your website is substantial, but not oversaturated
• Include a Practice Logo
  • You can upload a Practice Logo by navigating to Settings > Practice > Practice details
    • When uploading your Practice Logo, save the original file on your device as a keyword that you would like to appear under search results
    • For example, you could title your file “anxietytherapist.jpg” in order to appear in search results relating to therapists specializing in anxiety disorders
  • Search engines rank website with relevant images higher, which could drive traffic to your Professional Website

For more information, see Setting up your Professional Website.

Improving your Monarch profile SEO

SimplePractice employs an aggressive SEO strategy for the Monarch Directory to ensure that it ranks high in search results. While we aim to drive traffic to the overall directory, individual Monarch profiles only surface based on search parameters and applied filters.  

Your individual Monarch profile will still show up in search engine results, usually when someone searches for your name or your practice’s name specifically. Additionally, your profile may appear in searches using locations and keywords, especially if you’re located in a less populated region or if you offer services that are less common.

When users arrive at the Monarch Directory, individual profiles surface based on the applied search criteria. Monarch then ranks these profiles according to various factors. For more information, see Improving your Monarch profile ranking and Monarch FAQs.

FAQs

• When will my Professional Website and/or Monarch profile appear in search results?
• Why is my Professional Website and/or Monarch profile appearing so low in search results?
• Why is my Professional Website and/or Monarch Profile displaying outdated information?
• Why am I not appearing in search results on Monarch for my area?

When will my Professional Website and/or Monarch profile appear in search results?

Your Professional Website and Monarch profile won’t immediately appear in search engine results after they’re published. 

Because the process of crawling and indexing web pages can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, you can expect your Professional Website and Monarch profile to appear in search results once that cycle is complete.

Why is my Professional Website and/or Monarch profile appearing so low in search results?

Depending on your location and specialities, competition may affect search engine results. In densely populated areas, generic searches, such as “therapist near me,” can pull up many options, which is why we recommend focusing on what distinguishes you and your practice. 

For example, terms like “anxiety” and “couples therapy” are common specialties and approaches and can bring up many results. Highlighting unique services and approaches you offer can enhance visibility, boosting your ranking in related keyword search results.

Why is my Professional Website and/or Monarch Profile displaying outdated information?

While updates made on your Marketing Profile and Professional Website builder are published immediately, it can take time for these changes to be reflected in search results.

Why am I not appearing in search results on Monarch for my area?

For your profile to appear in location-based search results on Monarch, you must have an appointment scheduled at an Office location in that area within the last 3 months. 

If you don’t have appointments scheduled at a particular location but still want to appear in Monarch searches for that location, you can schedule a placeholder appointment for the Jamie Appleseed demo client at any office location you’ve entered. 

To begin, you can verify that the Jamie Appleseed demo client is enabled. Then, to add or edit an office location, see Adding office locations.

Next, you can create a placeholder appointment:

• Navigate to your Calendar
• Click the + icon > Schedule appointment 
• Select Jamie Appleseed
• Update the Location
• Enable the Recurring checkbox and select Every 3 months

• Click Done
•