7 Easy Ways to Optimize the Google My Business Profile for Your Optometry Practice (and Why It’s So Important)
Online marketing is a huge topic. Most optometry practice owners and managers we speak to know they need a great presence on the web, but get overwhelmed with thinking about where to start. Luckily, we can answer that question for you!
Start with your Google My Business profile.
The truth is, some of the most significant gains are the easiest to achieve. This ‘low-hanging fruit’ will unlock more web traffic, new appointments, and better opportunities for your practice. Google is still the number one way that potential and existing patients find your practice online. In fact, it may be the top way they find your practice, period.
So before you dive deep into a more detailed content strategy (which our team can also help you with!), make sure your Google business profile looks great. We’ve put together a seven-step checklist to help ensure your profile is working well for you.
Google My Business: Optimize Your Optometry Practice Profile in 7 Steps
One: Verify that all your business information is correct and identical to what’s on your website.
To start, check basic information about your business. It should all match what’s on your website and social media profiles in order to provide a clear, consistent sense of brand identity.
Information to double-check includes:
- Your business name. Be sure it has the same spelling, capitalization, and styling as your other online profiles.
- Your website URL. Click it to double-check that it goes to the correct page. You don’t want a broken link bringing the customer funnel to a halt!
- Your business phone number. Again, double-check this. Once your profile is live, tap on the phone number. Make sure it connects with your business (and that your voicemail has space to leave a message).
- Your regular hours. We can’t stress this enough: keep these updated! Having a potential customer show up at your business only to find out that you’re closed is a pretty bad first impression. Likewise, a customer who drives out to pick up their glasses, only to find that they can’t isn’t going to be very happy, either.
- Your special hours. This includes office closures, holiday hours, and seasonal hours. Again, check these regularly.
If there’s a mismatch between information, customers will suspect that either your Google My Business profile or your website is outdated. And if your information has changed, you may end up with calls going to the wrong number or customers showing up when your shop is closed.
So be sure to stay on top of this basic information. You may want to set a calendar reminder to quickly check your website and Google business profile every week on a certain day, for instance.
Two: Choose the right business categories.
Ensure you have the correct category (or categories) selected. This increases your chances in showing up in the results when potential patients are doing a Google search for eye care services.
To edit or double-check this business information, go to your business profile and choose “Edit Profile.” You want to find the “About” section underneath “Business category.” Explore the available options and choose the ones that best represent your practice. Google’s help guide for choosing a category can walk you through the process as well.
You don’t need to go overboard with a ton of different categories. Choose one or two that best represent your practice.
Three: Add your logo and photos of your business.
Upload your business’s logo. Be sure to use a high-resolution file so that it doesn’t look pixelated or grainy. If possible, use a .png file (a “lossless” file type that preserves quality) over a .jpg file (a “lossy” file type that sacrifices quality to save space).
These are the only two types of files that Google My Business will upload, so you may have to convert your image to one of these file types.
You’ll also want to upload a series of images of your physical space to your profile. These images can help bridge the gap between your practice’s online presence and your brick-and-mortar space. They also help potential customers feel more at ease about making an appointment, because they know what to expect when they walk in the door.
Potential photos to include may be:
- Your office entry, reception desk, or welcome area
- The waiting room
- Exam rooms
- Your store or retail area
- The front of your business
Choose well-lit, attractive images that showcase your physical spaces in a good light. They should be taken right after your regular cleaning, with any old, faded posters or extra clutter taken down. If you have professional images of your space, now’s the time to use them!
If your practice’s appearance has changed significantly since the last time the photos were taken, consider getting new ones. People tend to discount images and information if they’re dated back to more than a couple of years ago.
Four: Add all the services you offer into the service category.
Be sure that you’ve kept your service categories updated to reflect what you offer. That way, if people are doing a Google search for specific services in your area, rather than certain businesses, you’ll be more likely to show up in the results.
Look through the whole list and select what you offer. Unlike categories, where you don’t want to go overboard listing a ton, you should try and find all the relevant services to add here.
Five: Add information to your Google My Business profile and link to your main website . . . not the other way around.
Do not substitute your Google My Business profile for your main website (unless you don’t have another website — which is something you will want to address sooner rather than later).
Why? Increased traffic to your actual website will send the message to Google and other search engines that your website is getting lots of traffic. This popularity helps increase the site’s chances of appearing in search results.
Having your website be the main home of your business online also gives you more control over how the information is presented. It also helps “future-proof” your online presence as the digital and search landscape shift and change over time.
Six: Begin posting bi-weekly or monthly updates to your Google My Business profile.
Don’t worry; these don’t have to be anything long or detailed. But adding regular updates to your profile can help your business show up more regularly. It also sends a signal that the information on your profile is fresh and accurate. These may show up in Google search results for your business, or for eye care services in your area.
Need help knowing what to post? Optometry Marketing offers ready-to-go content that can help keep your profile fresh with seasonally appropriate updates and helpful eye care information.
Posting regularly tells Google that you are an active business, as well as signalling to people who visit your profile that you are regularly checking your online profile. It makes you seem more engaged and tech-savvy, and also signals that the information listed is likely to be up-to-date.
Seven: Start asking for reviews.
Many businesses don’t start worrying about reviews until there’s a problem. This is a huge mistake. High-quality, positive reviews from real customers are a huge boon to your Google My Business profile. They can not only affect how you show up in search, but also signal to potential patients that you offer great service.
If there is a problem down the road with a bad review from an unhappy patient (or from a scammer), you’ll have a much easier time addressing it with a bunch of positive reviews to your name.
How can you ask for reviews?
Set up a post-appointment text or email survey asking for reviews. You can ask patients to reply if they had any concerns about their visit, or to leave a review if they were pleased. This helps you get out in front of any negative experiences by letting your administrative team handle issues. It also preempts negative reviews by letting clients know you are willing to listen to and handle any complaints.
You can also have your front desk staff specifically ask patients to leave a review on their way out. For example: “If you have a moment before you go, reviews on our Google Business profile really help us thrive as a local business.” Of course, trust your staff to discern when this ask is most appropriate; a customer in a hurry may not appreciate being asked. But many people are happy to help out a local business.
View post: One Simple Trick For Getting More (And Better) Google My Business Reviews
The bottom line: Make your online profile shine
Google is an important part of the way we all find and connect with businesses. Making sure your Google My Business profile as well as the SEO of the profile is in order goes a long way towards finding new patients and engaging with your existing ones.
The seven steps above will help your practice look good as good online as it does in person.
If you’d like help managing your business’s online presence, reach out to us. We have the right combined expertise in digital marketing and private optometry practice. We help your unique business grow and flourish so that you can focus on excellent patient care.