Before optimizing anything, make sure of one thing: the practice owns its Google Business Profile. It sounds obvious, but it’s common for a profile to be owned by a former office manager’s personal Gmail, a previous owner, or a marketing agency that set it up years ago. If you don’t control the profile, you can’t fix it, and you can lose it when that person or agency leaves.
Who should own it
- Primary owner: a Google account belonging to the practice owner or the practice itself, not to an employee’s personal account.
- Managers: add your office manager and any agency as managers. They can edit the profile; they can’t remove you.
- Agencies never need ownership. If an agency insists on being the primary owner, that is a red flag.
Finding and claiming the profile
Search for your practice name on Google Maps. If a profile exists, use the option to claim or manage it. If someone else already controls it, Google lets you request access, and the current owner gets a period to respond before you may be able to claim it yourself. Don’t create a second profile for the same practice: duplicates split your reviews and can get both listings suspended.
Verification
Google verifies that the practice really operates at the address. Depending on your business, Google may offer a phone call or text, an email, a video recording of the location, or a postcard. You don’t get to choose freely; Google shows the options it allows for that listing. For video verification, plan to show the street signage, your office signage or door, and the inside of the practice in one continuous recording.
Common snags for dental offices
- Suite numbers in medical buildings: make sure the suite matches your signage and your other listings exactly.
- A previous practice at the same address: if the former practice’s profile is still active, ask Google to mark it permanently closed or moved, so it doesn’t compete with yours.
- Recently purchased practices: transfer ownership of the existing profile instead of starting a new one. The reviews and history are part of what you paid for.