Shownotes
If you’re in the early stages of launching your practice, there’s a good chance you’ve spent more time thinking about your practice name than you’d like to admit.
In this episode, I’m breaking down how to choose a practice name without getting stuck. Because while your name matters, it is not what’s making or breaking your marketing. Clients are not choosing you because your name is poetic or clever. They’re choosing you because they feel connected, confident, and clear about what you offer.
We’ll talk about how to think long-term when naming your practice, how to avoid unnecessary rebrands, what role your domain plays in SEO (and what’s a myth), and how to stop letting this decision stall the rest of your progress. If you’ve been spinning here, this episode will help you make a thoughtful choice—and move forward.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:
1️⃣ Why your practice name isn’t your brand—and what actually drives client decisions
2️⃣ How to choose a name that supports longevity (location-based, niche-based, or personal names)
3️⃣ What to consider if you might grow into a group practice
4️⃣ The truth about domains and SEO—and how to choose one that builds trust
Resources & Links Mentioned:
- Learn more about Confident Copy:
- https://walkerstrategyco.com/confident-copy
- The Walker Strategy Co website:
- https://walkerstrategyco.com
Connect + Subscribe
Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe so you never miss an episode—and feel free to share it with a fellow therapist who’s building their private practice.
Explore more marketing support for therapists: The Walker Strategy Co website: walkerstrategyco.com
About Marketing Therapy
Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.
Transcripts
Hey y'all.
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Welcome back to Marketing
Therapy episode 55.
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Today might be a little
bit of a shorter one.
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I'm not actually sure.
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I guess we'll see where we land, but I
wanna talk about something that I get
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asked about a lot, and so anytime I notice
a theme and the questions that I ask, it
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represents potentially a really good topic
for the podcast naming your practice.
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Anna, what do I name my practice?
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This is a topic that.
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Full stop causes way more
stress than it needs to.
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So if nothing else, I hope this episode
gives you a little bit of sense of
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relief, but I've seen clinicians
spend weeks or months even stuck here.
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Well, I have to figure out
this before I can do anything.
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And in some ways you do, right?
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We need to file for your legal
documents and things like that,
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but it feels incredibly permanent.
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When you are in the stage of
launching your practice, the
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practice name can feel like the
thing that you've gotta get, right?
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Right.
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And let me be clear.
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Your practice name matters, but
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it is not what is making
or breaking your marketing.
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Okay.
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Whatever you choose is
probably gonna be fine.
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I in this episode, want to guide
you through how I think about
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approaching, naming a practice.
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Some tips I have, depending on
where you're at now, where you see
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yourself going, what matters to you.
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But ultimately, I want you to end
up choosing a name that supports
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the longevity of your practice, and
stop overthinking the darn thing.
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Make a decision, commit
to it, and move forward.
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If this decision has been holding you up,
I hope this episode can help you choose
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something solid and then get on with it.
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Get on to building the practice
that you actually want.
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Okay?
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Don't let this keep you stuck now.
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I always tell clinicians when I'm talking
to them about this, clients are not
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choosing you because of your practice
name, so the marinating and stewing you're
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doing on the meaning of the name and what
it says and what it represents about you.
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Those are all good things.
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Clients are not going to
choose you because of that.
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Okay?
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It matters more to you
than it does to them.
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Sorry if that's a little bit
of a hard truth, but it's true.
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Ultimately, your clients are going
to decide that you are the therapist
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for them because they feel connected
to you, because they view you as an
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expert because you have communicated
a level of value and experience that
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your clients are seeking, right?
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Because they're confident
you can actually help them.
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Your practice name can't do
all that heavy lifting for you.
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None of that comes from name alone.
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Okay?
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No one is getting on a consultation with
you and saying, I picked you 'cause the
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name of your practice was really creative.
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That's just not what's happening.
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Okay?
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Now your practice name is not the
same as your brand, and this is
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where I see some confusion as well.
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Well, my practice name is
the heart of my practice.
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Is it really?
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Is it really?
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Your practice name is an identifier.
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Your brand, and we've talked
about this in past episodes.
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Your brand is your voice.
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It is your niche.
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It is the experience you create for
folks, particularly on your website,
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but also the experience they have with
you in session and on consultations
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and in other parts of your marketing.
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That is your brand.
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The practice name is just
the identifier for it.
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So if you have really, really strong
branding, if you have great copy
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and a clear niche and a premium
level website that communicates the
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experience your clients are seeking,
that's gonna carry a lackluster or
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average name every day of the week.
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A beautiful name cannot
compensate for unclear marketing.
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Okay?
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So let's be clear about that.
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Like what a brand is and where
the practice name fits in that.
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'cause they're not the same.
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The other thing I wanna remind you, not
every practice name needs to have poetry
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or symbolism or a metaphor If there is
one that's powerful to you, awesome.
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In Confident Copy, we actually have an
entire section where we guide clinicians
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through how to share the heart behind
their practice name if it's something
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that is worth sharing and resonates with
how you work or who your clients are.
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So it's not that they can't have those
things, but not every name needs them.
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A clear, professional, neutral name
is a feature of your practice, but
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when you are a premium private pay
practice your work yourself, your brand.
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Does the differentiating and
the name just kind of needs to
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stay outta the way a little bit.
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Again, no one's calling you saying,
I called you because of your name.
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So if you feel stuck in this or it
feels like there are other people
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around you that have picked the name
that you wanted, and so you're feeling
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like you have to go back to the
drawing board, maybe it doesn't need
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to carry so much weight and meaning.
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Okay.
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All right.
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I'm gonna get into some tips for how
to choose a name, but before I do
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that, I just wanna call one thing out
here too, because I have the luxury of
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talking to and supporting hundreds of
clinicians every single year, right in
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one-on-one calls, in our confident copy,
live calls, whatever that might be.
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And sometimes I can spot a
clinician overthinking their name
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as a way to avoid the other stuff.
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There's a little bit of avoidance here
sometimes 'cause it feels safer to keep
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deciding and thinking about this than to
commit and actually start taking action.
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Thinking about your name feels
like it's productive 'cause it's
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something on your to-do list.
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But what you really should be
doing is launching your website,
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writing your copy, getting visible.
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So I just wanna call that out a
little nudge if maybe you've been
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spinning here, when really you need
to just commit and move forward.
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At some point, the refining and
the overthinking becomes stalling.
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And in this market we can't
afford to be doing that, right?
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We need to be taking action.
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So just calling that out
there, offering that.
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If perhaps you need to be called
out a little bit here today, and
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now let's get into some tips for
actually how to choose a name.
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Now, your practice name lives
in a lot of places, right?
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It's associated with your
domain, and we're gonna talk
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about how to choose a domain.
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Ideally.
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It's also in your emails, it's on
your directories, it's in your legal
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docs, it's on your hr, it's on your
websites in a lot of places, right?
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When you change your practice name, we
call that a rebrand or a rename, right?
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You have to end up changing all
those other places, and so rebrands
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are possible, but they're incredibly
disruptive, and sometimes you need to,
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sometimes a rebrand is just necessary.
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What I want to do is walk you
through how to hopefully avoid that
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and to minimize the unnecessary
rebrands that I see having to happen.
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Okay.
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So in order to choose a name, we have to
be thinking about the future, not just the
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practice you're creating right now, but is
this practice name going to be relevant?
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A year from now, five years, 10 years.
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Of course, we can't know for sure.
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We can't see the future, but
location-based names is an example.
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Sometimes a location-based
name is awesome.
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We have, I think there's Nashville Trauma
Recovery Center or something here in town.
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There's lots of really great
location-based names out there, and
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maybe that's a good fit for you.
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If you're confident you're gonna stay
in the location you're in, awesome.
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Then maybe that's a good fit.
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However, are you gonna move states?
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Are you gonna expand into
multi-state or pact, right?
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We have the counseling compact.
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Like we need to be
keeping that in mind too.
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So again, location-based
names I actually really like.
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They're incredibly descriptive.
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They focus you somewhere, but it's
worth thinking on if you're considering
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something that brings in location, whether
or not you're actually gonna only be
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targeting that location in the future.
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Her.
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Same with population or
issue specific names.
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I walked through this with a confident
copy live student last year who had a
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practice name specific to trauma and
then was realizing her clients weren't
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necessarily coming to her for trauma.
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She wanted to expand outside of that,
and so was really wrestling with
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what to do and ultimately did end up
deciding on a rename and a rebrand.
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So if you're gonna choose something
that references population.
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That references a certain issue.
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Then ask yourself, is this something
I can see myself doing long term?
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Will I feel boxed in
by this in five years?
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We talk often about the fact that your
therapy work is going to evolve, that
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that's incredibly normal and allowed, and
so I suggest, as you consider keywords
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in your practice name, consider whether
you're getting a little bit too narrow.
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Maybe you feel incredibly
anchored there and you know
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that's what you're gonna be doing.
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Awesome.
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Lean into that.
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'cause again, it's very descriptive.
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It is going to immediately let someone
know if they're in the right place or not.
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But maybe we need to think a
little bit broader to support
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the longevity again of the name.
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Okay.
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The most common way that most solo
practices name their practice.
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Is their name.
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And you know what?
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I love that when someone comes looking for
therapy, they are looking for connection
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to a person, not a practice a person.
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A great way to facilitate that
connection is for the name of
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that practice to be a person.
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So this works best.
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If you are a solo practice with no plans
to move beyond that, if there is even a
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glimmer of interest in a group practice
for you, if you think ahead five or 10
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years and you're like, man, it could
be really cool to bring on a team to
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expand, do not choose your full name.
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It is incredibly difficult to brand an
entire team under a solo practitioner's
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name, and it can cause a lot of the
tension that many group practice
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owners feel where people come in
wanting them and not their team.
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So again, if that's on your vision
board, if that is on the horizon
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in any regard, I would recommend
against choosing your full name.
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Now, you could choose your last name.
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You could choose a riff on your name
that isn't necessarily Anna Walker
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Therapy or whatever that might be, but
don't choose that full name if a group
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practice is on the horizon for you.
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If you know that you're gonna
stick with just you moving
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forward, then I love that for you.
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And like I said, it facilitates
that person, person connection that
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people are ultimately looking for.
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If you are someone who does plan
to go to a group, then like I
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said, you can do a riff on your.
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Actual name or that's when you
can start considering some of
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those kind of metaphorical names.
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If you're someone who's not comfortable
using your personal name as your
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practice name, which is totally feasible
as well, again, then it's time to
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think about practice names that have a
little bit of that meaning behind them.
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This does not have to be groundbreaking.
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This does not have to be a unicorn.
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Chances are someone else in this country.
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Maybe even in your
state has that name too.
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That's okay.
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You're probably not gonna come up with
something that is completely unique.
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But the goal is that it would align with
how you work, what you do, how you treat,
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what you want your clients to accomplish.
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And so thinking on those things, landing
on something that again, has a little
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bit of that meaning, and maybe we even
share that meaning in your marketing,
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like I was mentioning we do in Confident
Copy would be a great fit for you.
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One more thing on practice naming
before we get into the idea of domains,
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which it ties in really closely with,
is the length of your practice name.
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The length of your practice name
is also gonna tie in likely to
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the length of your domain name.
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But we wanna stay away from
anything that is super, super long.
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Not only is it difficult to pack it into
a logo or to put it on your website,
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but it just becomes a bit cumbersome.
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So I recommend keeping your practice
name to four words ideally or shorter.
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You don't need to include therapy and
consulting and coaching and supervision.
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You don't need to see
therapy and counseling.
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Maybe choose a single descriptive
word, psychotherapy, therapy,
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counseling, whatever that might be.
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Maybe you don't need that at all,
depending on the name that you've chosen.
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But do keep length in mind for the
benefit of brevity and for easier
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branding opportunities moving forward.
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Alright, now let's talk
about domain names.
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So.
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An important thing to know is that your
SEO authority, so how authoritative
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Google Views you is tied to your domain.
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So if I, right now, our website
is walker strategy code.com,
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00:12:42,345 --> 00:12:46,875
if I decided we are rebranding to
Simplified Therapy Marketing, and I
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decided willy-nilly to just change
my domain name away from Walker
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Strategy Code to Simplified Therapy
Marketing, then the hundreds and
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hundreds and hundreds of visits that
we get from Google every single month.
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Would essentially go away because all of a
sudden Google would be like, who are you?
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Simplified therapy marketing.com.
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I've never met you before.
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00:13:06,105 --> 00:13:09,585
Now there are some tools available
to us if you need to change your
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domain name that Google provides,
where you can essentially say,
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Hey, Google, I changed my address.
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Please carry over some of my SEO.
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But it can still be
detrimental to make that shift.
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So that's an important thing to keep
in mind because that's tied really
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closely to your practice name.
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In an ideal world, your practice name.
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And your domain, right?
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Walker strategy code.com,
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whatever you land on, should be aligned.
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They might not be exactly matching,
especially as more and more people snatch
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up domains every single day, but they
need to be aligned with one another.
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And changing one usually means
we have to change the other.
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And so your SEO authorities
tied to that domain.
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We have to be really mindful,
which is just another example of
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why we wanna keep longevity in
mind when naming your practice.
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However, there did used to be a big push
to put keywords in your domain that if
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you put in Nashville therapy or trauma
counseling or whatever in your practice
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name, that that was an automatic SEO boot.
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00:14:07,475 --> 00:14:12,095
Exact match domains no longer
meaningfully impact rankings.
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00:14:12,095 --> 00:14:13,625
Google has moved beyond that.
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00:14:14,195 --> 00:14:17,135
So trauma therapy, texas.com
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00:14:17,135 --> 00:14:20,825
is not a shortcut to ranking
for trauma therapy in Texas.
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Okay?
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So don't stress about that.
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Don't feel like you have to pack
keywords into your practice name or
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your domain name for this purpose.
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Okay?
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00:14:28,295 --> 00:14:31,385
So again, your domain
matters for SEO, but the.
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Keywords in your domain are not
going to be skyrocketing you to
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the top of search engine results.
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Okay.
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00:14:38,955 --> 00:14:42,045
Now, what do domains impact?
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Domains impact, trust and click behavior.
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00:14:46,275 --> 00:14:50,115
We've all seen domains that are worded
really strangely or something that
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we automatically give a side eye to.
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Right?
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00:14:52,515 --> 00:14:56,025
Domains actually do have a way of
influencing someone's trust in you
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00:14:56,025 --> 00:14:59,595
and ultimately whether or not they
click in or navigate to your website.
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00:14:59,985 --> 00:15:02,955
So a clean professional domain
is going to get clicked more.
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It's going to feel credible.
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00:15:04,695 --> 00:15:07,935
It that does actually
influence your SEO over time.
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00:15:07,935 --> 00:15:11,805
So does your domain impact SEO
indirectly for that reason?
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00:15:13,505 --> 00:15:17,315
In an ideal world, we want a
domain that matches or closely
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aligns with your practice name.
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00:15:18,395 --> 00:15:20,135
That's critical, right?
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00:15:20,135 --> 00:15:24,275
We're working with a clinician right
now who has long practiced under her
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00:15:24,275 --> 00:15:28,075
name, but also has a tagline that
she's known for, and she wanted to
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00:15:28,075 --> 00:15:31,555
keep her practice name as her name,
but have the domain be her tagline.
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00:15:31,915 --> 00:15:34,375
I recommended it against that 'cause
we want those to be in alignment.
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The more alignment, the more we
can reinforce the same thing, the
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00:15:37,075 --> 00:15:38,755
more trust we ultimately cultivate.
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00:15:39,115 --> 00:15:41,965
So we wanna make sure that
your domain matches or closely
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00:15:41,965 --> 00:15:42,955
aligns with your practice name.
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00:15:43,830 --> 00:15:47,850
Now, like I said, finding a domain that
exactly matches your individual practice
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00:15:47,850 --> 00:15:51,420
name, unless you have a very unique
personal name and that's the name of
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00:15:51,420 --> 00:15:53,280
your practice, it might be challenging.
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00:15:53,460 --> 00:15:56,190
So you might have to get a
little bit, you know, creative.
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00:15:57,090 --> 00:15:58,770
But in an ideal world,
that's what would happen.
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Ideally, under 15 characters, there's
nothing worse than a domain name
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that is literally a dissertation.com,
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00:16:05,460 --> 00:16:05,880
right?
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00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,810
So in an ideal world, we'd
stick under 15 characters, fewer
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than three words if possible.
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00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:15,370
So Nashville trauma
therapy and consulting.com
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00:16:15,490 --> 00:16:18,640
too long and ending in.com
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00:16:18,670 --> 00:16:22,600
if you can get it, it is absolutely
okay if your domain is.net
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00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:25,870
way back in the day, to choose.org
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00:16:25,870 --> 00:16:27,280
meant you were a nonprofit and to choose.
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This meant you were this.
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00:16:28,690 --> 00:16:33,160
If you have something that is
user friendly and doesn't imply
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00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,010
that you work for the government,
it's probably okay that you choose
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00:16:36,010 --> 00:16:37,240
that extension of your domain.
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00:16:37,270 --> 00:16:37,480
Okay.
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00:16:38,650 --> 00:16:44,350
Now what if you go to GoDaddy or
Squarespace domains and you're looking for
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00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:46,450
a domain and it's taken, what can you do?
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00:16:47,170 --> 00:16:51,970
You could add or remove a word
like therapy or counseling,
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00:16:51,970 --> 00:16:54,790
something descriptive about
the work that you do, right?
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00:16:55,390 --> 00:16:57,760
You could add a state abbreviation.
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00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:01,930
If it's likely to stay true,
so tn, tx, something like that.
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00:17:01,930 --> 00:17:05,859
Again, if that's where you plan
to continue practicing, you
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00:17:05,859 --> 00:17:07,329
can play around with hyphens.
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00:17:07,329 --> 00:17:11,140
Not ideal because we're used to
just typing in domains without
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00:17:11,140 --> 00:17:14,260
hyphens, but it is an option,
so worth playing around with.
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00:17:15,910 --> 00:17:20,079
Just when you're deciding on
this, avoid really clever or
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00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:22,839
ultimately confusing workarounds.
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00:17:23,230 --> 00:17:25,270
Keep it clear, keep it explicit.
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00:17:26,305 --> 00:17:31,075
If you have your heart set on a certain
practice name and can't find a domain
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00:17:31,075 --> 00:17:34,795
name that fits, I'm going to encourage
you to revisit the practice name, not
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00:17:34,795 --> 00:17:36,505
to choose a domain that doesn't match.
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00:17:36,595 --> 00:17:39,985
That's how strongly I
recommend that these two align.
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00:17:40,225 --> 00:17:44,625
Okay, so this whole myth
around domains and SEO.
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00:17:45,705 --> 00:17:51,285
Your domain matters for SEO, not directly,
and that whatever you choose for your
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00:17:51,285 --> 00:17:53,535
domain name is going to cause you to rank.
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00:17:53,535 --> 00:17:58,215
But in the trust, in the click
behavior, the bulk of your SEO that
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00:17:58,215 --> 00:18:01,065
lives inside of the website, that's
the stuff we teach you in Confident.
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00:18:01,065 --> 00:18:03,645
Copy the specialty pages,
your location pages.
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00:18:03,975 --> 00:18:06,325
Really clear client-centered copy in this.
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00:18:06,915 --> 00:18:11,835
Day and age mattering more than ever
ranking on both SEO and also in AI tools.
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00:18:12,225 --> 00:18:15,015
So your domain is supporting
SEO, but it's not driving it.
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00:18:15,045 --> 00:18:15,375
Okay.
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00:18:15,375 --> 00:18:17,535
So any myths you see out there about that?
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00:18:17,535 --> 00:18:19,095
We can make sure we've debunked here.
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00:18:20,085 --> 00:18:21,735
But your domain does matter.
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00:18:21,735 --> 00:18:24,225
And again, we have to be in
alignment with your practice name.
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00:18:25,665 --> 00:18:29,205
I mentioned in Confident copy that we
will guide folks through how to share
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00:18:29,205 --> 00:18:30,975
the meaning behind your practice name.
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00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,260
So if you've thought long and
hard about something, if it
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00:18:34,260 --> 00:18:36,000
means something to you, awesome.
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00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:36,960
That's so good.
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00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:38,280
And it is okay to share it.
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00:18:38,970 --> 00:18:40,020
It's not required.
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00:18:40,020 --> 00:18:41,730
It should not lead your marketing.
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00:18:43,410 --> 00:18:47,010
When I land, especially on a group
practice website and they have some
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00:18:47,010 --> 00:18:50,460
really creative name, and then the first
thing on your homepage is describing
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00:18:50,460 --> 00:18:51,960
the meaning behind their name.
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00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,690
That is not what people
are looking for, right?
361
00:18:54,810 --> 00:18:57,150
Like we talked about at the beginning
of the episode, people are not choosing
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00:18:57,150 --> 00:18:59,310
you because of your practice name.
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00:19:00,030 --> 00:19:01,765
We suggest placing it on your about page.
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00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:05,820
It being a fairly short block,
you know, in confident copy.
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00:19:05,820 --> 00:19:09,600
You show you how to approach sharing this,
but we're talking three to four sentences
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00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,550
max about the heart behind it and
ultimately how it ties into how you serve
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00:19:14,550 --> 00:19:16,110
your clients and how it benefits them.
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00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,600
So we're not over-emphasizing it.
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00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,230
We're not making it the star of the
show, but we are sharing it in context
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00:19:23,070 --> 00:19:26,490
as it relates to why you are a good
fit for this client and what they
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00:19:26,490 --> 00:19:27,760
can experience in working with you.
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00:19:28,620 --> 00:19:28,860
Right.
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00:19:28,860 --> 00:19:32,400
It's like a value add, but not an actual
selling point for the work that you do.
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00:19:34,100 --> 00:19:34,460
Alright.
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00:19:35,060 --> 00:19:36,950
So that's what I have to
say about practice names.
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00:19:36,950 --> 00:19:39,440
If you are early on in your practice
and you have been wrestling with
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00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,730
this, may, this episode give you some
practical guidance and also some kind
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00:19:43,730 --> 00:19:47,750
of important reminders around how to
approach this and how to think about it.
379
00:19:48,050 --> 00:19:50,750
No one's gonna call you because you
picked the perfect practice name.
380
00:19:51,020 --> 00:19:54,375
If you have been spinning and
staying stuck here, pick something.
381
00:19:54,845 --> 00:19:56,000
Pick it mindfully.
382
00:19:56,090 --> 00:19:59,150
Pick it with longevity in
mind, and then keep moving.
383
00:19:59,300 --> 00:19:59,720
Okay?
384
00:20:00,110 --> 00:20:00,860
A good enough decision.
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00:20:01,910 --> 00:20:05,630
Made today is gonna be a
perfect one, never made.
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00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:06,260
All right.
387
00:20:06,650 --> 00:20:09,830
If this is what's been keeping you
stuck, make a decision and move
388
00:20:09,830 --> 00:20:14,570
forward, make sure it can grow with
you and then go ahead and shift
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00:20:14,570 --> 00:20:16,970
your energy into things that are
actually gonna bring those clients in.
390
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:17,450
Okay?
391
00:20:17,785 --> 00:20:19,015
I hope this one was helpful for you.
392
00:20:19,015 --> 00:20:22,615
If you are ready to actually
put this into action.
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00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:26,650
To write about the meaning of your
practice, but more than that, to
394
00:20:26,650 --> 00:20:28,870
use your marketing to actually be
drawing in those right fit folks.
395
00:20:28,870 --> 00:20:30,610
Confident Copy would be
a great place for you.
396
00:20:31,090 --> 00:20:33,910
We love thinking about practice
names, but we love more.
397
00:20:34,540 --> 00:20:37,630
When you create a website that actually
shows people, this is what they've been
398
00:20:37,630 --> 00:20:39,160
looking for, this is how you can help.
399
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,410
This is what makes you different,
and that's exactly what we
400
00:20:41,710 --> 00:20:42,940
teach you in Confident Copy.
401
00:20:42,940 --> 00:20:46,270
You can get all the details, walk
a strategy code.com/confident-copy,
402
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,250
but go forth, pick a name, make sure
it's gonna last you and move on.
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00:20:51,790 --> 00:20:52,510
I'll see you next week.
