Introduction
Online marketing is an essential tool when it comes to growing your private practice. In today’s digital world, learning how to utilize online platforms as resources to attract new clients will help you expand your business and widen your clientele. Although the concept of online marketing may seem overwhelming, it’s actually fairly easy to use. Google listings are one of the most effective platforms for attracting new clients. The system is affordable, and intuitive and has been repeatedly proven to reach a broad range of prospective patients. In this guide, we’ll outline what Google local search and Google My Business are, and how your healthcare practice can set up an effective profile. With the right strategies in place, you’ll be able to use your profile to increase traffic to your business, gain new clients, and ultimately boost your revenue.
What is Google local search and why is it important for your therapy business?
Google local search is a tool that allows your business to attract clients based on geographic location. It is optimized so that individuals who search for practices “near me”, or input a location in their searching keywords will be directed towards your business. As a digital marketing strategy, Google local search is highly effective. Not only does it allow you to stay ahead of competing local businesses, but it ensures that your practice is consistently visible to interested patients. Additionally, using local search allows you to target specific demographics. As an in-person healthcare practice, it makes a lot of sense for you to be targeting the local population. You want to be a business that is popular within the neighborhood, and one of the best ways to achieve this is by boosting your online visibility. Although Google local search is a fairly easy tool to utilize, it’s important to remember that you need to optimize for your area. This means that your website needs to have accurate location information that can be easily found.
What is Google My Business and how does it help local marketing?
What is Google My Business Profile?
Google My Business is a free online marketing tool that can help direct potential patients to your clinic. Essentially, a Google My Business profile allows you to list details and photos of your practice online. This information typically includes your location, services, products, and specializations. Google integrates this information and can consequently appear in Google Products, Google Maps, and Google Shopping searches.
Why does your therapy business need Google My Business?
Having a Google My Business profile will help to boost your visibility, as it directs clients in your area to your page. Using this online marketing tool will help you to widen your clientele and ensure you are a top contender with local competition.
Benefits to your local practice
The most significant benefit of having a Google My Business profile is the clients that it brings in. When someone searches for a local business, this profile will ensure your practice is more likely to appear in the results. As the healthcare industry grows increasingly competitive, it has never been more important to utilize these online tools.
It helps with SEO
Search engine optimization is a key aspect of online marketing. Having a Google My Business Profile will improve your SEO, meaning that your practice will be more likely to appear in an online search than a business without a profile.
You get listed on Google Maps
Given that Google Maps is the most commonly used navigation app, it is very useful to have your business on the platform. With a Google My Business profile, your practice will be visible on Maps as well, leading to greater traffic.
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Why should your therapy practice set up a Google My Business profile?
There is a range of different benefits associated with setting up a Google My Business profile, including the following:
It helps show your practice to people looking for therapy in your locality: Perhaps the most obvious benefit of using Google My Business is the traffic it pushes to your business. Individuals who are looking for local therapists will be directed to your business, increasing your clientele whilst also ensuring patients have access to quality healthcare.
Makes it convenient to leave reviews: Google My Profile provides a free platform where patients can leave reviews. If you focus on achieving high client satisfaction, patients will be encouraged to leave positive feedback. As time goes on and these reviews grow in number, it is highly likely you’ll attract an even greater number of patients.
It is free and easy to set up: One of the best aspects of Google My Business is its affordability. Any practice can set up a profile and the system itself is very intuitive. Regardless of your budget or technological capabilities, Google My Business provides a platform to advertise your services effectively.
It makes your brand legitimate: Google research suggests that users are more likely to perceive your business as trustworthy if you have a Google My Business profile. As a therapy practice, it is absolutely essential that you are viewed as legitimate, and this is one of the easiest ways to do so.
Improves engagement: Because Google My Business profiles elevate SEO, a greater number of individuals will be directed to your website. This means more traffic, and more traffic leads to higher engagement and increased revenue - the perfect marketing process!
How to use Google My Business for your therapy business in 2022?
So now you know the reasons why Google My Business is so helpful, it’s time to take a look at how it should be used.
Create a My Business profile
The first and most important step is for you to create a My Business profile. This process only takes a few minutes, and there are prompts that will help you to navigate the platform. After you have registered all of the relevant details, you will verify your business with Google, which can take up to 7 days.
Post your business details and keep them up to date
Having accurate information is absolutely essential. Double-check your address, services, specializations, and contact information and don’t forget to update these if any details change.
Add categories to your therapy business
After you have created a listing with the relevant business information, it is a good idea to add specific therapy categories so that targeted clients are directed to your page. You can’t create your own categories and will have to choose from those that already exist, including child psychologists, marriage counselors, family counselors, psychologists, and counselors.
Respond to reviews from clients
In order for Google My Business to work as effectively as possible, you need to continue engaging with the profile after you originally list it. Responding to reviews from clients demonstrates your professionality and willingness to listen, and it can also show clients that you care about their relationship with your practice.
Strategically use insights
Insights give you information regarding traffic volume, customer actions, photo views, and specific post insights. This type of data indicates the individuals that are accessing your profile and what they are looking for. Using this information, you can adjust your marketing strategies and further develop your profile to ensure you are garnering as much traffic as possible.
Add posts and pictures to increase engagement
Research shows that higher engagement can be encouraged through the use of posts and pictures. Making regular relevant posts will attract a more significant number of prospective patients to your profile, increasing traffic and hopefully encouraging people to walk through your doors!
Let your clients know that they can review you on Google
It’s a good idea to inform the clients you are already seeing so that they can review your business on Google. This will encourage a greater number of reviews (which are hopefully positive), improving the reputability of your practice.
Use Google ads to enhance your reach
Although Google My Business is an effective free marketing tool, you may find yourself wanting to expand your reach by using Google ads. These do come at a cost, but they boost your visibility and can work extremely well at directing a much greater volume of traffic towards your site.
Conclusion
Online marketing may be a daunting concept, but it is without a doubt the future for healthcare businesses looking to attract new clients. Google My Business is a fantastic free tool that allows you to elevate your online visibility and ensure that prospective clients who live in your locality know about your services. Figuring out how to navigate these new platforms can take a little bit of time, but they have been designed to be intuitive and easy to use - even for technology beginners! The vast number of benefits that are associated with having a Google business listing means that this is definitely a marketing strategy you’ll want to pursue. All you need to do is dedicate a bit of time and effort to making a relevant and engaging profile and you’ll see increased traffic and new patients in no time!
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