Having a Clinic or a Hospital and a network of professionals is not enough in the competitive world we are living in today. Gone are the days when doctors used to rely on their peers for referrals and value-addition. It’s a new era, a digital era, where even the most insignificant query is searched online and is subsequently answered by the virtual demigod – Google.
From a pin to a plane, everything that needs to be researched is search
ed online. People search for the nearest restaurants, dry cleaners, speciality shops, even look for sports activities and gymnasium, on google. So is the case for people looking for clinics and hospitals. Therefore, healthcare businesses like hospitals need to optimize their online presence for google search. Your prospective client list improves substantially if your business is easily searchable on Google. It’s the post “Covid” era where people are using their smartphones for everything, including searching for doctors and hospitals. This is where Google My Business (commonly known as GMB) becomes vitally important.
What is Google My Business?
The small box that is displayed on the right-hand side of the screen when you search for something online is an example of registering your services on “Google My Business”. What Google does is, displays the most relevant result in this box that belongs to the keyword inserted by the user.
Google My Business is a free tool that helps local businesses maintain and manage their profiles online. Almost all of the population that uses the internet uses Google to look for their searches. The more your business pops up in people’s searches the more inflow of clients you are likely to get. Make use of all the features provided in GMB and you are all set.
1) First Impression
GMB sets the first impression of your business to your clients based on the information included by you while listing your business. Even though your website lists all these details they are not as easily accessible as GMB.
2) Description
GMB gives each listing space of 750 words to describe their business. This is where you should highlight any speciality that will distinguish you from other local and similar businesses along with your working protocols. Using a couple of relevant keywords that describe your business will help in optimizing your SEO, as well.
3) Improved SEO
A complete and detailed listing of your business helps in improving your SEO rankings. This means your business will be listed in “Top Results” for searches relating to your domain.
4) Marks Your Location On Map
Google My Business allows you to mark your hospital’s or clinic’s location on the map. This is crucial for you because this is where you make yourself visible and direct potential clients to your hospital easily. Due to the pictorial representation, it draws the attention of the searcher promptly. It also facilitates the searcher with the relevant information of your business like your contact numbers, working hours, star ratings, etc.
5) Patient's Review
A whopping 93% of people rely on customer reviews regarding the business, according to research. A positive rating from a client who has first-hand experience of your services will garner more trust than a paid advertisement. People look for other people’s opinions to form an impression of the place they want to visit. Therefore, your business should have honest customer reviews on GMB. Also, a business listing with good customer reviews plays a crucial role in improving your SEO ranking. Notice how the top 3 results of any search are arranged in descending order based on their reviews? Now, imagine if your listing had no reviews at all.
6) Direct Interaction
The messaging functionality of GMB allows a user to directly message you via email or call you up. So, booking appointments becomes very easy. You can also update your working hours and days accordingly so that people are not disappointed when they turn up on your doorstep on a non-working day. Your hospital listing on GMB can highlight whether you are a covid-special hospital or not saving crucial treatment-access time. It’s an excellent way for people to get in touch with you for their enquiries and information.
All of these need careful planning and strategy for the best results. In most cases, taking out time and sparing precious time seems quite overwhelming. But this too can be overcome with digital marketing services. We, at Docstokes, provide digital marketing services especially for the healthcare sector to overcome your online marketing woes. As a hospital, there are an array of benefits that Google My Business can help you with. Listing your hospital on GMB is as essential as having doctors in your hospital.
