Google published a new help document designed to help healthcare providers get started with Google My Business.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for healthcare providers to have an online presence that can be easily found by people who need it.
That’s always the case even at the best of times, but it’s true now more than ever.
The new help document is written specifically for healthcare providers like doctors, therapists, and other medical practitioners.
They can all use Google My Business to claim and manage their practice’s info.
Google emphasizes that healthcare providers can add details about remote services like telemedicine, which is ideal with people being under lockdown and practicing social distancing.
With a verified Google My Business profile, owners and administrators of practices can engage with and update current patients, and attract potential new patients.
Google’s GMB Tips for Healthcare Providers
Google highlights the following Google My Business features that are useful to healthcare providers:
- Manage information such as hours of operation and contact info.
- Add health services offered, like telemedicine, house calls, diagnostics, and procedures.
- Engage with patients.
- Upload photos to show patients what they’ll see before they arrive.
- Control who has access to your business profiles with location groups.
Adding Services
Practices can list their services in their business profile in Google.
A service list can be either manually entered or provided by a third party.
Along with the name of the service, providers can also choose to include a description and price.
Providers can choose what to include from suggested types of services or add their own custom services.
Engaging With Patients
Google specifically recommends using Google Posts to keep patients up-to-date about major heath events as well as new and popular services.
It’s also recommended to assign someone the role of a site manager so they can do the work of managing the GMB profile.
Uploading Photos
When it comes to uploading photos, Google recommends adding educational pictures and diagrams to help people learn more about the types of health services provided.
Help People Stay Home
If you read between the lines, it sounds like Google is encouraging healthcare providers to offer as much information as they can online.
By offering detailed information and a variety of media through Google My Business, healthcare providers can prevent people from visiting their location to acquire that information in person.
Again, this all comes back to social distancing and keeping people safe by allowing them to stay home.
Visibility in Search Results
Google’s new help document provides some brief details about how the GMB profile of a healthcare provider is surfaced in search results.
Google notes that factors such as relevance, distance, and prominence of the practice itself all determine whether the Google My Business profile appears in a search.
Information that may be shown in the business profile section includes:
- Website
- Directions
- Phone number
- Customer reviews
- Photos
- Short summary of the practice
For more information, see Google’s complete help document.
