When a patient searches "pediatrician near me" or "family doctor open Saturday," your Google Business Profile is often the first thing they see. Not your website. Not your brochure. Your profile.
I see the same pattern in practice after practice: excellent clinical care, and a profile that was set up years ago and never touched again. Wrong hours. A phone number that rings at the old office. Three photos from 2019. For a patient deciding in under a minute, that reads as "maybe not."
The good news is that this is one of the fastest fixes in healthcare marketing. Set aside 30 minutes, open your profile, and work through this list.
Minutes 0–5: Check the basics
Search for your own practice name, the way a patient would. Then check three things.
Name, address and phone number. They should match your website exactly, word for word. Small differences confuse both patients and Google.
Hours. Include lunch closures and any day you are only open by appointment. Patients who arrive at a closed door rarely come back.
Special hours. Add upcoming holidays now, not the morning of.
Minutes 5–12: Fix your categories and services
Google uses your categories to decide which searches you appear for. This is where many practices lose visibility without knowing it.
Choose the most specific primary category that describes you. "Pediatrician" will serve you better than a broad "Doctor."
Add secondary categories only for services you genuinely provide.
List your services in plain words a patient would use, such as "newborn check-ups," "vaccinations" or "sick visits," rather than clinical shorthand.
Minutes 12–18: Rewrite your description
Most descriptions are either empty or read like a legal notice. Write three or four sentences that answer what a worried parent or patient actually wants to know: who you treat, what you are known for, and how to book.
Keep it factual and calm. Avoid superlatives like "best" or "leading." In healthcare, trust is built by being clear, not loud.
Minutes 18–23: Refresh your photos
Patients want to picture the visit before they make it. Add clear, current photos of:
the entrance, so people can find you,
the waiting area,
the exam room, and
your team, if they are comfortable being shown.
Never upload anything that shows a patient or identifiable health information. When in doubt, leave it out.
Minutes 23–28: Add your booking link and check your website link
If you take online appointments, add the booking link directly to the profile. Then click your website link yourself on a phone. If the page is slow or hard to read on mobile, you are losing patients at the exact moment they were ready to act.
Minutes 28–30: Look at your reviews
Scroll through your recent reviews and note two things: how many are unanswered, and whether any complaint keeps repeating. You do not need to fix this today. But you now know where your reputation work should begin, which is the subject of my next post.
Do this every quarter
A profile is not a one-time setup. Put a 30-minute reminder in your calendar every three months. Hours change, services are added, and a team member leaves. The practices that look trustworthy online are usually the ones that simply keep this current.
Where to go from here
If you finish the audit and want a second pair of eyes, or you would like help turning visibility into a steady stream of new patients, I am happy to look at your profile with you. Book a 20-minute call and tell me where you are stuck.
