Improve your orthodontic office’s local ranking with Google My Business

Don’t take a NAP when it comes to your orthodontic practice on Google Business. Every orthodontist needs to claim their practice's business listing on Google.

Hands down, that is the most important piece of advice you need to know. You can pretty much stop here if you haven’t done that already. Go ahead and create or claim your business. We will wait. Done? OK. Great! Your Google My Business listing is vital to capturing local search traffic. Test it out yourself. If you type in “orthodontic office” into your mobile device you’ll probably see results for practices located in your immediate area. According to Google, claiming your listing and updating your info will help your business achieve a better local ranking and enhance your presence in Search and Maps.

What better time to capture attention than at the  very moment people need it most? Even if you didn't create a business listing for your orthodontic office (or offices) one still probably exists. Go and claim all your business locations so you can manage details found in the listings, especially the essentials: Name, Address, and Phone number - or NAP as it is called in Search Engine Optimization circles. A few additional things to remember to do:

• Verify your location - Helps your business appear in Maps and other Google products.
• Keep your hours accurate - Include special hours for holidays and special events. This is essential for people to know when they can come by or contact your office without getting sent to voicemail. Add photos - A picture is worth a thousand words - especially on the web. Highlight your friendly staff, interior shots of your office, and patients smiling after they get their braces on or off.
• Reviews - It is very important that you gather positive, starred reviews associated with your practice and interact with customers by responding to reviews they leave. (Click here for 5 things you need to know about online reviews.) Google says that “high-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location.”

Google's local search results favor relevancy, completeness, and accuracy above all else. So make sure you enter all of your information.and keep it up-to-date!

Want to know more about how to supercharge your Google My Business listing and convert more patients? Get a free marketing analysis, contact People & Practice today at 888.866.DOCS, or by email at [email protected].