Patients Can Now Book Appointments Directly From Google Search

Did you know that only one-fourth of patients end up going to a provider’s website from a Google search? A recent update now allows patients to book an appointment directly from a Google search results page.

Why does this matter for providers? 

Giving your patients the ability to easily book an appointment online has been shown to increase appointment requests and decrease hours on the phone.

36% of appointments are booked outside of office hours.

With Google’s new update, you can now easily add a link to your appointment calendar directly on Google's search results page. Remember that for every additional click a patient has to make, the chances of them completing booking an appointment decreases. (See my other article: How to Use Google Micro-Moments to Increase Your Presence in Local Searches by Patients.)

Let's take a look at an example. Dr. Ahmad recently added the appointment booking link allowing her patients to click only once to book an appointment directly from their search results.

 

When a patient clicks the link next to Appointments, they get taken to Dr. Ahmad's provider profile page, which she created for free with Kareo. From there, they can easily book an appointment. 

If you would like to find out more about how to increase your booking numbers and allow patients to book an appointment from your Google Search, sign up for a free profile and update your practice’s available hours.

How Do I Standout On a Google Search?

Dr. Ahmad followed a few steps to make her practice standout on Google and have her “Google Card” appear in search results.

In order to make your Google Card appear on Google searches:

• Make sure your Google Business profile includes everything Google looks for: name, address, phone number, office location, office hours, specialty and relevant images.
• Have all your profiles display the same information across all profiles. This means your name should always be consistent. Dr. Ahmad, displays her name as “Farrah Ahmad" across all her profiles. This allows Google to build a trust in your brand and ranks it higher in search results.
• Follow basic SEO best practices — building links, claiming all profiles with accurate information, making sure your website is responsive.
• Have 5 star reviews across all provider review sites.

Giving patients a simple and easy-to-use experience to booking an appointment with your practices is the number one best way for practices to keep current patients happy and new patients coming in the door.

Want help? Talk to a Kareo Solutions Consultant to assess your readiness for Google appointment setting.