
Ep. 147 - Why Good SEO Still Doesn't Fill Your Calendar (and What to Do About It)
You can do every SEO task on the list and still end up with a website that gets visitors but no inquiries. In part three of the series, Whitney and Matt Kuncaitis, who leads SEO services at Whitney Bateson Digital Strategy, get into the strategy that decides whether your SEO actually brings in clients. Matt starts with the part business owners find hardest to hear: SEO takes time, and it's a long game that builds a more stable foundation than paid ads. From there, they cover the strategy mistakes they see most on practitioner websites: content that doesn't match what your ideal clients are searching for, pages with no clear next step, and no tracking to tell you what's working. Matt uses one example that makes search intent click, comparing a chicken recipe with a search for what to eat during an IBS flare-up. They wrap up with how SEO strategy differs for a local, in-person practice versus a virtual practice or online course. Takeaways: Traffic is an indicator, not the goal. As Matt puts it, traffic is not the same as your target audience finding you. If a page is getting visits but no inquiries, look at whether that content actually lines up with the service you want people to book. Match your content to search intent. Matt's example: an IBS dietitian's chicken recipe might bring in lots of visitors, but the odds that any of them have IBS and are looking for a dietitian right then are low. Someone searching what to eat during an IBS flare-up is a very different reader. Recipes still have value for current clients and for showing Google your expertise. They just aren't the highest-leverage post for bringing in new clients. Every page needs a next step. Whitney points out that many blog posts are a dead end. Point readers to a lead magnet, your services page, or a post that moves them further along, and make it obvious how to contact you. Track your numbers. Matt compares it to counting laps when you're trying to swim more: without tracking, you don't know whether what you're doing is working. Rankings tend to shift gradually, so watching your traffic and conversions lets you spot a slide and update a page before it costs you. Local and virtual practices need different strategies. For local practices, Matt calls Google Business Profile one of the most important ranking factors and recommends making your location clear on your homepage, plus localized service pages like "one-on-one therapy in Minneapolis." Virtual practices and online courses lean more on content that answers the questions your ideal clients search right before they'd buy, then funnels them to a dedicated service or course page. Connect with Matt: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattkuncaitis/ Resources mentioned: Getting Found Online in the Age of AI series page. Register for the live taping, submit your site for a live audit, and download the free SEO self-check: https://offers.whitneybateson.com/seo-series-podcast/ Connect with Whitney: Follow Whitney on Instagram @whitneybateson Email: info@whitneybateson.com Subscribe & Review: If you're enjoying the podcast, don't forget to follow and leave a review! Your support helps others discover the show. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

