SEO for Doulas: A simple guide to finding and using keywords

Every single day, expectant parents are looking for support like yours online. Can they find you? Just having a beautiful and informative website isn’t enough. It needs to show up in search results when people go searching. But how to do that???

I get calls every week from birth and postpartum doulas like you who have built their own website, or even had a site designed for them, but find it isn’t showing up in search results at all. It feel like a complete mystery – and you long to crack the code…

You’re already juggling clients, trainings, and running a business. Tackling SEO? Not high on the wishlist – even though you know how important it is.

But here’s the thing: if your website can bring in the right new clients without you having to do anything extra for marketing? That’s a HUGE win. It lets you focus on the work you love! Plus, when your site ranks well in search results, the families finding you online are more likely to be a good fit—and more likely to become paying clients.

Search engine optimization can feel very overwhelming at first, but I promise a few simple foundational changes can begin to improve your ranking. If you really don’t want to learn anything about SEO but you DO want to have your site optimized for Google, stop reading right now and learn more about my SEO services for doulas & health and wellness businesses!

So what does “showing up in search” really mean?

Let’s say someone types “doula [your city]” into Google. Ideally, your website pops up on that first page of results—because let’s be honest, nobody is digging through page five. Most people click one of the top few listings and call it a day. Your goal? Show up there.

First: What is a doula keyword?

It’s simpler than it sounds. A keyword is just the word or phrase someone types into a search engine to find what they need. Think: “birth doula in Charleston” or “Can I have a water birth in New Haven?”

People rarely find what they want on their first try. A parent might start with “water birth,” get a bunch of articles from national websites, and realize they need to be more specific. Next search? “Water birth near me” or “birth tub rental Tampa Bay.” The more specific they get, the better their results, and the more likely your website will show up if you’ve used those same keyword phrases.

Google scans the internet to find the best possible resource to answer their question. Our goal is to make sure your website is the best possible resource. To do so, Google needs to see the right keywords used within your content, and used in the right ways.

How do you use doula keywords the “right” way?

First, let’s make it clear what the “wrong” way is. We do NOT want to stuff your website full of keywords with the same phrases repeated over and over again all over the place. Here are five basic tips to get started.

1. Know who you’re talking to.

Before you even think about keywords, think about your ideal client. What are they wondering? What do they type into Google at 2 a.m.? What would they never say (like “perinatal support”)? Use their words, not industry ones. It’s not just about “birth doula”—you might also want to include phrases like “VBAC support,” “home birth midwife team,” or “postpartum help at night.”

2. Don’t just guess – research your keywords

Don’t guess—check. Google has a free tool called Google Keyword Planner where you can type in a phrase and see how often people search for it in your area. Be sure to try typing it with variations such as:

• Chicago doula
• Chicago birth doula
• Birth doula near me
• Doula near me (learn more about “near me” keywords!)

Keyword research tools will also give you additional ideas you might not have thought of. For example, a quick search might tell you that more folks in your city search for “birthing class” than “prenatal class” or “childbirth education.” Who knew?!

3. Pick one keyword focus per page and post.

Your homepage should focus on your main keyword (like “[city name] doula services”). Inside service pages can highlight more specific terms such as birth doula, postpartum doula, birthing classes, placenta encapsulation, and favorite pregnancy books – whatever makes sense for your services. Don’t cram everything into one spot. Spread the love across your site and keep each page focused on one main idea.

Blog posts allow you to focus on the more specific “long-tail keywords” – essentially, the questions your ideal clients are wondering about at 2 in the morning. These keywords get far less search volume, but they speak directly to your audience. For example:

• How much does a doula cost?
• Are doulas covered by insurance?
• What kind of support do doulas provide?
• What hospitals offer water birth near me?

Whenever possible, these long-tail keywords for blog posts should be woven together with local information to root them in your service area for Google.

4. Use the keyword where it counts.

Let’s say your keyword is “Doula Charleston.” Use it in these spots:

• The URL (like: yourdoulasite.com/doula-charleston)
• The big headline at the top (that’s your h1 tag)
• At least one subheading (h2)
• Your first and last paragraph of text
• Image file names and their “alt text”
• Behind-the-scenes SEO settings – your page title and meta description (your website platform should have a space for these)

Using your keyword in these places tells search engines, “Hey, this page is about exactly what they’re looking for.”

5. Don’t go overboard.

Sprinkle your keywords, don’t dump them. If you’ve ever read a website that said “birth doula” six times in one sentence, you know what I mean. It feels weird. It’s not helpful. And it can actually hurt your rankings.

Try reading your content out loud. Does it sound like something you’d actually say? If not, tone it down. Google is smart enough to know when you’re trying too hard.

Plus, using variations on your primary keyword helps as it allows you to rank for additional keywords. For example, I recently wrote a post about doula business name ideas. It is gradually rising in the rankings and now ranks for a total of 9 keywords, ranging from my primary target: Doula Business Name Ideas to Doula Business Name Generator, Doula Logo Ideas, and more. I have now shown up over 200 times in search results with that single post based on all the keywords it ranks for.

Keyword ideas for your doula business:

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If you’re optimizing for SEO or optimizing service pages, you can also mix and match any of these keywords with modifiers like:

• “best,” “affordable,” “certified,” “inclusive,” “holistic,” “recommended,” “gentle,” “trauma-informed,” or “evidence-based.”

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How long will it take for SEO updates to my doula website to improve my ranking?

Patience! You could see changes within a few weeks, and the improvements should gradually take root over the next few months. If you continue to invest in small steps to improve your SEO such as getting more Google reviews and backlinks, you will see even better results.

Final thoughts

Yes, SEO can get complicated. But the basics? Totally doable. You don’t need to be a tech genius. You just need to start small, keep it clear, and talk like a real person.

If you’re on WordPress, the free Yoast SEO plugin can help you track how well your keywords are working on each page. And no matter what platform you use (Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, etc.), there are tutorials out there that walk you through the setup.

Once you get the hang of it, keywords can actually feel kind of fun—like little clues into how your future clients are thinking. The better you understand them, the better they’ll find you.

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Want help putting this into practice on your site? I can help with SEO research, optimization & backlink packages, Google Business Page optimization & more. Let’s make sure your dream clients can actually find you.