Stop throwing money at 'awareness' and start getting bookings
Look, I’m going to be blunt. Most psychologists and counsellors I talk to in Brisbane are getting absolutely ripped off by marketing agencies.
You’ve spent years studying. You’re experts at helping people fix their lives. But when it comes to getting people through your front door, you’re being told you need to 'build a brand' or 'increase engagement' on Instagram.
That’s rubbish.
If you’re running a private practice, you don't need 'engagement'. You need the phone to ring. You need your intake forms filled out. You need a full diary so you can actually pay your rent and take a holiday once in a while.
I’ve seen too many good clinicians burn thousands of dollars on fancy logos and social media posts that get likes but zero clients. We’re going to stop that right now.
This isn't a textbook. This is how you actually grow a practice in the real world.
The 'Empty Chair' Problem
Every hour you spend sitting in your office without a client is money down the drain. It’s not just the lost fee; it’s the overheads that keep ticking over.
We recently looked at a practice on the Southside. They were doing 'okay', but they had these gaps in the mid-afternoon that were killing their profit. They were spending $2,000 a month on a generic SEO agency that was ranking them for terms like 'what is psychotherapy'.
Guess what? People searching for the definition of psychotherapy aren't looking to book an appointment. They’re doing a school project.
We shifted their focus to people searching for 'psychologist near me' and 'depression help Brisbane'. Within six weeks, those mid-afternoon gaps vanished.
If your clinic isn't getting bookings, it’s usually because you’re talking to the wrong people at the wrong time.
Why your website is probably costing you clients
Most psychology websites are beautiful and completely useless.
They have stock photos of pebbles, ripples in water, and people looking sadly out of windows. They have three pages of 'About Me' written like a CV.
Here’s the truth: Your potential clients don't care about your thesis topic from 2012. They care about whether you can help them stop feeling like rubbish.
When someone is in crisis—or even just finally worked up the courage to seek help—they are looking for three things: 1. Do you treat my specific problem? 2. Are you close to me (or do you do telehealth)? 3. How do I book right now?
If they have to hunt for your phone number or wait 48 hours for an email reply, they’re gone. They’ll click the next person on Google.
Make it work on phones
I shouldn't have to say this in 2024, but your website works on phones or it doesn't work at all. Most people looking for a counsellor are doing it on their lunch break or late at night on their couch. If they have to pinch and zoom to find your 'Contact' page, you’ve lost them.
Google Ads: The fastest way to get calls (if you don't mess it up)
If you want clients tomorrow, you use Google Ads. But be warned: Google is very good at taking your money and giving you nothing in return if you don't set it up right.
I see local practices bidding on 'anxiety'. That is a massive mistake. 'Anxiety' is a huge, broad term. You’ll pay for clicks from people looking for self-help books, symptoms, or even just song lyrics.
Instead, you bid on 'anxiety psychologist Brisbane' or 'counselling for panic attacks'. These are 'buying' keywords. These people have their Medicare cards ready.
The 'Negative Keyword' Secret
This is where most people waste their cash. You need to tell Google what you don't want.
If you don't do bulk billing, you need to make sure you aren't paying for clicks from people searching for 'free psychologist'. If you don't see kids, you shouldn't be paying for 'child therapist' searches.
We’ve saved clients 30% of their budget just by cleaning up the rubbish clicks they were paying for. That’s money straight back into your pocket.
Your Reputation is Your Biggest Asset (and Liability)
Let’s talk about reviews. I know, AHPRA makes this tricky. You can’t use testimonials for clinical outcomes. It’s a minefield.
But here’s the reality: People check your Google reviews before they call. If you have a 3.2-star rating because one person was annoyed about the parking and you never replied, you are losing money every single day.
Bad reviews kill profit faster than a bad website ever could.
You need a system to manage your online reputation. You can’t ignore it and hope it goes away. You need to respond to every review (without breaching confidentiality, obviously) and show that you’re a professional, responsive business.
The Referral Trap
Many of you rely 100% on GP referrals. That’s fine until a local medical centre closes, or a new psych moves in next door and starts taking the GPs out for lunch.
Direct-to-consumer marketing (getting clients to find you directly on Google) gives you control. It means you aren't waiting for a doctor to remember your name. It also often leads to more private-pay clients, which helps your margins.
The Real Cost of Marketing
Let's talk dollars.
If an agency tells you they can 'do your marketing' for $500 a month, run away. They’ll just post a couple of boring quotes on your Facebook page that no one will see.
To really move the needle in a competitive city like Brisbane, you’re looking at a management fee plus your ad spend.
Expect to spend at least $1,000 - $2,000 a month on ads if you want to see a consistent flow of new enquiries. It sounds like a lot, but if that spend brings in 10 new long-term clients, it’s paid for itself ten times over.
You have to look at the return. If you spend $2k to make $10k, would you do that every month? Of course you would.
What you should do first
1. Check your website speed. If it takes more than 3 seconds to load, fix it. 2. Fix your Google Business Profile. Make sure your hours are right and you have actual photos of your clinic (not stock photos). People want to see where they’re going. 3. Stop the 'Brand' nonsense. Focus every cent of your budget on getting people to book. 4. Get a handle on your reviews. If you don't know what people are saying about you online, your reviews are costing money and you don't even know it.
Stop wasting time and start growing
Marketing isn't some dark art. It’s about being visible when people are looking for help and making it dead easy for them to choose you.
Most agencies will try to confuse you with 'data' and 'metrics'. I don't care about your click-through rate if your phone isn't ringing. At the end of the day, the only metric that matters is how many new clients are sitting in your chairs.
If you’re tired of seeing gaps in your diary and you want to actually see a return on your marketing spend, we should talk.
We help local Brisbane businesses like yours actually make money from their marketing, rather than just treating it as an expense.
Reach out to us at Local Marketing Group and let’s see if we can get those chairs filled.