Getting your aesthetic clinic noticed in local search is essential. Prospective patients use Google Search and Maps to compare nearby clinics, so a well-optimised Google Business Profile (GBP) helps you appear, inform, and convert.
This guide explains how to set up, optimise, and maintain your GBP for stronger local SEO for clinics—from essentials to advanced tactics—using plain, practical steps you can action in-house.
Key Takeaways
Complete every GBP field (categories, services, hours, contact details) to maximise relevance and help nearby patients find you in Search and Maps.
Add high-quality photos and clear service lists to improve engagement and help prospective patients evaluate your clinic.
Encourage and respond to reviews promptly to build trust and improve prominence. Keep responses professional and privacy-safe.
Use Posts, Q&A and messaging to answer common questions and highlight updates. These features support user engagement and profile relevance; rankings are primarily driven by relevance, distance and prominence.
UK compliance: avoid advertising prescription-only medicines (e.g., Botox) in GBP posts or promotions; use generic treatment descriptors and follow CAP/ASA guidance.
Maximising Your Clinic’s Online Presence with Google Business Profile
A strong online presence is essential for every aesthetic clinic. Your Google Business Profile (GBP) often serves as the first point of contact for people searching for treatments nearby.
A well-optimised profile isn’t just a directory entry—it’s a powerful tool for improving local SEO, building credibility, and encouraging new patient enquiries.
Understanding the Power of Google Business Profile for Aesthetic Clinics
Your Google Business Profile works as your clinic’s virtual shop window, appearing prominently in both Google Search and Google Maps results. When potential patients look for terms such as “dermal fillers in [your city]” or “skin clinic near me”, your GBP is often their first impression of your practice.
For aesthetic clinics, this local visibility is invaluable. A complete, regularly updated profile ensures you’re visible when people are actively searching for treatments like yours.
Key Benefits of an Optimised Google Business Profile
An optimised profile offers several advantages that directly benefit your clinic:
Increased local visibility: A complete, accurate profile helps your clinic appear higher in local search and Google Maps results.
Enhanced credibility: Up-to-date information and genuine reviews create trust and professionalism.
Patient engagement: Tools such as Messaging, Q&A, and Posts allow potential clients to interact directly and receive timely responses.
Actionable insights: Google’s analytics show how users discover your clinic, what actions they take, and where to focus future marketing efforts.
The majority of consumers now use online searches to find local businesses. For aesthetic clinics, this means your Google Business Profile is often the deciding factor for a patient choosing between you and a competitor. A profile that is incomplete or outdated can mean missed opportunities.
Attracting Local Patients Through Enhanced Visibility
A complete and accurate Google Business Profile helps your clinic appear in the Local Pack—the top three listings shown in Google Maps and Search. This is valuable real estate for any aesthetic clinic. Make sure your services, contact details, and opening hours are precise and consistent across all listings.
Enhance your profile with professional photos of your clinic’s exterior, reception, and treatment rooms, along with staff portraits and anonymised patient results (with explicit written consent). These visuals help potential clients picture your environment and feel confident about visiting.
Establishing a Strong Foundation: Setting Up Your Google Business Profile
Setting up your Google Business Profile correctly lays the foundation for your clinic’s online presence. It ensures potential patients can find you easily when searching for aesthetic treatments nearby.
A complete, accurate profile not only supports your search visibility but also builds immediate trust by clearly presenting what your clinic offers.
Claiming and Verifying Your Clinic’s Profile
The first step is to claim your clinic’s listing on Google. Search for your business name in Google Maps and select ‘Claim this business’ if it already exists. If not, you can create a new listing directly from your Google account.
Next, verify your clinic. Google uses verification to confirm your legitimacy and physical location. Most UK clinics will receive a postcard containing a unique verification code within 5–14 days. In some cases, phone, email, or video verification may be available for established businesses.
Verification is essential for appearing in Google Maps and local search results—it confirms to Google and prospective patients that your clinic is genuine and operational.
Selecting the Most Relevant Business Categories
Selecting accurate business categories helps Google understand your services and match your profile to the right searches.
Primary category: Choose the most relevant one for your main service—typically Aesthetic Clinic, Medical Spa, or Skin Care Clinic.
Secondary categories: Add supporting specialisms such as Laser Hair Removal Service, Dermatologist, or Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, if applicable.
Avoid overloading your profile with unrelated categories; Google rewards accuracy over quantity. This ensures your clinic appears in searches that truly match what you offer.
Crafting a Compelling Business Description
Your business description summarises who you are, what treatments you provide, and why patients should trust your clinic. Keep it concise, clear, and focused on value.
Here’s what to focus on:
Be clear: State your main treatments using generic, compliant terms (e.g. anti-wrinkle treatments, dermal fillers, skin rejuvenation).
Show your strengths: Mention what makes your clinic unique—qualified practitioners, advanced technology, or patient-focused care.
Encourage action: End with a simple call to action such as “Visit our website to learn more” or “Contact us for a consultation.”
Keep it professional: Use approachable but knowledgeable language; avoid promotional exaggerations.
A strong description helps patients understand your expertise at a glance and supports your clinic’s visibility in local search.
A well-written description acts as a concise introduction, giving potential clients a snapshot of your clinic’s identity and services, encouraging them to learn more.
Showcasing Your Expertise: Optimising Service Listings and Visuals
To showcase your expertise, clearly list your treatments and services on your Google Business Profile and support them with professional visuals. This makes it easier for potential patients to understand what you offer and feel confident in your professionalism.
Comprehensive Service Listing for Treatment Specific Searches
Google Business Profile lets you list out all the treatments you offer. This is super helpful because people often search for very specific things, like ‘anti-wrinkle injections’ or ‘skin resurfacing’.
If you’ve got those terms in your service list, you’re much more likely to show up in their search results. Think about all the different treatments you provide, from injectables to laser therapies and skin peels. Listing them all, with a brief description if possible, helps people find exactly what they’re looking for.
Here’s a way to structure your services:
Facial Treatments: Dermal Fillers, Profhilo, Lip Enhancement
Skin Rejuvenation: Chemical Peels, HydraFacial, LED Therapy
Laser Treatments: Laser Hair Removal, IPL Therapy
Body Contouring: Fat Freezing, Radiofrequency Treatments
Hair Restoration: PRP Therapy, Mesotherapy
Match these names exactly with the treatments on your website for SEO consistency and clarity.
Strategic Photo and Video Optimisation for Impact
High-quality photos and short videos greatly influence how patients perceive your clinic. Use them to present a clean, professional, and welcoming environment.
Recommended visuals:
Exterior photos: Help visitors recognise your clinic.
Interior photos: Highlight your reception and treatment areas.
Team portraits: Build familiarity and trust.
Before-and-after photos: Only with patient consent and anonymisation.
Videos: Short clips introducing practitioners or giving a quick tour can increase engagement.
Before uploading, name each image descriptively (e.g. manchester-aesthetic-clinic-reception.jpg) to help with Google image SEO.
Leveraging Attributes to Highlight Clinic Features
Google’s Attributes feature allows you to highlight details that matter to patients. Include:
Accessibility: wheelchair access, step-free entrance.
Services: online consultations, same-day appointments.
Amenities: Wi-Fi, parking.
Health & safety: cleanliness protocols, infection control.
These small details improve user confidence and set your clinic apart in search results.
Building Trust and Credibility Through Reviews and Engagement
Patient reviews are powerful social proof. Over 80% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Encourage satisfied patients to share their experiences and respond to all feedback promptly.
Tips for managing reviews:
Ask proactively: Send a follow-up message or email with a direct review link after appointments.
Respond professionally: Thank patients for positive reviews and address concerns respectfully in negative ones.
Stay compliant: Never share treatment details publicly; respect confidentiality and GDPR rules.
Engaging actively in reviews boosts your reputation and improves local SEO prominence.
Developing a Proactive Review Strategy
Getting reviews shouldn’t be left to chance. You need a plan. The best time to ask is when a patient is happiest – usually right after a successful treatment or consultation. Make it easy for them. You could send a follow-up email or text message with a direct link to your Google review page. Training your reception staff to mention it politely as patients leave can also be effective. Remember, positive reviews are fantastic, but you need a system to handle all feedback.
Responding Effectively to Patient Feedback
How you respond to reviews matters. For positive ones, a simple thank you is great, but adding a personal touch makes it better. Mention something specific they liked about their visit or treatment. For less positive reviews, stay calm and professional. Acknowledge their experience and offer to discuss it further offline. This shows you care about patient satisfaction and are willing to make things right. It’s important to never discuss specific treatment details or patient information in your public responses due to privacy rules.
Here’s a simple way to approach different types of reviews:
5-Star Reviews: Thank them warmly and mention what they enjoyed. Reinforce the positive aspects of their experience.
Mixed Reviews (3-4 Stars): Appreciate their feedback, address any concerns raised, and offer to resolve the issue privately. Suggest they contact the clinic directly.
Negative Reviews (1-2 Stars): Acknowledge their experience professionally, apologise that it didn’t meet expectations, and state that a manager will be in touch to discuss it further. This shows you’re committed to improvement.
Always aim to respond to reviews within 48 hours. This shows you’re attentive and engaged with your patient community.
Encouraging Patient Engagement via Q&A and Messaging
Your Google Business Profile isn’t just for reviews; it’s a two-way communication tool. The Q&A section is a great place for potential patients to ask common questions about your services, pricing, or clinic. You can even pre-populate this section with frequently asked questions and their answers. The messaging feature allows for direct, private conversations. Make sure someone is assigned to monitor these channels and respond promptly. This level of engagement builds trust and can convert curious prospects into booked appointments.
Maintaining Momentum: Ongoing Google Business Profile Management
Google notices when businesses are active. Regularly adding new content, like special offers, clinic news, or even just highlighting a popular treatment, signals to Google that your profile is current and relevant. This can give you a nice little boost in local search rankings.
Plus, it gives potential patients a reason to keep coming back to your profile to see what’s new.
Seasonal offers or new treatment announcements (non-POM).
Staff introductions or clinic milestones.
Educational updates about skincare or safety.
Highlight staff achievements or introduce new team members.
Keep content informative, not promotional. Regular activity can increase visibility and encourage patient engagement.
Monitoring Performance and Adapting Your Strategy
How do you know if your efforts are paying off? By looking at the data! Google Business Profile offers insights that can tell you a lot about how people are finding you and interacting with your listing. Are more people calling your clinic directly from the profile? Are they clicking through to your website? Are direction requests increasing?
Here’s a look at some key metrics to keep an eye on:
Metric Category | Specific Metrics |
|---|---|
Visibility | Local pack rankings, Impressions |
Engagement | Profile views, Website clicks, Phone calls, Messages |
Conversion | Bookings from Maps, Consultation requests |
If views are high but actions are low, review your photos, service descriptions, or CTAs. Checking insights monthly helps refine your clinic’s aesthetic marketing strategy effectively.
Regularly reviewing your Google Business Profile insights allows you to make informed decisions about your online strategy, ensuring you’re focusing your efforts where they’ll have the most impact.
Ensuring NAP Consistency Across Citations
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. It might sound basic, but having this information consistent everywhere your clinic is listed online is incredibly important for local SEO. Think of directories like Yelp, Thomson Local, or even industry-specific listings.
If your clinic name is slightly different on one site, or the phone number has an old area code, it can confuse search engines and potential patients. This inconsistency can hurt your ranking and make it harder for people to find and contact you. Maintaining a uniform NAP across all online mentions builds trust and authority with both Google and your audience.
Audit your clinic’s citations (Google, Yelp, Thomson Local, industry directories).
Correct any variations in spelling, abbreviations, or phone numbers.
Ensure your website matches your GBP exactly.
This consistency strengthens your local SEO and professional image.
Advanced Strategies for Local Search Dominance
Once you’ve got the basics of your Google Business Profile sorted, it’s time to think about how to really stand out. Local search is a bit like a popularity contest, and Google wants to show people the best, most relevant clinics nearby.
So, how do you get Google to favour yours?
Understanding Google Maps Ranking Factors
Google Maps uses a few key things to decide where to place clinics in its search results. It’s not just about having a listing; it’s about how well that listing performs and how it relates to what people are searching for. Think of it as a three-part system: relevance, distance, and prominence.
Relevance: how well your profile matches a search.
Distance: proximity to the searcher.
Prominence: authority, reviews, and mentions.
Enhance these by publishing locally focused content such as blog posts mentioning your town or neighbourhood (e.g. “skin rejuvenation in Bristol”).
Build citations on reputable UK directories and encourage positive reviews to reinforce prominence.
Geo-Targeting Content for Localised Searches
To really nail local search, you need to speak the language of your local patients. This means using local keywords in your website content, blog posts, and even your Google Business Profile updates. What are local keywords? They’re terms that combine your services with specific locations.
So, instead of just ‘Botox’, think ‘Botox in [Your Town]’ or ‘dermal fillers [Your Neighbourhood]’.
Here’s how to do it:
Identify Local Terms: Think about how people in your area would search for your services. Do they use specific neighbourhood names? Are there local landmarks they might mention? For example, ‘skin rejuvenation near [Local Park]’ or ‘laser hair removal in the city centre’.
Weave Them In Naturally: Don’t just stuff keywords everywhere. Use them in your page titles, headings, service descriptions, and throughout your website copy. Write blog posts about treatments and mention your location. For instance, a post about ‘achieving glowing skin this summer in [Your Town]’ can naturally include relevant keywords.
Create Location-Specific Pages: If your clinic serves a wider area or has multiple branches, consider creating dedicated pages on your website for each location. These pages can be tailored to the specific needs and searches of people in that area, making them highly relevant.
Building Essential Citations for Your Clinic
Citations are basically mentions of your clinic’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. Think of online directories, review sites, and local business listings. Consistent and accurate citations are like building blocks for your local SEO.
They tell search engines like Google that your business is legitimate and where it’s located.
Why are they so important?
Builds Trust: When your NAP information is consistent across multiple reputable sites, it reassures search engines and potential patients that your business details are correct.
Improves Local Rankings: Google uses these citations as a signal to understand your business’s presence in specific geographic areas.
Increases Discoverability: Patients might find you through a directory listing even if they weren’t actively searching for your clinic directly.
Make sure your NAP details are exactly the same everywhere. Even small differences, like ‘Street’ versus ‘St.’, can cause confusion. Regularly check major directories like Yelp, Thomson Local, and industry-specific listings to ensure accuracy.
Your Google Business Profile Advantage
Your Google Business Profile is more than an online listing—it’s a vital tool for local visibility and patient trust. By keeping your details accurate, sharing regular updates, and engaging with reviews, your clinic can attract more patients and stand out in local searches.
Consistent attention to your GBP builds authority, strengthens aesthetic clinic marketing, and supports long-term growth without heavy promotion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is a Google Business Profile and why is it important for my clinic?
It’s a free online listing that helps people find your clinic on Google Search and Maps. A well-optimised profile improves visibility, builds trust, and drives patient enquiries.
How do I set up my clinic's Google Business Profile?
First, you need to claim your clinic's listing on Google. You can do this by searching for your clinic on Google Maps. If it's there, you can claim it. If not, you can create a new one. Google will then send you a postcard with a code to verify that you're the real owner. Once verified, you can fill in all the details like your address, phone number, opening hours, and what services you offer.
What kind of photos should I put on my Google Business Profile?
You should use high-quality photos that make your clinic look inviting and professional. Show pictures of the outside of your clinic so people can recognise it, the inside of your waiting area and treatment rooms, and maybe even your friendly staff (with their permission, of course!). Before-and-after photos of treatments can also be really effective, but always make sure you have the patient's okay to share them.
How important are patient reviews, and how do I get more?
Reviews are like recommendations from friends – people trust them a lot! Good reviews show potential patients that others have had great experiences at your clinic. To get more reviews, you can simply ask happy patients if they'd be willing to leave one. You could send them a polite email or text message with a link to your Google profile after their appointment.
What should I do if I get a negative review?
Don't panic! Even the best clinics sometimes get less-than-perfect reviews. The best thing to do is respond politely and professionally. Acknowledge their concern, apologise if something went wrong, and explain what you're doing to fix it or prevent it from happening again. This shows other people reading the reviews that you care about your patients and are committed to making things right.
How often should I update my Google Business Profile?
It's a good idea to keep your profile fresh. Try to add new photos every month and make a 'post' at least once a week. These posts can be about special offers, new treatments you're offering, or even just a reminder of your opening hours. This shows Google that your profile is active and up-to-date, which can help you rank higher.
