Wondering Why Your Practice Doesn’t Show up on Google Local?
Being able to find your practice easily online is crucial for the growth and visibility of your practice. Below are some easy tips you can use to ensure that your future clients can find your practice online.
Seven Easy Ways to Ensure Your Practice’s Google Local Page is Properly Optimized
1. Make sure your business listing on Google is verified.
If your listing is verified, you can find it by searching the name of your business, its address and/or phone number either in the standard Google search engine, via Google Maps or in Google+. If your practice listing is not verified, you can register your business location with Google My Business here.
2. Check that your information on Google is complete and accurate.
Your listing should include your current website, hours, address and contact information.
3. Select the right business category.
You should select the category that best represents what your business is and not what it does. Don’t worry if you can’t find the exact category you’re looking for—a broader category selection helps draw a wider audience to your practice. Here is an article sharing the steps and more information on Business Categories.
4. Maintain a strong web presence.
Google pulls information from all over the web. Develop a strong presence on other sites, and make sure your information on other sites is complete and accurate. You can learn why accuracy online is SO important here.
5. Share your business location and page with your clients.
Share your location link and business page with your clients. This will help them easily find your listing. It will also help improve the search history and prominence for your business. Below are two ways to share your business location.
- On your Google My Business dashboard click on View Locations and use the link in the address bar.
- Search for your business listing on Google Maps using business name and address > Click on the Share icon > Use the link you get to share with your clients.
We also highly recommend that you embed your Google map on your Contact Page on your website.
6. Supportive peers are the best promoters.
Encourage your peers and colleagues to share their experience working/collaborating with you in Google reviews. This tool can be tremendously helpful when people are deciding whether or not to seek your services. You can check out tips about Google reviews via Get Reviews on Google.
7. Share photos with your clients.
Many people are visual learners, so it’s important for your future clients to see your face and the face of your practice. You can upload photos related to your practice on your Google listing by following the steps below.
- Steps: Go to business.google.com > Click on “Manage Locations” > Click on the Photos tab.
Google’s search algorithm is designed to be organic and impartial, and is determined by over 200 different factors. The three most important factors for you to consider are:
- Relevance: How relevant is your business category/listing to the search phrase used by the user?
- Prominence: Traffic to your business listing and your website. How established is your practice online?
- Distance: How close is your practice location from where the search is being made?
If you’re starting a new practice, it can take several months for it to rank (depending on the size of your city and level of competition). Don’t let this discourage you. In the meantime you can improve your online presence elsewhere. To learn how to strengthen your online presence, check out our blog on How To Determine What YOU Should Be Doing to Market Your Private Practice.
Eventually, people will be able to find your site simply by typing relevant phrases into their search engine. Be advised that just because you can’t find your practice with a certain search phrase, such as, “Anxiety Treatment” or “Marriage Counseling,” doesn’t mean other people can’t find your listing with these phrases. Search history affects search results, meaning different users yield different results.
If you have any questions about your Google listing, don’t hesitate to contact us! We are here to help bring new traffic to your site as you build your practice.