A critical step for any clinic trying to rank locally is to include Google Business Profile (GBP) in your local SEO strategy.
Note that GBP is what used to be known as Google My Business (GMB). If you’ve previously set up and verified your GMB listing, it has automatically been transferred, and no action is needed on your part.
This post discusses how optimizing your Google Business Profile listing can give you a competitive advantage!
Listings on Google Business Profile can only be created for businesses that either have a physical location that customers can visit or that travel to visit customers where they are.
You can read the full guidelines here.
“Searches with local intent are more likely to lead to store visits and sales within a day. New Google research says that 50 percent of mobile users are most likely to visit after conducting a local search…”
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile, or GBP as it’s often referred to, is a free tool from our friends at Google.
A verified GBP account lets you manage how your clinic shows up on Google Search and Google Maps.
Including:
- Clinic’s name (real, full name)
- Location
- Phone Number
- Website
- Company or clinic description
- Hours of operation
- Monitoring and replying to customer reviews
- Adding photos
- Learning where and how people are searching for your company
- And more
While your optimized website is essential to SEO success, it’s what potential customers may see first. So, give them a great first impression.
It can also provide a zero-click search. This means that the query is typed in, and your business offers all the answers to the typed query. No more work is necessary on the user’s part.
Considering what your potential patients are searching for, you can create an optimized GBP listing that will organically put you ahead of your competitors.
Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile
The first step is to claim and verify your Google Business Profile listing.
Claim your business. Otherwise, you won’t show up on Google maps and local listings.
Like other business listings, such as Yelp, you have to claim your listing before you can manage and optimize it. If a listing does not exist for your company, you can create a listing and submit it for verification and approval.
To get started, go to https://www.google.com/business to claim your listing.
Image from Google Business Profile
Once claimed, great benefits become available, including:
- Customizing and maintaining your clinic’s information
- Responding to reviews from customers
- Adding images to your listing
- Accessing insights about how people found your business, how many people called using the listed number, and how people searched for your business
- Businesses that verify their listings are twice as likely to be considered reputable by consumers
Next… verify it.
“Verified businesses are twice as likely to be considered reputable by users.” – Google
Verification helps ensure the accuracy of your clinic’s information across Google and protects you from anyone who might otherwise pose as a representative of your business.
Until you’ve completed verification, you won’t be able to edit the business information on Google products.
For most businesses, verification requires simply heading to the Google search bar, searching for your clinic, and verifying directly from there.
Get Rid of Duplicate Listings
Make sure no duplicate listings exist. Your employees or an agency your company previously worked with may have created multiple GBP pages for your clinic. Delete them and take note of your official Google Business Profile URL.
Don’t Make This GBP Mistake
Most companies stop here. They claim their Google Business Profile, add the bare minimum of details, and abandon it.
But you don’t want to stop there; you won’t reap all the rewards your listing offers. Claiming your account is just the starting point.
Now you need to optimize it.
In the rest of this post, we’ll cover everything you can do with your GBP account and how to optimize it!
Complete all the Information Google Requests
As you click through to set up and claim your account, make sure you fill out all the information that Google requests.
Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) is up-to-date. Your NAP must be consistent in every place you have it online. This means that if you use Main St. in one directory, it shouldn’t say Main Street in another.
Of course, you’ll want your local phone number listed for NAP consistency. However, if you have a tracking phone number, that should be used as your primary number, and your local number should be your secondary number.
Tracking numbers are great because they give insight into who’s calling, where they’re calling from, and how they found your number. It also weeds out telemarketers and other spam calls.
Optimize your GBP description:
- Use the keywords you want to rank for, be conversational, and don’t overstuff
- Add information that sets you apart from your competition
- Describe the products and services you offer
- Be sure to choose the correct categories for your business, it’s important that your primary spot is thought out (feel free to research what your competition’s categories are for some insight)
Add as much information and media you can think of:
- Logo (this is a small square)
- Cover photo
- The areas you serve
- Hours of operation
- When your company was founded
- Phone number
- Videos
- Pictures
- Website
- Social media links to profiles
- Category or categories (ensure your primary category reflects your primary offering)
- Services
- Products (if you offer them)
- Q&A
Your profile picture is one of the first things customers will notice when searching for your clinic. Make sure your photos look professional.
We’ll dive into pictures in more detail later, but it’s important to note just how essential they are.
Also note that anyone can “suggest an edit” to your listing. This makes getting your information correct the first time vital, as you don’t want random people to make changes.
Pro tip: Periodically log into your Google Business Profile dashboard to ensure all company details are correct.
Provide Your Service Area (if you serve customers at their locations)
Not all local businesses serve their customers from a brick-and-mortar storefront. Some companies operate from a home address. Others are mobile and don’t have a storefront that customers visit.
If your clinic doesn’t serve customers at its address, you should list it as a service-area business on Google.
When you dedicate your service areas, you will only have 20 slots to fill, so choose them wisely. Be sure your primary service location is in your primary spot.
Edit your Business Profile
If any of your information needs to be adjusted or you want to add to your business profile, you can do so at any time. Go to Google’s search bar and search for your company, then follow the directions to edit or update where necessary.
Adjust the Pin Location of the Map
Once you’ve verified your address, look at your location on the map and make sure the marker is in the right place. If it’s not, go to your Google Business Profile listing. Then, click the “Edit your business information” link and update your location.
Common reasons your business is not showing up in Google Maps:
- If your Google Business Profile is not verified, you will not show up in Google Maps.
- Your Google Business Profile has been suspended.
- You’re using shared office space.
- You’re located too far away from the center of the city.
Update Your Business Hours When Needed
Many businesses change their hours throughout the year. Make sure hours currently reflect your operating times.
Grow Your Google Reviews
Reviews can influence the visibility of your local business in online search.
According to Search Engine Watch, reviews mentioning products and services lend themselves to optimization and can help your business appear for specific local product or service searches.
Steps to getting more Google reviews:
- Ask for them. Reach out to happy customers and clients and ask for a review.
- Show them how. Not everyone knows the exact steps for leaving a Google review. The key is to tell them or show them exactly how to leave a review, so they don’t find the task “too difficult” and give up.
You have two options for this.
Option A:
Google lets you create a QR code that takes your patients or customers directly to your review page. This is a super easy process and requires no searching or hassle on their part.
Option B:
Steps for leaving a Google review:
- Sign in to Google (Gmail account)
- Search for the business you want to review on Google
- Click to leave a review
- Select a star rating, write the review, and submit
Pro tip: Provide them with the direct link (they’ll still need to be logged in to Google).
To find this link:
- Search for your clinic on Google
- Click the “reviews” section
- Click “get reviews”
- Select the copy link icon and send it to your user
- Remind them. It’s easy for people to forget that you asked them to leave a review. So, send them a friendly reminder.
- Respond to the reviews (especially the negative ones)!
If you want to help influence what your customers write on your review in order to land quality keywords, ask them questions to answer, such as what location you visited and what specific service you used. This will push them to use words that will help your SEO.
If you’re having issues with your Google Reviews not displaying, watch this helpful video.
“45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business if it responds to negative reviews.” – Review Trackers
Add Images
“Businesses with photos see 35% more clicks to their website and 42% higher requests for driving directions in Google Maps.” – Google
“Businesses with photos see 35% more clicks to their website and 42% higher requests for driving directions in Google Maps.” – Google
Make sure your images appear as they should on both desktop and mobile devices. If your image is too large, Google will crop it without considering the appearance, so your customers may be viewing half of your adjusting table if you’re not careful.
Don’t know what pictures to use?
Here are some suggestions:
- Exterior photos (Google recommends a minimum of 3)
- Interior photos (Google recommends a minimum of 3)
- Product or service photos (Google recommends one photo per product or service)
- Team photos and photos that show your company culture (Google recommends at least three photos showing your management team and your employees)
- Office rooms
- Event photos
Pro tip: Use your own photos, not stock images. If you’re just setting up your website and need to take advantage of stock photos, that’s fine, but get your personal photos up as soon as possible. This gives your audience more insight into you and your clinic.
Learn more about taking and optimizing excellent photos on our post: How to Optimize Photos for Your Google Business Profile.
Booking Button Feature
Google’s Booking button feature can really help your clinic stand out from the crowd. If your clinic relies on customers making appointments and you’re using integrated scheduling software, people can now book an appointment with your business directly from your Google Business Profile listing.
Google Posts
Posts are a great way to encourage searchers to click through to your website or take other actions.
The calls to action include, “Book,” “Order Online,” “Buy,” “Learn More,” “Sign-Up,” and “Get Offer.”
Google Post types:
- Offers
- Updates
- Events
Things to keep in mind with Google Posts:
- Make sure your image looks correct. You should test out a few images to do this.
- Only the first 100 characters will display in the knowledge panel, so make them count.
Questions & Answers
Users can ask questions right on your knowledge panel. This is one area clinic owners often overlook.
How to win with Questions & Answers:
- Ask and answer your own questions (your competition probably isn’t doing this). Don’t go overboard with this, but you know the common questions people ask, so post a few questions and answer them from your business account.
- Oversee the questions and answer them promptly. Set notifications to check on the Q&A section.
- Be helpful and concise when answering. Don’t type out a novel.
- Be sure to flag any inappropriate questions or comments.
Note that anyone can ask a question, and anyone can answer that question. So, if you’re taking advantage of this part of GBP, stay on top of it. You want to be sure that questions are being answered properly, respectfully, and timely. Take control of the dialogue; it’s your business, and you know it best. You can always ask (commonly asked questions) and answer them.
Google Business Profile Insights
Google Business Profile Insights can tell you:
- How customers find your clinic (direct vs. discovery searches)
- Where on Google your customers are finding your listing (Search vs. Maps)
- The actions your customers are taking on your listing (visiting your site, clicking on directions, browsing the photo gallery, calling you)
- Areas that your customers are living (based on direction queries)
- Total phone calls and time when customers are calling
- And more
If you’re interested in learning more about how your GBP can help your clinic thrive or want help optimizing your Google Business Profile Listing, schedule a Discovery Call with us today.
