What Is a Blog For Behavioral Health and Health Care?

The American Psychological Association boasts that blogging in the behavioral health space does wonders for helping providers, caregivers, psychologists and patients.

Part of this is due to the ability for blogging to allow for a healthy release of stress- think of it like journaling but with a keyboard rather than a pen.

One of the most important aspects of blogs for our clients is to use them to model how to handle issues like mental illness, addiction, and other health care needs/issues. It makes sense that if we feel a provider isn't willing to talk about these things that we, as patients, may also not want to talk.

Creating blogs in the industry for industry leaders gives Circle Social that ability to change the industry from the inside out, like we learned in the stigma lesson. We can help shape the narrative of behavioral health and change the atmosphere.

Of course, we also prioritize what the SEO team needs in order to improving rankings. This makes sense because if no one can find our piece then it can't do its job by creating healthy discussion about these topics. But, at the end of the day- our goal is to always provide value and write meaningful content not SEO keyword stuffed fluff.

The Circle Social Way: Blogs & SEO Content

One of our cornerstone services is providing new or rewritten content for clients that will improve their Google rankings. This is referred to as SEO content. The process for creating SEO content is below. At each stage, always remember to update the task in Hive, our project management software.

The prep phase and production brief are set up and done by the SEO Team and the Content Marketing Manager. Content Writers will receive this brief that includes Topic, Target Audience, Objective of the Piece, optimal word count, and suggestions of similar articles.
The Content Writer then received the content brief and SEO outline. The writer then reviews the outline and can add additional sections, but should never remove sections that the SEO team passes over. From there the content writer begins draft one.
The Content Writer starts the first draft and can use an SEO Extension like POP, SEMRush Writing Assistant, or WritersZen. Make sure to use Linquix or Grammarly for all pieces to reduce grammar and spelling errors!
After you finish the first draft, mark it as ready for editing and the Copy Editor will review it.
After copy edits, the Copy Editor will send it back to the Content Writer to make the edits. We do this so that Content Writers can learn to recognize common mistakes they make. If the edits are just small grammar and spelling errors, the Content Writers makes the edits and completes the piece. If more substantive edits are needed that require rewriting or adding addition sections to the piece, it goes back to the Copy Editor for a final review.
After the final draft, the piece may be sent to clients for a final approval as well and can sometimes require additional edits based on their suggestions. The tasks in Hive will make it clear what the next step is. You can also check the client content guide which has information on which clients review what. If not, it move on to the SEO team who optimizes and uploads the piece to the web.

Length is determined by SEO needs and the brief will give more information.

We want to write several different styles of articles when creating content. Be sure to reach all of the examples of different content below and notice how some are blogs, some interviews, some listicles with quotes from interviews, etc.

Content SEO Checklist:

Include the meta description. This can be about 1 long sentence. Entice the click and use the main keyword..
Include the GMB post. This should be about a paragraph and include the main keyword, it is essentially an excerpt that could entice a click to learn more.
The outline provided should have headings rewritten while preserving any keywords. The subheading order can be adjusted to make the piece flow as you wish.
Boldface key points so a reader can skim the content to get the gist of the piece. Don’t overdo it, three to four times per 1,000 words is appropriate.
Include some type of localized content related to the location’s city or county, or state if city/county is not available.
Localize the piece further by referencing the city, in the content or adding more local info. Do this at least two times.
Italicize the call to action section and include the client’s phone number from the Client Content Guide NOT their website.
Ensure that source links are placed on the data point not the source name. Also, ensure that the hyperlink is placed on more than one word.
Use Grammarly to correct the most common errors
Eighth-grade reading level

Good Examples Of Different SEO & Blog Content

AI Overviews & Content Creation

When we create our content, we have to ensure that we are considering the intent of the searcher's query. This is becoming increasingly important in the new era of AI Overviews and people using Large Language Models (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini...) to answer their needs. If we want to be part of the cited source list, we have to answer the query very early in the article.

This means that we can't have 2-3 paragraphs before providing them what they came for. A bot can't interpret what the article is truly about. Make it clear. Let's look at live examples, in each case, we used to rank highly prior to the AI Overviews making their appearance.Keyword: how long does crystal meth costPosition 1: (AI Overview - the only one listed - delivered in the form of a Featured Snippet) - https://zinniahealth.com/substance-use/methamphetamine/costsPosition 3: https://pacificsandsrecovery.com/how-much-does-meth-cost/

Let's look at them side by side and you tell me why Zinnia got the Overview. Both images are clickable to see the image in larger format.

We made them read 2 paragraphs and gave them nothing. No answer. We aren't saying we can't use emotional hooks. But we can't pussy foot around the topic so much. The reader should know they are in the right spot within a sentence or two. So should bots. Let's see another example.Keyword: how much does cocaine costPosition 1: (AI Overview - the only one listed - delivered in the form of a Featured Snippet) https://zinniahealth.com/substance-use/cocaine/costsPosition 2: https://wolfcreekrecovery.com/blog/how-much-does-cocaine-cost/Position 4: https://www.pinnaclepeakrecovery.com/cost-of-cocaine/

That keyword is one we have historically done well with. Now Zinnia owns that search. Once again, they crushed. Their article gets right after it, immediately letting us know the topic AND providing an answer. Articles that make someone read an entire section and provide them nothing in terms of answering their query are ineffective.If we want to get into more of these AI Overviews, we need to answer the query earlier. Especially if you search the keywords above, they are delivered in the appearance of a featured snippet, but it is generated by the AI Overview, you can see it fire.

Facing Writers Block? Check Out These Resources

The HOTH's 50 SEO Blog Ideas

"If you’re wondering what to write about, you’re about to learn how to find great blog ideas by validating the topics ahead of time in this step-by-step guide!"

Purdue OWL's Strategies for Getting Over Writer's Block

"If you’ve read through our list of symptoms and cures for writer’s block and are still having trouble getting started, try these concrete exercises to get some words on the page."

Blog Postings & SEO Content