Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most powerful tools you have as an optometrist in reaching new patients within your local community. It enables you to communicate core, actionable information to someone already looking for your services. If you have positive reviews, it shows those individuals you are the best service to fill their needs. Beyond a doubt, this is one of the best ways to boost your ranking, get in front of more people, and see more leads coming to your website.
All of that sounds great, but what is it, and how does it work? Check out these Google Business Profile tips for optometrists.
What is a Google Business Profile?
Your Google Business Profile is a free marketing tool for your optometrist business. It allows optometrists to control how your practice is displayed in Google Search and Maps. It allows you to connect with your potential and current clients, provide updates on your practice and services, outline the services you have, and provide a way for your patients to communicate their satisfaction with you so that others can see it.
There is no cost to setting up a GBP through Google, and doing it well can provide a number of exceptional benefits to you:
- It increases visibility. When someone within your local area searches on Google for an optometrist, your practice shows up with your phone number and a link to your website, giving potential patients a way to call you immediately.
- It supports good search engine rankings. GMP is positioned above organic search results in the search engine results pages, making it easier for people to find you in local search results.
- GBP creates an easy way to get reviews. Today’s customer demands reviews. In fact, 9 out of 10 people use reviews like those here to choose a new local business to work with and book an appointment with.
- It’s easy to use. There are not a lot of steps to take to set up and claim your profile, and once you set it up, there is not a lot of work to actually do to manage it. Yet, it continues to work to reach your audience for you.
- It’s free. What other marketing tool for optometrists is out there that does not come with an ongoing cost?
When you read the following Google Business Profile tips for optometrists, make sure you take into consideration one key factor: Setting up and optimizing your profile is going to make sure you get these benefits. Think of your GBP as the storefront that patients walk by and use to decide whether or not to visit, or in this case, to click through to your website.
How to set up a Google Business Profile
You can set up your GMP rather easily by following the steps provided by Google. In general, this step-by-step process only takes a few minutes to complete. You’ll need to:
- Provide your business name
- Choose the type of business it is (a local, in-person business)
- Choose a category
- Fill in the details about the location and your website
- Go live!
You can fill out the profile with a wide range of details (we’ll get into some of those in just a moment). The key is to go to the link above and claim your profile so you can start building it.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile to attract more patients
Just having a profile is not enough. Take the time to really organize it and optimize it to make it an attractive and easy-to-use tool for your patients. Here are some of the best tips for optometrists to get the most benefit.
Complete your profile
The first step is to complete it. Add in all the details you can so that patients can instantly use that data to take action. This should include:
- Your company’s name
- Full street address
- Phone numbers that you want them to call for appointments, follow-up, or others
- Location information and description
- Attributes of your location include a list of the services you offer, any new technology you use, and all of the terms people use to represent optometrists (like “eye doctor” or “optician”) as long as those represent you.
Avoid leaving any areas blank. You don’t want people to assume any information about your service and practice, but to have all of the information they need, they need to book an appointment or stop by locally.
Write a compelling and authentic business description
The next step is to ensure your business description is comprehensive and, even more importantly, compelling. However, this is not a sales pitch. It is a way for you to communicate the details of your practice and service to those who are looking for them, without any gimmicks or tricks to try to get the sale.
For example, be sure to inform your clients of the services you offer, including any new technology you are using, your ability to provide same-day services, or that you work with various vision insurance plans. You may also want to include information about any types of service you offer that others do not. If you just purchased the highest-end technology, include the benefit of that to the patient. If your practice expanded its schedule to more flexible hours to meet patient care, include that, too.
Upload photos and videos of your business
Humanizing your optometrist practice on your Google Business Profile helps your practice to stand out. It allows people to recognize your practice as a professional service and one they can feel comfortable about using. You certainly want to include photos of the front of your practice, the waiting areas, and the exam rooms. Take the unknown out of the picture.
Respond to patient reviews
Once your profile goes live, invite your current patients to provide a review. Just ask them to do so when you know they’ve had a great level of experience. You can also send them a link when you provide an email or text message reminder.
Once you get a few reviews, respond to them in a positive, promising way without revealing any type of health concern or violating patient privacy. If you get a review that’s less than ideal, respond to it by apologizing for the experience but encouraging the person to contact you directly for help.
Answer questions from the Questions & Answers section
Many times, people use GMP as a way to get information about an optometrist’s practice. The question and answer section lets you provide information for them and others who read this information later.
Post on Google
Make sure you include anything you can about your business that you want to post on Google. That includes:
- Educational info and insight into when people should set up an appointment
- Educational content about eye health and disease management
- Information about your business, including updates or changes to your services
- Special offers
- Booking opportunities for appointments
Utilize keywords and be sure you are standing out from the competition. Chances are good that you will see steady improvement in leads with consistent effort here.
List services your business provides
Finally, make sure your profile lists all of the services your practice offers. You can make a list of them to include in the profile. This is important for several reasons. First, it is a way for your business to communicate what you offer to your patients and prospective patients. You want someone to read through this profile, see what you have to offer, and want to connect with you immediately.
Second, your GBP should also create a way for Google to learn about your practice. These will work as keywords that help Google align your practice with people who may be looking for the services you offer. Be thorough here and include the names of technology, tests, screenings, eye diseases you manage, and any additional services you offer, such as in-home support for seniors, Medicaid and Medicare support, and flexible payment plans.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform Demo
These Google Business Profile tips for optometrists are exactly what you need to get started in the process of setting up and managing your profile, but that is not all you can do to maximize the number of people calling for an appointment or visiting your website. You can further enhance your online reputation, build out your search engine optimization, and see more steady leads from paid local search (within your budget) by getting some additional support.
Let us help you. Business intelligence marketing software from Surefire Local Marketing is available to you at a fraction of the cost of other tools or agencies. It helps you to manage the most important online marketing activities you have to tackle within one easy-to-use platform. Connect with us now to get answers to all of your questions. You can also sign up for a free demo of our software right now.