Therapy clients search Google before they call. This guide helps mental health professionals — therapists, counselors, and psychologists — get found by local clients who need their services most.
When someone decides they're ready to see a therapist, they typically search Google. They look for someone nearby, check reviews, and make a decision before ever picking up the phone.
Mental health professionals who appear prominently in local search get those calls. Those who don't lose potential clients to practices that are better optimized — not necessarily better qualified.
Here's how to show up when people are looking for help.
Mental health therapy has local SEO characteristics that set it apart from most other healthcare fields:
Primary categories to consider:
Choose the most specific category that matches your license. Use secondary categories for additional specialties.
Services to list in your GBP:
List every specific service and specialty you offer:
The more specific you are, the more searches you match.
Business description:
Include your specialty, the types of clients you serve, your approach, and which insurance plans you accept. Write for the client you want to attract — someone searching for their exact issue.
Example: "Licensed therapist specializing in anxiety, depression, and trauma therapy. Serving adults in [city]. Accepting United Healthcare, Aetna, BCBS. In-person and telehealth available."
Reviews for mental health professionals are uniquely challenging. Many clients don't want to publicly announce they're seeing a therapist.
What you can do:
What to avoid:
💡 Pro Tip: Your best review opportunities are at the end of successful treatment — when the client has achieved their goals and is grateful. A natural conversation about how their progress might help others can open the door.
For mental health professionals, Psychology Today's therapist directory is nearly as important as Google Business Profile for client acquisition.
Psychology Today profile optimization:
Other directories to be listed on:
Keep your NAP and specialty information consistent across every platform.
If you offer telehealth, your local SEO strategy becomes more nuanced.
For in-person practice:
For telehealth-only or hybrid:
Important: You can't create a GBP listing for a city where you only serve clients remotely without a physical address there. Focus your GBP on your physical location and use your website for broader reach.
High-value pages:
Schema markup: Add LocalBusiness and MedicalBusiness schema to your site. Include your specialties, accepted insurance, and telehealth availability in the schema.
🔥 Quick Win: Search "[your specialty] therapist [your city]" on Google Maps right now. If you're not in the top 3, check the profiles of those who are. Are their descriptions more specific than yours? Do they have more reviews? Do they list more services? Start there.
Action Step: Log into your Google Business Profile and add every specific therapy specialty you practice in the "Services" section. This alone can expand the number of searches your profile appears in.
Start free → — Flento monitors your Google Maps visibility and tracks which specialties are driving the most profile views for mental health professionals.
