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How To Optimise Your UKCP Therapy Directory Profile – UKCP Profile Optimisation Tips

Video version of this post is available! Watch it on YouTube here.

If you’re part of UKCP and want more inbound therapy leads, then this video will show you how to optimise your UKCP directory profile to get exactly that. A lot of the things we’ll be looking at here are universally applicable to any therapist directory profile, but this video focuses on UKCP profiles specifically. Let’s get into it.

Hey this is James from Altus Axis, where we help therapists to grow their businesses with marketing, automation, and revenue generation.

So how do we optimise our UKCP profiles? I’m going to cover 6 tips with detail to show you just how.

Tip 1 – Your Profile Photo

If you’re looking for the quickest fix that makes the biggest difference, this is it.

Your photo is the first thing people see. Not having one is an instant ‘next’ for your prospects, since they won’t trust you or be able to (easily) relate to you.

Plus, it’s an easy way for people to associate the information in your profile with you.

When prospects are creating their shortlists, they’ll flick through profiles to remind themselves of who you are and your pros/cons. Your photo is a quick visual prompt for them to do just that.

You should have no cropped photos of you in social situations that ‘you look good in’. Instead, this photo needs to be deliberately taken for this purpose.

You want your photo to be as professional as possible. If you can, it’s worth investing money in a professional photographer. But if not then you can simply ask a friend or colleague to take it for you. Make sure you’ve got good lighting, a plain undistracting background, and are wearing something semi-professional.

The photo itself should show you smiling, looking at the camera (rather than off to the side – looking at the camera helps build rapport), and should give off a friendly, warm, and approachable vibe.

Tip 2 – Define Your Ideal Client Profile (ICP)

Your ICP, or Ideal Client Profile, is a made-up description, or ‘profile’ of who your ideal client is. The clue is in the name.

To do this, set aside 10 or 15 minutes to think about who this person is. Go into as much detail as you can. These questions are a good starting point:

Obviously we want them to ‘have money to invest in therapy’ and ‘be committed’. What we’re trying to do here is make them into an actual human with interests, beliefs, and limitations. The more we understand about them, the better we can talk to them. And the better we can talk to them, the more likely they are to relate to what we say and more likely they are to take action.

Pro tip – Give them an easy-to-remember name like “Stressed Susy” or “Depressed Derek”.

Tip 3 – Don’t Be Generic

You’re already really familiar with yourself (I’d hope). So to yourself, you probably seem like a unique, effective, and no-brainer decision for any prospect. But to the people on the other end of the line looking to get therapy, it might not be so clear. Remember, on these directories, you’re just 1 among thousands of potential therapists.

Here’s the thing. Every therapist can ‘help with anxiety’ or with ‘overcoming depression’. Everyone can help “no matter where you are in your journey”. While these cliche phrases are true, your prospects will see them so frequently that they start blurring them out. And if that’s all you can offer… it’s an easy next.

So, we need to mention what makes us different. Why should they choose you over another therapist? What exactly is it that you help with? How exactly do you help? What type of people do you work with (beyond the ‘anyone that wants to work with me’)?

Speak to your ideal client as much as you can. Tell them how you’re the perfect fit and what exactly they’ll gain by working with you. If they feel like you are the perfect person for them – because you already understand them without even speaking to them – then the chances are they’ll sign up there and then.

Tip 4 – Fill Out As Much As You Can

You’re already paying for membership and for being listed in this directory. You might as well make the most of it. Otherwise you’re literally throwing money away.

So, fill out your profile with as much information as you can. The more content you have, the better (assuming it’s not just blocks of text). Not only does it help with SEO, which we’ll talk about shortly, but if there’s anything at all you can add, then add it.

When writing, sell them on the outcome of working with you. What will their life look like after working with you? Explain it as best you can.

Use all the sections to your advantage. Add the tags, the dropdowns, the sidebar sections. Every contact method you’ve got that you’re happy sharing. If you’ve got a website, add it. People love playing around with interactive elements and having visual variety to keep them stimulated.

One quick detour – let’s talk about websites. Having a website is an extremely useful tool.

You gain so much by having one:

A website allows prospects to see that you’re serious about your practice and what you do. And it gives them a first impression on your practice rather than you as a person. Well worth having (funnily enough, we can help with that).

In short, in your profile, it’s better to have information and not need it, then need it and not have it. So fill that bad boy out.

Tip 5 – Don’t Ignore SEO

oOoOOooOo SEOoOoOOoo

First let’s clarify. Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, isn’t some ‘mystical’ thing. And even with AI nowadays, it’s just as important as ever. Particularly for therapists. Because, and this may shock you, people tend to relate to other people more than they do chatbots (gasp). And if prospects are looking for a therapist, then they want a real person and not an AI companion. Otherwise they would have booted up ChatGPT instead.

Most therapy directories like UKCP show profiles randomly. If you load up the “Find a therapist” page, you’ll notice that the shown profiles aren’t in any given order. But, Google and other Search engines don’t show pages randomly. The all-knowing algorithm has power here. And with a high-authority and established site like UKCP or another therapist directory, chances are that pages will be ranking high if they’re relevant to the searcher. So we’re going to want to optimise our profiles for SEO if you want to make use of that traffic.

What actually is SEO? In short, it’s optimising your content for search engines. In it’s simplest form for you, it’s simply organically adding keywords – the things your prospects and ICP will be searching – throughout your profile. Further, you want to ensure your content is broken up properly using headings and other elements like images, dropdowns, and tags.

The rabbit hole of SEO goes much deeper, but leave that with us.

Adding relevant keywords naturally throughout your profile can help search engine crawlers to find your page when someone types in a relevant search term. Plus, the directories’ search engine can also pick up keywords that prospects might be typing in, so it’s well worth having some included.

In terms of finding keywords, you’ve got a few approaches. Professional SEO marketers use keyword research tools to find search volume for certain keywords and to suggest relevant keywords. If you’re curious, you can try some yourself by searching “free keyword research tool”. Additionally, if you want a quick fix without research, we can just use our brains and think about what things our ICP would be searching.

If you do in-person therapy, it’s 100% worth mentioning your location several times throughout. For example, if you offer psychotherapy in London, don’t just say “I’m a psychotherapist”, say, “I’m a psychotherapist in London”. Or better, if you specialise in confidence, you could use “My primary service is confidence psychotherapy in London, where I have a private office space.” Notice the use of the keyword naturally.

If you’re struggling with ideas, here are a few example keywords. These haven’t been researched and probably don’t apply to your unique practice, but they’re a starting point for your own thinking.

Tip 6 – Call To Action (CTA)

At the end of the day, all the optimisation in the world won’t make a difference if you can’t take advantage of the interest you’re getting. That’s where having a CTA or Call To Action comes in.

A CTA is essentially a clear direction towards taking a desired action. The most obvious examples are “Learn more” or “Register Your Interest” which you’ve undoubtably seen all over social media.

For us, if someone has engaged with your profile for more than a few seconds, chances are they’re curious to know more about how you can help them specifically. They want to find out if you’re a good match for each other. Your job is to let them know exactly what to do to take that first step.

So, let them know what they need to do. Tell them what action you want them to take – call you, send an email, visit your website, download your free guide; whatever it is, you need to make it clear and mention it in your bio.

Also you want to make this as personalised and specific to you as possible. If you typically offer free 30 minute consultations over the phone before working with someone, tell them that in your bio. You could say, “If you’d like to find out if we’re a good fit, I offer a free 30-minute consultation. Just send me an email with a couple of times you’re available and I’ll get back to you ASAP to schedule a chat.”

If you give a discount on your first session, tell them what they need to do to qualify.

If you’re old school and only take written expressions of interest through the post, tell them how to do that.

Point is, you want to make it extremely clear what action they need to take to get in touch, and give them as much relevant information as you can.

CTAs are effective because people love being given clear steps to follow. People often work on autopilot too, so they might have sent you an inquiry before even realising it.

Don’t rely on just the default CTAs that UKCP or your chosen directory has, such as “Email Therapist” CTA. Write your own CTA at the end of your bio, and ideally space a few throughout in key places, such as after selling the ideal outcome.

What Now?

Now you’ve got the information, it’s time to take action. Log in and update your profile with the information given here. Schedule a professional headshot photo. Define your ICP. Do some keyword research.

Finally, great job and thank you for making it all the way to the end of this video – and for wanting to improve your therapy practice.

At Altus Axis, we help grow your therapy business in 3 core ways:

If that sounds like something you’re interested in, we’d love to have a chat. Just head to our homepage to find out more and book a call at your preferred time slot. See you there.