Last Updated Oct 2011
People nowadays rely on the internet to search for different people and even business establishments. Including your physical therapy practice in Google Places can be very beneficial to your private practice. It makes it easier for your patients to search for your physical therapy practice online and even know where you are located locally.
How It Works
You can compare Google Places to the Yellow Pages of a telephone directory. You can search for different business establishments in your area and know where they are exactly located. With Google Places, you can just open the Google website and search for let’s say Physical Therapist in Atlanta, Georgia. The search results will show a listing of all Physical Therapists in the area with their corresponding address (See Screenshot Below ). With this online tool from Google, it makes it easier for you and for your patients to find you.
What Google Places Can Offer Your PT Practice
Aside from the easy accessibility of your patients to view your practice online, there are other things that Google Places can offer your PT Practice.
1. Expand Your Reach To (New) Potential Patient Referrals:
Google Places can be a stepping stone to reach out to more potential patients for your physical therapy practice. If potential patients are searching for a physical therapist online in their local area, having a Google Places page gives you an advantage over other clinics that don’t have a Google Places page. This is mostly because those PT Practices that have a Google Places page will have their listings shown at the very top of the local search results on Google. Google offers a personalized dashboard of your Google Places page to check how many times your physical therapy practice is found through search. You can also check the keywords used to find your PT practice on Google.
2. Online Reviews That Build Credibility For Your Private Practice:
Google Places allows patients who have been treated by physical therapists in your private practice to leave online reviews. People want to read what others have to say about their experience in your clinic. This helps prospective patients searching online make a decision whether to call for an appointment or move on to the next physical therapy practice in their area. Having positive reviews will build trust to potential patients who are searching for a physical therapist online. Patients look to these reviews for feedback and to determine if your private practice can address the physical problems they are experiencing.
3. Multiple Locations Under One Profile:
Whether you have one location for your physical therapy practice or a dozen of them, you can easily manage all of your locations using one Google Places account. This makes it easier for you to manage and even update the information on all of your private practice locations. You can also use your Google Places page to promote special events at any of your practice locations like postural screenings, injury prevention seminars, back safety education, etc.
4. Make Your Address Private If You Are An Independent Contractor:
Service Areas is a new tool from Google Places which allows you to make your address private. This would be good for physical therapists who maybe in homecare or offer onsite services to special facilities like nursing homes and subacute care facilities but don’t have a physical business address. You can be specific on how far you can provide your service like placing the specific city or provide a radius of the local areas you cover.
5. Add Photos And Videos Of Your Private Practice:
Business photos can also be added to your Google Places account. Aside from adding outside photos of your physical therapy practice, gym area, treatment rooms, etc, you can also add videos. Having you or someone talk more about what your practice can offer is a great way to market and advertise your physical therapy private practice to your target audience.
6. Mobile Access For Your Private Practice:
Google Places can also be accessed through mobile phones that have internet capability. You just need to make sure that whatever information you place on your Google Places account must be true and if possible, accurate for the mobile user. It is not uncommon to have patient walk-ins who discovered your PT practice by searching their mobile device.
Here Is An Example Of A Google Places Page:
As you can see there are many benefits to having a Google Places page for your physical therapy practice. It can provide a visible presence online where current and prospective patients can locate you through local search. The benefits mentioned only work if you take action and setup a Google Places page for your PT practice. Are you using Google Places for your physical therapy practice? Share your experiences or leave your comments below.
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