A strong online presence is crucial if you want to acquire new patients, grow your practice and increase revenue.
Online searches are used every day to find almost anything: a good restaurant, selected cocktails, a coffee shop, and even the friendly neighborhood optician.
A strong online presence is crucial if you want to acquire new patients, grow your practice and increase revenue. With this in mind, ensuring your private practice ranks prominently in local and ‘near me’ Google searches is critical.
With more than 86% of the search market share, Google stands out as the #1 search engine optimization (SEO) platform, followed by YouTube, which is also owned by Google.1
As an Eye Care Professional (ECP), ranking high on Google search is important if you provide a product or service and want to grow your practice. It allows potential patients to find you faster and schedule an appointment. Because? Because this is where the younger generations spend most of their time.
Research shows that younger generations, Gen Z and Millennials, read and trust online reviews before making a purchase.
Although we’re not in the restaurant industry, studies show that Gen Z and Millennials are 99% more likely to trust online reviews when choosing a restaurant.2
As an ECP, potential new patients look online and read what others are saying about you, your practice, your staff, and your customer service. What can you expect when optimizing your practice’s Google profile? Many new and established patients will call you and ask for appointments.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at our practice’s Google Analytics for May 2022. During this month, our practice’s Google profile was viewed 22,800 times (figure 1).
Our practice was found 10,248 times in Google SEO.
» 72% (7,376) via mobile
» 16% (1,667) via computer
» 11% (1,113) via Google Maps–mobile
» 1% (92) via Google Maps–computer (Figure 2)
We received 894 direct phone calls from our Google profile to our practice (Figure 3) and 235 queries for directions to our query via Google Maps (Figure 4). Even more impressive is that the 280 photos we uploaded to our Google profile received 179,036 views in the last month (Figure 5).
These are thousands of eyes checking out what we have to offer before deciding to make an appointment, call or visit us. This is another example of why it’s imperative to make sure your practice’s Google profile is optimized and that you’re doing everything you can to help potential patients find you online.
Here are some tips that will cost you nothing (except a little time and energy) to help you rank higher in your local Google search engine:
Step 1: Open your practice’s Google profile and claim it.
If you already have a Google profile for your practice, make sure all information is accurate and up-to-date. Verify addresses, phone numbers, email, website and store hours. Most potential clients prefer to use Google to check your practice hours rather than call the office and ask the receptionist. You want to make sure potential patients have your correct information so they can easily contact you. Add any missing information. When all information is updated, verify your page.
If you don’t already have a Google Profile for your practice:
Go to google.com and in the search box, type the name of your practice or ECP. You can also add and claim your business through Google Maps. Google will ask you for the necessary steps to claim your page. If someone has already opened a Google profile with your practice name or doctor’s name, click “Own this business?”3.
Step #2: Show engagement on your page.
Engagement includes, but is not limited to, uploading images from inside and outside of your practice, uploading videos, posting regularly to your Google profile as you would a Facebook or LinkedIn page, and acquiring as many 5-star reviews as possible
If you have pictures of your practice uploaded to your profile, and your competitor does not, there is a higher chance that your potential patient will prefer to call your practice. Patients often want to know what a consultation is like before making an appointment or visit.
Make sure these images showcase the best features of your practice. These images can be your latest equipment, optical coherence tomography equipment, the best-selling eyeglass frame, etc. Make sure these images are clear and avoid uploading blurry or cluttered photos. Encourage patients and staff to upload images to your profile directly from their mobile phones. These personal and authentic images build engagement and help others see your practice through the eyes of current patients.
Step #3: Start collecting 5-star reviews from patients on Google.
Google considers reviews to be substantial engagement. You must respond to all reviews: the good and especially the bad. Check out “6 Tips for Addressing, Surviving 1-Star Online Reviews,” featured in the November 2017 issue of Optometry Times®.4
The higher the percentage of reviews in Google, the higher your practice will rank online. The more reviews you have on your Google profile, the more engagement Google will see and the more Google will push you to the top of the SEO page organically. Patients trust Google ratings. You want to have a high rating with a generous number of reviews.
Research and data show that when a potential customer (or patient) searches for services, they typically use their mobile device to search, rather than a computer or laptop, and are looking to buy locally and within 24 hours.5-7 .
If you’re looking to acquire new patients and establish credibility online, it’s worth examining your practice’s Google profile, taking the time to claim it and verifying that all information is correct so new patients can find you online.
References
1. Davies D. Meet the 7 most popular search engines in the world. Search Engine Day. March 3, 2021. Accessed July 26, 2022. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-guide/meet-search-engines/#close
2. Baer J. How Gen Z uses word of mouth [11 statistics]. Convince and convert. Accessed July 26, 2022. https://www.convinceandconvert.com/word-of-mouth/gen-z-statistics/
3. How to add or claim your business profile on Google. Google Business Profile Help. Accessed July 26, 2022. https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=ca&co=GENIE.Platform%3D
4. Canto-Sims D. 6 tips to tackle, survive one star online reviews. Optometry Times®. November 15, 2017. Accessed July 26, 2022. https://www.optometrytimes.com/view/6-tips-address-survive-one-star-online-reviews
5. Ahluwalia B. Local SEO: Why it matters and how to rank in local search. RankMath blog. Retrieved July 26, 2022. https://rankmath.com/blog/local-seo/
6. Walker-Ford M. 12 Local SEO Statistics Every Business Owner and Marketer Should Know in 2019 [Infographic]. SocialMediaToday. February 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2022. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/12-local-seo-stats-every-business-owner-and-marketer-should-know-in-2019-i/549079/
7. Google Local SEO Statistics Every Search Marketer Should Read. SEO expert. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
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