When someone searches “dentist near me” or “dental implants [city],” the map results at the top of the page usually come from Google Business Profiles — not websites. For local searches, your profile is often the first impression a patient gets.
How Google ranks local results
Google says local results are based mainly on three factors:
- Relevance — how well your profile matches what someone searched for.
- Distance — how far your practice is from the searcher.
- Prominence — how well known your practice is, including reviews and ratings.
You can’t change distance, and Google is clear that there’s no way to pay for a better local ranking. You can improve relevance and prominence.
The setup checklist
- Claim and verify the profile for every location.
- Choose the right primary category — e.g. Dentist, Cosmetic Dentist, Orthodontist, Oral Surgeon — and add accurate secondary categories.
- Keep name, address and phone identical to your website and directory listings.
- Add every service you want to be found for: implants, All-on-X, Invisalign, veneers, emergency visits.
- Set complete hours, including holiday and special hours.
- Write a clear description of who you treat and what you’re known for.
- Link to the right page — and use appointment links if you offer online booking.
Photos and video
Google recommends adding photos and videos, and patients look at them. Upload your team, the doctor, the office, the technology and — with written consent — real results. A monthly shoot gives you a steady supply of fresh, authentic images and short videos. See dental video production.
Reviews: volume, recency and replies
Google notes that more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and that replying shows you value feedback. A few rules for dental practices:
- Ask every happy patient, consistently — at checkout, by text, after a great result.
- Don’t offer incentives for reviews or ask only happy patients; both conflict with Google’s review policies.
- Reply to every review — but never confirm that the reviewer is a patient or mention treatment details. Under HIPAA, “Thanks for the kind words — we appreciate you taking the time” is safe; “Glad your implant healed well” is not.
Keep it active
Use profile updates to share new content, services and offers. An active, complete profile with recent photos and reviews signals a real, busy practice — to Google and to patients.
Note: Google changes profile features regularly — for example, the public Questions & Answers feature was removed. Put your FAQs on your website and service pages instead.
Connect it to your website
Your profile and website work together. Location and procedure pages with consistent details, structured data and real content reinforce relevance — see dental websites & SEO, or book a strategy call.
