Just Mind Counseling Case Study: From Pandemic Boom to Sustainable Growth

When William Schroeder reached out to us in January 2023, his Austin-based therapy practice Just Mind Counseling was facing a challenge many businesses encounter after rapid growth: how to maintain momentum when external factors shift. The 35+ therapist practice had experienced a “supercycle” during the pandemic, but as economic uncertainty emerged and private equity-backed competitors flooded the Austin market, their lead volume had dropped 20% year-over-year.

Despite having built a solid foundation with quality content and strong local credibility, they needed strategic guidance to compete against well-funded competitors while maintaining their boutique, locally-owned identity.

​​“Full Stacks has felt like an extension of our company — more consultant and partner than vendor. It’s quality, not quantity.” — William Schroeder, Just Mind Counseling

Just Mind Counseling wasn’t experiencing the typical struggles you might expect from a startup. William had done his homework over the years, building quality backlinks, creating substantial blog content, and developing a strong team of experienced therapists averaging over 10+ years of experience.

They were converting 40% of leads who contacted them—an impressive rate in the therapy industry. The practice had carved out expertise in niche areas like Autism, ADHD, PTSD, EMDR, child counseling, and marriage counseling, with 13 EMDR-certified therapists on staff.

But the competitive landscape was shifting dramatically. Deep Eddy Psychotherapy had grown from 30 therapists in 3 locations to 220 therapists across 12 locations in multiple cities with venture capital backing. Health tech companies like Sondermind and Headway were disrupting the market by securing better insurance rates. Therapy Austin had 150 cash-pay providers across 6 locations. Meanwhile, Just Mind Counseling’s primarily cash-pay model (sessions ranging from $135-205) was feeling pressure as clients became more cost-conscious.

“We need to continue to increase our lead generation,” William told us during discovery. “Our primary business goal is to keep our lead volume high and with good quality leads while maintaining the quality of our services, despite our size.”

Our discovery process revealed several critical issues hiding beneath Just Mind Counseling’s surface. We uncovered problems from large tracking issues to overall friction in their user experience.

Their appointment booking process was a conversion blocker: a lengthy five-step form with extensive required fields that only 25% of users completed. Another area of friction we found: if you clicked “Make An Appointment” from individual therapist pages, it led to the same generic form with no way to actually book with that specific therapist.

We also found some foundational SEO issues that were hampering their organic visibility:

• Poor meta descriptions with grammatical errors
• Incorrect schema markup across therapist and service pages
• Internal links pointing to redirected or broken URLs
• Unnecessary date-based archives creating duplicate content

Lastly, their Google Ads account showed promise but lacked strategic structure, with all keywords lumped into broad campaigns rather than being organized by specific issues or treatment methods.

January – March 2023: Immediate fixes and strategic planning

Our first priority was addressing the Google Analytics and tracking issues. We worked with their developer to fix URL issues and began the process of cleaning up their analytics implementation.

Next, we tackled the low-hanging fruit that would have an immediate impact, including:

• Optimized title tags and meta descriptions for their three main service pages (EMDR, Online Counseling, and Psychological Testing)
• Set up proper CallRail integration for better phone tracking
• Began comprehensive keyword research to inform content strategy

The navigation overhaul was crucial. We recommended a mega-menu structure that would surface all their counseling services instead of burying them on secondary pages. We also made sure their phone number and “Make An Appointment” button were prominent in the navigation—after all, William mentioned they were getting better results from phone calls than web leads.

April – August 2023: Building authority and fixing foundations

With priority issues addressed, we began the deeper work of content optimization and technical cleanup. Our content audit revealed significant cannibalization issues: they had multiple blog posts and pages competing against each other for the same topics. For example, they had a three-part blog series on “Prescriptions” where only the third part was getting any traffic.

The service page optimizations were methodical and data-driven. We created detailed recommendations for their top counseling services, ensuring each page targeted specific, relevant keywords rather than trying to be everything to everyone. The anxiety and depression pages were particular priorities, given their popularity and conversion potential.

Meanwhile, we addressed their Google Business Profile issues:

• Fixed UTM tracking (they were using inconsistent capitalization that was splitting their analytics data)
• Improved post linking strategy (almost every post was linking to the homepage instead of relevant content)
• Added FAQ sections to profiles that were missing them
• Removed stock photos in favor of authentic company images

September 2023 – March 2024: Strategic content expansion

As competition intensified, we focused on areas where Just Mind Counseling could differentiate themselves. William was particularly concerned about competitors’ rapid expansion and their positioning around being “hyper local” despite most being private equity ownership. Our response was to lean into Just Mind Counseling’s authentic local connections and expertise.

We developed content around emerging opportunities William identified:

• Body Image and Food Issues Counseling (new service area)
• Enhanced ADHD and EMDR content (areas of growing demand)
• Parenting aging parents content (partnership opportunity with retired news anchors)

The blog audit revealed gold mines of underperforming content. Posts that were bringing in significant traffic weren’t converting because they lacked calls-to-action and internal linking to relevant services. We systematically began providing updated high-traffic post content to include strategic CTAs and better funnel readers toward appointment booking.

The multi-location visibility problem

Service area expansion was another focus, but it revealed a critical issue hiding in plain sight. Despite having two Austin locations 9.2 miles apart, only the original Spicewood Springs location was appearing in branded search results. The Westlake location, which opened in 2022, remained invisible even after 8+ months, a frustrating problem that persisted despite William following all the standard Google Business Profile best practices.

“Getting both locations to appear in Google was a royal pain—and Full Stacks helped make that complicated process happen.” — William Schroeder

This wasn’t just an SEO technicality. When potential clients searched for “Just Mind Counseling,” they had no idea a second, possibly more convenient location existed. For someone in South Austin, the invisible Westlake office could mean the difference between booking an appointment or choosing a competitor.

The standard forum and agency advice, wait it out, add more reviews, create location pages, wasn’t working. We needed to dig deeper into the prominence and relevance signals Google was using to evaluate each location.

Our multi-location optimization strategy included:

• Schema markup optimization: Added location-specific LocalBusiness schema to clearly communicate that these were distinct physical locations offering the same services.
• Title tag updates: Incorporated full addresses into title tags (e.g., “Just Mind Counseling South Austin, Westlake | 7004 Bee Caves Rd…”).
• Content enhancement: Built substantial, unique content for each location page with embedded maps, detailed facility information, and descriptions that went beyond generic boilerplate.
• Strategic internal linking: Created connections between service pages and location pages, ensuring visitors and search engines understood all services were available at both locations.
• Navigation prominence: Added both locations to the main navigation, elevating their importance in the site hierarchy.
• Updated location imagery: Added more photos of each physical location to their Google Business Profiles.

Within a few months of implementing these changes, both locations began appearing in branded searches. The Westlake location finally had the visibility it deserved, opening up appointment opportunities with clients who would have otherwise never known it existed.

April 2024 – August 2025: Refinement and growth

The relationship evolved from project-based work to ongoing strategic consulting, providing William with support for questions and quick optimizations while larger projects were quoted separately.

William also noted that our focus on content optimization wasn’t just about traditional SEO—it helped Just Mind publish content that was more personalized and meaningful for clients, while staying ahead of how search and large language models interpret and surface information. He’s already seeing that shift show up in reporting, with referrals from ChatGPT continuing to grow.

As Just Mind Counseling planned a complete rebrand with local agency Way Creative, we provided SEO guidance to ensure the new design wouldn’t interfere with their organic performance. This included recommendations for maintaining heading hierarchy, ensuring proper text contrast, and preserving schema markup during the transition.

We continued providing optimizations and outlines for high-opportunity pages:

• Marriage counseling optimizations targeting competitive local keywords
• ADHD counseling updates to capture growing search demand
• Creation of specialized pages for Somatic Experiencing Therapy and Internal Family Systems
• Development of a neurodivergence landing page to capture broader search traffic

The blog strategy became more sophisticated, with systematic updates to high-traffic posts based on search console data and user behavior patterns. We identified posts gaining impressions but losing clicks, updating their title tags and meta descriptions to improve CTR.

• Content Consolidation Strategy: Instead of creating more content, we consolidated competing pages. The anxiety and depression content was spread across multiple URLs, diluting authority. By strategically consolidating and redirecting, we concentrated ranking signals and improved user experience.
• Local SEO Amplification: We leveraged William’s existing local connections, including his leadership of a 2,500-member therapist group and partnerships with organizations like the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. These relationships translated into high-quality local citations and referral traffic.
• Technical SEO Wins: The schema markup cleanup alone improved how their services appeared in search results. Proper therapist schema on bio pages and service schema on treatment pages helped Google understand and display their offerings more effectively.
• Conversion Rate Optimization: While we couldn’t completely overhaul their appointment process (internal systems constraints), we improved CTAs throughout the site and added clear phone number visibility, capitalizing on their preference for phone leads.

While William noted that 2023 remained challenging due to market conditions, our recommendations have helped Just Mind Counseling maintain competitiveness against well-funded competitors:

• Improved organic visibility for target keywords despite increased competition
• Higher-quality leads—and more people actually getting into care—driven by ongoing content refreshes and CRO improvements.
• Enhanced user experience with clearer navigation and better content organization
• Stronger local search presence through optimized GBP profiles and local content
• Better analytics and tracking enabling data-driven decision making
• Streamlined content strategy eliminating cannibalization issues
• Foundation for growth with properly structured technical SEO and content systems

Working with Just Mind taught us about the unique constraints of healthcare marketing. HIPAA compliance isn’t just important—it’s absolutely critical, and it can limit some typical marketing tactics. Their appointment booking system was tied to complex internal workflows that couldn’t be quickly changed, despite the conversion rate implications.

The cash-pay model also presented challenges. While it allowed for higher-quality service delivery, it made them more sensitive to economic headwinds than insurance-accepting competitors. This required a more nuanced approach to messaging and positioning.

Additionally, the rapid consolidation in Austin’s therapy market meant we were often competing against companies with significantly larger marketing budgets and aggressive expansion strategies. Our approach had to focus on authentic differentiation rather than trying to out-spend private equity-backed competitors.

Lastly, our team is in an ongoing consulting role and aren’t in direct control of when and how recommendations are implemented which can slow progress and growth.

This project reinforced several key insights about marketing for healthcare practices:

• Quality over quantity wins long-term: While competitors were rapidly scaling, Just Mind Counseling’s focus on experienced therapists and specialized services created sustainable differentiation. Our content strategy amplified these authentic strengths rather than trying to compete on volume alone.
• Local relationships are gold: William’s genuine connections in the Austin mental health community provided link building and referral opportunities that money can’t buy. The lesson: invest in authentic relationship building, not just link schemes.
• Technical precision matters more in healthcare: HIPAA compliance, proper schema markup, and accurate business information aren’t just SEO best practices, they’re essential for trust and credibility in healthcare. Small technical errors can have an outsized impact on conversion rates.

Working with William has been particularly enjoyable because of his data-driven approach and openness to strategic guidance. His background running a large therapist network meant he understood both the clinical and business sides of the practice, making our recommendations more implementable.

“Some places market SEO and AIO/AEO like they are separate things, but in my opinion they are not. Full Stacks focuses on the full spectrum of online marketing engagement, building a strategy for users and the systems that learn from user patterns.”

“They’re data-first in their approach, which helps us see what’s working and why. And even though we aren’t a huge account, it never feels like ‘you are what you spend’ — there’s real care and planning behind the feedback.”
— William Schroeder, Just Mind Counseling

Just Mind’s story illustrates how local service businesses can compete against well-funded competitors through strategic positioning, technical excellence, and authentic relationship building. Rather than trying to match venture capital marketing budgets, we focused on amplifying existing strengths and removing friction from the user experience.

The ongoing consulting model proved particularly valuable, allowing Just Mind Counseling to stay agile as market conditions and search algorithms evolved. As William continues expanding services and exploring new partnerships, they now have the foundation and strategic support to grow sustainably while maintaining the quality that differentiates them in Austin’s competitive therapy market.