Turn More Google Searches Into New Patients This Month
Welcome to this month’s Digital Bulletin! Big changes are happening where patients find you most: Google. This month, your social media posts can now show up right on your Google listing, and Google’s new AI is answering patient questions about your practice automatically. We’re breaking down what’s new, introducing a helpful new member of our content team, and sharing one quick win you can knock out this week.
In this issue:
- Google Just Made Your Social Media Part of Your Search Presence
- Say Hello to Our New Digital Content Assistant
- Google’s Q&A Is Gone. Here’s What Took Its Place.
- Success Tip of the Month: Connect Your Social Media to Your Google Listing in 5 Minutes
Google Just Made Your Social Media Part of Your Search Presence
If you’ve been following our updates over the past few months, you know we’ve been talking a lot about the growing connection between social media and search. Instagram posts showing up in Google results. Social Search Optimization. Hashtags as search signals.
Well, Google just made that connection even more direct.
Google has rolled out a new “Social Media Updates” carousel inside Google Business Profiles. What that means is your latest Facebook and Instagram posts can now appear directly on your Google listing, right alongside your reviews, photos, hours, and contact info. When someone searches for your clinic, they don’t just see static business details anymore. They see your recent social content, too.
Why this matters for your practice
Think about what most clinic Google listings look like side by side. A handful of reviews, a phone number, some photos. Now picture a listing that also shows recent posts from the past week: a patient success story, an exercise tip, a team spotlight. That listing looks more active, more current, and more like a clinic worth calling.
Most practices in your market are not posting consistently on social media. The ones that are now get a visible edge on their Google listing itself, not just on their social platforms. The window to stand out is wide open.
The SEO connection
This update reinforces what we’ve been seeing across the local search landscape: Google is increasingly treating your entire online presence as one connected ecosystem. Active social profiles contribute to the freshness and engagement signals that influence how Google evaluates your listing’s performance.
Here’s how it works in practice: when your listing looks alive with recent social content, it earns more clicks, more calls, and more direction requests. Those behavioral signals feed back into how Google ranks your listing in local search results and the Local Pack. The social posts aren’t the ranking factor. The patient behavior they trigger is. And that’s a meaningful distinction.
Local SEO practitioners are widely reporting that profiles going 30 or more days without new content, whether that’s photos, posts, or updates, are seeing measurable drops in local search visibility. Staying active isn’t optional anymore. It’s part of how you stay findable.
What this means if you’re already on our Patient Engagement system
Good news: your practice is already positioned for this. We’re posting consistent, strategic content to your social channels every week, which means your Google Business Profile has a steady stream of fresh content to pull from. Your listing won’t just look active. It will be active, and Google will see that.
If your social profiles are properly linked to your Google Business Profile (and we can help verify that), your content may already be appearing in this new carousel. If not, it’s a simple setup and we can walk you through it.
What if you’re not on the Patient Engagement system?
This update makes the case even stronger. Social media is no longer just about likes and followers. It’s now directly tied to how your clinic shows up in Google search. A consistent social media presence supports your local SEO, strengthens your Google listing, and helps patients find you when they’re actively searching for care.
If you’ve been on the fence about adding social media to your marketing mix, now is the time. Reach out to your team for more information on how to get started or ensure your current social profiles are connected and optimized.
Say Hello to Our New Digital Content Assistant
We’re excited to introduce Andrea, who is stepping into a full-time role as Digital Content Assistant on our Special Projects team starting July 15!
Andrea joins us from our Web Team, where she’s spent time honing her skills in graphic and web design, WordPress development, and user experience. Her eye for clean, intuitive design and her drive to make websites work better for the people using them made her a natural fit to grow with our Special Projects team. Andrea’s primary responsibilities will be our email marketing designs and user experience to make a growing program even more effective for you!
We’re looking forward to the fresh energy and creative perspective Andrea brings, and we can’t wait for you to see the impact of her work in the months ahead. Welcome aboard, Andrea!
Google’s Q&A Is Gone. Here’s What Took Its Place.
If you’ve noticed the Questions & Answers section missing from your Google Business Profile, you’re not imagining it. Google has officially retired the Q&A feature, and any questions and answers previously posted on your listing are no longer visible to patients.
In its place, Google is rolling out an AI-powered experience called Ask Maps. Instead of browsing old Q&A threads, potential patients can now ask questions in plain language. Things such as “Do they take my insurance?” or “Is there parking?”. Now, Google’s AI answers instantly. The catch: nobody at your practice writes those answers. The AI builds them from your Google profile, your reviews, and your website.
That makes the quality of your online information more important than ever. A complete, up-to-date profile, detailed patient reviews, and a website that clearly describes your services all teach Google’s AI to represent your practice accurately. If that information is thin or inconsistent, the AI may give vague or even wrong answers to the very patients trying to choose you.
The good news is that you don’t need to do anything drastic. Keeping your profile current, encouraging patients to mention the specific service they received when they leave a review, and making sure your website reflects everything you offer are the moves that matter. This is already part of the work we do together. If you have questions about how your practice shows up in Google’s new AI answers, just reach out to your CSM.
Success Tip of the Month
Success Tip of the Month: Connect Your Social Media to Your Google Listing in 5 Minutes
Did you know your Facebook and Instagram posts can now appear directly on your Google Business Profile? Most practices haven’t connected their accounts yet, which means the ones that do stand out immediately. When your social links are added to your profile, Google can showcase your recent posts right alongside your reviews, hours, and photos, so your listing looks active and welcoming instead of static. Here’s how: sign in to your Google Business Profile, click “Edit profile,” scroll to “Social profiles,” and paste in the links to your Facebook, Instagram, and any other active accounts. That’s it, Google handles the rest. And if you’d rather have us take care of it, just make sure Practice Promotions is added as a manager on your profile and let your account team know; we’ll connect your accounts and keep everything optimized for you.
Quick Links
To login to your Marketing Analytics Dashboard, visit https://practicepromotions.clientseoreport.com/.
This is where you’ll find your Total Leads Summary, Website Performance, and ROI information.
Engage… remind me where that is again? We’ve got you. Login to your dashboard at https://practicepromotions.email/app/user. If you need help, reach out to your Digital team on Basecamp.