Is your practice taking full advantage of the recently released Google My Business (GMB) attributes? It’s important to stay on top of the ever-changing features so you can take advantage of new (and FREE…we like FREE!) ways to improve your local search presence. Here’s a few recent updates you may have missed.
1. Health and Safety Attributes
GMB added new health and safety attributes in late 2020 to make it easier for people to make informed decisions about health care providers. Adding these relevant attributes to your business profile helps your practice stand out online and increases the chance that your practice will show up in search results when people search for places with these health safety standards.
- Appointment required
- Mask required
- Staff get temperature checks
- Staff required to disinfect surfaces between visits
- Staff wear masks
- Temperature checks required
2. Online Service Attributes
Over the past year, so much has changed in our every day lives and in the way we do business. Many aspects of this new “virtual” world are here to stay. Letting your patients know you offer virtual services by displaying them in your profile will help improve discovery, more easily communicate your online offerings to patients, and facilitate the online booking process.
- Online Care
- Online Appointment
- Online Classes
Virtual patient education webinars qualify as “Online Classes”, as long as the webinars take place in real time. These attributes make your practice much more attractive to patients looking for convenience and for patients who just want to avoid being exposed to COVID.
3. Messaging
GMB recently rolled out messaging on desktop, as well as the mobile app. It works just like a standard online chat. You just need to opt in and turn Messages on. One caveat – you need to make sure you respond to messages within a 24 hours or Google punishes you by revoking your messaging rights….as always, it’s all about the customer experience. You won’t be permanently banned, you’ll just need to go through the opt in process again.
4. Black-Owned Business
In response to user interest, GMB launched this new attribute to make it easier for people to find black-owned businesses.
5. Max Video Upload Size
Video remains king, and should be an important part of your practice’s online presence. GMB has recently changed its maximum video upload size from 100MB to 75MB. Similar to the upcoming changes in metrics for ranking your website’s mobile performance, Google is all about enhancing patient experience with easier to digest content with faster load times.
Think of GMB as a free tool from Google to help you manage your practice’s online presence. Keeping up with GMB changes and completely optimizing your profile for online search can have a huge impact on promoting your practice online. Need help? Give us a call!
