Latest / The Clinic Marketing Podcast | Local SEO & Healthcare Online Marketing Tips for Clinic Owners & Wellness Providers / Should Doctors Have a Personal Google Business Profile and a Location Google Business Profile?

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Should Doctors Have a Personal Google Business Profile and a Location Google Business Profile? · The Clinic Marketing Podcast | Local SEO & Healthcare Online Marketing Tips for Clinic Owners & Wellness Providers

• 0:26
  Darcy Happy AI try: Today we’re talking about whether doctors should have a personal Google Business Profile plus a location profile.
• 0:33
  Darcy Happy AI try: Because depending on how you set it up, it can either help patients find you, or it can create duplicates, split reviews, and turn into a maintenance headache.
• 0:43
  Darcy Happy AI try: Also, if you’ve ever had a provider leave and their personal listing still shows up at your practice address, stay with me.
• 0:50
  Darcy Happy AI try: That is a super common problem, and later in the episode I’ll walk you through the clean way to handle it without accidentally making your own listing weaker in the process.
• 1:01
  Darcy Happy AI try: Hello and welcome to The Clinic Marketing Podcast.
• 1:04
  Darcy Happy AI try: This is Darcy Sullivan from Propel Marketing Design.
• 1:08
  Darcy Happy AI try: Let’s start by getting really clear on what we’re actually talking about, because a lot of people say“personal profile” when they mean totally different things.
• 1:18
  Darcy Happy AI try: A location Google Business Profile is the listing for the physical place patients go.
• 1:23
  Darcy Happy AI try: It has your office address, primary phone number, hours, services, photos, posts, and most importantly, the reviews that influence whether someone chooses you.
• 1:34
  Darcy Happy AI try: A doctor or practitioner listing is different.
• 1:37
  Darcy Happy AI try: That’s a listing that represents an individual provider, often named something like“Dr.
• 1:43
  Darcy Happy AI try: Jane Smith,” and it can sometimes show the same address as the practice, or a different address depending on where they see patients.
• 1:52
  Darcy Happy AI try: So the real question is not“Can I have both,” because technically, sometimes you can.
• 1:58
  Darcy Happy AI try: The real question is,“Should you,” and if you do, will it strengthen your visibility or create confusion that costs you patients.
• 2:08
  Darcy Happy AI try: Here’s the biggest thing to understand about Google Business Profiles.
• 2:12
  Darcy Happy AI try: Google is trying to show the most helpful, most trustworthy result for the search.
• 2:18
  Darcy Happy AI try: When Google sees multiple listings that look like they represent the same thing, or multiple listings tied to the same address without clear differentiation, you can end up with split signals.
• 2:29
  Darcy Happy AI try: And split signals usually show up in a few ways.
• 2:33
  Darcy Happy AI try: Reviews get divided between listings.
• 2:36
  Darcy Happy AI try: Patients get confused about who they are booking with.
• 2:39
  Darcy Happy AI try: Calls go to the wrong phone number.
• 2:41
  Darcy Happy AI try: Messages go unanswered.
• 2:43
  Darcy Happy AI try: Or the wrong listing shows up for the wrong search.
• 2:47
  Darcy Happy AI try: That is why“more profiles” is not automatically“more visibility.” Now let’s talk about when a separate doctor listing can actually make sense.
• 2:56
  Darcy Happy AI try: A practitioner listing can be helpful when the doctor is a real standalone brand.
• 3:01
  Darcy Happy AI try: In other words, people search their name specifically and that name carries demand.
• 3:06
  Darcy Happy AI try: Think referrals, word of mouth, or people moving into town and searching a specific provider they were told to see.
• 3:13
  Darcy Happy AI try: It can also make sense when a doctor truly practices at more than one location, or when a practice has multiple providers who are commonly searched by name, and there is enough operational capacity to maintain those listings accurately.
• 3:28
  Darcy Happy AI try: The key phrase there is maintain accurately.
• 3:31
  Darcy Happy AI try: Because if you create practitioner listings, you now have more profiles that need ongoing attention.
• 3:37
  Darcy Happy AI try: Hours.
• 3:37
  Darcy Happy AI try: Holidays.
• 3:38
  Darcy Happy AI try: Photos.
• 3:39
  Darcy Happy AI try: Posts.
• 3:40
  Darcy Happy AI try: Review responses and overall accuracy.
• 3:43
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you do not have a plan to keep those updated, that is when listings go stale.
• 3:48
  Darcy Happy AI try: And stale listings create confusion and lost trust.
• 3:52
  Darcy Happy AI try: Also, and this is important, the goal should never be to“double rank” by trying to get two pins at the same address.
• 4:00
  Darcy Happy AI try: That approach is risky Very very risky.
• 4:04
  Darcy Happy AI try: Even if it works temporarily, it can create duplicates, verification headaches, and it often backfires later, especially when staff changes happen.
• 4:14
  Darcy Happy AI try: And this is where I want to zoom out for a second and talk about what I recommend for most practices.
• 4:18
  Darcy Happy AI try: For most practices, the cleanest setup is one strong location listing per real physical location.
• 4:25
  Darcy Happy AI try: Then you use your website to do the heavy lifting for doctor-name searches.
• 4:30
  Darcy Happy AI try: That means having a solid Team page and individual bio pages for each provider.
• 4:36
  Darcy Happy AI try: Those bio pages should be easy to find, clearly written, and internally linked to the services that provider is known for.
• 4:45
  Darcy Happy AI try: If someone searches“Dr.
• 4:47
  Darcy Happy AI try: Smith chiropractor” or“Dr.
• 4:49
  Darcy Happy AI try: Smith acupuncture,” you want Google to be able to connect the dots to your website, your location listing, and that provider’s bio page.
• 4:57
  Darcy Happy AI try: This approach keeps your reviews consolidated on the location listing, which is usually the most powerful asset for local visibility, while still giving you a way to show up for branded provider searches.
• 5:10
  Darcy Happy AI try: It also prevents one of the most annoying situations that happens when practices create or inherit practitioner listings.
• 5:18
  Darcy Happy AI try: Remember that scenario I teased at the beginning, a doctor works at your location, they have their own listing, then they leave, but their listing is still showing your practice address?
• 5:29
  Darcy Happy AI try: That is not just an inconvenience.
• 5:31
  Darcy Happy AI try: It can become a real business problem.
• 5:34
  Darcy Happy AI try: Patients call asking for a provider who is no longer there.
• 5:38
  Darcy Happy AI try: Reviews end up on the wrong profile.
• 5:41
  Darcy Happy AI try: Google starts to see mixed signals about who is actually at that address.
• 5:46
  Darcy Happy AI try: And if there are multiple listings floating around, it can reduce the clarity and strength of your main location listing.
• 5:54
  Darcy Happy AI try: This is one of the reasons I do not treat practitioner listings as a default move.
• 6:00
  Darcy Happy AI try: They can be helpful in the right situation, but they can also outlive your relationship with the provider, and then you are the one dealing with the fallout.
• 6:11
  Darcy Happy AI try: So let’s talk about what to do if that is happening to you.
• 6:15
  Darcy Happy AI try: First, clean up your own signals, because Google learns from what it sees across the web.
• 6:21
  Darcy Happy AI try: If your website still shows that doctor on a Team page, or you still have an old bio page live, or they are still mentioned on service pages, Google may keep associating that provider with your address.
• 6:34
  Darcy Happy AI try: So step one is to remove or update those references.
• 6:39
  Darcy Happy AI try: Update your team page.
• 6:40
  Darcy Happy AI try: Remove or redirect old bio pages as appropriate.
• 6:44
  Darcy Happy AI try: Make sure your“About” content reflects current providers.
• 6:48
  Darcy Happy AI try: Then do a quick scan of major directories where your practice is listed and see if that doctor is still tied to your address there.
• 6:56
  Darcy Happy AI try: The goal is to stop feeding Google the story that this provider is still at your location.
• 7:02
  Darcy Happy AI try: Second, go to the doctor listing on Google Maps and use“Suggest an edit.” You are trying to correct the address association.
• 7:11
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you know where they moved, suggesting a move can be the cleanest path.
• 7:16
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you do not know where they moved, you can still indicate that the listing does not belong at that address.
• 7:22
  Darcy Happy AI try: Third, while that cleanup is in progress, protect your main listing.
• 7:27
  Darcy Happy AI try: Make sure your location Google Business Profile is updated, complete, and clearly reflects your current providers through photos, posts, and your website link.
• 7:38
  Darcy Happy AI try: Make it easy for a patient to know they are in the right place, with the right team.
• 7:43
  Darcy Happy AI try: Now, back to the bigger question, should you have both a doctor listing and a location listing?
• 7:48
  Darcy Happy AI try: Here’s my decision filter.
• 7:49
  Darcy Happy AI try: If most of your searches are service-based,“chiropractor near me,”“physical therapist in Boston” or“acupuncture in Lousiville,” then the location listing should be your priority.
• 8:02
  Darcy Happy AI try: Consolidate reviews there.
• 8:04
  Darcy Happy AI try: Build it up.
• 8:04
  Darcy Happy AI try: Keep it active.
• 8:06
  Darcy Happy AI try: That is going to be the strongest and simplest setup for most practices.
• 8:09
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you have strong provider-name searches, multiple providers with real branded demand, and you have a clear plan to maintain individual profiles, then a practitioner listing might be worth considering.
• 8:22
  Darcy Happy AI try: But even then, I want you to think like a systems person.
• 8:26
  Darcy Happy AI try: What happens when a provider changes hours?
• 8:29
  Darcy Happy AI try: What happens when they go on leave?
• 8:31
  Darcy Happy AI try: What happens when they leave the practice?
• 8:33
  Darcy Happy AI try: Who updates what, and how quickly?
• 8:36
  Darcy Happy AI try: Because the benefit of a practitioner listing is not worth it if it creates confusion, splits reviews, or forces you into a cleanup project later.
• 8:45
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you do decide that a practitioner listing is truly the right move, keep it clean.
• 8:50
  Darcy Happy AI try: Make sure it is obviously the practitioner’s name, not a second version of your practice name.
• 8:56
  Darcy Happy AI try: Link it to the doctor’s bio page on your website, not just the homepage.
• 9:00
  Darcy Happy AI try: Use a phone number that is actually answered.
• 9:03
  Darcy Happy AI try: Keep the hours accurate.
• 9:05
  Darcy Happy AI try: And avoid creating duplicates if one already exists.
• 9:09
  Darcy Happy AI try: And if you are not sure, default to one strong location profile and better provider pages on your website.
• 9:17
  Darcy Happy AI try: It is often the safer, more stable path that still helps you show up for the searches you care about.
• 9:24
  Darcy Happy AI try: Before I wrap up, here is the takeaway I want you to remember.
• 9:27
  Darcy Happy AI try: Google Business Profile visibility is not about having the most listings.
• 9:32
  Darcy Happy AI try: It is about being the clearest, most trustworthy answer for the searcher.
• 9:37
  Darcy Happy AI try: Clarity wins.
• 9:39
  Darcy Happy AI try: So if your setup today is messy, or you are dealing with a former provider’s listing still attached to your address, do not panic.
• 9:48
  Darcy Happy AI try: Clean up the signals, correct what you can, and strengthen the listing you actually want to rank.
• 9:54
  Darcy Happy AI try: If you want help figuring out what you should do in your exact situation, especially if you suspect duplicates or you are dealing with a provider listing that will not detach from your address, that is one of those cases where a quick review can save you a lot of time and frustration.
• 10:13
  Darcy Happy AI try: Thanks for listening to The Clinic Marketing Podcast.
• 10:17
  Darcy Happy AI try: If this episode helped you, please share it with a colleague or a practice owner friend who’s trying to clean up their Google Business Profile setup.
• 10:25
  Darcy Happy AI try: And if you’ve got a quick minute, leaving a review is one of the biggest ways you can support the show.
• 10:31
  Darcy Happy AI try: It helps more clinic owners find these episodes, and it tells me what topics you want more of.