Google Business Posts for Dentists: What You Need to Know

As a dentist, keeping up with the latest in SEO and social media can feel like a Sisyphean task. Just when you think you have a handle on SEO, there’s an algorithm change; as soon as you’ve mastered all of your social media platforms, a new one pops up. 

One of the more recent updates with Local SEO is the rise of Google Business posts. In this article, we’ll get you up to speed on Google Business, Google Business posts and the importance of incorporating this activity within your SEO strategy.

What Is Google Business?

Whether or not you’re a current Dentalfone client, we’re betting you’re familiar with Google Business. This is a feature Google offers local businesses to allow them to manage their own presence on Google Search and Google Maps. As a dental practice, local search is the front door to any SEO strategy, so if you’re not already active on Google Business, it’s time to get started. 

Google Business gives you the ability to take charge of your own information on Google; if you don’t use Google Business, Google will decide on its own what to share with potential patients about your practice and it may not be accurate. When we start working with clients on Google Business, it’s not unusual to find old office locations, prior practitioners that worked at the practice and inaccurate business hours listed in Google.

What Are Google Business Posts?

In the past, Google Business focused on essential business information, maps, and reviews. Now, businesses also have the opportunity to share updates with Google Business posts.   General updates, CV-19 announcements, special offers and much more are now available, all of which help drive additional search traffic to your practice website.

Here’s what a Google Business post looks like:

If we were to compare Google Business posts to another social media platform, we’d say they’re most like Facebook profile updates — you can include text, images, and links with your latest blog posts, promotions, or office news. In fact, if you don’t have the time or budget to dedicate to Google Business posts, we recommend simply repurposing your Facebook posts for the platform so you’re consistently sharing content there. 

How often should you post to Google Business? We recommend sharing posts to your account at least once a week.

How to Use Google Business Posts for Your Dental Practice

Most of your updates should have images to grab attention as well as a caption that is engaging and encourages conversion. Google Business posts are ideal for sharing upcoming events, offers or discounts, hour updates, and new services. Here are some quick tips to get you started:

• Use high quality images and videos in your posts. Pictures that are blurry or have low resolution will make your practice look unprofessional and outdated.
• Don’t max out the character limit. Keep it short and simple—people should be able to skim your updates and get the gist of what you’re saying.
• Have a clear call to action. For a blog post, it could be “read more on our website.” Advertise a promotion by asking people to book an appointment today. Every Google Business post should have a purpose and the CTA is where you make that purpose clear.
• Keep it professional, but friendly. Google Business isn’t Instagram; avoid excessive exclamation points, slang, emojis, and anything that sounds too informal. 
• Don’t be afraid to experiment. We recommend trying different types of offers and promotions and analyzing how they perform. As you begin to see what works and what doesn’t, you can refine your Google Business strategy.

The optimization of your Google Business profile is the number one ranking factor for local businesses. Like everything related to Google, there’s no transparency about whether and how Google Business posts factor into ranking, but what we do know is that they’re displayed when people search for your business and they give you the power to share what you want potential patients to know about your dental practice, at the precise moment that they are searching for your services.

Learn How Dentalfone Can Help Manage Your Dental Practice’s Google Business Presence

If you’re struggling to keep up with Google Business posts, our team of local search experts at Dentalfone can help. Contact us today at 855-385-3663 to find out more about our dental SEO services.