TLDR: How clinics rank for doctor near me, specialty + city searches, and 'accepting new patients' — with review replies that do not confirm a patient relationship.
Medical local SEO is constrained in a way restaurants are not. You still need the Maps 3-pack. You cannot argue a chart in a Google review. Practices that freeze and do nothing lose to urgent-care chains with 2,000 reviews and a "book online" button.
This is for clinics, primary care, specialists, and med-spas that behave like medical offices — not hospital systems with a SEO department.
Keywords that mean an appointment
- ▸"[specialty] near me" (dermatologist, ENT, OB-GYN)
- ▸"primary care doctor accepting new patients [city]"
- ▸"urgent care open now"
- ▸Insurance-qualified: "[plan] doctor [city]" only if you are in-network and say so
Symptom keywords ("rash on arm") are informational. Use them on condition pages. Put specialty + city + insurance on the profile.
Categories and departments
Primary category must match the specialty patients search. "Medical clinic" is a last resort. Prefer:
- ▸Family practice physician
- ▸Medical spa (only if that is the business)
- ▸Urgent care center
- ▸The specific specialist category Google offers
If you have multiple specialties in one suite, secondary categories help. Do not create six GBPs for one waiting room unless they are truly separate practices with separate phones.
HIPAA-safe reviews
Ask at checkout or via a generic SMS: "If you would like to share your experience on Google, here is the link." Do not condition care on a review.
Reply template (positive): thank the writer, mention the team's commitment to patients in general, do not use their diagnosis or appointment date.
Reply template (negative): apologize that they had a poor experience, invite them to call the office manager, do not confirm they are a patient and do not explain the clinical decision.
If a review includes PHI another reader could use, talk to compliance about a removal request. Do not paste more PHI in the reply.
Attributes patients filter
- ▸Accepting new patients (keep this honest)
- ▸Wheelchair accessible
- ▸Languages
- ▸Online appointments
- ▸Identities / women-led if accurate
Insurance: list major plans in the description and on the website. GBP is a bad place for a 40-plan dump that goes stale.
Photos without exam rooms full of patients
Use empty rooms, exterior, staff (with consent), equipment, and parking. Do not post identifiable patients.
Hours and after-hours
Urgent and primary care live or die on "open now." If you have Saturday hours four times a year, do not list Saturday 9–1 every week.
Website pages Google expects
One page per major service line, plus insurance and new-patient packet. Add Physician / MedicalClinic schema with medicalSpecialty. Never put home addresses of doctors on a public page unless that is the clinic.
For posting and review response without a marketing intern, Ninja for medical practices is set up for this workflow.