Once you’re familiar with the basics of marketing your therapy practice, it’s time to dig deeper. That means:

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• Narrowing down your niche and choosing the most effective marketing channels
• Making the most of search engine optimization (SEO) and AI engine optimization (AEO) 
• Exploring AI-powered marketing tools and popular channels like TikTok 

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To get the most up-to-date, actionable marketing advice that actually works, we talked to three successful therapists who have built their practices from the ground up:

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• Dr. Marie Fang is a private practice therapist and the founder of Private Practice Skills
• Dr. Audra Horney operates a private practice practice specializing in men’s mental health
• Dr. Carrie Jackson is a child psychologist, speaker, and educator specializing in ADHD 

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Here’s what they have to say, and the steps you can take to upgrade your marketing and grow your practice.

Key takeaways

• SEO/AEO and referrals are some of the most cost-effective marketing channels for therapists
• Clearly defining your niche from the get-go helps you to focus on attracting qualified clients
• Following SEO best practices is the single most important step in improving your performance with AI search
• AI tools can supplement your marketing efforts, but it’s your personal voice that attracts new clients
• If you love short form video and want to market yourself on TikTok, go for it! But keep in mind the (often unseen) work involved 

What are the most effective marketing channels for therapists?

The four most effective marketing channels for therapists are the ones with the highest return on income (ROI):

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• Search engine optimization (SEO) and Google Business Profile for search visibility
• Directory listings to bolster SEO and attract qualified leads
• Professional and word-of-mouth referrals for working within your niche
• AI engine optimization (AEO), which is partly a byproduct of your other channels working well

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The higher a marketing channel’s ROI, the less your practice spends on each new client you acquire through it.

SEO and your Google Business Profile

“The investment in SEO is spending time learning and implementing it instead of spending money, so the ROI from a budget standpoint is huge,” says Dr. Marie Fang. “Aside from paying for my website and domain name, I’m able to keep my practice full this way with no marketing budget.”

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Besides a high return on investment, good SEO:

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• Makes your practice discoverable via search
• Lends authority to your practice
• Supplements all your other digital marketing efforts

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Your Google Business Profile works in tandem with SEO. By creating a profile for your practice, you increase the likelihood you will appear in local searches (eg. “therapists near me”). You also improve the likelihood that your practice will appear in AI responses when users ask for local referrals.

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One word of warning: You won’t be able to create a Profile listing if you treat 100% of your clients via telehealth. You must serve some clients locally in order to qualify.

Directory listings

Listing your practice in PsychologyToday and other directories boosts your practice’s SEO performance. It can also help you find qualified leads; some directories target specific client niches.

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A directory listing is inexpensive compared to other marketing channels like paid ads or promoted social posts.

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If you find you don’t get many new clients through directory listings, avoid the temptation to give up. Minor tweaks can improve performance significantly. Think about what your niche is looking for, and what you can do to stand out from the pack. For instance, you may find that listing less common modalities in your profile helps you attract more motivated clients. 

Referrals

Word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients build trust. If someone is looking for a therapist and their friend recommends you, they’re more likely to book a consultation than if they simply found you in a Google search.

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Referrals from other therapists and doctors also attract highly motivated clients. The key is networking: 

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• Connect with potential referral sources in your community
• Help them understand clearly and specifically what type of treatment you offer
• Make sure they have the info they need (practice name, website, phone number) to send new clients your way

“The ROI is high because the investment is primarily your time, and the clients who come through these referrals are often pre-qualified and have a higher chance of converting,” says Dr. Carrie Jackson. “I’ve found it especially helpful to offer free workshops to other providers as a means for them to learn about my work and how it can be helpful to their clients.”

AEO

Every day, more potential clients are turning to AI chatbots and AI search results to have their questions answered. To make sure AI knows about you—and mentions your practice to users—it’s essential to build your online presence.

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“ChatGPT and other AI tools are now using web sources to answer questions, so the same SEO content strategies that help you rank highly on Google can also help you show up for AI,” says Dr. Fang.

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To help bring in clients through AI:

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• Double down on SEO
• Keep your social media profiles up to date
• Make sure information about your practice (name, location, treatment types) is consistent across all platforms

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There are also guidelines you can follow to format your website and other content so it’s easier for AI to extract information. To get started, check out this guide to AEO content structure.

What are the most important metrics for therapy practices?

The most important metric for your therapy practice is client sources—that is, how each of your clients found your practice.

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This isn’t a metric in the traditional marketing sense. (More on those below.) But it’s the most powerful tool in your kit for measuring how your marketing performs.

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Ask every new inquiry how they found your practice. (If you book consultations with an online form, you can also include it there.) For instance, new inquiries might indicate they found you via:

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• Online search
• Social media
• Paid ads
• Directory listings
• Professional referral
• Word-of-mouth referral

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Tracking this data in an anonymous spreadsheet (leaving out clients’ names), you can measure:

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• Which marketing channels attract the most inquiries
• Changes in marketing channel performance over time
• How particular demographics or conditions correlate with certain marketing channels.

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You also need to measure the quality of the inquiries you get.

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“Beyond your initial inquiries, you want to see how many of them turn into actual clients,” Dr. Jackson says. “You might discover that while you get 20 inquiries from Instagram, none of them turn out to be good fits for your practice.”

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The best marketing channels are the ones that attract both a high volume of inquiries and clients who are qualified for your practice.

Getting technical with marketing metrics 

Online dashboards for your website, social media, ads, and other digital channels can help you analyze your prospects and leads, as well as the cost of acquiring them. Some EHRs offer similar functions.

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When you’re ready to get granular with your marketing metrics, make sure you’re familiar with:

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• LTV:CAC (Lifetime Value: Customer Acquisition Cost): Your total earnings from the average client obtained through a particular marketing channel versus the cost of acquiring that client.
• CPL (Cost Per Lead): The amount you spend on marketing to get each new lead (inquiry) through a particular marketing channel. This is especially relevant for ads and promoted social posts.
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): The amount of revenue you generate relative to the amount you spend on advertising. For instance, an ROAS of 3:1 means you earn $3 revenue for every $1 you spend on ads.

What are the best niches for therapists?

The best niche for your therapy practice is one you’re uniquely qualified to treat.
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“Getting clear on your niche should absolutely be your first step before jumping into investing time and money into any marketing efforts,” Dr. Jackson says. “When potential clients visit your website or directory profile, you want them to think, This therapist is a perfect fit for me, rather than, Meh, this therapist could work.”

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Specifying a particular niche helps you create marketing that speaks directly to potential clients’ needs. A niche can help you avoid generic marketing and stand out from other practices.

How to define a niche

Think of a niche as consisting of three parts:

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1. Demographic group
2. Condition or diagnosis
3. Modality or treatment type

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Describing a very specific niche, you might say, “I specialize in helping [demographic] with [condition] using [modality].” (A less specific niche might only specify a demographic group and a condition or diagnoses.)

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For instance: “I specialize in helping teens with complex PTSD using EMDR.”

How to choose a niche

You may choose a particular niche or niches based on:

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• An underrepresented group you belong to or with whom you have personal experience
• The existing need for particular types of care in your community
• The modalities and treatment types you find most rewarding or interesting
• Conditions or diagnoses you have personal experience with in your own mental health journey
• Conditions or diagnoses that are becoming more prominent in groups you already specialize in
• Conditions, modalities, or demographics that overlap with groups you already serve
• Your passions and interests as a professional therapist

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If you’re approaching your choice of niche primarily from a marketing angle, consider:

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• Prioritizing third-wave modalities. For instance, while CBT is widely offered, its offspring—like ACT and MCT—are less widely available.
• Focusing on emerging and in-demand conditions. Examples include high-masking autism spectrum disorders and late-diagnosed ADHD.
• Specializing in modalities AI can’t imitate. Most AI “therapists” offer some form of CBT or mindfulness training. Other treatment types, like different forms of somatic therapy, are well outside AI’s scope.

How do you set up basic SEO for your therapy practice?

“Listen, I’m an SEO girly all the way. Yes, still, even in the age of AI,” Dr. Fang says. “The tools that optimize my site for SEO are also working double-duty to help my practice show up in AI recommendations.”

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Search volume, keyword density, referring domains: The field of SEO is littered with jargon, and it may be intimidating at first. But you don’t need to dive deep into the technical side of SEO to improve your website’s performance in search results and AI responses. 

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Here are the basics you need to tackle.

1. Create a Google Business Profile

Your business profile is the number one source of truth about your practice. It’s how Google determines the legitimacy of your business, and it’s where AI turns to find information to share with users:

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1. Create your profile at google.com/business, using the real name of your practice (no keywords!)
2. Select an accurate category, eg. Mental Health Service, Psychotherapist
3. Add you office address or service area, phone number, website link, and office hours
4. Include photos of your business exterior and office
5. Write a description using keywords that make sense

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There’s no need to plunge into keyword research when you write your description. Just include upfront information about your practice such as location, conditions you treat, modalities, and typical clientele (eg. youths, professionals, seniors). 

2. Structure your website for SEO

Google ranks individual web pages, not just your homepage. To improve your ranking, create a separate page for each condition you treat.

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Page titles should include the treatment, your location, and the name of your practice. A standard template looks like this:

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[Condition] Therapy in [Location] | [Practice Name]

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So, for example:

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Anxiety Therapy in San Diego | Open Mind Wellness

3. Include location-based keywords

Beyond the titles of individual web pages, include location-based keywords in:

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• Body copy (the content of each page)
• Headings (H2 and H3 text)
• Meta descriptions

4. Check off technical must-haves

A well-performing website ranks higher. Website platforms like Squarespace and Wix already handle your website’s technical performance, but run through this checklist to make sure everything is covered:

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• Mobile-friendly design
• Fast loading speed
• HTTPS (for secure connections)
• Clean navigation
• A contact page
• Online booking and inquiry forms 

5. Get backlinks

The more links your site has from pages outside its domain, the higher its authority. That translates to a better search ranking and more attention from AI.

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Some typical sources for backlinks:

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• Directory listings
• Alma mater alumni directories
• Professional associations
• Local business directories

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If you appear on podcasts or in videos, a link in the written description may also boost your site’s authority. So do guest articles you write for blogs or other publications, provided they link back to your site.

How do you make your therapy practice website bring in more clients?

Good SEO helps your website attract new visitors. But if those visitors don’t convert to clients, your site isn’t doing much to help your practice grow.

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You can improve performance with:

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1. Clear calls to action (CTAs): Buttons and links that direct visitors to online booking forms.
2. Structure that makes sense: Structure each page to answer questions that are top-of-mind with visitors.
3. A headshot front and center. When visitors see your face right off the bat, it builds trust and keeps them engaged.
4. An introductory video. Even a short video on your “About Me” page gives visitors a sense of your personality and treatment style.
5. Streamlined booking. Easy online booking lowers the barriers to entry for visitors who might hesitate to phone or write an email.

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For a detailed breakdown, check out 5 Tips for Enhancing Your Private Practice Website.

How do you use AI to grow your therapy practice?

Optimizing your website for AI—largely by following SEO guidelines—can draw new clients. And using an AI scribe to speed up documentation can save you time running your practice. But it’s best to be intentional when it comes to using AI for marketing.

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Here’s what to keep in mind:

1. Make authenticity priority number one

AI tools can polish your writing and automate tasks like image editing and website design. But be careful not to let it take the wheel completely. You could sacrifice the unique, personal qualities of your online presence.

“I fear an overreliance on AI removes the human factor from our marketing, which in my opinion is a reflection of the important human work we do behind closed doors,” Dr. Horney says.

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After all, clients are looking for a personal connection. A streamlined, too-good-to-be-true brand experience could be off-putting.

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“Clients want to feel like they're reaching out to an actual human being, not a robot,” Dr. Horney says. “If marketing sounds scripted (or full of em dashes) it won't convert. When our marketing feels honest, then it allows our ideal clients to find their ideal therapists.” 

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2. Recognize the impact AI is already having

According to at least one analysis, by the end of 2026, about 90% of online content will be AI-generated. Another estimate puts the current amount at just over half.

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Now that AI makes up a major piece of the marketing landscape, it’s important to recognize the impact it has already had on potential clients.

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“People are becoming better able to spot content clearly written by AI and want something written by a human,” says Dr. Jackson. “So in your marketing efforts, let your personality come through and write in your natural voice.”

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While she recognizes the benefits of AI to small practice owners, Dr. Jackson notes that “people are also getting exhausted by AI-generated content.”

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“Which is actually good news,” she says, “for therapists who are willing to show up authentically in their marketing.”

3. Be intentional about how you use AI in marketing

When considering its use in marketing your practice, be clear about where AI has a role to play and where it does not.

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There’s no denying that, on the client side, AI can be beneficial.

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“When people search for a therapist through AI, they’re getting way more specific than they would with a Google search,” Dr. Fang says. “With AI, instead of searching for something like ‘recommend an anxiety therapist near me,’ it might look more like an extended conversation … And then at some point in the AI conversation, they might ask AI to recommend therapists who are a good fit for them.”

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That may result in more inquiries from qualified clients. “AI is becoming an actual referral source,” Dr. Jackson says. “I’ve personally had multiple clients find me through ChatGPT.”

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And, when used thoughtfully, AI can help therapists who excel at treating clients but struggle with marketing their practices.

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“I have a complicated relationship to AI, and use it sparingly,” Audra says, “but I do think it lowers the barrier to entry for many therapists by helping generate copy, draft emails, build content, analyze data, and create basic systems without needing a full marketing team.” 

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“That’s a huge advantage for small practices, and for us therapists who spent our time in school learning to be therapists and not business owners.”  

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Should you become a TikTok therapist?

With some therapists turning into TikTok micro-celebrities, and others even making the video platform their primary source of income, it’s worth considering whether a pivot to short-form video would give your practice just the marketing boost it needs.

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A few things to keep in mind:

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• There’s high time investment behind the scenes. Depending on your skills as a filmmaker, a 30-second video could take an afternoon’s work to plan, record, edit, and publish.
• Cadence is key. Some of the most successful TikTok therapists post multiple times per week. To use it seriously as a marketing channel, you need to make content creation part of your regular work routine.
• It puts you under the limelight. Viewers’ responses to TikTok videos can range from gushing, to supportive, to unsettling, to incendiary. Consider the potential emotional toll that putting yourself center stage may take.

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Perhaps the most important point to consider—with TikTok and with every other form of marketing—is whether it gives you the freedom to be yourself.

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“Don't get on social media unless you WANT to and you actually ENJOY it,” Audra says. “You don’t need to chase trends or copy what other therapists are doing online to be successful.” 

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“I genuinely believe the most successful marketing channel is the one that allows you to be consistent and authentic,” she adds. 

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For the full interview with Marie Fang, Audra Horney, and Carrie Jackson, check out Here’s What Experienced Therapists Have to Say About Marketing Your Practice.

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