Local Marketing

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I am a clinical psychologist who wanted to get on the Web because I know it's the wave of the future and because I use it so often to find local services. I employed an online sitebuilder to construct a basic five-page site (since expanded to nine pages). I used a submitting service. At the time I built the site I did not know anything about search engine optimization.

I pay 5¢ to 10¢ per click for Google AdWords Select (https://adwords.google.com/select/?hl=en) and Overture (www.overture.com) listings. My ads only appear if the searcher uses a keyword that includes Charlotte, the city in which I live and work. I am seeking local visitors only as these are the folks who might want to see me for professional services.

I've also placed listings with online mental health websites. This has helped a lot because many people seem to use these services when looking for a psychologist, psychotherapist, counselor, etc. The most successful listing has been Find-a-Therapist.com (www.find-a-therapist.com) at a cost of about $65 per year. I believe this works well because they have a top listing on the search engines and their site is user-friendly. I didn't expect much -- perhaps an occasional referral.

Web-Based Scheduling Service

I have been pleasantly surprised. I am now receiving about three new patients per month directly from my Internet marketing efforts. I charge $120 per session for psychological services so the return on investment has been quite good! I also use an online scheduling service TimeTrade.com (www.timetrade.com) which my patients like a lot. They can schedule appointments at any time of the day or night. They receive e-mail reminders and, if needed, they can reschedule or cancel appointments quickly. Since I'm essentially a one man show (only a part-time administrative assistant) the online scheduling has saved me a bundle of time. (Note: If you're interested in the TimeTrade.com service they have a refer-a-friend program in which you receive 10% off the monthly fee if I refer you. I receive a 15% referral commission. Once you're a customer you can do the same. Feel free to contact me at drworthen@drworthen.com if you want me to refer you.)