Google My Business (GMB) is a convenient, free, and potentially important part of any dental practice’s marketing efforts.
Consider these strategies for using Google My Business to market your dental practice.
First, you'll want to complete your Google My Business profile with as much information about your practice as possible. Include your website URL, telephone number, complete address, hours of operation, and a link to book an appointment online if you have one.
Missing information is displayed with a large headline that says "Add Missing Information," which takes up valuable real estate on your GMB card and creates the impression that your business is less legitimate than others.
The more complete the information on your GMB account is, the more professional your practice will appear. It’ll also help more prospective patients find essential contact information about your practice, like your address and phone number.
Once your listing has been completed, you'll be asked to verify your dental practice. This is an important step to "prove" to Google that you're the actual owner of the dental practice listed.
This step can be done either via a mailed postcard with a code that you'll enter or via phone. Not all practices will be able to verify their business over the phone, however, so you may want to request a postcard instead to speed up the verification process.
If the card gets lost before you are able to verify your Google My Business profile, you can request another. However, this extends the amount of time your listing remains unverified. Pay special attention to your mail and be on the lookout for a glossy Google postcard — it may look like junk mail.
Good Google reviews are extremely valuable for your practice. However, happy patients don't often leave reviews — they simply go on about their day.
After their exams, encourage your patients to leave a review if they're happy. If your dental practice management software has the capability, consider sending a text alert or an email with a link to where they can review your practice to make it easier for them.
More potential patients are scoping out your practice online before they step foot in your door. Consumers often make decisions about what doctors they'll see, what salons they'll go to, and even which restaurants they'll dine at based on the photos they find on an establishment's Google My Business profile.
If possible, have a professional photographer shoot the interior and exterior of your office. If hiring a pro isn't in your budget, use a high-quality camera to take clear, straightforward images of the front of your office, exam rooms, dental office equipment, and staff members.
When uploading images to your GMB profile, choose friendly headshots of your staff first and add your office photos last. Initially, users are more attracted to smiling faces than buildings and will be more likely to click on your listing.
If photos of your office speak a thousand words, videos speak a million. A professional Google Street View photographer or videographer can help you create a sleek, interactive virtual tour of your practice that users can explore independently as if they were in your office by clicking and dragging their finger or mouse.
You can also use the panoramic function on your camera or a fishbowl lens to capture wide-angle views of different areas in your office. Bundle them together in a dedicated photo gallery. This can help patients visualize your space more accurately and help them make a decision to book an appointment.
A great way to showcase any specials or sales that your practice is offering is with Google Posts. You can also use Posts to draw attention to new or popular dental procedures in your office.
Using Google Posts, you can create a compelling call to action that prompts users to visit your website, call your office, or make an appointment online. Google Posts are managed from the dashboard of your GMB profile and can also be accessed with the phone app.
Another powerful marketing feature of Google My Business for dentists is the ability to enable users to text your practice via your GMB card. The easier it is to contact your office, the more likely potential patients will take the initiative to do so.
You must use a telephone that can receive text messages, so consider purchasing a dedicated cell phone for this purpose. Your front desk staff or marketing team can monitor the messages and respond to users as needed.
The telephone number you use won't be published, but Google will deliver the message to the number registered on your behalf.
Growing your practice is an endless endeavor. You will always be refining your marketing strategy and deploying new initiatives to bring more patients to your office, or at least you should be.
While seeing growth can be exciting, it also requires a great deal of effort. This can feel overwhelming, especially for busy dental practices. You need a wide variety of effective, affordable tools to help you market your practice, manage your team efficiently, and deliver the highest quality dental care possible.
At Treloar and Heisel, we understand how important it is to develop sound strategies for ongoing growth, and we're dedicated to helping our clients find appropriate solutions for their dental practices. We can help you obtain solutions for your insurance coverage needs and other services that we offer.
Contact us today for more information.
Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Property and Casualty are divisions of Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Insurance products are offered through Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer legal or marketing advice. Please consult with a professional concerning these topics.