A Google My Business (GMB) account allows businesses to manage their online presence by providing a way for people in the community to find them on search engines and establish trust. A GMB listing also helps you get more leads from potential new patients who may be searching on Google for nearby practitioners when looking for care. GMB pages are a free, easy way to create and maintain an online presence as a healthcare practitioner. Make sure you’re found locally, even though you work at a clinic.
Many doctors, dentists, physiotherapists and other allied healthcare professionals don’t have a GMB page because they simply don’t know how to set one up or aren’t aware of its importance.
In cases where a practitioner has a great reputation, it’s important they have their own GMB listing because it provides them with the opportunity to show patients that they are an established practitioner, display contact details, operating hours and more.
- Create your own GMB and show you are a professional, established healthcare practitioner in your community.
- Get found by potential new patients who may be searching on Google for nearby practitioners when looking for care
- Help people find you so they can get quick access to the health services they need.
In this article, we’re going to explore whether the practitioner should also have their own GMB page, best practices for setting up a GMB page, and what happens if they outrank your clinic.
Let’s get stuck into it.
What is a practitioner listing?
To start with, what is a practitioner listing? According to Google:
A practitioner listing is an individual practitioner in a public facing professional, typically with his or her own customer base.
These would be practitioners like doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors etc…
According to the Google regulations, every practitioner should create their own business profile if:
- They operate in a public-facing role. Support staff should not create their own Business Profiles.
- They can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours.
A practitioner should not have multiple GMB listings that cover all their specialties. However, A practitioner can have multiple GMB listings with separate locations, which we further discuss below.
Why a practitioner should have their own GMB page?
In general a GMB is Google’s platform for managing your company’s online presence. However, as a practitioner, it is possible to have your own GMB page.
You should create a GMB practitioner listing if:
- Your clinic doesn’t appear in the Google search results when you search your name
- You want to have greater control over the content on the profile
- Your clinic has many locations and you want to rank for “Practice Name + Your Name”
- You are practising in more than one clinic and want to have control over your reputation and gather your own reviews.
- You have aspirations of owning your own clinic, it’s a good way to start building your reputation online.
