How to Increase the Online Visibility of Your Healthcare Practice

How easily can patients find you online? If you search for your specialty on Google, does your practice appear in the local results?

There used to be a time when businesses thrived without a strong internet presence. But that’s simply not true anymore. Your online business identity is quickly becoming the primary way people find you and judge your services.

Therefore, if you’re serious about growing your practice, then you need to have a strategy to increase your online visibility and reputation.

You don’t have to take my word for it. This 2018 survey explains why:

• 80% of respondents have used the internet to make a healthcare-related search in the past year.
• 63% of respondents will choose one provider over another because of a strong online presence.
• 60% of respondents have chosen one provider over another based on a positive online reputation.

The internet yields considerable influence over people’s choices and preferences. 

We search Amazon for things to buy, Google for places to eat, and Facebook for local events. 

The consumer journey today begins online, and now we’re seeing this trend move into healthcare as well. 

So are you taking the right steps to increase your visibility online where patients can learn about your services?

Today I’m going to walk you through each step you need to increase your visibility online and show up in your patient searches on Google and Facebook.

And the best part is that you don’t need to be a digital marketing expert. You don’t need to hire a web consultant.

You can do every step yourself and do it for free.

So let’s get started.

Table of Contents

• Step 1. Boost your local search results with Google My Business
• Step 2. Get in front of 2 billion monthly users with a Facebook Business Page
• Step 3. Gather and respond to online reviews
• Conclusion

Step 1. Boost your local search results with Google My Business

The number of websites on the internet today is astounding. In the past decade alone, the number has skyrocketed over 500% to reach over 1.5 billion domains!

Thankfully, search engines like Google have made it incredibly easy to find what you’re looking for. 

Searches like “dentists near me,” or “family doctors in West Michigan” will quickly return a list of local businesses that match what you’re looking for.

You probably recognize search results like these. Google calls these the local pack.

The local pack typically consists of the top three business results, plus any additional paid ads. And it is one of the best places to be if you want to increase your online visibility.

Why it’s important to get verified on Google My Business

A Google My Business profile is arguably the most effective free marketing tool available for small, independent healthcare business owners today. 

Consider that a business with an optimized Google business listing is 2.7X more likely to be considered reputable than businesses with an unoptimized listing, will average 7X more clicks, and generate 70% more location visits.

The cool thing about verifying your business on Google is that it’s free and super easy to do.

How to claim your business if it’s already listed on Google Maps

If your practice shows up in a Google Maps search, this means that you are already listed. That’s great!

But to gain control and edit your listing, you’ll first need to claim it. 

Here’s how to do it.

1. Go to your Google Maps listing

Click on your listing and look for the option called “Manage this listing.” Clicking on this button will open a series of steps to identify and claim the business as your own.

You’ll have the opportunity to correct the name, address, and contact information for the listing, as well as enter a URL for your website.

2. Choose your verification method

Google will then send you a PIN verification code, which you can then enter online to claim your business. Depending on what information is on file, Google will give you the option to:

• Send a postcard to the physical address of your practice
• Call or text the phone number associated with the practice
• Email the email address listed for the practice

Once this is done, you will have successfully verified your ownership of the business with Google and can begin managing your listing to increase your online visibility.

How to create a new business listing on Google Maps

If your business does not appear on Google Maps, you will need to go through the process of adding it.

Start by visiting Google My Business and clicking the button “Manage now.”

Follow the simple prompts to enter your business name, address, service category, and contact information.

At the very end, you’ll click “Finish” and check your email inbox for a confirmation email to verify your new business profile.

Google will add your practice location to their listing, but it may not show up on the map right away. Your new business listing has to make its way onto Google’s servers first which may take up to 24 hours.

However, Google will email you an alert once your new listing is active and will provide a link to visit it.

How to use your Google My Business listing to maximize your online visibility

Now that you have claimed your business on Google, it’s time to use your new profile to its full potential.

Update business information

There are a lot of information fields you’ll want to update, including:

• Business hours
• Special hours (for holidays)
• Phone number
• Profile short name
• Website
• Appointment URL
• Services
• Products
• Description of the business
• Opening date
• Photos

Add posts

You can add short posts to your Google listing, similar to a blog on your website. This is a great way to share what’s going on at your practice directly from your local listing on Google. 

Posts can also be used to inform patients of special events, offers, and products that you want to promote. 

Here’s an example of a Google post that advertises free teeth whitening.

Include photos and videos

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” 

Don’t be shy about adding photos and videos of your office space and healthcare team to your Google My Business listing. 

Here are some tips and tricks regarding Google My Business photos from BrightLocal.com:

• 60% of consumers say local search results with good images capture their attention and push them towards a decision.
• Upload a variety of images to Google My Business, including exterior shots, interior photos, snaps of staff, and pictures of products.
• Avoid overly professional photography as this can actually make your business seem untrustworthy. People want a real feel for your business.
• Do not use stock photography in your Google My Business listing. Google will find and delete stock photos.

Step 2. Get in front of 2 billion monthly users with a Facebook Business Page

Like it or not, Facebook is a digital marketing platform that you cannot afford to ignore. 

The fact is being on Facebook makes it easier for patients to discover and learn about your practice online. If you want to increase your visibility on social media, you need to start by creating a Facebook Business Page.

If you don’t have one yet, I’ll show you how to quickly set one up and have your page up and running in no time. 

Note: You will need a personal Facebook account to create a Facebook Business Page.

How to set up a Facebook Business Page for your practice

1. Sign up

Go to facebook.com/business/pages and click the button to create a page.

Choose to get started with a Business page and enter in your contact information.

2. Add photos

Next, you’ll be asked to upload a profile picture. 

Your business logo makes for a good profile picture. The ideal size is 360 x 360 pixels.

After that, you’ll be asked to choose a cover photo. The cover photo is a banner image across the top of your profile page that adds personality and complements your brand. 

The ideal cover photo for Facebook should be 820 x 360 pixels.

If you don’t have a good cover photo to choose from, check out one of the free stock photo websites listed below.

• Pexels
• Unsplash
• Stocksnap

Search for terms like “doctor,” “dentist,” or “healthcare” to pull up a photo that may be an appropriate representation of your practice.

3. Explore your new page

Congratulations! At this point, you have officially created a new Facebook Business Page.

However, it is extremely sparse and will need some TLC before it’s ready to start recruiting new patients for your practice. 

The first thing to do is go through the brief Facebook tutorial by clicking the button “See All Page Tips.”

In this quick tutorial, you can create a handy username, add business hours, and bookmark the Creator Studio for future content creation. 

4. Edit page info

There is a lot of information you will want to add to your new Facebook Business Page.

To start, click on the hamburger icon located underneath your cover photo and adjacent to the “Share” button.

Click “Edit Page Info” to edit all of the contact details for your healthcare practice.

5. Add even more to your page

On the left side of your page, you’ll notice tabs for the following categories:

• Services
• Reviews
• Shop
• Offers
• Photos
• Videos
• Posts
• Events
• About
• Community
• Promote

Explore each of these tabs to fill out your page.

While it may be tempting to save it for later, it’s important that you fill out as much helpful information as you can right from the start. 

Facebook is quickly becoming one of the first places patients go to get information about your practice. So make it easy for them to learn why your practice is their best choice.

6. Add a call to action

Facebook makes it really easy for you to encourage new patients to contact you, learn more about your business, or schedule an appointment. 

On the “Home” tab, click “Add a Button” underneath your cover photo.

If you choose “Book with you,” then you can redirect people to a scheduling page on your website, or you can set appointments right on Facebook. 

If you choose “Learn more about your business,” then you can send people to watch a video or redirect them to your website for more information. 

And if you choose “Contact you,” then you can add links to your email, phone number, Messenger, or other ways for people to get in touch with you.

7. Get social

The real value in Facebook marketing is the ability to connect with such a large audience on one platform. Now that you have a complete profile, you want to share and connect with the Facebook community. 

The first thing you should do is invite your friends to “like” your page. On the right side of the Home screen, you will find a list of friends that you can invite to like your page.

Next, you can leverage the credibility of other businesses and organizations by liking their Facebook page. 

For example, a dentist might want to show prospective patients that they are a big fan of the new Greek restaurant downtown, or that they are a member of the American Dental Association. 

Start by searching for the business or organization.

Once you find what you’re looking for, simply click the “Like” button. 

Finally, use Facebook to share blog posts and status updates. 

Facebook should be your #1 social media marketing platform. A good rule of thumb to guide your posting strategy is the “70-20-10” rule. 

70% of your posts should be original content that boosts your practice’s brand. This might be pictures of your staff, updates from a community event you sponsored, fun hashtags, or short blog posts. 

20% of your posts can be shared from other sources.

For example, maybe you could share a listicle of the top 10 toothpaste brands from a popular website. Something fun that your audience might find interesting.

And finally, the last 10% of your posts can be self-promotional. One example could be a teeth-whitening special or some other holiday promotion that you want to advertise.

Step 3. Gather and respond to online reviews

Online reviews on sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, and HealthGrades, have a growing influence on provider’s reputations and their practice’s ability to attract new patients.

Here are the facts according to one study:

• 94% of patients use online reviews to evaluate their physicians
• 72% of patients use online reviews as the very first step to finding a new doctor
• 48% of respondents would go out of their insurance network for a provider with favorable reviews
• 70% of respondents feel it’s “very” or “moderately important” for providers to respond publicly to online reviews

It’s clear that you need a strategy to encourage more positive reviews if you want to increase your visibility online.

Make it easy for people to leave you a review

Now that you have a Google My Business account and Facebook Business Page setup, you should make it easy for people to leave you a review on those sites.

Both Google and Facebook have a dedicated review link that you can use on your website, in your emails, or anywhere else that you might interact with patients online.

To get your Google review link, start by signing in to your Google My Business account. On the Home screen, just copy the link in the box titled “Get your first review.” Use this link to create buttons that direct people to leave you a review on Google.

A similar review link can be found on Facebook. 

First login to your Facebook Business Page and click “Settings” in the upper right. Then choose “Templates and Tabs” on the left. Toggle “Show Reviews” on and then copy the URL at the bottom.

Encourage patients to leave a review

Not only do you want to make it easy for patients to leave a review, but you also want to encourage them to do so. 

7 out of 10 customers will leave a review if you ask. 

Here are some suggestions to help you get more patient reviews online.

1. Send an automated email after a patient visit asking them to rate and review you online
2. Ask people to check-in on Facebook when they check-in to the front desk
3. Offer a small discount for people who check-in or leave a review online
4. Include the link to your Facebook and Google profiles on your website
5. Hang a sign in the waiting room, or include instructions in the practice brochure, to encourage reviews online

How to respond to positive reviews while being HIPAA compliant

The vast majority of patients leave positive online reviews for healthcare providers. 

But just because you receive a review that doesn’t cause any trouble, that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Positive reviews require a response just as much as a negative review. 

You should see positive reviews as a great way to spread a positive message and increase the visibility of your brand online. 

But when you say “thank you” online, be careful not to violate HIPAA privacy laws. 

Here’s how to respond to positive patient reviews, the HIPAA compliant way, according to an article by RepuGen:

• Start by saying thank you. Here’s an example: “Hi! Thank you so much for the kind words. We appreciate you taking the time to share your great experience!”
• Keep it ambiguous. Don’t use phrases like, “It was great to see you,” or “Thank you for visiting the office.” Avoid saying anything that indirectly exposes the identity or actions of a patient.
• Use the name of your practice. This is a great opportunity to include the name of your practice, location, or services offered in your response. This may help the positive reviews about your practice bubble to the top in Google search results. For example, “The team here at [your practice name] are delighted to hear your feedback, and we’re proud to be the most trusted [service category] provider in [location name].”

Here’s one example of a HIPAA compliant response to a positive review.

How to respond to negative reviews while being HIPAA compliant

Despite the majority of positive reviews left online, occasionally negative reviews do happen. When they do, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

First, never ignore a bad review. 70% of surveyed patients said that it’s important to them that providers answer negative reviews in a reasonable way that presents their side of the encounter.

Rick Ostopowicz, Senior Account Executive at Nevins & Associates, has this to say about responding to negative reviews:

“One thing that providers need to remember is that the responses given are not just for the patients leaving the feedback; in fact, many patients will simply rant online and then move on to rant about something or someone else. Rather, the responses should show other potential patients who are researching a practice or facility that the provider listens, empathizes, takes all feedback seriously and addresses matters promptly (if possible).”

Your policy for responding to negative reviews should include the following:

• Don’t take it personally. Always respond in a professional, courteous tone. It might help to wait a little bit and formulate a level response before you write a knee-jerk reaction.
• Begin with an apology. Even if you don’t agree with the complaint, start with an apology and sympathetic tone. Next, briefly explain your stance and acknowledge that you are serious about addressing their concerns. An example might read, “We are sorry to learn about your bad experience. However, this is not something that goes with our standards. Our representative will connect with you to learn more about it.”
• Keep it anonymous. Never respond to a patient review in such a way that discloses the patient’s identity and/or their personal health information; such as, but not limited to, phone number, email address, appointment dates or times, diagnosis or test results.
• Offer to move the conversation offline. Provide contact information of someone at your practice whom unhappy patients can contact to discuss their problem in person. For example – “Hi! My name is [name], and I’m the [provider/practice manager] at our practice. If you’d like to discuss this further, please call me at [phone number] or email at [email address] during regular business hours.”

Here’s some more advice about responding to negative reviews from Software Advice:

Conclusion

Digital marketing cannot be ignored by independent healthcare providers. Like any other business, consumers are looking online to get more information before they buy. 

Doctors and dentists who own their own practice need to increase their online visibility if they want to stay relevant and attract new patients. 

Thankfully, digital marketing doesn’t need to be expensive or time-consuming to be effective. As we’ve seen in this article, you can quickly promote your practice on Google and Facebook for free.

How has your practice benefited from Google or Facebook? Let us know in the comments below!