The Addiction Treatment Center WordPress Post-Publish Checklist (8 Steps for Behavioral Health YMYL Content)

The 8-Step Addiction Treatment WordPress Post-Publish Checklist

1. Rewrite the title tag for family and individual search intent — Match how families and individuals actually phrase their searches, not how clinicians would title a treatment summary. “IOP Program Information” → “What Is an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and Is It Right for You?” Lead with the question framing, stay within 50–60 characters, and reflect the searcher’s perspective — someone evaluating options, not a clinician documenting a level of care.
2. Write a meta description that is empathetic and informative — Delete the auto-generated excerpt. Write 140–155 characters that acknowledge the family’s situation and promise a specific, useful answer: “Wondering if IOP is the right level of care for your loved one? We explain ASAM Level 2.1 criteria, what a typical week looks like, and how insurance typically covers it.” Empathy first, information second, contact opportunity third.
3. Add licensed clinician authorship with credential schema — Attribute the post to a named licensed clinician with role, credential (LCSW, CADC, MD/DO, PMHNP), and a link to their bio page. Add a “Medically reviewed by [Name], [Credential]” line with the review date. Implement Article schema with the clinician as named author. This is the highest-impact single action for YMYL behavioral health content — transforming anonymous treatment content into verifiable clinical expertise.
4. Inject named clinical entity references — Add 3–5 named entities relevant to the article: SAMHSA for any prevalence or treatment standard references, ASAM Criteria level number for any level-of-care descriptions, CARF or Joint Commission as named accreditation authorities, DSM-5 for any diagnostic criterion references, and MHPAEA for any insurance coverage content. These named entities are machine-verifiable — the primary signal Google’s quality evaluators and AI systems use to assess behavioral health content credibility.
5. Add a family-focused FAQ section with FAQPage schema — Write 6–8 questions in the language families and individuals use during treatment research: “Does insurance cover this level of care?”, “How long does this program take?”, “What happens during intake?”, “What is the difference between [this level] and [adjacent level]?”, “Can my family member work during this program?” Add FAQPage JSON-LD schema alongside the visible FAQ section — both are required for People Also Ask eligibility and AI Overview citation.
6. Add MedicalOrganization schema connecting the article to the treatment center — Inject Article schema with the facility as publisher and MedicalOrganization schema with named accreditation references (CARF International accreditation scope, Joint Commission certification status), licensed services (SAMHSA-certified facility status if applicable), and staff credential framework. This machine-readable entity connection is what AI systems use to associate clinical authority with a specific verified treatment provider.
7. Set a visible Last Updated date with dateModified schema — Add “Last reviewed by [Clinician Name], [Credential] on [Date]” near the author byline. Update the dateModified field in Article JSON-LD schema. Treatment guidelines, MAT prescribing protocols, insurance coverage requirements, and ASAM Criteria references change. Outdated behavioral health content on life-impacting decisions is both a YMYL compliance issue and a family trust issue. Visible clinical review dates with schema signal ongoing editorial stewardship.
8. Add internal links to admissions resources and related treatment content — Link from the educational article to the relevant admissions page, insurance verification page, or program inquiry form — with specific anchor text that connects the educational content to the next step: “Ready to learn if this program is right for your situation? Start the admissions conversation.” Then update the admissions page to link back to relevant educational content. Bidirectional internal linking guides families through the research-to-admissions journey and signals topical depth to Google’s content quality evaluation.