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    Jan
    24

    Google My Business – An Inside Look at GMB

     

    What if I told you that one search engine accounted for over 80% of the Search Engine Market? And if you look at only mobile devices, that same search engine accounts for over 90% of the market. According to StatCounter Google now accounts for 86.76% of the Search Engine Market Share, far surpassing Bing (6.97%) and Yahoo (5.17%). When looking at only Mobile traffic, StatCounter notes that Google has an even larger market share with 96.25% of traffic. Clearly, patients are using Google to find you and your practice.

     

    Search Engine Market Share:

    Mobile Search Engine Market Share:

    You can maximize your practice’s presence on Google by utilizing Google My Business (GMB). GMB is a free tool provided by Google that allows you to manage and enhance your online business listing. With GMB you can manage all of your business information, interact with patients, and understand what your patients are searching for, all in one dashboard.

    In this blog, we are going to explore some key features of GMB, and explain their importance in helping you get started with GMB. Before we get started, I would like to give a quick shout out to Dr. Hildebrand at Hildebrand Orthodontics for allowing us to use his listing in this article. Thanks, Dr. Hildebrand! Alright, let’s get started.

    For the purposes of this blog, we will assume your listing is verified and you have access to it. If your listing is not currently verified, information on claiming and verifying your Google listing can be found here.

    Let’s start by logging into your Google My Business listing. You can search “Google My Business” or click this link to get to the login page. If you find that your business listing has already been claimed by the previous owner of the practice, or some other party, follow these instructions here.

    When you first log into your GMB account you will need to select your location. You may notice you have more than one listing, possibly a doctor profile and a practice profile. While it’s important to claim both listings, the practice listing is the primary listing, as it generates the majority of traffic and represents your brand. After selecting the practice listing, you will be taken to your dashboard where you can update and manage your business information. The screenshot on the left showcases all of the features in GMB, and I highly recommend taking the time to explore everything GMB has to offer.

    Info

    The first tab we will look at is Info. Info refers to your business information such as Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP). In addition to your NAP, this tab allows you to add additional items that prospective patients may be concerned about. For example, you can indicate if your office speaks a different language. Simply click the language you or your staff speak, and the field will turn blue.

    According to a 2017 Moz study on local search ranking factors, Google My Business signals were the number one factor for local search results, accounting for 19% of search visibility. It’s important to keep your NAP up to date and consistent across all directories (Bing, Yelp, Facebook, Yahoo, and other directory listings).

    Insights

    Now that we understand the importance of having the correct information, let’s take a look at Insights. Insights will give you a better idea of how patients are searching for your business, where they are viewing your information, what actions they are taking, how your photos stack up against the competition, and how many of them are calling your office from your Google listing.

    The first section of Insights details how people are finding your listing, either directly by searching for your business name and/or address, or organically by discovering your listing by searching for categories, products, or services.

    Next, Google tells you where patients are viewing your business listing, either on the search results page or the Google Maps page. When a patient sees your Google Listing on the Google Maps page, they are viewing your staff photos, the exterior of your building, your interior photos, and ideally, the Google 360° tour of your practice. Of the 7,930 views Dr. Hildebrand had, 5,390 views came from his Google Maps listing.

    Below is a customer action chart which indicates what a patient is doing when looking at your business listing, without visiting your website. It is important to note that these actions are primarily tracked from mobile devices. Dr. Hildebrand does really well in this area and the results show in the 108 calls, 124 requests for directions and 109 website visits his business listing generated in just one month.

    Overall, when looking at Dr. Hildebrand’s data, you can see that the majority of his patients organically find his practice, and view his information on Google Maps. Dr. Hildebrand has a large number of photos on his listing including a Google 360° tour, which lets his patients step into his office virtually. Because of his quality photos and tours, he is receiving 155% more views than similar businesses.

    Once your post is live you can view the stats by clicking Posts in GMB. Dr. Hildebrand ran a campaign and his post linked directly to his landing page. As you can see, his post was viewed over 1,000 times and had a total of 7 clicks redeeming his offer – awesome results. Google wants businesses to update Posts regularly, so they remain live on your listing for only 7 days.

    Google is committed to providing patients with the information they need, and they are continually testing new features to provide the best consumer experience possible. Google wants people to make informed decisions as efficiently as possible, and Google My Business is one of the first steps in attracting new patients to your practice. So… what are you waiting for? Get started today!

    —Tyler Carter, Product Manager, Sesame Communications

    Resources:

    • [1] http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/all/united-states-of-america/
    • [2] http://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share/mobile/united-states-of-america/
    • [3] https://www.hildebrandortho.com/
    • [4] https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242#verify
    • [5] https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors/

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    Sesame is an industry leader in integrated, cloud-based marketing and patient-engagement solution designed exclusively for your practice. We know that effective patient communication is vital to the success of your practice and the efficiency of your team. With Sesame, you can take your practice to the next level, allowing you to concentrate on what’s really important – your patients!