Do you have a well-designed and intuitive website that you know would entice patients once they landed on it? Do you also feel like you put a lot of time, thought and effort into a site that just isn’t getting enough traffic?
Then a Google My Business listing can help.
A Google My Business listing is probably something that you’ve seen multiple times but never given much thought to. It’s the little box that pops up on the right side of your screen when you complete a Google search. It has handy information like the business name, phone number, hours of operation and reviews all in one place.
This is a powerful tool that is underutilized by many businesses but is important for ranking highly in local search results. If you haven’t claimed yours (which you can do by visiting the Google My Business page) you should now. This will help you get ahead of competitors who also haven’t taken advantage of this tool.
Once you decide to create your practice’s Google My Business listing there are steps you can take to optimize its effectiveness and increase your chance of ranking higher in search results.
Here’s how to build your Google My Business Listing to help you acquire new patients through an online search.
- Fill out the information requested thoroughly and accurately, This is what will be displayed to potential patients and incorrect or incomplete information could turn them away from your practice.
- When creating your Google My Business listing you will need to fill out a primary category for your business and secondary categories. The primary category should be general—something like dentist or dental clinic—while secondary categories should focus on more narrow services, such as “oral surgery” or “orthodontics.”
- Don’t forget to verify your listing after you create it! Google will send you a verification code roughly one week after submitting your listing. Once you have this code you can verify your business to make your listing active.
- Upload photos of your practice to further help people identify and connect with your business. These photos can be geo-optimized to connect with your location.
- A feature of the Google My Business Listing is Google Posts. These posts are small add-ons to your listing where you can share content like a newly published blog article or promotions like free whitening for new patients. They’re a great value-add for individuals viewing your listing.
- Actively manage your Google My Business listing and reviews. Keep your information up to date (like changing hours) and stay on top of and respond to reviews as necessary. A poor review with a good response will do a lot less damage than one left unanswered.
Having a Google My Business listing is a simple yet effective tool for making the most of your online presence for patient acquisition. And because it’s still a relatively unknown marketing tool claiming your listing now is a great way to get ahead of the curve and grow your business.
