Be More Discoverable On Google Search

Did you know that 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business withing 24 hours? It's important now more than ever for your natural therapy practice to stay connected with clients and to be more discoverable to new ones.

A free listing on Google My Business (GMB) is exactly what you need to help your practice stand out and make sure that you're found on Google's search when someone needs your products, courses or services. 

Set some time aside and follow our step by step guide on how you can leverage a Google My Business listing to stay connected with clients and attract new ones.

1. Update Your GMB Dashboard

If you don't already have a listing, the first step would be to create one. Sign in to Google My Business and fill out your business details.

There are times when Google automatically generates listings for businesses, so ensure you check whether there's an existing listing before creating one. If there is, you simply have to claim it. Make sure you give Google as much information as you can regarding your business so that they can match your listings accurately to match your business to relevant customer queries.

There are three main factors that Google uses to determine local rankings:

1. Prominence - how well is your business known?
2. Relevance - does your listing match the searcher's queries?
3. Distance - how far is your physical business location from the searcher?

Fill out your whole profile, including the contact details, business category, services, etc and be sure to include relevant keywords in your listing. For instance, you could use keywords like 'natural therapy practice in (insert location)'.

2. Post Updates

The information on your GMB listing should always be up to date. Have you changed your physical address? Do you have an offer running? Do you have a new team member? Are you temporarily closed or open for more hours? This is the kind of information you should always include in your updates.

Creating a post on GMB is as simple as clicking on the posts tab on you left-hand menu and choosing your preferred type of posts from the options provided. Before hitting the "publish" button, preview the post to confirm that it's free of errors.

Most of Google My Business posts have an option to include rich media. Take advantage of this feature. Posts with videos, images or GIFs get more engagement than plain posts.

3. Stand Out With Photos & Videos

Videos and photos give you a chance to showcase what your natural therapy practice is all about. Businesses that include photos in their listings get 42% more direction requests, and 35% more clicks to their website than those without.

GMB allows you to include your logo and a cover photo, elements that make your brand more recognisable. To make your business stand out, however, you should include photos and videos of your practice to give potential clients a virtual tour of your space. If possible, hire a professional photographer to take flattering pictures of your reception area, your team, services, rooms etc.

This could make all the difference between clients choosing your business or that of your competitor.

4. Engage With Clients That Leave Reviews

Customer reviews are very important. They not only make your business seem more trustworthy but also, it improves your Google rankings.

Think of it this way, if you were looking to book a hotel and two listings showed up, one with a 3-star rating and the other with a 4.3 rating, which one would you pick? The one with the higher ratings! The same applies to your natural therapy practice; the more the positive reviews, the more the clients. A good review is all it takes to tip clients in your favour.

How you respond to customer reviews also matter a lot. To build more trust with potential clients, respond to all reviews. This shows your loyal clients that you value their feedback. What happens when you get a negative review? You reply to it as addressing issues raised in negative reviews and offering an apology, where warranted makes your business appear professional and open to feedback and improvement.

5. Use The Appointment Booking Feature

There's one factor that online customers enjoy most: convenience. The news is that Google My Business has built-in integrations that enhance convenience for your customers, and one of them is an appointment booking feature.

Through this feature, your customers can schedule appointments, which are then integrated into their Google calendar for automatic reminders so that they don't miss their bookings. You are also able to review all appointments through the bookings tab in your GMB. This feature enables you to convert customers who were just reviewing their options before visiting the practice at a later date.

6. Refine Your Postings With The GMB Insights

The insight features of a GMB account is one of the most undervalued, yet one of the most important. Through these analytics, you are able to refine your Google listing and even improve your posts, videos and keywords.

The GMB insights allow you to track the number of customers that call your business, those that request for directions, search for your business, click on your photos and the queries that your natural therapy practice is appearing for.

With this information, you are able to decide the keywords that should be included in your listing, the photos that are getting more engagement and the content with most actions. 

Bonus Tip: Review Your Listing Frequently. Don't just create a listing and abandon it. Review it periodically to update your business information and always look for ways to improve it.

Get The Most Out Of Your GMB Listing

If you hope to increase your local search rankings and capture new clients through Google, you need to have an optimised listing. Make it easy for your potential clients to find you and for Google to rank you highly by fully updating your profile, using photos and videos in your listing, posting frequently, responding to all reviews and using the insights to refine your listing

Does Your Natural Therapy Business Need Extra Help?

At IICT we have a range of useful articles and resources to help market your business. We also provide professional recognition and insurance for the world's largest range of natural therapy modalities in one simple membership. Learn more about memberships for natural health practitioners with IICT here or contact our team today.