In July 2021, Local SEO expert and Google Top Contributor Joy Hawkins and her team at Sterling Sky did an analysis of over 1,000 Google Posts for local businesses. After reading their findings, our staff did an analysis of Google Posts for our clients. Hawkins and her team focused on a wide variety of businesses, and as a dental marketing agency, we wanted to narrow in on best practices for our industry.
Google Posts are located in a practice’s Google Business Profile. Businesses can post messages, images and calls-to-action from their profile that show up during a patient search. If used consistently, correctly and strategically, Google Posts can have a direct impact on new patient phone calls, direction requests, and website engagements. Learn more about why Google Posts are important to your new patient acquisition strategy. Here is our process, findings and insights. We’ve included samples of the posts our team created for clients.
What Do We Do to Create the Best Google Posts for Dentists?
As dental marketers, we create bi-monthly Google Posts as a key component of our SEO and Local SEO strategy. Our team of Digital Marketing Specialists create relevant, intentionally-designed posts for each Local SEO dental client. We wanted to collect data about which posts perform best to further our clients’ local search success.
Our Inspiration
According to Sterling Sky’s study, the most successful Google Posts included:
- COVID-19 business updates and offer posts
- Titles that were not all caps
- Organic images
- Emojis
- Strong calls-to-action (CTAs)
- Messaging about specials and discounts
We took a similar approach when analyzing our dental clients’ highest performing posts and strategies. Our audit included reviewing more than 200 dentist Google Business Profiles over the last three months.
Our Strategy
We analyzed the following:
- Using emojis in posts
- Posts with titles
- All caps titles
- Using different styles of posts, like “Event” and “What’s New”
- Using different calls-to-action in posts, like “Learn More” or “Call Now”
- Stock photos for posts versus organic, in-office photos
- Photos with text on them
Our Results
Through the audit, our team identified four consistent characteristics in posts that seemed to generate the greatest amount of post clicks, actions and views:
- A Call-to-Action (CTA) to “Learn More”
- We also tested “Book Now” and “Call Now”, but “Learn More” was the clear winner.
- “Learn More” intrigues viewers to visit practice websites, prompting them to convert by booking an appointment.
- Posts scheduled as Events or Updates
- We tested posts as COVID, Updates and Offers. Events had the highest views and actions, regardless of the messaging. Updates, however, came in a close second, and are equally as important.
- Post titles written in sentence case rather than all caps
- We used titles with all capital letters and with normal formatting to determine which one was best for our clients. Viewers responded better to normal formatting as opposed to all caps.
- Post titles that did not include emojis
- We tested the use of emojis in Google Posts, particularly for our pediatric dentistry clients as we felt emojis matched their generally playful, friendly brand voices. However, posts that did not include emojis ultimately outperformed those that did.
- Images of the team, in-office and exterior, with text overlay
- We analyzed a variety of clients’ post graphics, including image-only, stock images, images with a logo and images of the team and office. Images with text on the graphic were the clear winner, with team and office images as a close runner-up.
- Stock images and images without text had the least amount of views or actions.
While we did not track calls and directions from Google Business Profiles as part of their study, we can see that over 50% of client calls come from Google Business Profiles, according to our CallRail analytics.
What Does a Good Google Post for Dentists Include?
Based on our team’s personal research and the Local SEO and GBP research we completed, we determined a good Google Post for dentists includes:
- Categorization as an “Event” post.
- This allows you to give your post a short title for casual readers.
- An attention-grabbing, to-the-point title.
- For searchers who don’t want to read full-body text, the title provides the information they need.
- A strong CTA.
- This prompts searchers to learn more about your practice and services, and ultimately book an appointment.
- An aesthetically pleasing graphic.
- For us, the best-performing photos include organic, in-office imagery. If your office doesn’t have any organic imagery to use, a stock photo also works. Just make sure to use text on your photo as well to pique searcher interest.
Need Help Creating the Best Google Business Profile Posts for Your Dental Practice?
At Whiteboard Marketing, we specialize in dental marketing for our clients across the nation. This includes vital services like Local SEO, Google Business Profile optimization and Google Posts for dentists.
Creating monthly Google Business Profile Posts for our clients is a key part of our social media and Local SEO strategy. Our Digital Marketing Specialists are ready to help you attract, acquire and retain the patients you want. Contact us today at info@whiteboard-mktg.com.
Written by Anna L. Davies, Digital Marketing Specialist at Whiteboard Marketing, with assistance from Lydia Piero, Senior Account Manager.