Therapists: Here are some simple tips to take control of what shows up when someone Googles your name.
Those first page results are often the only things past clients, current clients, and future clients will ever see. Frustratingly, those search results represent you professionally.
That makes it important to lock in the reliable, easy-to-claim spots:
- LinkedIn -- your professional profile almost always ranks
- Psychology Today -- still the strongest therapist directory
- Facebook -- a professional business page tied to you as a professional
- Instagram -- a profile with your name and professional details
- MapQuest -- shows up often if your business address is listed
- Other reputable directories
- Your own website -- even if it's just a free Google Sites website tied to a $10 domain
Even if you're currently employed by an agency or group practice, it's worth cementing what shows up when people search for you. (Because you won't work there forever -- and clients, past and present, will be searching for you, not the practice.) Filling the top 10 to 20 results with accurate information you control makes it far less likely that questionable directories or random sites will define your online professional presence.
We just published this week's edition at TherapistSearchReport.com if you want to see the latest data and trends on what people see when searching for therapists!
