How to Generate More Patient Leads Through Your Dental Practice’s GMB Profile

Several dentists and dental practices struggle to get the most out of their patient acquisition strategies. At times, dentists who do a good job of setting up marketing campaigns and getting their practices listed on popular dental directories make one common mistake: they ignore the management of their campaigns and listings. 

One of such listings that tend to be unmonitored and mismanaged is the Google My Business profile. This free tool is easy to set up and populate with essential details needed to showcase your dental practice. But if it isn’t updated and optimized from time to time, you could lose tons of traffic and patient leads. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Google My Business (GMB) profiles, you should read our article titled “What Is Google My Business And Why Is Maps Visibility So Important?”. 

That article goes into more detail about the importance of creating a GMB profile for your dental practice. In this particular article, however, we will share six tips to help you attract more patient leads through your dental practice’s GMB profile. 

6 Tips to Get More Patient Leads Through Your Practice’s Google My Business Profile

1. Update Your Dental Practice’s Profile Information

Google My Business profiles are great for sharing essential information about your dental practice. Ideally, patients should be able to learn key details about your practice by simply viewing your profile. As such, it is vital to keep your profile updated. Otherwise, you could be sharing misleading information and turning prospective patients away. 

Some key details that you should double-check for typos or any sort of inaccuracy include your dental practice’s business name, phone number, current hours of operation, physical address, and links to your website. You should also consider specifying your holiday hours so you don’t raise expectations of patients who might be looking to make an appointment during their time off. 

2. Choose the Right Business Category

Several businesses use Google My Business profiles to highlight their services to their customers. To help internet users identify the exact service they need at a given time, Google allows businesses to specify their business category or type. This entry is so important that it plays a crucial role in determining the number one ranking factor for Google searches: Local Pack. 

Google’s Local Pack is a widget, or a shortened listing, that appears at the top of Google’s SERPs when internet users look up location-specific search queries such as ‘dental practices near me.’ Patients who search for dental services in their local area will likely see this feature. 

To give your dental practice the best chance of being included in Google’s Local Pack, you must ensure you’ve selected the right business category on your Google My Business Profile. If you’re unsure about your business category, choose ‘dental clinic.’

3. Add A Link to Your Practice’s Appointment Page

You can now add a link on your Google My Business profile that points patients directly to your practice’s appointment web page. This feature allows patients ready to schedule a dental appointment with you, to do so right away. It takes patients precisely to where you want them and helps you convert leads faster. If you haven’t already added your appointment page’s link to your GMB profile, you should do so right now. 

4. Add Button for Phone Calls

Like your appointment page’s link, you should add a button that encourages patients to call your front desk. Many patients prefer making a phone call to schedule a dental appointment rather than using an online form. You don’t want to turn these patients away. Instead, you should give them the option to call your office right away. 

If you’re going to add a button for phone calls, you should also make sure your dental practice’s phone line is well set up. If you haven’t already done so, you should consider adding a voicemail greeting for weekends or hours when you’re out of the office. Additionally, make sure you or your team respond to voicemails and missed calls swiftly. 

5. Share Posts on Your Google My Business Profile

Did you know you can share posts on your Google My Business profile as you do on your social media profile? 

The posts you share on your GMB profile are way more valuable than those you share on social media because they help boost your local SEO and search ranking. More so, these posts are a great way to engage with your current and prospective patients publicly. Take some time, now and then, to share updates in the form of posts on your profile. When you do, be sure to include relevant keywords that can help you rank well locally. 

6. Reply Patients’ Reviews

Finally, when patients leave reviews and feedback—positive or negative—and rate your practice on your Google My Business profile, don’t ignore them. Instead, reply and use that opportunity to showcase your dental practice as the stable of excellence that you know it is. This single act can help build trust in your practice and expertise amongst prospective patients, and as a result, attract more patient leads. Before you reply to patients’ reviews, learn the regulations for doing so first here.  

With these six tips, you’re well aware of what you need to do to attract more patient leads through your Google My Business profile. If you need more help to improve your patient acquisition strategy, you can reach out to a Connect the Doc dental marketing specialist today.