Therapist Search Report

Another week has gone by already?! Well, let's jump into this then.

Healthgrades dropped almost 19 points this week (and more than 25 compared to last month), one of the steepest declines we've seen so far. At the same time, familiar names like LinkedIn, Psychology Today, and Facebook stayed strong, showing that professional and therapist-specific sites continue to hold their ground even when the big aggregators start to wobble. But also keep in mind that things change fast, in either direction, so don't draw any big conclusions from a single week's sudden shift.

There are two forces at play here: Google's algorithm, and the constant competition between the websites themselves. Every directory, video platform, and social network wants to be the one that shows up when someone searches for a therapist by name -- and that tug-of-war is what's creating so much of the movement we're seeing week to week. Questionable directories are chucking out thousands and thousands of profiles, hoping to rank higher, while tried-and-true websites continue to sit at the top of the results.

The top domains list still looks familiar -- LinkedIn, Psychology Today, and Facebook lead the pack, while social platforms like Instagram and TikTok remain slightly volatile.

There's a cluster of websites all competing in the middle of this pack, fighting to hold onto their position. And that makes sense. Yes, there are these dominant break-out stars, but beneath them, you're having to aggressively fight for your position with either 1) genuinely helpful/valuable content or 2) a ton of (less useful) content. Google's algorithm will eventually rank that helpful content higher -- even if it takes them weeks or months or years to realize that.

Healthgrades was the big story this week, losing nearly 19 points of visibility -- a huge drop for a directory that's usually near the top. I don't have an explanation as to why, unfortunately! It'll be interesting to see if that drop holds true next week, or if this was just an off-week for them.

Meanwhile, I also wanted to mention Quick Counseling, which had a big drop. This directory is curiously only serving up profiles that link directly to BetterHelp (from what I could tell).

At the top of the results, Psychology Today remains dominant, owning nearly half of the #1 positions. LinkedIn continues to fill the middle of page one. ZocDoc is worth a closer look too.

These are the positions that matter, folks. But also remember that this analysis is based on aggregate data. If you toss up your own professional website at your own domain name, you'll rank in one of these top slots for your name! You just won't see it in this chart above... because your website is only about you.

When you zoom out, the picture is clear: there's a lot of noise. Every site wants to rank first, and Google's algorithm is constantly deciding which ones deserve to. But underneath that chaos, there's still a logic to it all -- the algorithm tries to reward helpfulness, relevance, and genuine content.

That's good news for therapists. Because if you create your own professional pages, accurate profiles, and even a simple website for your practice, you'll naturally rise above the shifty directories trying to fill the gaps. The stable, trustworthy results tend to stay put -- and they're the ones you control.

Own your name online. Create the content you want people to see. The rest of the noise will sort itself out. Piece of cake. (Really!)

That's it from me. Have a great week!

Jon