By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Google’s Upcoming Changes: How it Will Hurt the Growth of Private Practices
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Google’s Upcoming Changes: How it Will Hurt the Growth of Private Practices
BusinessNews

Google’s Upcoming Changes: How it Will Hurt the Growth of Private Practices

T. Schneider
Last updated: September 22, 2017 9:21 pm
T. Schneider
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

When consumers are looking for a local business—whether that is a doctor’s office, an auto shop, or a restaurant—they usually turn to an online search engine. In fact, 92 percent of Internet users searched online for local businesses in 2014, and between 2011 and 2015, Google searches including the phrase “near me” increased by a factor of 34.

Contents
What does this mean for private practices?What can private practices do to avoid negative consequences of the change

Additionally, 77 percent of patients use a search engine to find a physician before they schedule an appointment. As any business’s website falls lower on Google’s results page, however, the amount of traffic the receive goes down drastically. The website in the first position receives a third (32.5 percent) of the traffic, followed by 17.6 percent for the second website and 11.4 percent for the third. What all of this demonstrates for private practices, then, is just how important it is for them to rank high on that results page.

Fortunately for private practices and other local businesses, Google has presented a “local pack” at the top of their results since early 2009. At that time, the local pack consisted of 10 results in the user’s geographic area. That number dropped to seven in October of the same year, then to just three in August 2015.

Since April, Google started rolling out a testing program to decrease that number again, from three local results to just two, replacing the third entry with a paid advertisement.

More Read

Michael Yoder
Building a Brand Journalism Team: Michael Yoder [PODCAST]
A Night in the ER
Top at Risk DRG’s in the Post ICD-10 Era & How to Proactively Address Coding Challenges
Walmart’s Greatest Gift
Why Doctors Should Have Their Own Website

What does this mean for private practices?

One of the most important goals for private practices that are trying to grow is simply getting their names out to the public. Not only do they have to compete with large, multi-office clinics that are better able to afford paid advertisements and dedicated SEO efforts, but they have to compete with each other. After this change, that competition will be even more fierce as they vie for one of two slots rather than one of three.

What can private practices do to avoid negative consequences of the change

Fortunately, private practices can work to maximize their site’s ranking. PatientPop lists several steps they can take to optimize their sites and rank at the top:

1. Keep business listings tidy and accurate

Google’s algorithm, Pigeon, is very particular about its business listings. Multiple listings for a single business, misleading URLs, and keyword stuffing— loading the listing with popular but unrelated keywords in order to drive traffic—all send up red flags for the algorithm, which could cause the listing to be pulled.

2. Make sure the company’s website is optimized for mobile access

Google sets sites apart for being “mobile friendly,” which can increase its results. Considering the fact that Google announced in 2015 that more searches are now done on mobile devices than computers, this is a large demographic that clinics should take advantage of. A few simple changes practices can make to optimize their websites for mobile devices include resizing website text and images to simplify the process of viewing them on a mobile device without an inordinate amount of scrolling or zooming.

3. Make sure local profiles are up to date Google prioritizes review sites like Yelp and HealthGrades, so private practices should keep their pages on such sites updated. Links, contact information, and business information should all be accurate. Not only does this help to drive traffic, but it builds confidence in the practice. If a clinic’s information on these pages is clearly out of date, it can lead patients to believe the clinic is no longer operational or simply does not pay attention to detail. Meanwhile, accurate links and other information can drive traffic to the main site.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic: Day Two Exclusive Report

October 19, 2011
curly hair health
NewsWomen Health

What People with Curly Hair Need to Do to Keep it Healthy

June 6, 2024
Clinical Coding
BusinesseHealthFinanceHospital AdministrationMedical RecordsTechnology

The Cost of Resistance: Clinical Coding Optimization

April 21, 2014
benefits of taking HIV tests at home
News

Why Is Testing for HIV At Home Convenient For You?

December 8, 2022
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?