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Best Practices for Managing GBP Practitioner Listings

Local SEO

Posted by Kevin Paulson On August 28, 2018

The many features and optimizations available for Google Business Profile may seem overwhelming; however, taking advantage of features and empowering yourself to utilize the Google Business Profile platform can be greatly beneficial to your business, boosting your Local SEO rankings. But what if multiple individuals operate practices out of your business? This is a common practice among doctor’s offices, dental clinics, and other businesses that have multiple public-facing professionals. Ensuring that these listings all rank to their best potential while not inadvertently competing with each other can be challenging, but if you follow the guidelines and tips offered in this guide you will be on the right track to effectively manage your Practitioner Listings.

When to Create Practitioner Listings

There are many scenarios where creating practitioner listings can be advantageous.

If your business has multiple practitioners with various specializations, it is a good idea to create practitioner listings as many people will search for the practitioner name instead of the practice name. This also opens up the opportunity to rank for additional terms related to the specializations of the practitioners, which helps your listing to be seen more often by people searching for the services you provide.

For practices with only a single practitioner, for example, a doctor’s office for a single physician, a hybrid practice-practitioner listing should be created that includes both the practice and practitioner name. This will ensure that your practice listing and sole-practitioner listing do not compete against each other, while also allowing your practice to be found when people search for the practitioner name in Google.

Practitioner Listing Naming Conventions and Guidelines

Now that you have an idea of how to best set up practitioner listings for your business, you may be wondering exactly how to name your listing. Should your practitioner listings include the practice name? Should your practice listing include practitioner names?

The answer to these questions depends on whether or not a practice has single or multiple practitioners, and whether a practitioner works at a single practice or multiple practices. For a practice with only one practitioner, both the name of the practice and practitioner should be included, and the name should be formatted as Practice Name: Practitioner Name.

For practitioners at a shared practice, individual pages containing only the practitioner names should be created along with a page for the practice that includes only the practice name. Also, the categories for each of the individual practitioner listings should be different where applicable, allowing them to rank for terms related to their specialties while not creating competition for each other.

Single practitioners that work at multiple practices should create a listing for each practice they work at. These listings should include the name of the practitioner, the address of the specific practice listed, and different phone numbers for each practice.

Additional Optimization Opportunities for Practitioner Listings

Now that you have your practitioner listing set up according to proper naming conventions and contact information it is time to consider further optimizing your listing to bring more clients into your business.

One way in which you can better optimize your practitioner listing is to link to a professional webpage that is optimized for Organic SEO. Practice listings should link to the homepage or location page, while individual practitioner listings should link to practitioner subpages of the main practice site or their web pages where applicable.

Additionally, your listing can be optimized by building citations, that is, linking your practice to various directory sites. When choosing directory sites, look for directories related to your primary industry as these will help people searching for your services to find you while also boosting your local search rankings.

Another way to ensure proper practitioner listing optimization is to hire a Local SEO agency. V Digital Services can help. If you’re in need of guidance around your GBP listings or other digital marketing needs, schedule a consultation with us today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Defines a Practitioner Listing on Google Business Profile?

A practitioner listing represents an individual professional (doctor, lawyer, accountant, real estate agent) rather than a business location. Practitioners list themselves with their professional title and credentials, distinct from the firm’s general listing.

Can a Practitioner Have Their Own GBP and Be Listed on the Firm’s GBP?

Yes, in most cases. Doctors, lawyers, and licensed professionals are allowed individual practitioner listings even when associated with a multi-practitioner firm. Both can coexist and rank for their respective queries.

What Address Should a Practitioner Listing Use?

Use the address of the practice or firm. If the practitioner works across multiple offices, choose the primary address (most hours worked there). Hidden-address SAB designation may be appropriate for home offices.

How Should Practitioner Listings Handle Reviews?

Reviews on practitioner listings stay with the practitioner across job changes. Encourage patients/clients to leave reviews on the practitioner’s individual listing if you want them attributable to the person; reviews on the firm listing stay with the location.

When Should a Practitioner NOT Create an Individual GBP?

Practitioners who don’t directly serve customers (back-office staff, support roles) should not create listings. Individual listings are intended for client-facing professionals whose name customers search for.

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Kevin started with V Digital Services in 2018 and is an accomplished, results-driven Digital Web and SEO Organic Marketing Professional. With more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of Digital Marketing, including SEO strategy, Analytics, Web Management, Technical and Creative Development.

In his free time, you can catch him reading up on the latest breakthrough in AI-driven trends, following the latest Google algorithm updates, or enjoying outdoor activities in Arizona and California.

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