The Parents Zone

Weve been getting a lot of questions from doctors this week about the new Google+ Pages.  Many of you are still wondering what the heck a Google+ Page is and what it will do for your practice.  Fair question.  Lets dig a bit deeper into a couple features of a Google+ Page to understand how it can help your practice…

The initial benefit we see from a Google+ Page is an increase in search visibility.  Around 2/3s of all online searches are done through Goog, which is why its where your practice needs to be found when patients are searching for your online.  Because your Google+ Page is indexed by Google for their own search results, its optimized to rank highly for your name in order to help you take over control of online brand.  Plus, it also has the ability to display your profile image and the images of patients who have +1d your page (Googs version of Facebooks like-button) right in the search listing.  If the 29% increase in traffic weve seen from simple yellow stars on our own doctors profiles is any indicator, full color pictures in your search result should prove to also grab your patients attention.

Not only does your Google+ Page appear in Googles search results, it also allows for patients to reach you right from the search results through a feature they call Direct Connect.  It will allow for patients to simply type a + in front of your name when searching in order to connect directly to your Google+ Place page.  (This feature hasnt been rolled out to all pages yet, but you can see how it will work by typing +Angry Birds into the search box at Google.com.)  With all the name-squatting happening to doctors online these days, this is potentially a way for you to ensure patients are finding a page that you control when they search for you online not a third-party page using your name to display advertisements for other doctors that could lead your patients astray.

There are additional features like Circles & Hangouts that may also prove valuable in engaging your existing patients.  But, the efficacy of these features will depend on how many patients connect with your Google+ Page and Google+ itself reaching critical mass.  As such, well definitely keep an eye on these features and keep you updated on the best way to implement them in a future article.  One thing is for sure, weve reached a bold new era in how you engage with your patients.

Want us to set everything up for you? Claim your free Profile on DoctorBase to learn how the Panda can setup a Google+ Page for your practice at:

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