WP135 | Using Social Media and SEO to Attract New Clients with Mary Walker
What happens when a mental health professional with a passion for SEO gets the chance to take over the very company that launched her marketing journey?
In this episode, we’re diving into Mary’s incredible leap from behind-the-scenes SEO specialist to bold business owner — and how she’s now leading a mission-driven team that puts empathy and ethics at the heart of digital strategy. From honoring her mentor’s legacy to helping therapists show up authentically online, Mary’s story is one of purpose, perfect timing, and the power of trusting your gut. You won’t want to miss this one.
From SEO Specialist to Owner
When passion, purpose, and timing align, extraordinary things can happen. That’s exactly what unfolded for Mary, who went from working behind the scenes in SEO to stepping into business ownership — all while honoring a legacy and elevating a team she already deeply respected.
Mary spent a year and a half working for Jessica as an SEO specialist, and she loved every minute of it. “It was a really great time in my life,” she recalls. “I learned a lot about SEO and all the best practices.” But as life tends to ebb and flow, Mary took a break to return to her mental health roots and worked as a Qualified Mental Health Professional (QMHP).
Then came a surprising opportunity.
Jessica was ready to transition into a new season of life and decided to sell her company, Simplified SEO. That’s when Mary felt a spark — “a wild hair,” as she puts it. With her SEO expertise, mental health background, and deep knowledge of the team and company culture, she realized she was uniquely equipped to carry the business forward.
Her husband agreed. They reached out to Jessica, who was thrilled that someone she trusted and who already understood the heart of the business wanted to take the reins. By December 2024, the transition was complete. “It happened really quickly,” Mary says. “It’s been a whirlwind, but everything has gone so smoothly.”
Staying True to the Heart of Simplified SEO
One of the things Mary values most is that the team continues to be rooted in mental health. When hiring, SEO skills aren’t the top priority. “That can be taught,” Mary explains. “But you can’t teach the mental health perspective — the language, the empathy, the nuance. That has to already be there.”
This intentionality ensures that the SEO and content strategies her team delivers are not only optimized for performance but aligned with the tone and ethics of the mental health field.
SEO + Social Media: Why Both Matter for Therapists
Mary also brings a strong understanding of the evolving digital landscape. With the rise of AI and ongoing changes in how people search for services, she emphasizes that therapists — especially those with virtual-only practices — can’t rely on a Google Business Profile alone.
“You’ve got to expand your reach,” she says. “Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and even TikTok are essential. They help build brand recognition. People may not click the first time, but if they keep seeing your name, they’ll come back when they’re ready.”
She adds that your content strategy should match your audience. Facebook works well for clients 40 and up, Instagram speaks to the 30s and 40s crowd, and TikTok resonates with those in their 20s. “It’s about knowing who you want to reach — and meeting them where they already are.”
It’s Not Just About Posting. It’s About Connection.
Mary is quick to point out that posting consistently matters more than posting constantly. “You don’t have to post every day. Sometimes that leads to fatigue. Find a cadence that works for your audience — maybe two or three times a week — and stick with it.”
And most importantly, she says, make it personal.
“Our most popular posts aren’t always the SEO tips. They’re the ones about our pets, our team, or something personal like my experience parenting an autistic child. People want to connect with a real human behind the brand.”
The Bottom Line
Mary’s journey is a powerful reminder that business is more than numbers and strategy. It’s about people — the ones who build the brand, the ones who carry it forward, and the ones you aim to serve.
By combining SEO expertise, mental health insight, and a genuine commitment to authenticity, Mary is growing Simplified SEO not just as a marketing company, but as a trusted partner to therapists navigating the online world.
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[00:00:00] Laura Long: Hi, I am Laura Long, and if you're a faith-based therapist stuck on insurance panels, drowning in low payouts, and wondering if private pay is even possible for you. I want you to know it absolutely is. That's why I created this masterclass to help you confidently transition off panels and build a profitable God-honoring practice that gives you freedom and margin.
We'll have six live classes and three live office hours where I will personally walk you through the strategy and mindset shifts that you're gonna need to go private pay. Plus I'll be able to answer your questions in real time. And don't worry, every class is recorded and sent to you afterward. It's $249 a month for three months, and trust me, the return on investment is well worth it with the income that you're going to earn.
Sign up at www.wisepracticeconsulting.com. Let's build the practice you've been praying for. I'll see you inside.
[00:00:56] Whitney Owens: Hi, I'm Whitney Owens. I'm a group practice owner and faith-based practice consultant, and I'm here to tell you that you can have it all. Wanna grow your practice, wanna grow your faith, wanna enjoy your life outside of work, you've come to the right place.
Each week on the Wise Practice Podcast, I will give you the action steps to have a successful faith-based practice. While also having a good time. Now let's get started.
[00:01:23] Jingle: Where she grows your practice. She don't play. She does business with a twist of faith. It's Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast, Whitney Owens and Wise Practice Podcast.
[00:01:41] Whitney Owens: Well, today is a. Special episode 'cause I interviewed Mary Walker, who is the new owner of Simplified SEO Consulting. We talk about how to use social media and SEO to. Grow your reach and attract your ideal client. So yes, simplified. SEO has a new owner. You may or may not have heard that great news yet. As you know, Jessica Ana, not only an amazing therapist and SEO expert and knows so much about this space that we're in, she's also a very dear friend of mine.
And through different things going on in her life, in her career goals, she was needing to make a change. And so when she put simplified SEO Up for sale, Mary was someone that was interested in it. And what's so cool is that Mary worked under Jessica. She trained her. And as business owners, and even as a group practice owner, I know that having someone invest in the business the way that I have and potentially would want to buy it one day would be such an honor.
And so they had that experience and Mary is continuing. That legacy that Jessica put out there. So I'm looking forward to you getting to know Mary. And as you know, Jessica's been on the show a lot. In fact, I just had an episode very recently, probably in the past couple of weeks where I aired the one on Jessica talking about blogging.
So all great people that I feel like I get to know in this podcast world. And so for those of you who are like, what does she mean when she's using SEO? Well, that search engine optimization. This is how Google finds you and in this world that we are in with AI and people going online more and more, yes, networking is still important, but so many people find their therapist through Google, and if you want to really grow your private practice, you cannot ignore a CO search engine optimization.
So I personally can attest to simplified SEO's work as I have been a client of theirs as well, and grew so much of my business through blogs, through optimizing blogs. They have been so helpful to me over the years that. I started doing SEO way back when, when Jessica and I met actually. So through, through that, my business has really grown.
I have 17 therapists now, all private pay, and I continue to spend my time and energy on SEO. So this is a very important topic if you wanna grow your practice. I think it's extremely important for private pay practices, if that is what you are. The other day, I was looking back at our numbers. This was numbers from March.
75% of the people that reached out found us through Google right now. That could mean a lot of different things and what they could be Googling, but the point is most people are finding us because of that, and it's the work that we do on our website. So this is a very important topic, and if you're wanting to grow your caseload simplified, SEO consulting.
Is where it's at. They will really help you and, and I know there's a lot of SEO companies out there that put their shingle up. Look, there's a lot of therapists that put their shingle up that aren't very good, right? We know that as clinicians, we hear the horror stories, which is sad to have to say. And I can attest to the fact that simplify not only is hanging their shingle, but they're doing it right.
And they also are all trained in mental health understanding and different variety of degrees and backgrounds, but they all have some mental health education. So it's great because they're SEO experts and mental health and they can bring those two together in a beautiful way. When they write on your copy through your website, they understand the lingo, they understand what's okay and not okay to be writing.
And so you're not having to be so stressed about going back and reviewing things and fixing things because they're gonna do it right. They are such a great company, so you're gonna get a lot of content. I could go on and on about how I think the world of, since slide SEO consulting, and they're gonna be at the summit this year, so.
Are a gold level sponsor, so I'm very grateful for that. It's because of the sponsors that we're able to do what we do and I hand select sponsors y'all. I make sure that I vet them and that they're helpful for you. And these are the people that I partner with throughout the year. So I'm excited to introduce Mary to you.
So let's go ahead and jump into the episode and we're gonna talk about how to use social media and SEO to attract your ideal clients.
Today I am the Wise Practice Podcast. I have my new friend, Mary Walker. She's a passionate, professional, proud mom of five, and someone who believes in lifelong learning, creativity, and connection with a master's degree in digital marketing and psychology. She blends strategy with deep understanding of human behavior to help professionals grow their businesses through SEO.
As the owner of Simplified SEO Consulting, she loves connecting with people, whether they're clients, family, or friends. When not working, you'll find her crocheting reading. Or passionately cheering on her favorite football team. At the core, she believes in balance, meaningful connection, and always striving to grow personally and professionally.
Mary, thanks for coming on the podcast today. Sure. Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here. I. Yeah, I love your bio. Lots of personal information. Five kids. Yes. It's never a dull
[00:07:02] Mary Walker: moment at my house. Yeah. What ages are they? My oldest is 22, and then I have stair steps. So I have 18, 17, soon to be 16, and then a 13-year-old.
I have the four oldest are girls and my youngest, the poor guy is my only boy. So he gets a lot of mothering
[00:07:21] Whitney Owens: The Fed. He
[00:07:21] Mary Walker: does,
[00:07:22] Whitney Owens: he does.
[00:07:23] Mary Walker: I just love talking football. So who's your team? My team is Denver Broncos, which is weird because I've lived in Missouri my whole life and I've been a Denver Broncos fan since I was eight.
For some reason I just attached myself to that team, so I'm not a huge fan of the Chiefs, so I'm kind of odd man out in my state. Yeah, I bet you are a
[00:07:43] Whitney Owens: love NFL. Yes, I'm Atlanta Falcons fan. 'cause somebody has to be. Yes. And, but I lived in Denver for a season in my life and the Broncos once. You love 'em, you love 'em, you know?
Yes. And people loved them. Tim Tepo actually became a quarterback when I was there, so it was kind of funny 'cause his. His younger brother was in seminary with my husband at the time.
[00:08:03] Mary Walker: Really? That's awesome.
[00:08:04] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So that was, they had a big year when Tim Tebow came, so it was real hyped up, so I always remember.
Yeah,
[00:08:10] Mary Walker: it was a big year. I remember that very clearly. And I remember when John Elway won his first Super Bowl. I have that. I just, I have all of these core memories are tied to football, so it's my thing. That's so great. That's so great. Well,
[00:08:22] Whitney Owens: let's talk a little bit about business. So today we're gonna get into talk discussing social media usage and if it's helpful for us in growing our practices.
But before we kind of go there, I would love for you to share a little bit about Simplified, SEO. I know you recently became the owner, and many of our listeners know Jessica, and they're gonna get to know you as well. And so I'd love for you to just kind of share a
[00:08:45] Mary Walker: little bit about that. Sure. The funny thing is I worked for Jessica for about a year and a half as an SEO specialist, so I worked with her and that.
I loved it. I loved working with Jessica. It was a really great time in my life. I learned a lot about SEO and all the best practices, and then I kind of took a break to get back to my mental health roots and worked as A-Q-M-H-P for a while. But Jessica kind of came to a transitioning point in her life where she realized, you know, that she was gonna move on to the next.
Season of her life and simplified came up for sale and I got a wild hair and talked to my husband and was like, we could do this. I have the, you know, I have the skillset, I know the field, you know, and I have psychology background, so it's the perfect fit. So we reached out to Jessica and she was.
Thrilled that someone she knew and she trusted would be willing to take over the company. And she knew that I would take care of the team and that I knew everybody that was working there. And that was a big concern for her because she cares so deeply for the people that she had working for her. So that was a, that was a huge factor in making that decision.
So we did all the. All the business stuff, and it actually happened really quickly and we transitioned to us being the owners in December of 2024. So it all went really smoothly, and I still have contact with Jessica and she's always willing to answer questions and help us out. So it's been a kind of a whirlwind experience, but things have been going really well since we took over and it's just.
Been great. It's the same team that I worked with as an SEO specialist. Same people. We've hired some more people. So it's been just a wonderful experience and I'm really proud of the company that Jessica built and that we're able to continue on with that legacy that she created and growing it and watching, you know, some of the dreams that she had for her company be fulfilled through me.
So it's really kind of awesome. I think
[00:10:39] Whitney Owens: that's great. Well, well, Mary, I'm glad all that worked out and I actually, you know, had heard about you way before that happened. 'cause Jessica deeply loves her team and would talk about her team members and how great they were. She always spoke very highly of you and your SEO work and your knowledge there.
And I, I love how you, you kind of, we showed this in your bio and in your story, but what I love about simplified SEO is the ability to. Have people that know SEO, but also mental health like that is such a priority in the company and such a value to us as therapists. You know, I hear therapists all the time.
I worked with this just the other day. This girl had a website and I looked at it and I was like, eh. And then I was like, did anyone make this website that actually knows private practice And counselor? She's like, no. I was like, exactly. We are a very unique field. Yep. And so, you know, there are so many SEO companies out there, but there are not as many SEO companies that understand therapists and those intricacies, and I'm really glad that you're there leading the team and making that happen.
[00:11:39] Mary Walker: Yeah, and I think that that's really the, one of the things I value most about our team is that we have that mental health experience so that we speak the language and we understand the, the nuances of things that need to be said and done. And I'm really proud of our team, and that's still our focus.
When we hire people, we don't necessarily look for SEO. Skills because that can be taught, but you can't really teach the, the mental health aspect of things. That's something that kind of has to be there. So that's really our focus when we hire new people, is still that mental health background and those, those things that they have intrinsically.
So we still, we still hold true to that. That's great.
[00:12:14] Whitney Owens: Well, wonderful. Well, Mary sent me over many great topics for our interview today and I was like, well, I also think that this idea of social media. Branding, getting your name in front of people is such a hot topic right now, and I like to ask people questions that I'm thinking about as a practice center as well.
And so today we're gonna talk about social media. So I guess my first question, Mary, is, should a private practice have a social media
[00:12:42] Mary Walker: account? I think it's absolutely a must in today's AI driven world. I think that part of what Google looks at, and part of what Google tries to understand is how broad your reach is, how diversified you are, and it really looks at.
What platforms are you mar? Are you expanding your reach on? What platforms are you posting on? Where are you visible at? And it's all about building that brand, building that name, building that name recognition, and with all of the things that are going on and all of the changes that are happening. You know, the one consistent thing has been that social media that hasn't changed much and it's really important to take advantage of that and.
Be posting on it, be growing your reach, be, you know, getting that brand recognition and that brand name out there so that even if people don't click right away, they'll still come back to you and think, Hey, I saw that blog post that so and so did, and they'll come back to your website or they'll come back to you because they recognize that brand that you're building.
So it is hugely important, I think, for therapists to take the time and put a little energy and effort into that social media aspect of their business.
[00:13:51] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah, that's super helpful. With practices all being so different, I'm curious what you think. Do you think a practice that's brick and mortar as opposed to a virtual practice or maybe a practice that's in one state or across many states, there's more of an advantageous reason to be on social media being one or the other?
I think.
[00:14:11] Mary Walker: For virtual offices for sure, it's very advantageous because you don't have that Google business profile that you can rely on to get that footing and that foothold on Google. So I think especially if you're virtual only, it's hugely important to have that social media presence, to get your name out there on other platforms, because Google won't let you have that Google business profile.
So getting out there on Facebook, on Instagram, on LinkedIn, you know, wherever you wanna be. Seen is going to give you extra resources and extra reach that you're not gonna get with just Google alone if you're relying on your Google business profile.
[00:14:46] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's, that's really good to be thinking about.
Okay. You already started listing out some of the different ones and I'm sitting here thinking, gosh, how, how do I know which one to get on? Right. What's most important? I'm sure that changes over time.
[00:15:00] Mary Walker: Yeah, it does. I think like there are some that are, are no longer a factor, I think like. Well, whatever it's called Twitter X, it's, I don't think it's a factor anymore.
I don't think it's one that people really use anymore. So I, I know, and that's one that we don't really mess with. I think that Instagram is still a real heavy hitter, is a real big player. Facebook is still really popular. A lot of people go to it. I think that TikTok is really huge. If you're into making the re, you know, the videos and doing that kind of content.
Some people are kind of scared. I know I'm not a huge fan of TikTok because I'm not a huge fan of the video doing the videos. Just from a personal perspective, but it's a huge field where the younger people, the younger generation, so you have to think about what audience you're trying to reach. Like older people, like in their forties to and up are looking at Facebook more.
The younger generation, maybe thirties to forties are looking at Instagram more, and then the younger. Mid twenties, you know, that age are looking at TikTok more and real relying on that. So it really is about looking at what demographic are you looking to hit? Are you looking to hit all of those demographics you wanna be posting on all of those.
You know, if you're really wanting to focus on the older demographic, you wanna be posting mainly on Facebook or Instagram. So it really depends on who you're wanting to reach and if that changes over time, then you just shift your strategy to kind of match who you're trying to reach. I think.
[00:16:24] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Yeah, I like that.
So why are we talking about social media with an SEO expert?
[00:16:32] Mary Walker: Well, s social media doesn't like directly, it's not like you're optimizing your social media to directly impact your SEO. But it does have several key factors that it, it impacts SEO on. Like it will increase your visibility and your traffic to your website.
So that's one thing that you want to be aware of. If you start posting on social media, you're posting on Instagram, you know you're doing all of the things that you're supposed to be doing. Eventually, you know, as you get traction, you get name recognition and people start following you, you are going to get that increased traffic to your website.
So you wanna make sure that you have your website optimized to the best of your ability. You wanna make sure that when people get there, they're getting all the things they need to see the least clicks possible to get to that page. Your pages are optimized and so you wanna make sure that your bounce rates are low, things like that.
So it's, it's kind of indirectly impacting your SEO in a way because you wanna make sure that. When people come to your website from those social media areas that you know, they're getting the content that they want, they're getting good pages, good optimization, quality content, and all of the things that we do with SEO on our websites on a regular basis.
[00:17:44] Whitney Owens: Yeah, I, I'm realizing as soon as I started asking about it, I'm like, maybe I need to go back a little here. So if there's someone listening that's like, what is SEO and how does Google work? And that kind of thing. I mean, we're a therapists, we didn't go to school to learn business. Yeah. And you went to school to learn how s se clients, and so could you kind of layman's terms
[00:18:04] Mary Walker: explain that to us?
Sure. So SEO is basically search engine optimization. So what we do is we go into your website and your pages and we make changes. We make optimizations, as we call them, to different parts of your website, your service pages, your blog pages to make them more friendly for Google to read and understand. So Google can go to your page quickly, scan it.
Understand exactly what the purpose of the page is. Immediately understand what someone who's asking a question is gonna gain from that page, what the purpose of the page is, and like what the purpose of the photos are, and make sure that it's accessible for people who would use screen readers. Things like that.
Make sure that all the key things are in place so. We go in and we make sure that all of those boxes are checked. We make sure that the description that pulls up on Google, the little title and the description are accurate for the page and have all the keywords that you want to rank for in them, like anxiety therapy or EMDR therapy, so on and so forth.
We make sure that the photos are optimized so that if someone's using a screen reader, they can see what the photo's about appropriately. We make sure that you have. Call to action sections that are encouraging people to interact with your website and book a consultation. So we do all these things in the background.
A lot of it's not visible on the front end, but it's visible to Google and ai. Mm-hmm. And AI bots. So we're optimizing all of these. Things. So Google can just come in quickly, scan your page and be like, okay, I know what this page is for. I know what questions I need to bring it up for. And then it pulls your pages for answers on Google search results.
So basically that's, we're just optimizing pages for Google to read and understand better.
[00:19:51] Whitney Owens: Mm-hmm. Well, you, and you just brought such an important point about ai. Like, because we just started getting our first calls at the practice of people. Mm-hmm. We were like, how did you find us on chat? GPT Chat. GPT.
Yep. Oh, that makes sense. Yep. So that's been, that's been really interesting. And that's, that is the world
[00:20:09] Mary Walker: that we're going into for sure. Yep. I mean, people are gonna start talking to chat DBT and asking it to find the best, you know, the best therapy practice near them, or the best consulting practice near them.
And chat, GBT is gonna come up with a list. So you have to make sure that all of those things are done on the back end. So that chat, DBT, when it scans all the, you know, the. Results on the web can read all your pages accurately, can quickly discern which ones are the best fit, and you come up on those search results and that's what SEO is all about.
[00:20:37] Whitney Owens: Definitely. All right, so if somebody is, is listening and they're thinking, okay, I need to up my game with my social media, what kind of recommendations would you have for them considering. Branding and SEO,
[00:20:48] Mary Walker: I think that definitely posting consistently, like come up with a consistent posting schedule. It doesn't have to be every single day by any means.
'cause sometimes that actually we've even pulled back on our personal posting. Schedule because we felt like our followers were getting some fatigue from us posting too much, and it kind of gets to the point where they're like, oh, it's another post. I'm just not gonna pay attention to it. This is the fifth post this week.
So come up with a consistent posting schedule that you feel works with your client base the best. Do they wanna hear from you three times a week? Do they wanna hear from you two times a week? What do you feel like fits their mentality? I mean, we're all busy people we don't wanna get spammed with, you know?
Posts and comment, you know, we don't wanna get spammed, so come up with a consistent posting schedule and follow through with that every week. And if you have like a, I know Facebook meta business will allow you to schedule posts. So you can schedule posts out for like a month in advance. Just have a day where you sit down and.
You know, dedicate yourself to creating creative content posts for Facebook and Instagram over a month and just get it all done in one fell swoop and then you're done for a month and, mm-hmm. Like post on Facebook on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Instagram on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or you know, just decide what you know.
It's. Best for your audience, but do it consistently. Show, show your followers that you're gonna be consistent with your practices and that they can rely on you to post consistently. I think that's the biggest tip that I would give you and. Make your content personal. I mean, don't just make it educational.
People get tired of that. They wanna see personal connection. They wanna see personal stories. They wanna see the inside of how your office works. You know how, how your team works, what your team's about. I know that we get way more impressions and clicks. From our funny posts about our pets or our team members, or stories about our team, or things like that than we actually do from sometimes our SEO tips or tricks.
So, you know, make that personal connection with your followers because that's what they're looking for. They're looking for someone that they can trust. That they can relate to and that they can engage with. You know, when sometimes some of the most vulnerable moments in their life and they want to feel that connection.
So that's another big tip that I would give you. Make it personable. Make it human. So I think those are the two biggest tips I would give you for sure. I. That's
[00:23:12] Whitney Owens: so good. You're kind of taking me back to think about some things. And actually this week I did a really personal post about my daughter. I saw that.
I loved it. Okay, well thank you. Yeah, we're recording here during Autism Awareness Month and I was like super nervous about putting that out 'cause it's very personal. Yeah, it was. I thought it was really important to say, and boy, the comments in love I got, you know, and even I put out an email on my email list too, and.
It was very personal email, very similar content, and got more responses from that email than I get from most of the emails I've put out. So I think you're spot on on that. I, I think therapists feel uncomfortable about it. They don't know how to, how, how do I like be myself, but not, yeah. It's because its kind of like.
[00:23:52] Mary Walker: Those boundaries, you wanna keep those boundaries set and not cross personal boundaries, but you also have to be able to open yourself up a little bit to engage on that level where you're making that trust. You know, you're making that trust connection with people. So it is kind of a sticky, or I see where it could be like a kind of a scary place for some therapists to be on a, on a professional level, but it's what people want.
So you have to kind of find a way to just. Take the leap. That's right.
[00:24:22] Whitney Owens: That's right. It is what people want. I always try to say to myself, if this is something I wouldn't say in front of a client, then I'm not gonna say it on social media. That's been a good rule for me. Yeah. So I'm thinking about content, like the copy that we put on the social media posts.
Like what is it that, does that influence it? Like should we be thinking about themes like that and topics?
[00:24:48] Mary Walker: I think so. I think that you should always make sure that it's. Like relevant, keep an eye on trends. Things that are trending. Topics that are trending like this, you know, like autism, you know, I made a couple posts about my son who's autistic as well.
I mean, I think just kind of keep up with like it's stress management month or it's PTSD awareness month or. Keep up with what's going on around you. Keep up with, you know, what's trending, TikTok trends, things like that. Things that people are doing. Keep up with, you know, hashtags. Use the hashtags that you want for people that you wanna draw to your post, like small businesses or therapists or, you know, anxiety, depression, you know.
Keep up with the right hashtags, make sure that you're utilizing those appropriately. 'cause a lot of times people search with those keywords, make it relevant, you know, make it relevant to the, there's a lot of things happening in the world right now. There's a lot of uncertainty, there's a lot of fear, there's a lot of things going on, and people are, are, you know, worried.
So make it relevant to, and speak to the things that people are worried about right now, people are concerned about right now. Make sure that it's, you know, just speaking to things that people can relate to on a personal level right now. That that's really touched the touchstone for what's happening, you know, that people might be concerned about like losing their jobs or you know, how things are gonna look in a, a month from now in the economy.
You know, there's a lot of things going on that you can focus those. Concerns around that really fall into that mental health category that are really good topics of discussion. And I think that it's important to reach out on those subjects and let people know that it's okay to be, you know, worried.
It's okay to be stressed. It's okay to feel those things, but here's some tips to help you deal with those things. Things like that are really helpful and really relevant. Mm-hmm.
[00:26:34] Whitney Owens: I love that you're saying that it, it kinda was bringing up for me the importance of consistency for therapists. And I've had a lot of people reaching out to me the past few weeks because caseloads are dipping and they're feeling uncomfortable as therapists and.
And I have been saying, don't, don't make rash crazy decisions. Like, stay consistent. But I, I really go back to remembering that like those consistent things we do as practice owners for our marketing efforts, like those are the things that are long lasting. And, and SEO is a huge part of that. Yes. You know, another practice owner who was doing some SEO stopped doing it for a while 'cause their caseload had filled up.
And then drop. Right. And then it was like, it's too late. You gotta do all that work again to get back mm-hmm. To where you were. Mm-hmm.
[00:27:20] Mary Walker: Yeah, and I think that that's one thing that we really preach, especially through the summer, is that I know that we have that this, this dreaded summer slowdown. It happens every year.
We see that where things kind of dip in the summertime a little bit because people are on vacation, people are doing things, the kids are out of. Schools schedules change, and you know, therapy is not necessarily a priority as much in those summer months. We've seen time and time again, so a lot of people come to us and they're like, well, my caseload's kind of dropping.
I'm a little nervous about making a commitment. But what you have to realize is that SEO is, you know, and marketing, those are all long games. Those are all long-term investments. So if you start investing now, when things seem a little slow that way, you have the foundation laid. And everything is in place for you to be at the top of your game.
When things start to get busy again in August and September and October, and you're already where you want to be, you're at the pinnacle. You're on that first page, you're on. You know, you're on point with your marketing and your branding and everything's ready to go when things pick up, and you don't have to do that back filling of work and starting from scratch.
So that's just what we try to tell people. The now, you know, the slow times are sometimes the best time to invest. The best times to and make that investment in your company and yourself because you have the time to blog. You have a little bit of free time to do that exit commitment to your marketing and your brand strategy and you know, that's what's really important.
[00:28:45] Whitney Owens: I agree with you 100%. You know, and I. As far as summer dips, like honestly, we don't have much of a summer dip, but I think it's because we've been around for a while and we've invested a lot of time and energy into SEO and blogging every week and all the things. So it does make a huge difference. It does in the long game.
I like to say SEO is the gift that keeps on giving. Yes. It kind of grows on itself.
[00:29:11] Mary Walker: Yes. I always say my favorite analogy, it's to picture a snowball at the top of a mountain. Mm-hmm. And it starts out really, really small, but as you invest in it over time and it starts rolling downhill, the bigger it gets.
And by the time you get to your, to your winning, to your point at the bottom, it's a big, huge snowball that just keeps feeding on itself and mm-hmm. It just keeps growing and growing. So.
[00:29:33] Whitney Owens: Yeah. Well, we have a few minutes left and I, I wanted to ask about this 'cause I've been getting a lot of questions about it and it's something I've been thinking about for Google my business.
Mm-hmm. Is that something that is SEO related and what do you, what does that all mean? Yeah,
[00:29:49] Mary Walker: Google my. Google my business is definitely something you should be utilizing regularly. It's basically another social media platform that you should be posting on at least two times a week. Maybe, you know, even, even if it's once a week, four times a, you know, four times a month, and it's really easy to post on and it's more SEO related.
So you wanna be sure you're using those keywords on your posts. You're reposting your blogs on, on. Your Google business profile, reposting events that are coming up, reposting, you know, new practitioners. You may have pictures of your office, things like that changes, but you wanna be utilizing your Google Business profile as a social media platform.
Basically, if you have it, use it. It's a free tool. It gives access to a whole other platform of people that you can reach. So post on it, you know, and it doesn't have to be big, long, dramatic posts on Google business profile. It can simply be reposting blog topics, or, Hey, here's a new blog I wrote, or Here's a new practitioner at our office, or Here's an event we have coming up.
Just, just utilize it. I mean, it's really a great tool for getting notice on Google and getting notice in those. Packs that come up on the side and getting more information out there. So you know, just I recommend definitely posting on your Google business profile consistently at least once a week.
That's great.
[00:31:06] Whitney Owens: Wonderful. Well, I'm gonna guess a lot of therapists are listening, thinking, oh my gosh, how am I gonna do all this? Right? Yeah, I know I need to, but how am I, and I know that's where simplified comes in. So could you share some about your services and specifically the social media service?
[00:31:20] Mary Walker: Sure. We're getting ready to launch a new social media package in June to select few customers and then hard launch it in July for everybody. It's basically gonna be posting on Facebook and. Instagram right now, and we'll post, we'll create the content for you, create the templates, do all the work, and then we will post like, I think either three times a week or two times a week for you, depending on your per, depending on your perform.
Preference, but basically, you know, we'll have, you'll sit down with our social media specialists and hash out how you want your posts to look, what you, how we wanna incorporate your brand and your voice, and we'll do all the work for you and make it simple. So I think that'll help a lot of, we have a lot of people asking for, you know, a one stop to manage their SEO and their social media.
So we've really been working hard on creating a platform where we can offer those services and manage your social media so you don't have to, because it is. You know, time consuming for a small business owner to do all those things on their own, and that's one of the things we're looking at really excited about.
I love
[00:32:25] Whitney Owens: that. I love that. And, and it's not even just they're tired, it's, they're not experts at it either. Yeah. You know, like y'all have that expertise to maximize those posts that you're doing, as opposed to, I'd be like, oh, I guess I'll post about this, you know? Yeah.
[00:32:40] Mary Walker: So the last couple months we've been having our, our social media specialists.
Take some courses, get some certifications, get some extra training, and do some things to really get beefed up on what's appropriate, you know, how to manage that content, what's working best, what are best practices, and so we feel like we're in a really good place to take on that social media aspect of things and have a good bird's eye view of what needs to be done.
That's awesome.
[00:33:07] Whitney Owens: Well, Mary, I know that you're gonna be in person with us Yes. In October, in Greenville, South Carolina. So that's gonna be at the Wise Practice Summit. That's October 9th through the 11th. Yep. So you'll have a booth there. You're one of our top sponsors, so thank you for that and supporting this community.
With, without people like you and simplified, we wouldn't even have the summit. So yeah, we're
[00:33:28] Mary Walker: super excited to be there. So I can't wait. We're gonna have some fun.
[00:33:32] Whitney Owens: Great, well, I'm looking forward to introducing you in person to all, all the people that I love in this community. And so if people are listening, you don't have your tickets yet, you can go to wise practice consulting.com and grab those.
But Mary, when people are interested in working with Simplified, how do they
[00:33:48] Mary Walker: get started? The easiest thing to do is just go to our website and there's a book, a consult option, and you just schedule with myself or my vice president and we'll do the consult with you, kind of go over what your options are and set you up with whatever services you want.
It's really a painless process. I. Oh, well. I like hearing that painless process. Yes.
[00:34:09] Whitney Owens: We make it as painless as possible. Nice. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise with us and all this information, and we look forward to seeing you in a few months in Greece. Yes, thank you very much
[00:34:21] Mary Walker: for
[00:34:22] Whitney Owens: having me.
I appreciate it, Whitney.
[00:34:26] Jingle: So click on follow and leave a review and keep on loving this work we do with Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast, Whitney Owen and Wise Practice Podcast.
[00:34:44] Whitney Owens: Special thanks to Marty Altman for the music in this podcast. The Wise Practice Podcast is part of the Site Craft Podcast Network. A collaboration of independent podcasters focused on helping people live more meaningful and productive lives.
To learn more about the other amazing podcasts in the network, head on over to site craft network.com. The Wise Practice podcast represents the opinions of Whitney Owens and her guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only, and the content should not be taken as legal advice. If you have legal questions, please consult an attorney.
