Your website is never just sitting there. Whether you realize it or not, it's sending a message to every potential client who lands on it. In this episode, Anna walks you through the same 10-point website audit she and her team use when reviewing therapists' websites, helping you identify whether your site is building trust—or quietly working against you.
From your copy and positioning to your design choices, you'll learn how to spot the gaps that may be costing you inquiries and what to prioritize first. If you've been wondering whether your website is truly supporting your practice growth, this episode offers a practical framework for evaluating it with fresh eyes.
1️⃣ The 10 questions Anna uses to evaluate whether a therapist's website is helping or hurting their marketing.
2️⃣ How to tell the difference between a website that's simply underperforming and one that's actively creating liability for your practice.
3️⃣ Why your copy has a greater impact on conversions than design—and how the two work together.
4️⃣ Which website updates should take priority so you can build more trust and attract more right-fit clients.
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: https://walkerstrategyco.com
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, a 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.
Hey, hey.
2
:Welcome back to Marketing
Therapy, episode 78.
3
:This episode is inspired by the
fact that I am asked multiple
4
:times every single week to review
clinicians' websites, and often I do.
5
:If you apply on our website,
walkerstrategyco.com/apply,
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:either myself or a member of my team
will review your website and let you
7
:know if we think any of our programs
or services might be helpful, or
8
:if you're gonna be better served by
something else, 'cause sometimes that
9
:is, in fact, what needs to happen.
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:Now I, in this episode, am going to walk
you through the exact criteria that we
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:are considering, either myself or my
team, when we are reviewing your website.
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:This is a self-audit that you can do.
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:Now, a lot of times I see clinicians,
or at least historically, they used
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:to treat their website as neutral, and
you might be finding that yourself.
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:That might be why you're finally
wanting to audit your own website,
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:because up until now, it was
just something that you had.
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:It was something that sat there, maybe
it worked, maybe it didn't, build it
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:and they will come sort of situation.
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:That's not the case anymore, right?
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:From my perspective, especially in the
market we're in right now, there is
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:no such thing as a neutral website.
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:Your website is either doing something for
you or it is working against you, truly.
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:It's always going to be
sending a message to someone.
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:The choice that's available to you
is either you choose that message,
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:what it is that it's saying to
your potential clients, or that
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:message is happening on accident.
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:It's sending a message you
didn't realize you were sending.
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:That's what I wanna avoid, right?
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:The accidental message, by
default, is almost some version
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:of, "I'm interchangeable."
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:I don't want your website
telling people that.
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:Do you want your website telling
people that you are interchangeable?
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:Absolutely not.
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:That vague headline, that
really generic stock photo.
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:I just had a client kick off and reference
one of the podcast episodes where I
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:talked about someone holding their face
in their hands in front of a rainy window.
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:You know, those terrible stock photos.
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:Copy that you just spit out from ChatGPT
and copied and pasted onto your website.
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:Whatever it might be.
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:If you aren't intentionally thinking
about what it is that your website is
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:saying about you, it's telling people
that you're interchangeable, and you
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:cannot afford to be that right now.
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:Okay?
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:So that's the real stakes
of our episode today.
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:Not, is your website good or bad,
but is your website saying what you
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:mean to say, what you need to say?
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:Or is it saying something by accident that
could, in fact, be holding you back from
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:getting the clients that you wanna get?
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:So our format is a self-audit.
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:We're gonna walk through 10 questions, and
by the end, you're gonna know exactly what
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:your site is saying, whether on purpose
or otherwise, and what to do about it.
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:Now, like I said, I get people asking me
to review their website multiple times
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:a week, and it's one of my favorite
things to do because I get such exposure
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:to the state of websites right now.
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:Sometimes I land on a website
and I'm like, "Girlfriend or
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:boyfriend, this looks great.
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:You're doing a really good
job," and that's where we
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:would direct you elsewhere.
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:A lot of times I land on a website and it
isn't checking a lot of the boxes we're
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:gonna talk about in today's audit, and
then I'm able to say, "Hey, here's where
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:I think your greatest opportunity is
for improving that message and therefore
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:improving the results in your marketing
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:Today's audit is broken into two parts.
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:The first is copy and positioning.
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:If you've been around here for a while,
you've heard me say copy is king.
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:At the end of the day, the words on the
page are still the number one determining
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:factor behind whether or not someone
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:is going to decide to
work with you or not.
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:So we're thinking about
copy and positioning.
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:The second part is about design.
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:We've said recently design is queen.
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:So copy is king, design is queen.
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:It matters, and it matters
more now than it ever has.
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:Because your words can be really, really
great, but if they are not presented
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:in a modern and compelling way, then we
very well may lose that client as well.
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:So that's what we're looking at here.
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:Ten questions, two parts.
78
:You ready?
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:Part one, we're talking
about copy and positioning.
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:This is where your site is doing the
actual convincing and converting.
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:That's why copy is king.
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:Design might get someone to stay a
couple extra seconds, but copy is what's
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:going to get them to reach out or to
click away and to move on to the other
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:therapist whose tab they have open.
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:This is also where liability lives,
and I'm gonna talk a little bit
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:more about liability as we get
going, but this is where your
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:website either is or is not working.
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:This is where we get a little
bit more of that kind of good or
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:bad pass, fail criteria, okay?
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:So take these questions seriously.
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:Remember, these are the questions
we are asking ourselves as
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:we look at your websites.
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:When you're sending them to us in
an application, this is what myself
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:and my team are thinking about.
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:Number one, within five seconds, can
someone tell what you specialize in?
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:Can someone identify your
niche within five seconds?
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:That's a pretty serious test.
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:I'm not talking about what
kind of therapy you offer.
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:I'm talking about what population,
what struggle, what life stage.
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:Is there some level of specificity?
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:Here's the test I like to think about.
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:If a stranger, someone who has
literally never met you before,
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:looked at your homepage for five
seconds and then looked away, could
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:they tell a friend who you're for?
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:So someone who's never met
you lands on your website.
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:They're there for five seconds.
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:They click out.
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:Could they tell someone,
"Oh, this is what Anna does.
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:This is what Cherie does," whatever.
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:This is the difference between licensed
therapists providing individual
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:and couples counseling, and I help
high-achieving women navigate the
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:identity shift after becoming a mom.
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:Okay?
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:Could someone tell who you're
for within five seconds?
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:Now, a lot of times clinicians
think they're being clear
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:because they know who they mean.
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:They know who they do their best work
with, but it is nowhere on the page
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:and therefore isn't serving them.
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:So that first question, within five
seconds, can someone tell what your
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:niche is, who or what you specialize in?
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:Number two, is your location clear?
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:This is such low-hanging fruit.
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:If the answer is no,
go fix this right now.
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:But number two, is your location clear?
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:I see this missed all the time.
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:I'll land on a website, and it
talks all about their niche or all
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:about them, but I have no idea where
they're licensed or if I'm here in
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:Tennessee, if they could even help me.
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:That's a huge issue and like I
said, very low-hanging fruit to fix.
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:This is especially common to miss if
you're a multi-state or a telehealth
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:practice because you aren't based
in a particular physical area.
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:But we know and we talked recently a few
episodes back about how people search
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:locally even when telehealth is an option.
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:So if your location is unclear, they're
bouncing, not to mention Google and
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:AI looking for these signals as well.
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:So is your location clear?
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:Could someone tell your city and state
within the first loading of the page?
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:They shouldn't even have to scroll.
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:So that's that second question.
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:Is your location clear?
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:Question three, this one
might sting a little bit.
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:Does your site sound like
you or could it be anyone's?
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:I talked was it our last episode or two
episodes ago, about the idea of pink
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:pants in our most recent alumni check-in.
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:The fact that not everyone is
going to love your pants, love your
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:website, love you as a clinician,
and that is the whole point.
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:So for this question, could someone
take another therapist name and drop it
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:into your website and it apply to them?
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:Could someone else's name go
at the top of your About page
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:and nothing would feel off?
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:We have a problem.
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:Okay?
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:That's the accidental interchangeable
message that you are putting
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:out there if that is the truth.
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:Of course, you're interchangeable
because you literally could interchange
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:that copy with someone else's, and I
would have no idea what your unique
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:point of view is or what it is that
makes you different or who it is that
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:you serve that makes it distinct.
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:I wanna be clear, this is never
about just being quirky or weird
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:or zany for its own sake, right?
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:Unless you are, in fact, those things.
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:But it is about specificity and a clear
point of view and a voice, a human voice
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:coming through that makes you memorable.
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:At the end of the day,
that's what this is about.
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:It's about being memorable.
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:So that third question, does this site
sound like you, or could it be anyone's?
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:And like I said, that one
might sting a little bit.
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:Number four, another really
low-hanging fruit item.
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:Are there clear calls to action?
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:Are there clear calls to action?
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:Can I take the next step?
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:Do I know what that next step is
from any page of your website?
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:Do I know what's gonna happen
when I reach out to you?
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:Is there a consult?
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:Are we going straight to appointment?
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:Are you making that clear?
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:Because if we create any friction
in that process, someone deciding
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:they wanna work with you and then
reaching out to you, if there's
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:friction in that process, guess what?
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:They just won't do it, and we know
that from studying user experience.
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:There needs to be one clear and primary
next step repeated and reinforced
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:throughout your website, every single
page, including your About page.
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:I should be able to take action from
anywhere once I realize, "Oh my goodness,
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:this is the therapist I wanna work with."
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:Okay?
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:So that's number four.
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:Are there clear calls to
action on your website?
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:Number five, are you speaking
in specific language to your
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:client's actual experience?
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:So this is where you do that
empathizing, and if you're a Confident
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:Copy student, you know we have
empathizing all over our websites.
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:This is where you are
giving that sticky copy.
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:You are showing, you are displaying your
level of understanding of your clients
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:because you are reflecting back to them
where it is that they find themselves.
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:We recently just wrote copy, and I
actually shared it in today's copy review
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:session, so it's fresh in my mind, with
a clinician who specializes in working
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:with special operators so military at
the very top of the top of the ranks.
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:And in that copy, woven throughout that
copy, was all of the deep understanding
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:and expertise she has in not just
military life, but operator life.
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:These people who have literally
been on the front lines making
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:decisions and doing things that
we can't even imagine, she knows.
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:She understands, and she's displaying
that level of understanding because she
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:is reflecting that empathy back to them.
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:Are you doing that in your copy?
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:Are you using sticky and specific
language that displays your understanding
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:of what has brought your clients here?
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:Because they need to first and foremost
feel seen and understood by you in order
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:to trust you and to reach out to you.
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:So are you speaking in
specific felt language to your
210
:client's actual experience?
211
:Could your ideal client read
this and think, "That's me.
212
:Are you in my head?
213
:How did you know?"
214
:We need to be creating those experiences
with your copy in order to deeply
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:resonate with folks, especially as they're
wading through the sea of sameness we've
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:been talking about so much recently.
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:So that's number five.
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:Number six, do you have…
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:Oh man, this one matters.
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:Do you have distinct specialty
or method pages on your website?
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:There needs to be a distinct and dedicated
page for every single one of your
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:presenting issues, populations, methods.
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:Whatever the key focus areas are
in your practice, there needs
224
:to be distinct pages for each.
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:A single page listing the sixteen
things that you can help with, grief
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:and loss, life transitions, anxiety,
depression, trauma, relationships,
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:that's not gonna work right now.
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:Okay?
229
:We need dedicated pages
for each one of these.
230
:I'm gonna be honest with you.
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:If I land on a website and it's
lacking these, you could be yeses on
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:all the other items here, and I still
am going to see a massive gap in your
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:website's ability to perform for you.
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:This is critical, especially in the
age of AI that we're in right now.
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:Now, in Confident Copy, we have distinct
specialty and method page frameworks.
236
:We show you not just how to decide on
which topics to do, but how to write
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:those, how to structure them, how a method
page is gonna be a little bit different
238
:than a specialty page, but we have to
have these present on your website.
239
:Okay?
240
:This is where you get to
enjoy the variety, right?
241
:You get to enjoy the work you like
with couples and the work you like with
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:men and the work you enjoy in trauma.
243
:That's where you get to be super,
super specific about these.
244
:But like I said, there needs to
be a dedicated page for each one.
245
:Okay, so these six questions,
that was part one of your audit.
246
:Can you answer yes to these questions?
247
:If you are saying no to even just one
of them, we are getting into liability
248
:territory, and I'm gonna get more into
that as we get to the end of the audit.
249
:But hold that in your mind, and let's
move on to part two, and then we'll wrap
250
:back around to the final assessment.
251
:Now, now we're looking at design.
252
:So copy is what's going to help
someone decide if you're the
253
:right therapist for them, right?
254
:But design is what's getting them to trust
you enough to stay long enough to read it.
255
:Okay?
256
:This is about those first impressions.
257
:This is about those subconscious
judgments people are making
258
:about how legitimate you are, how
professional, how premium you are.
259
:Absolutely critical right now, especially
as client standards are higher than
260
:they have ever been in this regard.
261
:Okay, so our remaining
four questions here.
262
:Question seven of our audit: Is
there a professional headshot here?
263
:I am not talking about a selfie.
264
:I'm not talking about one from
15 years ago that your friend
265
:took with their old iPhone.
266
:Do we have a high quality
professional headshot?
267
:Now, you don't necessarily need
an in-depth brand photo shoot,
268
:although we love when clinicians
come to us with one of those.
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:But we need something that gives
that signal of this is a real
270
:credible clinician and practice.
271
:If you don't have one of those, the good
news is iPhones have gotten better, right?
272
:You probably have the newest
iPhone or know someone who does.
273
:You probably know someone that
has a high quality DSLR camera.
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:Go get a good headshot.
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:I can't tell you how much this can
elevate the credibility of your
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:practice, even if it's just one.
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:And I know we all are really, really
critical of how we show up in pictures.
278
:So swallow that a little bit,
get some good pictures, and get
279
:them up on the website and it
can truly be a game changer.
280
:Number eight: Do you have a
clean and up-to-date design?
281
:Does your website look like it was
built five years ago or 10 years ago?
282
:I just had a discovery call with
someone who was interested in our done
283
:for you services this week, and she
said, "I know my website is outdated.
284
:I can tell it feels old."
285
:Do you feel that way when
you look at your website?
286
:If so, we're getting into
the liability territory.
287
:A dated site signals a stalled
practice, even if that's not true.
288
:But again, it's these subconscious
judgments that we are making and we know
289
:that we're making, because studies show
us that we make decisions about this and
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:that our first impression with a brand
colors the entire interaction with it.
291
:We can't afford that right now.
292
:Even if you have grown a lot since
that dated website was created,
293
:if the dated website continues to
stay that way, no one's gonna know.
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:Okay, so do you have a
clean and up-to-date design?
295
:Number nine, this is more specific
when it comes to design, but
296
:is there adequate white space?
297
:And by white space, I mean
blank space in your design.
298
:It's one of the biggest
signals of a DIY site or of
299
:something particularly outdated.
300
:Because cluttered pages, they
just create more of the low grade
301
:anxiety that your client already
is coming to therapy with, right?
302
:It's like a chaotic waiting
room or something like that.
303
:We cannot afford to have that.
304
:When in doubt, just add more white space.
305
:It'll probably improve your design.
306
:But that's a key thing that we're looking
for on the design side of things about
307
:whether or not this is going to feel
modern, up-to-date, credible, premium.
308
:You can have a really
beautiful, interesting website.
309
:It still needs that breathing room
to create these resting places
310
:for the eye and to really elevate
that experience on your website.
311
:All right, final question.
312
:Final question in our 10-question audit.
313
:Are there thoughtful color and
font choices on your website?
314
:Are you using color and fonts
thoughtfully and strategically?
315
:I don't just mean something default.
316
:I don't mean the default that
came with your Squarespace
317
:template way back in the day.
318
:I don't even know what
that font is called.
319
:I'm trying to think of it, but if you
just go and create a Squarespace website
320
:right now, it defaults to their, their
heading font, and I hate landing on
321
:a clinician website that still has
that 'cause I'm like, "You could have
322
:just chosen anything else, right?"
323
:We're looking here at the
way that you're communicating
324
:personality with your design.
325
:So not just defaulting, but
also not going completely crazy.
326
:Sometimes you land on a website,
and there's like 16 different colors
327
:that don't make sense and don't
go together, and that also can
328
:feel chaotic and unprofessional.
329
:This isn't about being elaborate
or loud necessarily, but it's
330
:about being intentional, not
just an afterthought here.
331
:So thoughtful use of color and
font is what we're looking for
332
:on the design side of things.
333
:All right.
334
:Those are your 10 questions.
335
:I'm gonna run through them again, and then
we're gonna get into how to assess this.
336
:So question one, within five
seconds, can someone tell who you
337
:specialize in and what your niche is?
338
:Two, is your location clear?
339
:Three, does your site sound like
you, or could it be anyone's?
340
:Four, are there clear calls to action?
341
:Five, are you speaking in
specific felt language to your
342
:client's actual experience?
343
:Six, do you have distinct
specialty and method pages?
344
:Getting into the design side
of things, seven, is there at
345
:least one professional headshot?
346
:Eight, is there clean, up-to-date design?
347
:Nine, is there adequate
use of white space?
348
:And 10, are there thoughtful
color and font choices?
349
:All right.
350
:So all I want you to do
now is just count your nos.
351
:Which of these do you say no to?
352
:Now, I wanna be clear that there
is a difference between a site
353
:underperforming and one that is an
active liability to your practice.
354
:Underperforming is passive.
355
:It's not doing as much as it could be,
but it's not actively pushing people away.
356
:Liability is active.
357
:Liability is sending an incorrect signal
that's actively turning away right fit
358
:people, or worse, attracting wrong ones.
359
:Okay?
360
:So there is a little bit of a
distinction to be made here between
361
:underperforming and liability.
362
:Now, part one is mostly
where the liability is.
363
:So if your website is actively working
against you, it's probably because
364
:you have noes in those copy questions.
365
:'Cause if we're not clear on
the copy, remember copy is king.
366
:If you don't have that stuff clear,
then yeah, your website very well may
367
:be calling in wrong fit folks, or at
least not attracting the right fit ones.
368
:It's in those places that you're
sending that I'm interchangeable
369
:message that we do not wanna be sending.
370
:Now, in part two, in the design side of
things, that's where there's a little
371
:bit more of that underperformance.
372
:You could have an incredibly effective
and compelling website with poor design,
373
:and where it maybe isn't helping you,
but it's not hurting you especially.
374
:So that, again, is where that copy is
king, design is queen thing does come in.
375
:So if most of your no's or any of your
no's were in part one, I want you to
376
:hear me clearly, your website probably
isn't just underperforming, it might
377
:actively be working against you right now.
378
:It could be telling people that
you're interchangeable, that you
379
:are not worth your fee, that you are
not the expert that you are, even
380
:though you know that's not the case.
381
:Now, if most of your no's or any of
your no's were in part two, then I think
382
:that's more in underperforming territory.
383
:You're leaving some trust and some
polish and some premium experience
384
:on the table, but the core message is
likely intact, and that's good news.
385
:Either way, actively working
against you, simply underperforming,
386
:there's no shame here, right?
387
:That's why we're doing this self-audit.
388
:It's why it's just me and you
hanging out in your ears right now.
389
:But the point here is I want you to
be able to see clearly what maybe
390
:hasn't been visible to you so far.
391
:Where are the opportunities?
392
:Where are the gaps that we need to be
closing in order for your website to truly
393
:perform in the market we're in right now?
394
:Now, if your no's were clustered in
that part one, like I said, if you don't
395
:have those distinct specialty pages,
you're not using client language, you
396
:don't have a distinct point of view
that sets you apart, I want you to think
397
:seriously about Confident Copy, because
chances are very good that Confident Copy
398
:could be an, a fantastic next step for
you, and our wait list just opened if
399
:you're interested in the live experience
that's gonna kick off in August.
400
:You can also jump into the
self-study at any time.
401
:If your no's were clustered in part two,
in design, then maybe one of our design
402
:tools could be really helpful for you.
403
:The DIY Brand Kit is incredibly helpful,
and as you walk through that process,
404
:you're gonna develop a custom color
palette and font pairing that you
405
:can put into action on your website.
406
:Not to mention our Squarespace templates.
407
:That's gonna help you with that clean and
modern design with the white space, even
408
:with the colors and fonts, since we do
hand-select those for each of the designs.
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:It's a more direct fix for you there.
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:If your no's were scattered, I want
to help you prioritize as well.
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:Remember, copy is king, design is queen.
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:I'm going to encourage you to get clear
on those copy and positioning things.
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:Start working in that direction
first, and then follow up with any
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:of the design related elements.
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:We want to address the liability and then
get to that underperformance as you can.
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:Remember, there is no neutral website,
not right now, not in this market
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:where this is truly the core of your
marketing, the client conversion
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:engine that we talk about all the time.
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:Is your engine running?
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:Is your website sending the
message that we need it to?
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:Or could it be sending one that
is completely unintentional and
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:potentially working against you?
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:I don't wanna see that happen.
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:It's always gonna be saying something.
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:Do you like what it says?
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:That's really the final
question to sit with today.
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:Now, like I said, if you are realizing
the copy and the positioning needs
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:to be improved, the Confident
Copy Live waitlist did just open.
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:You can hop right onto that list,
walkerstrategyco.com/waitlist,
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:and qualify for a private discount
we're not offering publicly.
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:There's no obligation if
you choose to jump in.
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:Of course, you can decide, "You know what?
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:Confident Copy isn't the
right next step for me."
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:Fabulous.
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:At least you'll know, at least you'll have
that potential discount under your belt.
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:If it's more on the design side of
things that you need some support,
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:please do check out our templates,
walkerstrategyco.com/templates,
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:or the DIY Brand Kit,
walkerstrategyco.com/dbk.
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:We'll link all of those in the show notes.
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:If you're sitting here and you're like,
"I'm no's across the board," and you know
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:that you wanna hand it off to someone,
we are booking very, very quickly into
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:the fall, if you can believe it or
not, for our done-for-you services.
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:We have copy, we have
design, we have branding.
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:I encourage you to reach out there.
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:If that is a better fit for you,
walkerstrategyco.com/services.
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:Whatever it is that you do next, I hope
that this episode started to expose to
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:you where you should actually be focusing
your time and your effort in order to make
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:an impact, not just spinning on things
that don't matter in your marketing.
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:Change these things and you can
create movement and momentum toward
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:the type of practice that you
ultimately want to be building.
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:I'm cheering you on.
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:I'll see you in our next episode.
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:Bye.