WP 32 | Why Outsourcing SEO Might Not Be the Best Choice for Your Practice
Welcome to the Wise Practice Podcast! In this special episode, host Whitney Owens is joined by Danica Wolf, the COO of Simplified SEO Consulting. They are recording the podcast in person, adding a new level of excitement to the show. After introducing themselves and sharing their enthusiasm for the topic, Whitney explains that they are currently in Steen Hatchie, Florida, where Simplified SEO Consulting is conducting a blog writing retreat.
Meet Danica Wolf: A Multi-Passionate Entrepreneur
Before we delve into the world of SEO, let's get to know Danica a little better. She has an impressive background as a social worker, with 15 years of experience in trauma advocacy, crisis intervention, prevention, and education. After experiencing burnout, she ventured into the world of entrepreneurship, becoming a full-spectrum doula and a faith-based leader. Now, as the COO of Simplified SEO Consulting, she helps practice owners worldwide boost their SEO. Her passion lies in making a difference on a large scale, and she's honored to work with incredible individuals every day.
Simplified SEO: Empowering Practice Owners to Take Control
So, what exactly is Simplified SEO? Well, it's an SEO consulting company that was born out of the desire to educate and train individuals to do their own SEO. They believe that you are the best person to handle your SEO because nobody knows your practice better than you do. While outsourcing can be an option, Simplified SEO focuses on teaching and empowering practice owners to take control of their SEO. They offer different levels of support to meet practitioners at various stages of their journey.
The Significance of Blogging for SEO
Blogging plays a crucial role in improving search engine optimization (SEO) for your practice. Whitney emphasizes the importance of blogging and encourages listeners to make changes if they haven't already implemented this strategy. She suggests connecting with Simplified SEO Consulting for assistance in making a significant difference in your practice.
To Outsource or Not to Outsource: The Benefits of Learning SEO Yourself
During our retreat, I couldn't help but wonder why some practice owners hesitate to outsource their SEO. It's a valid question and one that we decided to tackle head-on. Danica shed some light on this dilemma, explaining that while outsourcing can be a great choice for certain practice owners, learning SEO yourself has its own set of benefits. She emphasized the importance of control and the satisfaction of being able to navigate the SEO waters on your own. Plus, having a solid understanding of SEO opens doors to future ventures, such as expanding to a group practice or offering online courses.
Advantages of Outsourcing SEO
Danica acknowledges that there are circumstances where outsourcing SEO makes sense, particularly for those who don't have the time or energy to learn it themselves. She highlights Simplified SEO Consulting's "Done For You" program, which offers professional SEO services. Working with experts allows therapists to focus on their core strengths and leave the technical aspects to professionals. They also mention the value of a long-term relationship with an SEO specialist who can maintain and guide the practice's SEO strategy effectively.
The Educational Advantage of Simplified SEO's "Done for You" Program
One of the services Simplified SEO offers is the "Done for You" program, which caters to those who prefer to outsource their SEO. However, even within this program, there's an educational aspect for motivated individuals. By participating in consulting calls and gaining insights into the SEO strategies employed, practice owners can enhance their understanding of SEO. This combination of outsourcing and education provides a unique opportunity for growth and long-term success.
Master Your SEO Journey with Simplified SEO
In conclusion, when it comes to outsourcing SEO or learning it yourself, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It ultimately depends on your goals, resources, and willingness to invest time and energy. Simplified SEO Consulting believes in equipping practice owners with the knowledge and tools to take charge of their SEO. Whether you choose to outsource or embark on the journey of learning SEO yourself, Simplified SEO has the expertise and support you need.
Should I do SEO for myself?
Consider outsourcing SEO if you lack the time, energy, or expertise to learn it yourself.
Consider if you have the motivation and drive to learn SEO personally.
Consider using training like a “done with you” program to get the best of learning yourself and engaging with accountability and support.
Consider the future benefit of Learning SEO gives therapists more control over their online presence and equips them with transferable skills for future endeavors.
Incorporating these tips into your practice can lead to long-term success and increased visibility in online search results.
Links and Resources
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WP 32 | Why Outsourcing SEO Might Not Be the Best Choice for your Practice?
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Whitney Owens: Hello friends. It is the Wise Practice Podcast, and I have a special episode today because I am alive doing a podcast. I mean, I guess they're always live, but I'm actually with the person in the room. So that's new. So
Danica Wolf: Danica, say, Hey. Hey. Yes, I'm actually touching Whitney right now. Yay. It's so exciting.
Whitney Owens: Yes. So I have my, uh, simplified SEO shirt on. And so now we're doing videos so you can kind of
Danica Wolf: see there's the brain. I'm touching earrings, fashionable,
Whitney Owens: working it. All right, so. We are in Steen, Hatchie, Florida. Yes. You've never heard of it. Um, so I can tell you a little bit about it, and then for this episode, we're gonna jump into outsourcing.
And if you should or shouldn't, and actually maybe you shouldn't, for s e o. Imagine that. Yeah, that's a good topic. Um, so yes, I've got Danica Wolf. She, um, is the c o o mm-hmm. Of Simplified SEO Consulting and also a dear friend of mine, um, even though this is only the second time we've gotten together, but it feels
Danica Wolf: like forever, dear friends.
That's
Whitney Owens: right, that's right, that's right. All right. So St. Hatchie, Florida, it's off the Gulf. It is a slow.
Town when I got hell, I said, ma'am, what is Steam Hatchie known for? And she said, fishing and drinking. I
Danica Wolf: said, all right, you're on Steam Hatchie time, y'all.
Whitney Owens: That's right. That's right. And so I'm here with Simplified SEO Consulting, doing a blog writing retreat. And so the blogging is so important for your seo.
So if you're not doing it, please make some changes. Um, or hook up with simplified because it can make. A big difference in your practice. Um, but today we're gonna talk about if we should be outsourcing SEO or not. Um, but before we jump into that, I'd love for Danica to share a little bit about her background, who she is
Danica Wolf: so you can get to know her.
Yeah, I'm so thrilled to be here, literally, and on the podcast and, um, just a little bit about me. I. Am a social worker, um, M S W and did about 15 years of work in trauma, um, at our local university, a large Midwestern, um, flagship institution. I. I did our trauma advocacy, crisis intervention prevention and education.
And, um, you know, took a, a professional team there from one person, um, me and graduate assistants and student workers to a team of four full-time professionals. Um,
and. Um, and then the crisis intervention program that we, that I, uh, was fortunate enough to create. So, um, that's, that's what I burnt out of. Mm-hmm. We can all relate to burnout, right? Yeah. And birth work from there, I'm actually a full spectrum doula as well, and own my own birth business and, um, I consider myself a multi-passionate entrepreneur, so I know I'm speaking to many of your hearts out there.
Um, I'm a faith-based leader myself and, um, now have the opportunity to work with a team of amazing. Individuals and even more incredible, um, practice owners all around the world to help boost their s e o. So, um, my passion is making a difference on that large scale and, um, I'm just honored to get to work with the individuals who I get to connect with every single day.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. It is a really special field with the working with therapists. Love
Danica Wolf: it. I really, really do. Yeah. And
Whitney Owens: so let's talk a little bit about what Simplified SEO is, and then maybe go a little bit in case people don't know what SEO is, share what, what that actually is. Absolutely. In a brief version,
Danica Wolf: my best y'all.
I am, um, a self reclaimed strategy nerd and a bit of a tech nerd. But, um, you know, in this role I get to teach so simplified. SEO Consulting, um, was really born out of training and educating folks on how to do your own SEO o So spoiler alert, when we say, um, maybe outsourcing your Be your SEO isn't the best call.
We mean it, we mean it, we mean maybe you're the best one to do your SEO o. Mm-hmm. And that's what Simplified, um, was born out of. So our founder and the, um, owner, Jessica Te. Um, she started her own private practice. She may have already heard episodes with her on, um, you may, you know her personally, but she, she and I actually went to college together.
Um, and so I. What she built with her private practice, um, you know, was all really based on organic search, um, optimization. So not using Google Ads, there is a time and place for that. We don't, you know, tell people not to do Google Ads by any means. Um, but we do you.
You'll feel that s has some better long-term potential, a little bit better r o i for you because you can build your SEO and then be able to sustain it. Maintain it, um, strategically with, you know, it's always gonna take some work. We say that seo, um, is an investment of time, money, or a blend of both, and we'll talk about those options, but, um, That's something we're really passionate about is having an access point for therapists of all stages in private practice and all sizes and scopes.
Mm-hmm. So not just private practice, but we work with consultants, um, and coaches as well. And we have just been so. Inspired by the work and the success stories that we've seen by the folks who are ready to do the work, if it's training or ready to trust us and follow our proven process. It takes time, it takes investment, it takes some energy, but it's so worth it, like Whitney saying earlier.
Mm-hmm.
Whitney Owens: Definitely. Um, I appreciate all that you're sharing about seo. Yeah, and I agree, like simplified has these different levels to really meet anyone where they're at. Um, but on this retreat, as we're working on blog writing and things, and you know, I basically, I.
They, oh, I'm so overwhelmed. Um, I keep asking the question, well, why wouldn't you just outsource this? Why would you know Jessica's like, you keep asking this question. Like you need to be, we need to be talking about this question. Cuz if I'm asking it, I'm sure you're asking it. Um, so I'd love to talk about is it beneficial for us to outsource.
Or should we be learning this ourselves as therapist with the time and energy that we have?
Danica Wolf: Great question. So, um, let me be clear. I grew up in our Done For You program. Mm-hmm. I started very part-time, just quote, helping my friend out while learning some SEO from my business. Haha.
Um, our done for You program, um, is, is amazing. We have an amazing team and for the, for certain practice owners, um, that makes the most sense. It makes sense to say, you know what, it is not worth my time and energy to learn this. I want someone else to do this for me, handle it, and then either tell me how to maintain it or you know, I'll stick with ya and you can maintain it from here on out.
Um, in fact, someone else on this retreat has that relationship and I've, um, been honored to do her SEO for three and a half years. So, um, you know, all of those folks have a very special place in my heart and. Moving into this training role. Um, I, what I didn't share is that I was also a professor at our university in another local university.
Um, I get to, you know, flex that education muscle as well and work with folks who, you know, as entrepreneurs, we often have this drive to do it ourselves. Mm-hmm. Either because we want to, you know, maybe save some money or, um, Learn a new skill. A lot of us are lifelong learners. Um, or we want to know because again, Often we get into entrepreneurship for so many different reasons, and I won't go into all of that.
That's a whole other episode. Um, but we want that sense of control. We want to know that, you know, if the ship is going down, we can be the ones to write it and we can be the ones to, um, you know, take over to pivot to do what we need to do to make our businesses. As successful as possible. In fact, we were just having a conversation about that earlier today.
Um, so I know that that can be, you know, a fear for folks. And so regardless of your motivation for it, um, often private practice owners are really great. Candidates for learning how to do SEO themselves. That's again, what Jessica started doing after she learned her own seo, she taught herself, she, you know, kind of made the mistakes, if you will, or at least, you know, chased different things.
She kind of found that lovely formula. We call it our proven process for a reason. Um, we even call it our proprietary process because quite frankly, we're the only ones who do it exactly this way. Mm-hmm. And. She was able to, you know, teach the folks who at conferences and, you know, different retreats were saying, oh, that's so interesting.
Can you teach me to do that? So that's how the business was born, and it's evolved to include the done Before You program. Um, and so the, those are the folks who, you know, the folks who have the drive to do this work and to learn it to. Be willing to make mistakes. Mm-hmm. You know, um, be willing to test and change.
That's one of my favorite parts about being an entrepreneur is you, we test, we evaluate and then maybe pivot a little bit and then it's something beautiful comes out of it. Mm-hmm. Um, those are my favorite folks to work with. Mm-hmm. In training. I just love it. And I'm very tough and you better do your homework.
That's right. I'm so, yeah. I just, you know, I have a vested interest at that point in, you know, folks' success. Yes. But I can't make it happen for you. No, you can't. And, um, yeah, if that's appealing, learning to do your own seo, however you choose to, I know I'm talking a lot about our services, but, um, however you choose to learn it, whatever path you go down, I love that because then you, you know, you can take that into whatever the next iteration or the next business is, you know, so if you go from a solo practice to a group practice, you might wanna do a consult and, you know, maybe some more cured research or different things, you know, can get some coaching around evolving into a group practice.
Um, But you can totally do that. You have the, the foundation and the skills to make that pivot on your own or with minimal help. And then same if you're going from counseling to consulting or coaching, um, even online courses. I mean, I've had lots of folks who will, you know, even build out their online courses on their therapy website.
Yeah, that's
Whitney Owens: great. Yeah. Even today, um, I was talking to someone I do consulting with and she is trying to figure out seo and she's a solo practice owner. She's had been able to build her practice, not doing any work on seo. Yeah. Uh, great, great clinician. Um, and so now she's gonna have a group practice, but she's nervous, like, should I invest in seo?
And of course I'm like, absolutely. If you wanna fill a group, you gotta, especially cash based, you've gotta really work on your search engine optimization. And that was her situation. Um, so she was. Trying to decide between doing it herself or hiring simplified to do it for her. And it made me think about this question, and actually the advice I gave to her, which I wanna give to the audience today, was if you can make the make, make it happen, and learn your own s e o, you were gonna be by far.
Advanced. Um, so like in my situation, I know the importance of seo. I can teach, teach some of the very basic concepts of seo, but like, I can't really do my own seo and I outsourced it from the beginning of my group practice. And now I wish I could go back and at least have learned those basic concepts so that I would know them as I'm doing a second business.
Mm-hmm. And when, when I'm outsourcing, being able to go back and see the work they're doing, appreciate it, understand it. And so I think. You're kind of saying this to Danica, it's like it's, it's really good for anyone to know seo.
Danica Wolf: Absolutely. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And you know what I'll, I'll say, um, about our Done for You program is that it is more educational if folks are.
Motivate it. So say you've got the money to invest and either not the time, brain space, it's not the most strategic for you, um, but you're still curious and want, you know, folks to walk you through. Um, another participant who is here had that relationship with his SEO specialist and. Um, you know, actually spent some time on one of those consulting calls that comes with that package.
Um, learning and saying, okay, walk me through this, walk me through this. And then is able to sustain and maintain his own s e o you know, he is coming to something like this, to, to learn how to fill that second location. Um, but we, we provide courses within that program too, because we want folks, again, we don't want folks to.
We're, we're not gonna Dr. And we have a whole alumni program for that, but anybody who tells you that you have to keep paying major, you know, big money for SEO forever. I would, I would have some follow up questions for, um, I would be very curious to know what that strategy is, because it is not, it is definitely not the strategy that we follow.
Mm-hmm. Um, I'm not gonna say anybody's right or wrong because Google has over 200 different ranking factors that it considers when deciding how to prioritize different websites. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And we don't even know all of them. Um, Google won't tell us all of them. We just know there are over 200. And our process follows about 10 to 12 of those.
Okay. We used to say it follows, uh, it touches about seven to 10. Hmm. We've expanded even, um, because we're working on more of the local SEO pieces and things like that. But, um, there's so much to know. So I don't want folks to hear me and think.
That, um, you know, the advice I is that the process we work and teach is proven for therapists mm-hmm. All over the world. Mm. Over and over and over again. It does take time. It takes, um, at least, at least hear me when I say this six months. But sometimes up to a year to build that solid foundation. And that's gonna vary by region, it's gonna vary by niche, it's gonna vary by, you know, scope.
All sorts of variables are involved. And we try to be really honest about that with folks from mm-hmm. From the beginning. Mm-hmm. So whether you are, and that's six months of intensive SEO work that is hit the ground running like our done for you program. We onboard the month, we onboard month zero, and then start month one.
And so we're hitting the ground running month one and working all the way through at least month six. Often, you know, folks will choose to extend a bit, especially if they're in a really competitive market. Um, and so the reason I bring that up is because my training clients in a 12 week training, we do have an onboarding now, so this is individual training.
We've got a couple of options, but in a 12 week training, for example, We have our onboarding meeting, and then a couple of weeks later we will kind of start with week one. 12 weeks is not six months. Right. Yeah. And so, um, you know, and that's intensive work. So after someone is comfortable with the content and actively doing the work over and over again consistently, they've touched all the pages on their website, they've added the pages I've recommended they've, you know, spiced up their copy, made it more compelling, um, if need be.
Maybe they've worked with a copywriter before, but. Whatever they needed to do. And then they start boosting that content with more blog posts, quality back links, pieces like that, um, that's when I would start to see success. So, you know, you do also, in order to not outsource your s e o, you also ha well, either way you have to have patience, sorry.
Um, but you've gotta have that patience as well. Yeah. And that's where, you know, the, like I said, there's a time and place for Google Ads. We have had some folks who, um, start with the Google Ad spend, start with a, a more, um, robust Google ad spend and then sort of taper that down as their SEO builds, because we also don't want you competing with yourself Google Ads.
Were AdWord wise. Sure, sure. Which is again, a whole other topic.
Whitney Owens: Definitely. Definitely. Well, do you, um, I don't know if you can haha simplify this for us, but. If somebody's listening and they're thinking, should I outsource or should I not? Mm-hmm. What would you tell them in figuring that out?
Danica Wolf: Do you actually, do you actually want to do this? Right? Mm-hmm. And not to scare people away by any means, but you have to want to. Yeah. Um, you have to want to, it has to be, you know, something that lights your fire. Because just like we talk about with our, um, your private practice owners, our, our, our our clients, um,
we want you to be pulling the people in who. You work with best. So if you could fill your caseload with one type of client, who would it be? Mm-hmm. We ask people that, right? Mm-hmm. We start to work with them. So who would it be? And that's who you write to, right? Mm-hmm. So same question I'll ask, you know, myself basically, who do I wanna work with, right?
Um, and it's gonna be the person who.
Who I wanna work with, the people who are gonna get grades, who's ready to put in the work. Mm-hmm. Who's ready to admit what they don't know. Mm-hmm. Right. Um, I, you know, did have someone tell me that, um,
Well, I often have folks tell me they didn't realize how hard it was gonna be. Mm-hmm. Okay. So again, I'm not gonna try to talk anybody out of it, but it's tough. Um, we can make it look easy, that's why we're simplified. Mm-hmm. Um, but I've been, you know, eat, sleeping and breathing this for years. And, um, when I get frustrated with Google, I approach it like a puzzle.
I'm like, Ooh. Okay. I'm gonna figure this out. Yes. Mm-hmm. Right. I've got that kind of competitive mindset a little bit, um, Enneagram three by the way. And so I will, um, you know, look at it as a puzzle. I'll, I'll try to, you know, solve that puzzle. I'll strategize around it and be so happy when I work through it.
Mm-hmm. Um, and those are my favorite folks to work with. Yeah. And we see success over and over again. Mm-hmm. That, with that.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. Well, I love what you're saying that. Do you want it? You know, and this is what we say to people thinking about starting a practice. This is what I say to people, thinking about starting a group practice.
Is that what you want? And so I think that's a good question to me asking. And I think some other things I'm sure that you would add in, it's just the time, the energy, the focus. Oh yeah. Um, but yeah, hands down, I would say now that I've, yeah, kinda. Built a group practice, have SEO on my site and all that. I, I would encourage people to learn it.
Yeah. If they can. And you've got the drive, take the time to learn it. And if you go down that road, And you realize, oh, you know, this is it for me. Yeah. We can pivot. You call simplify. Yeah. And they fix it, you know, but at least you're learning and you're getting out
Danica Wolf: there and trying it. Absolutely. One of the things that we've been talking a lot about on social and in our emails and different things is, um, this idea of working smarter and I'm very careful to stop it there and not say not harder.
Right. Um, because. We're already working hard. Yeah, we are already working hard. Not only are we, you know, business owners and practitioners and um, you know, whatever other professional hats you're wearing, but you've got a personal life, I hope. Right? You're doing something else that you love. Maybe you're, you know, you've got a family, maybe you're traveling, maybe you're also still, um, you know, pursuing another degree.
You know, whatever you're doing. You're already working hard and so I don't want anybody to think that, um, you can just work a little harder and it's gonna be okay. If I've got somebody who comes to me and says, well, I'm already giving it all I've got, but yes, I'll just give it another, you know, 110%. I'm gonna be nervous for that person.
Mm-hmm. Right. Because I know that they're gonna be pulling that energy, they're gonna be pulling that focus from some other area of their life. Mm-hmm. And this is what they're gonna resent doing. Yeah. And I don't want that for anybody. Mm-hmm. Right. We're working really hard to slow down. That's right. And, um, we like being on steam Hatchy time a little bit.
It's a little frustrating, but we're, we're trying. Right. That's right. That's right. And um, and that's what I want for folks, however you choose to do it.
Whitney Owens: Yes. Yes. Um, so as you're listening, if you're thinking, oh, I'm still uncertain what's best for me, the great thing is Simplified SEO will do a free consult call with you.
So Yes, no charge. Absolutely. Just to kind of get to know you, hear your story. They'll actually look at your website a little bit and tell you kind of how you're ranking a little bit in your area. Mm-hmm. Give you some quick feedback, and then talk to you about what service they think would be best for you in your situation.
And so, You really can't turn down a free consult. So if you absolutely never, you
Danica Wolf: have to apply. That is new. Okay. Um, we learned that we are now at a point where we have to have an application. Mm-hmm. Um, just because, not because we wanna turn anyone away, but because sometimes folks aren't quite ready.
For us yet. Um, and so then we've got, you know, some great resources and recommendations mm-hmm. Um, until you get to that point. Yeah. But, um, that, that definitely helps make sure that we get the information we need and that you all, you know, have that informed, um, you know, entrance into that conversation as well.
That's great. That's great.
Whitney Owens: Yeah. And simplify.
S e I are good friends. Yes. So they have a special deal for Wise practice and so if you go in there and you purchase one of their courses, make sure to use the code wise practice to get, I believe it's 25% off. Yeah. Our DIY courses. Yes. Yes. I need the DIY courses and so hopefully that'll give you a little more incentive to wanting go and learn it
Danica Wolf: yourself.
And actually if you're not sure which one to start with, um, you could start with our first steps course and that would give you a little taste of what to, um, what you might be doing. It gives you a little taste into keyworded research. We have some other great courses, so definitely check those out.
We've also got our comprehensive of course, and that code would work on that. Um, if you would prefer to start there. But, um, and actually, oh my gosh, the comprehensive course was just updated as well and has so many more hours of teaching and multiple faces and, um, perspectives. It's, oh, it's so exciting.
That's awesome. But if you're not sure the first steps, it's a great place too. Great.
Whitney Owens: Well, Danica, it's always my pleasure to hang out with you in person. Yes. That has been really nice, and I hope to have more encounters in person. Um, we'll see when those come. And then make sure that you had to simplify SEO Consulting to learn more about their services and to hang out with the team.
Yeah.
Danica Wolf: Thanks. We'd love to see you. Thank you.
Show Notes and Podcast Production by James Marland
