How to Optimise Google My Business to get more Patients

Illustration of map
26 January 2022 | | Blog, Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation

With more than 92% of search engine market share, it’s clear to say that Google is king when it comes to online search traffic. Creating a Google My Business profile is a great way to attract new customers to your business through search and maps.

 

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is a business listing from Google. It allows you to provide photos and information of your practice including location, operating hours and the treatments/services you offer. Creating a profile is free and a great way to increase your visibility on Google’s services such as Search and Maps.

 

Why do you need a Google My Business Account?

Get discovered in Google and Google Maps

Whether you’re looking for website traffic or foot traffic, Google is the ultimate search referrer. A business profile helps ensure that people find your dental practice when looking for a dentist or particular dental treatments that you offer in their local area.

Your business listing shows searchers where and how to visit your practice – it’s also a great way to improve your local SEO. In particular, a listing for a local dental practice is more likely to appear for users in nearby locations using Google Maps.

Control your online business information

Your business profile allows you to control and update your contact information, business hours and other essential details as and when. You can post updates to share that you’ve expanded your service, temporarily closed or fully reopened (an especially useful feature during emergencies like Covid-19).

Google My Business profiles have strong local SEO, so the information you share will rank above third-party sites that may have out-of-date details.

Build trust through reviews

Reviews are a great way to build trust and credibility.

Google’s star rating and space for detailed reviews allows patients to share as much or as little information about their experience with your dental practice as they like. All of this information helps potential customers decide which business to visit.

It can be scary to think about reviews coming in on such a public platform, especially since you can’t pick and choose which Google My Business reviews to share. (Although you can respond to all reviews, as we’ll explain later.) But don’t panic, Google finds that a combination of positive and negative reviews is more trustworthy than page after page of glowing recommendations.

 

How to optimise your Google My Business profile

Google determines local search ranking based on three factors:

  • Relevance – how well your business listing matches a search
  • Distance – how far your location is from the search or searcher
  • Prominence – how well-known your business is (based on factors like links, number of reviews, review score, and SEO)

Here are some steps you can take to maximise your score for all three factors.

Complete all elements of your profile

Customers are more than twice as likely to consider your business as reputable if you have a complete Google My Business profile. They’re also 70% more likely to actually visit your location.

Verify your location(s)

Verified business locations are more likely to show in local search results across Google products, like Maps and Search. Including a verified location also helps improve your score for the distance ranking factor.

Add real images and videos of your business

Your Google Business Profile includes a logo and cover photo. Use images consistent with those on your social profiles to make it easier for people to recognise  your brand. You can also add images and videos to showcase your location, treatments, and dental team.

Include keywords in your profile

Using the right keywords will improve relevance. Our Dental Marketing and SEO team at Dental Design can help you uncover the terms people use to search for your business. Incorporating them in a natural way can help your listing appear in search. However, it’s important to avoid keyword stuffing or using irrelevant keywords – this can hurt your search rankings.

Encourage and answer reviews and questions

People trust people, more than they trust businesses. A good review can be the deciding factor for a prospective patient. The best time to ask for a review is after a patient has finished a treatment. Our EasyReview platform takes the stress away from online reviews ​​with an innovative, automated process.

Though you cannot turn off reviews for your Google My Business profile, you can flag and report inappropriate reviews. You can (and we recommend you do) respond to reviews – both positive and negative. In fact, businesses that respond to reviews are considered 1.7x more trustworthy than those who don’t.


For more information on optimising your Google My Business listing, get in touch with a Dental SEO team.

More posts from our team


Previous Post:
Next Post:

Back to all news

Reviews2025
Five Star
Reviewed Marketing
5 gold stars
google review logofacebook review with 5 stars
"Excellent service from James at Dental Design, thank you very much for your prompt attention whenever I get in touch! Would definitely recommend to a friend" Alison Tarmey View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Would definitely recommend to a friend"
5 gold stars
"As a dental practice manager I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough. They are just brilliant at what they do. Lucy and her colleagues are just an email or a phone call away...." Emma Smith View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough"
5 gold stars
"Really great company to deal with. They always respond quickly and are truly reliable. I would 100% recommend, the staff are so friendly and helpful." Michelle Molloy View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Really great company to deal with"
5 gold stars
"I got increased traffic and new patients applying to my surgery, once Dental Design upgraded my website. They are very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations..." Joanna Gallop View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations"
5 gold stars
"Lucy has been a star, responding to and acting upon our requests in a prompt, efficient and professional manner, as well as the rest of the Dental Design team..." Abhay Shah View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "I cannot recommend them highly enough"
5 gold stars
"...Since the website has been up and running Lucy Mander has been our point of contact. She has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us, especially during COVID-19 lockdown... " Lucy Jones View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us"
5 gold stars
"Thank you for all your help and support, and the provision of valuable learning aids for our patients and staff alike in these difficult times. We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!" Sandra Luck View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!"
5 gold stars
"Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism and can-do attitude. All of their staff are exceptionally competent and knowledgeable..." Harvey Rook View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism"
5 gold stars
"Having done extensive research into all the dental website companies, the team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled..." Neil Shah View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "The team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled"
5 gold stars
"The team at dental design (especially Rosie) are absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help. They are professional, friendly and extremely efficient. Rosie always gets back..." KiKi Wilmot View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help"
5 gold stars
"Dental Design are fantastic to work with, our website is amazing and the support they provide is second to none. Our account manager Rosie L is a fabulous point..." Luke Lucas View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Dental Design are fantastic to work with"
5 gold stars
"Having worked with the Dental Design team for the last six months, I've found them not only helpful, but friendly and approachable too. I bombard Marcus with regular..." Sophie Harper View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "always met with a swift and professional response"
5 gold stars
desk with branded documents