The Retreat at Sheppard Pratt is one of the nation’s premiere psychiatric retreat facilities. The programs offered at the Retreat are celebrated in the psychiatric world as cutting-edge and extensively noted for delivering world-class care.
However, The Retreat’s website was not an effective representation of the distinguished services and quality care offered by the facilities, and did not perform successfully from a technical perspective. The website did not clearly communicate to the target audience in a compelling manner, and therefore was not able to generate prospective leads. Due to neglect in focus on search engine optimization, The Retreat was experiencing difficulty ranking for some of the renowned signature therapies that had garnered The Retreat significant recognition off-line.
“[Regarding design] For this project, it was all about balance. …Proving to visitors that The Retreat was a place of high quality mental health care.”
The Groove Engagement
Together the Retreat and Groove Commerce identified goals for the new site, which included:
- Encouraging visitors to reach out for more information
- Creating a warm and welcoming visual tone
- Highlighting The Retreat’s unique services and therapies
For this project, it was all about balance. To increase lead generation, low-commitment contact forms with personal CTA’s were added to each page. Positive messaging such as “I’d Love to Hear More,” and “We’re Here to Help,” reinforced a compassionate call-to-action and reflected the quality-care and understanding sentiment of The Retreat facilities. An upgraded color palette with soft gradient tones and de-saturated hues was used to subconsciously calm and reassure visitors. Humanistic imagery that showcased therapeutic activities and counseling sessions were added to reinforce a personal connection, while The Retreat’s natural settings and beautiful lodging visually emphasized that the facilities are a place of high quality mental health care.
Additionally, Groove worked with The Retreat staff to better understand The Retreat’s direct competition and how their online presence compared. By examining these sites and studying competitors’ online marketing efforts, Groove was able to distinctly promote The Retreat by emphasizing the knowledgeable staff and breadth of treatment services they provide. This shift in focus distinguished The Retreat from their online competitors, and highlighted the value that The Retreat can provide to patients through their world-class mental health facilities. Groove also developed a broader foundational sitemap for the new website to more clearly emphasize the scope of services provided by The Retreat. From both an SEO and PPC context this proved valuable: more focused content pages led to better funneling of relevant traffic.
Were Our Efforts A Success?
Groove’s custom design had an immediate impact on The Retreat’s business. Their website drastically increased their exposure across the web and continues to supply new leads on a steady basis, helping to keep The Retreat’s attention where it should be: on caring for their patients rather than the performance of their web site.
The Retreat raised online visibility led to a 2.94% increase to the overall site conversion rate. Newly launched PPC campaigns account for over 50% of the leads The Retreat receives on a monthly basis. Additionally, the number of visitors that convert from paid traffic continues to grow by at least 40% per year on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, organic search continues to be a competitive fight for high rankings. Balancing solid link building efforts with quality content continues to be a key part of Groove’s online strategy for The Retreat.
The new site launch and continuing online marketing efforts have allowed The Retreat to effectively communicate their unique therapies and services through additional channels, ultimately providing a more valuable and comprehensive patient care experience.
