The Detail
Who this is for
- Independent, owner-run practices: dental, oral surgery, periodontics, orthodontics, med spa, plastic surgery, bariatric.
- Practices with more than one provider, or more than one location, where the listings multiply fast.
- Owners whose profile has already been edited by Google or duplicated, and who don't want to fight it alone.
Not for: DSOs, private-equity or hospital-owned groups. Practices without a real, staffed location; Google's guidelines don't allow virtual offices, and I won't build or defend a profile on one. Anyone who wants reviews written or bought. I won't do it.
The bad news first
- A profile isn't "done" once it's optimized. Google changes hours, categories and even your name on its own when it thinks it knows better. Anyone can suggest an edit.
- Suspensions happen to legitimate practices. A changed address, a name with keywords stuffed in, or a duplicate listing can trigger one. Reinstatement can take weeks, and nobody can promise Google will reinstate.
- A strong profile doesn't book anyone by itself. If the phone isn't answered when the profile sends a call, the work is wasted.
What management means, week to week
Watching for edits you didn't make
I check the profile for Google-suggested and public edits to your name, hours, categories, phone and website link, and reverse the wrong ones. One wrong phone number on a Friday can send a weekend of calls somewhere else.
Provider listings
Doctors at a practice often have their own listings, sometimes created automatically. I find them, decide with you whether each should stay, merge or be marked as moved, and keep them pointing at the right practice. A surgeon who left three years ago shouldn't still be collecting your reviews.
Duplicates and spam
I report duplicate listings of your practice and clear-cut spam listings near you that break Google's guidelines, using Google's own channels. I don't promise removals. Google decides.
Review replies without patient information
Every review gets a reply. Replies never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention treatment, because that can disclose protected health information. Unhappy reviews get a short, calm reply and an offer to talk offline. More on that: HIPAA-compliant marketing for healthcare and reputation management.
Posts, photos and services kept current
New providers, new procedures, new technology and seasonal hours get updated on the profile the same week they change at the practice.
Calls from the profile, tracked
Calls, website clicks, direction requests and booking-link clicks from the profile are tracked separately, so you can see which booked consults started on Google Maps. If calls are going unanswered, I'll show you; that is often the cheapest fix available. Test it yourself: the Response Gap Test.
01 — Deliverables
What I need from you
- Owner or manager access to the profile. You stay the primary owner; I'm a manager you can remove any day.
- A real reason for any change of name or address, with documents. Google asks for them.
- Patients asked for reviews by your team, at the visit. Nobody outside the practice can do that part.
The Process
How the first ninety days work
Weeks 1–2, audit
Ownership and access, edit history, provider listings, duplicates, categories, services, reviews and reply history, and a baseline of calls and booking clicks from the profile.Weeks 3–6, clean up
Wrong edits reversed, provider listings sorted, duplicates reported, review replies caught up, call tracking in place.Weeks 7–12, run and measure
Weekly edit checks, review replies within one business day, posts and photos, and a monthly report.
After ninety days it moves to monthly management, or you stop. Your call.
What it's measured on
Booked consults and started cases that began with a call or click from your profile, the share of profile calls that were answered, and whether the profile stayed accurate and live all month. Views and impressions are in the report, but I don't count them as results. How I measure.
Profile management on its own, or with local SEO
This page is the ongoing care of the profile. If you also want to climb the map pack (categories strategy, service pages, citations across Apple Maps, Bing and Healthgrades, grid tracking), that's local SEO. If you want ads, the website and follow-up handled as one system with a number in the agreement, that's the New-Patient Engine.
Questions answered
Questions
Why practices work with me
Founder-run
Dustin Hobbs builds and runs the work himself. There is no account manager in between.
Measured in paying patients
Reports count booked consults and started cases, not clicks or impressions.
You own everything
Your ad accounts, website, data and reporting are yours from day one.
Written and reviewed by Dustin Hobbs, Founder of Louisville Web Lab · Google Business Profile Management for Healthcare Practices — Google Business Profile · Last updated