← The Doula Darcy Podcast
The Doula Darcy Podcast
SEO for Doulas: Finding Clients While You Sleep with Julia Riddle
00:29:47
Today I'm joined by Julia Riddle, founder of Doula Design Co., a former postpartum doula turned SEO and website expert. Julia breaks down the mystery of SEO into tangible, accessible strategies specifically tailored for doulas. If you feel overwhelmed...
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- [00:04]
Darcy
Welcome to the Doula Darcy Podcast. I'm your host, Darcy, a business coach for Doulas and I love helping my fellow doulas master the art of marketing so that they can grow their businesses and help more families. On the podcast, I combine my decade of experience in Advertising with 14 years as a doula to empower other doulas with the marketing strategies and mindset shifts they need to attract more clients and create successful, fulfilling doula careers. Whether you're just starting out as a doula or you're looking to take your doula business to the next level, you're in the right place. Let's go. Before we dive in with today's episode with Julia Riddle of Doula Design company, I just want to talk a little bit about why I'm having her on the podcast. She she was recently a guest inside of my Doula village and shared so much tactical information on working on the SEO of your website so that people in your area can find you and can hire you. It was so jam packed people were furiously taking notes. I'm getting so many messages from doulas inside my Doula village, they're still saying I'm watching it again for the second time to just get all the good information that was in there. And also this was about a month ago. People are already seeing results from what they've implemented based on what Julia taught in this training in my Doula Village and I want to just talk a little bit about why I am so obsessed with SEO and websites. For Doulas, it is probably one of the most important things that you can do to be successful as a doula is to have a good website. A it makes you look professional. It makes you legit. No one is going to hire you to come to their birth or come to their house when they have a newborn if they can't check you out online first. And that's yes, you could do that on social media, but website gives you legitimacy and so you want your website to look good, but you also want it to be found. You want Google to be able to find it and show it to the people who are looking for you. If you have a good website that shows up when people search Doula near me, you don't have to do a ton of marketing because you're showing up on Google and people click through the first few links. The top three results that come up on Google so so the best, most affordable, fastest, easiest way to do this if you don't already have a website is to purchase one of My Doula website templates that I worked with my web design team to create for Doulas. These are website templates. You have a few different varieties to choose from. You learn how to log in, and it's easy. Log in, change it to your own brand colors, add your own words, add your own pictures, add all your information, but the template is there, the structure is there. You just have to plug these things in and go live. And you have access to McKenna and my web design team to help you along the way. And we have baked in good SEO strategy to these Doula website templates. So I'll put the link in the show notes to check out the Doula website templates. Shoot me a DM on Instagram or head to my website theduladarcy.com and find the link to check out the Doula website templates. They are awesome. Doulas are loving them. And I love that it's a affordable way for you to get a professional, functional website up in about two weeks, which is amazing. So without further ado, here's my great chat that I had with Julia Riddle. Welcome to the show, everybody. I'm excited today to have Julia Riddle joining me. Julia is the owner of the Doula design company. And this is so exciting because she is a former doula turned website SEO expert and is helping doulas with their websites and getting found online. And as you. If you've hung around with me for more than five minutes, you know that that is important to me too. So, Julia, welcome. Thank you for joining us today.
- [04:53]
Julia Riddle
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.
- [04:56]
Darcy
And so I want to dive right in and, you know, hear your take on. Well, first of all, what is SEO?
- [05:09]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, that's a great question. And that is the question, right? Everyone kind of, at least a lot of doulas that I speak to are under this impression that SEO is this really scary big beast. And also because it is this sort of tangible entity, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. So, I mean, in layman's terms, SEO is essentially what's short for search engine optimization, which is essentially just a series of best practices. So think A, B, C and D where you can incorporate these best practices in your site to rank higher on Google. So it really is as simple as just a couple of components that help you to actually rank rank on Google. So you're getting in front of your dream clients.
- [06:00]
Darcy
I love that. So we will get into like, what that means to rank higher or and how to rank higher on Google. But First, I want, you know, I think a lot of, like you said, it sounds really like this big, scary tech thing. And I think a lot of doulas are just like, I'm just not going to worry about it. You know, I'm going to skip that or, and, you know, I'll throw up some website and I just, you know, I can't even deal with SEO to you, Julia, as someone, you know, you were a doula, you were a postpartum doula, right? And so you understand our world. Why is SEO something that we shouldn't ignore, that we absolutely should pay attention to? As ghoul. As ghoulas. As doulas?
- [06:52]
Julia Riddle
Yeah. Such a great question. I know as a doula myself, as a former doula, one of the most difficult parts of owning a business was also navigating and creating the space for balance in my life. I think for a lot of doulas, not all, but many of us are parents. We are wives or we are partners, we are daughters. We have multiple facets of our life. And unfortunately, we don't have more than 24 hours in the day to make everything fit right. We've got those 24 hours, many of which we also need to sleep. And I have found that SEO is one of those ways to hack the system to do more by doing less. And it's so important because what it allows you to do is find. Find clients while you're sleeping, acquire clients while you're spending time with your children. You're not worrying about having to get on your computer at 8:00, and instead you can read that second book to your child. So it really is so important. And I think that once you realize that it really isn't that scary and that it is doable and it is achievable, you will start to see that these are the systems that the doulas and the doula coaches that you are envying in terms of their life, lifestyle and their balance. This is what they're doing. So getting this in front of those individuals that are ready to level up, that are ready to find clients while they're sleeping, that's why it's so important.
- [08:30]
Darcy
Oh, my gosh, I love that. And it's so true. And I have lately been thinking of and talking about this with like, the doulas I talked to in my doula village and my coaching that, like, I think of my website as my employee. And, you know, I have built my business in such a way that I don't pay employees and I don't have like a marketing team, but I have a website and like I pay for that website and I have paid to learn about SEO and I've paid people to help me with my website. And that is such a good investment because it is like having someone out there bragging about your services. So you know, you can be at a 30 hour birth and all the while that you're there, your website is working for you. Bringing in new clients, bringing in new leads, answering new, you know, potential customers question questions and then serving them up to you on a platter. So I think, you know, I talk a lot about what, where doulas should start spend money. And I just, you know, doulas don't need to spend money on ads, they don't need to really buy pay much money for anything at all. But a good website that has good SEO I think is such a smart investment because of everything that you just said. It's going to take it and it can take a lot off your plate. So tell me like you're explaining it to a fifth grader. I love a good, like Michael Scott the Office quote. So pretend you're telling a fifth grader what you know. How does working on your SEO get you to rank higher on a Google search? Like, how does, how does Google work?
- [10:28]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, that's such a great question. So Google essentially is just a database, right? So we want to just let Google know that your site A exists and B, that your site should be put on their search results for these specific keywords. So there are a series of very simple concepts that you'll kind of want to first understand whenever you're diving into SEO. So one of those concepts is keywords and the other is authority. So your website's authority is essentially how high it's going to rank on Google. And there are a number of factors that go into that, one of which is your website's age. So in layman terms, again, the older your website is, the higher it's going to rank, just naturally. And then the other one is going to be the implementation of SEO best practices which we can dive into later. Later. But one of the biggest things to really dive into as a person who's just looking to explore SEO or just getting into it, is this concept of keywords. And I always like to use an analogy whenever I'm articulating this. I want for you to maybe think about if you were looking for a book on Google and you just typed in fiction book, what are the chances that you're going to actually land on that book, on whatever website you were looking to purchase it from. Same thing with a podcast. If you just type in Birth Professional Podcast, there is going to be an incredible influx of podcast options there. And maybe the one that you're looking for isn't at the top. So keywords are important because it essentially tells Google what your website is all about. And so that is what's going to get your website in front of people that are looking for services like yours.
- [12:29]
Darcy
Yeah, so I always like to explain it also that, you know, Google's job is to. Google wants people to have good Google search results. Like they, they want people to be happy. So they. So I feel like the Google bots, I imagine it as the Google bots are all out there crawling the web, trying to serve up the best and the most correct and as you said, the authority. So, you know, the longer your website's been around, the more Google trusts it. So you, we have to create websites that Google can navigate and figure out and so you know everything. So that's what SEO comes down to, is setting your Google, setting your website up to, to help Google show it to the people who need to find it. That's what it comes down to for me. And back to why this is so important. I mean, you can so. And time management, you know, as doulas, I think we spent. We think, okay, I gotta drop rock cards off at the obs office and I've got a network and I have to post on social media and maybe I should get on all these registries and you know, doula matching sites and all this and you know, hang flyers at coffee shops and that is all important. But what do you think a pregnant person in your city is going to do when they want to hire a doula? They are going to Google doula near me. So putting the effort in to get your website to show up when a pregnant person types that in is gonna get you more bang for your buck or bang for your time than anything else. So the other thing I want to touch on is with the authority and how long your website has been around. You know, the longer it's been around, the more authority Google gives it. I hear so many doulas that say, well, I'm going to wait till I'm certified. Well, I'm going to wait till I've, you know, had 10 clients and I have the money to get a website. So what do you say to that?
- [14:56]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, I say get it started. Yeah, get it up. It can be messy. I saw the other day this Incredible post on Instagram and I wish I could remember who I shared it from, but they said, first make it exist and then you can make it perfect. And that for me, as a Virgo sun and a perfectionist, is so hard. Right? The idea of creating something and it not being ready, but just getting it out there is the best thing that you can do, and then you can come back and refine it later. But I think that what it comes down to, and to your point too, it's all about ease. It's all about ease. It's. It's about ease for Google. Google is ultimately a business, right? They want people to spend as much time as possible on the site and it be a site that is actually getting people to where they need to go. And then also it's about ease whenever it comes to pregnant families and postpartum families that are looking for your support. So the easier that you can make that whole experience, both from a tech standpoint for Google and from a person standpoint, from the individuals that are looking to land on your site, the more successful you're going to be. But getting that website out there and just starting your business, whether it's messy, whether it feels like you're an imposter, whether it feels like you shouldn't even be diving into this quite yet, just get it out there.
- [16:18]
Darcy
Yeah, I agree 100%. Okay, so if you had to give two top tips to someone about working on your own SEO, what would those be? What's your number one thing to focus on? I mean, here's the other thing with SEO that I always say, not to answer the question for you, but I mean, you could spend years learning about SEO, and you can spend years learning about SEO. You also can do a few smaller things that have a big impact. So what would you say the very first thing people should focus on is?
- [16:58]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, that's a great question.
- [16:59]
Darcy
Doulas should focus on.
- [17:01]
Julia Riddle
Yeah. So a lot of times I will, you know, perform an audit for a client or I'll just be scanning their site for any improvements that might help. And the very first thing I notice is I have no idea where they're located. I have no idea what their services are. I have no idea even what their full name is or their business name is. I think one of the most important things that you can start with or on your website is just scanning your site as if you were a pregnant individual or a postpartum family looking for support and say, okay, is this going to answer my question? Copy is so important. And Whenever you are going through your website, updating your copy to include things like your location, your business name, your services, that is one of the best things that you can do for your website in terms of SEO, because not only is it going to be helpful whenever it comes to getting your website in front of the right clients, but once it lands in front of those clients, it's helpful for their experience on your site and also understanding, okay, this person is in my area. They do offer the support that I'm looking for. And I'm now ready to book. So that would definitely be my first one, is just kind of doing a little audit, if you will, of your own site, making sure that you've got keywords and copy in there that is actually supporting your location and your services and your identity.
- [18:31]
Darcy
I am so glad you said that because I can't tell you. I do a lot of websites audits too. I do one for everyone who joins my doula village. And I just in general look at a lot of doula websites. I can't even believe sometimes how many, how long I have to scroll or how many pages deep I have to click to figure out where this person is located. And so if it's that hard for me, it's going to be hard for Google. And if Google doesn't know where you.
- [19:00]
Julia Riddle
Are.
- [19:02]
Darcy
Then it's not going to show your website to the right people. And I think you're so right. We get an impost, I think, well, I don't know if it's imposter syndrome or what, but I think we get, especially as a newer doula, we get so, so concerned with, well, I have to prove my worth and I have to talk about all these ideas of a doula and then you forget to mention that you're a doula and you forget to put your location and you know, if, if your headline is, you know, empowering, I'm trying to think, you know, I've seen headlines that are like, empowering the emotions that inspire transitions or something like. Yes, what does that mean? Like, that's beautiful. And you can put that somewhere else on your website. But that's not going to help Google or the person Googling doula near me. You know, like, you have to just say it. Hi, I'm a doula in Denver.
- [20:04]
Julia Riddle
Absolutely, absolutely. And I find a lot of times, like being a doula inherently is a passion LED field. And so a lot of individuals that I find I work with that I perform audits for. We are passionate individuals. We care about what we're offering in terms of services, we care about the families that we're supporting. And so it's natural that you're going to want to go in and share everything about the way that you are showing up, share all of these transformations and share, you know, sometimes more text than might be needed on your website, but sometimes once you take a step back and you're like, okay, let me make sure that this is actually vocalizing what I need it to say, you might find that you're getting rid of some of the text and improving it with some of those keywords. And it isn't always as fanciful or as elegant as, or as beautiful as you might want it to be or want it to sound. But sometimes it is that balance. It's almost like a seesaw of balancing both what your clients want in terms of connecting with you on an emotional level, and also what Google needs in order to actually propel your business forward.
- [21:17]
Darcy
Yeah, it's that whole function over form idea. So. Okay, that is so good. What would you say number two is if you had to give one more tip for someone working on their SEO? What would that be?
- [21:33]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, number two, the biggest shift that I would make to, I would say an SEO best practice would be your titles and meta descriptions. And there's a whole science around these, but essentially these are just what show up on Google whenever you search for a business. So if you've ever seen that little bit of blue text that appears and then the small blurb underneath that is your title and meta description. And there's one of those for every page of your website. Depending on the platform that you use, you'll have a different way of integrating it into each page. But that is essentially going to be the information that populates and that your potential website visitors are going to be seeing first. So making those as succinct and as cute, keyword heavy and as informative as possible is going to be really helpful there.
- [22:32]
Darcy
Yeah. And if you think about it, you know, the, that's what someone sees when they do Google and your website comes up. You know, that's the. You have those five seconds of them reading that meta description to, to decide if they're going to click on your website. So it's again, really important to think about that. So can you talk a little bit about. I mean, I know you were a doula and then what led you to jump into. I'm always fascinated about why, why and how people create their businesses. And as you know, I did the same thing. Like I was a Doula and now business coaching for doulas. What made you take the leap from working as a postpartum doula to helping doulas with their SEO?
- [23:20]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, such a great question. You know, it's funny because it feels like a series of leaps, really. I always, understandably, yes, I always say I'm kind of a Jill of all trades. I actually started more so in corporate America. I worked in the wine industry. And so I worked in a myriad of different roles in marketing and design and education within the wine industry. And shortly after my daughter was born, I realized that like, balancing both was not sustainable. Something had to give. And this was around the time of COVID and I think I heard on a podcast somewhere about a postpartum doula and I thought, wow, that seems like exactly what I'm looking for in terms of this next step in my life right now. So I transitioned into that world and while I was working as a postpartum doula, there was such an overwhelming interest from other doulas and other birth professionals about, you know, who designed your logo, who designed your website. And I felt really honored that these individuals were interested in that. And I said, you know, it was me. I did it. But it was really interesting that there weren't any other resources out there for doulas at the time in terms of not only beautiful but functioning websites. I was working as a freelance designer around the same time and I thought, what if I just meshed these two worlds together? Because I'm not finding anything out there for web design and brand design support for doulas. So in 2021, I launched Doula Design Company, thinking it was a pipe dream and that maybe nobody cared, but maybe someone did. And it turned out that a lot of people needed support in this way. So I feel really fortunate that I had the understanding in both realms of not only the compassionate form of supporting individuals in the birth work profession, but also that sort of geeky behind the scenes SEO and marketing technique that I had developed through my professional career. So it's kind of just this mesh of those two worlds. I actually started just focusing on websites and then I thought, you know what, we're done gatekeeping. Whenever it turn it comes to SEO, let's get this in front of people as well. So that's the long short of it.
- [25:53]
Darcy
I love it. Well, because it's so similar to my own story and I just, I think it's so cool that we, that we can build businesses based on, you know, all our past experiences and sharing that with the World. And I have to say you came into my doula village a couple months ago now as our guest expert and I mean wow, did you dive deep on all the SEO tips? And it has just transformed some of these doulas websites and it's like a joke now that they like we're all re watching it for the third time like to go back and get all the juicy tidbits so you know your stuff and I love it's so important what you are doing to help doulas get found so they can save the world. So Your website is douladesignco.com and you're also over on Instagram @doula design company and you're also offering 10 off of a SEO audit just by mentioning the Dua Darcy. Right?
- [27:01]
Julia Riddle
Yes, I am.
- [27:02]
Darcy
So tell us like what is involved in a, in an SEO audit?
- [27:08]
Julia Riddle
Yeah, so I have two different options. For those individuals who don't have a squarespace site, I have a mini SEO audit. And for those individuals that do have an SEO or a squarespace website, I offer a full SEO audit. So with both of these options you are going to be given the tools so that your website performs and shows up and gets you in front of your clients. In both of those, I will be going through all of the nitty gritty SEO best practices, ensuring that not only these are updated on your website, but that you also understand the importance of each of these tools. So with both mini audit and the full audit, I will give you a wealth of information along with a recording of me actually walking through your site and giving you that educational insight too. As I mentioned earlier, like working in the wine industry, I've worked in a lot of fields that feel very scary and sometimes just need dumbed down. And so that is my whole goal with these audits is not only are we going to kind of give your site a facelift, but you're also going to have the tools and the education to manage this going forward as you add new blog posts, as you showcase new events on your website. Because like I said, I want to share this information. It doesn't need to be gay kept. And I think that this as a doula business owner is your opportunity to kind of step into getting more time in your day.
- [28:48]
Darcy
Yes. And I love that you said that about it SEO being like a skill that you really, it does behoove you to learn because you're going to use it every step of the way in your doula business. But also I know you also help people that are just saying, oh, my God, just here's some money. Like, please just fix my site. Right. You do that, too. Yeah, absolutely.
- [29:10]
Julia Riddle
Yes.
- [29:11]
Darcy
So. And people can head and actually, I'll put the link in the show notes to book a call with you, but everybody can head to douladesignco.com and check out your services and book a call. So thank you, Julia, so much. I just love that you're out there helping doulas get their websites found because it really makes such a big impact. So thank you so much for taking the time to come chat with us today.
- [29:39]
Julia Riddle
Absolutely. Thank you. It's been such a pleasure.