How to write a headline for your practice website that shows up on Google

You can improve your SEO and get more patients from your website with one 5 minute change!

I spent part of my day yesterday looking at health and wellness websites in order to put together a "best of" list for my blog and 75% were all making the same mistake.

That mistake? Using their business name as the headline on their homepage.

Your business name should never be the headline of your website, Samantha.

It might be the easiest choice when you're designing your website (or handing it off to someone else), it isn't actually doing you any good.

It's not good for SEO

When someone is searching for help, they aren't typing a specific business into Google. Instead they're searching for things like "naturopathic doctor near me" or "how to reduce POTS symptoms naturally."

And because your headline is the first thing search engines read when they're looking at your website, they need to share what you do instead of who you are.

The good news? You don't have to worry that someone won't find your practice if they search for it by name. It's one of the easiest things to rank for because it's going to be all over your website naturally:

• your URL

• your website title

• your copyright information

• your about page copy

• your Google Business Profile

• your social media

So what you want is a headline that addresses the searches people are actually so you can show up when they're actively looking for your help.

It doesn't help you book patients

Once someone lands on your website, your goal is to get them to book an appointment with you and they won't do that if they have no idea what it is you do.

If I were to use Lemon and the Sea as my headline, you would have no idea that I offer website design.

And even if your business name includes your service, like Compass Chiropractic or Vitality Integrative Medicine, it still doesn't speak to how you can help someone solve a problem.

Another tip: "Live your best life" and "improve your health" are also not helpful headlines for the same reason.

So, what can you do to improve your headline?

Instead of using your business name (or a generic phrase that means nothing to the people who need you), you need a headline that speaks to your specialty in the words people are actually searching for.

Instead of "Lemon and the Sea," a more effective headline for my website would be "Website Design for Health, Wellness, and Beauty Pros" or "A Website that Gets More Patients in Your Office."

I'm sharing what I do, who I specialize in working with, and addressing what they want most - to grow their business.

For my client who is a pediatric occupational therapist, we changed her headline from "We put the fun in functional," a better headline is "A Child-Centered Approach to Pediatric Speech, Occupational & Feeding Therapy."

It may not seem as clever, but it's a lot more effective in getting the right people to her website from Google and then getting them to schedule an appointment. And that's what really matters when it comes to writing your website copy.

See some copy that needs to be refreshed? 

Don't forget that you can get instant access to the Website Content Generator for only $45 and write all of your copy (including your homepage headline) in minutes.