When someone needs a dentist, they do not ask around for a week. They search, often in pain or in a hurry, and they pick from the practices Google shows them first. For a dental practice, the Google profile is doing more to win or lose patients than the practice ever sees. We reviewed a Pretoria practice to show what that looks like.
We have kept the practice anonymous, and we are not sharing anything about its patients. The aim is to help practice owners, not to single anyone out. This is a good practice with real expertise. Online, it is hard to find.
[Screenshot. The map pack for a dentist search in Pretoria, with the practice missing from the top three.]
Google chooses local results on relevance, distance and trust. For a healthcare business, trust counts for even more, because patients are choosing who to let near their health. This profile is not giving Google or patients enough reason to trust it.
1. The profile is incomplete
What we found. Missing services, no appointment link, and blank attributes, including whether the practice takes medical aid or has wheelchair access.
Why it matters. Patients decide fast, and a thin profile gives them nothing to go on. Medical aid and access are often the first things they check.
What we would fix. Complete every field. List the services, add an appointment link, and fill in the attributes, including medical aid and accessibility.
2. The category is too broad
What we found. Listed only as Dentist, with no secondary categories.
Why it matters. Category is one of the strongest ranking signals. A practice that does implants, braces and cosmetic work but only says Dentist misses every patient searching for those treatments.
What we would fix. Keep Dentist as the primary category, then add ones that match the work, such as Cosmetic dentist, Orthodontist and Emergency dental service.
3. The photos are few and clinical
What we found. A couple of stock style images and no real photos of the practice or the team.
Why it matters. Patients want to see where they are going and who will treat them. Real photos lower anxiety and build trust before the first visit.
What we would fix. Add warm, real photos of the reception, the rooms and the team, with names where the team is comfortable. Keep it tasteful and never show anything graphic.
4. There are no posts, and patient questions sit unanswered
What we found. The profile has never posted, and the questions section has questions with no replies.
Why it matters. Posts keep the profile active, and an unanswered question, like whether you take a certain medical aid, sends that patient straight to a competitor.
What we would fix. Post regularly with useful updates, and answer every question clearly, starting with the common ones about medical aid, emergencies and new patients.
5. Reviews are unanswered, and there is no system to ask for them
What we found. A handful of reviews, most without a reply, and no steady flow of new ones.
Why it matters. For a healthcare practice, reviews are trust. BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey keeps finding that consumers lean on star ratings and recent reviews when they choose, and healthcare buyers are among the most careful. A patient choosing between two practices picks the one with more recent, positive reviews and an owner who clearly responds.
What we would fix. Reply to every review with care, and set up a simple, ethical way to invite happy patients to leave one. That system is the heart of our review management service.
6. The name, address and phone are not consistent
What we found. The details differ between the profile, the website and a couple of health directories.
Why it matters. When your details clash across the web, Google trusts you less and patients struggle to reach you.
What we would fix. Make the name, address and phone identical everywhere, including the medical and local directories patients use.
7. The website link goes to a slow, generic homepage
What we found. The profile links to a homepage that loads slowly and has no clear way to book.
Why it matters. The profile earns the click, and the website has to turn it into a booking. A slow page with no clear next step loses the patient.
What we would fix. Link to a fast page built for new patients, with the services, the medical aid details and a booking button near the top.
A note on patient privacy
Healthcare is different, and the rules matter. When you reply to a review, never confirm that the person is a patient or mention their treatment. South African privacy law, known as POPIA, and patient confidentiality both apply. Keep replies warm and general, thank the person, and take anything specific to a private channel. Never buy or fake reviews, which breaks Google’s rules and the trust your practice depends on.
The fixes we would make first
If this were our client, we would fix the category, complete the profile with an appointment link and medical aid details, and start replying to reviews while building a steady, ethical flow of new ones. Those moves would lift this practice up the map and win more new patients within a couple of months. For the full picture, read our local SEO guide for dentists in South Africa.
Check your own profile
You can do a quick version of this yourself. Open Google, search your business, and ask these questions.
- Is every field filled in, including services, medical aid and access
- Is your primary category Dentist, with the right secondary categories added
- Have you added real photos of the practice and team
- Have you answered the questions patients have asked
- Are you replying to reviews, carefully and without sharing patient details
- Do your name, address and phone match everywhere
- Does your website link go to a fast page where patients can book
Want us to do the full version for your business. Start with a free local audit. We will review your profile, your rankings, your listings and your reviews, then show you exactly what to fix first.