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If you don't have a presence on the internet, you're losing clients right now.

 That's the simple truth of the matter.

Consider this:

                        - it's estimated that over 74% of Americans are now on the internet;

                        - between 2000 and 2008, there was a 130% increase in the number of Americans who are using the internet.

    Now, let's do a little visualization exercise.  Imagine that you're a potential client, rather than a therapist.  You're tired of hurting and you know you need therapy.  You're looking for someone you can trust with your darkest fears, your greatest weaknesses, your phobias, even the secrets of your sex life.

    The way you're going to select that person is to:

                        (a)  open the yellow pages to the therapist's section and throw darts at the listings; or

                        (b) turn on your computer and look at various sites until you find someone who seems competent and caring.

Kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?  And it's a trend that's being consistently ignored by an amazing number of therapists.

Here's an example:  on our directory of Santa Cruz therapists, we have 188 listings.  Out of those listings, only 40 therapists have any advertising on the web.  Almost 80% of them are failing to take advantage of the leading method for gaining new clients.
If you don't have a presence on the internet, you'll lose new clients, too.

    Does that sound a little presumptuous?  After all, you're a great therapist, why should you lose clients?

    One study found that 47% of clients drop out of therapy prematurely.  Harville Hendrix states that most clients who quit therapy do so shortly after the third session.

    Why?

    Certainly not because most therapists are incompetent or unlikable.  But you may not be a good, "fit," for the client.

    Here are a couple of illustrations:

        Suppose you're a lesbian and your practice is mainly gay/lesbian couples counseling.  So, a Christian fundamentalist uses the yellow pages method of picking a marriage counselor and your office just happens to be a couple of blocks from his house.  He makes an appointment and he and his wife spend half an hour sitting in your waiting room which happens to be decorated with photographs of men holding hands with men and women hugging women.  Are they coming back for another session?

        Or suppose that you're a pastoral counselor and you have a deeply held belief that homosexuality is a sin.  Another client who is trying to cope with mid-life homoerotic fantasies picks you out of the phone book.  Is he going to be comfortable talking with you?  Is he coming back for another session?

    The point is that the internet provides an instant PRE-SESSION interface between you and the client.  Before she ever walks in your door, she has an opportunity to read about your beliefs and methods and determine if you're the person most likely to help her.  You have much less wasted time and paperwork and the clients have much less wasted money.
Advertising on the net is less expensive and more effective.

    If you're  running your own office, you KNOW how expensive advertising can be.  And, sadly, much of it is wasted energy.  Effective advertising is targeted advertising.  You don't just put an ad in the paper and hope that someone who needs a therapist will run across your ad.  Carl Jung might approve of that method, but your accountant wouldn't.  

    The traditional alternative has been the phone book.  You know that when someone opens it to a section called, "Palo Alto therapists," they're looking for a therapist in Palo Alto.  But again, the cost of an ad that gives any meaningful information about you and your practice is prohibitive.

    Internet search engines are also, by their very nature, a perfect opportunity for targeted advertising.  If someone types, "Beverly Hills Marriage Counselor," into Google, you can feel pretty sure that they're not looking for lawn mowers.

    We're happy to offer a very affordable means of advertising your practice on the internet.  For only ten dollars a month, we put your ad at the top of our directory for your city.  It will contain your name, address, telephone number, a link to your web site if you have one, and a few brief sentences describing your practice.  There's no set up fee and no continuing obligation.  Any changes you want to make to the ad are free and you cancel at any time you want to with no further obligation.

    If you've got five minutes, you can get started today.  Just go the directory for your city and click on the subscribe button at the top of the page.  We'll be in touch with you shortly to finalize your ad and you'll be up and running in less than 24 hours.
Publish Your Articles or Blogs
    Do you have an article or blog related to your practice?  We'll be happy to host it on our website at no charge.

    Why would you want to put your article on the internet?  Even if you don't have a web site, it's one of the best ways of getting your name and practice out there.  In the credits section of the article we list you as the author and give your address and phone number. When people type, "Therapist in Long Beach," into the search engines, your article comes up in the results.

    If you DO have a web page, it's one of the best ways of gaining traction in the search engines.  We provide a one-way link to your site and the more links you have pointing at you, the higher your ranking.

    Why are we offering this service for free?  Call it enlightened self-interest.  The more content we have on our site, the higher we are in the search engines.  It helps you and it helps us.

    If you have something you'd like to have published, please send it to:
webmaster@california-therapy.com

    We accept articles in Word or Word Perfect format.  If you don't have them, just paste the article into your email.

Let Us Register Your Web Site
    It's not unusual to pay hundreds of dollars to have someone develop a web site and get it on the web.  And, all too often, the web site sits there at number 200 in the search engines and then starts to sink.


    The reason that happens can be summed up in a single word:  time.  It takes a LOT of time to register a site with all of the search engines.  In order for your web site to show up in the search engines it has to be consistently registered with them over a lengthy period of time.  Optimally, it should be registered every two weeks.


    As a busy professional, you just can't afford to waste that kind of time.  You could turn your site over to a web developer who specializes in search engine optimization, but you'll be paying a fortune in fees.  We offer a simple, inexpensive alternative.


    For ten dollars a month, we will register your web site every two weeks with:
230+ Search Engines
200+ Message Boards
425+ Free Classified Ad Sites
    How can we afford to that?  Well, we do this for a living.  We've invested in the technology and the programs to make the registration happen quickly and efficiently, in the same way that you've invested in your office and office equipment.  Yes, you can set aside six to eight hours every few weeks and type your site into hundreds of search engines.  Or, you can let us do it for you and free up a little time for yourself and the things you love to do.  Just click on the subscription button below and we'll start registering your site immediately.