GMB Description

The What:

A description of your practice is an easy thing to create as a person who’s intimately familiar with their hospital, but just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. Google has an optional section at the bottom of your hospital’s Knowledge Panel that allows you to use up to 750 characters talking about your practice in anyway you choose—this is the Google My Business Description. If you don’t want to add a general overview of your practice, you can include your mission statement, more information about your doctors or really anything else you see fit!

Your Google Description is worth an entire 15 percent of your profile when Google is calculating how complete your hospital’s profile is. This is big, considering the less complete a profile is, the lower your practice’s search listing is ranked. This means it won’t show up in internet searches as often as those that have a more fleshed out profile.

If you don’t see the option to add a description on your Google My Business page, it’s possible your business is inappropriately categorized within Google My Business. This can often be rectified by simply reducing the number of categories your hospital is claiming to be under. Keeping the category to the most accurate will remove any confusion Google may have about your business, and the Google Description feature should become available.

The Why:

Hospitals that have a Google Description also saw a 10 percent increase in the number of reviews over those that did not.

The How:

How to add a Google My Business description: Log in to your Google My Business account, click on the “Info” button on the menu bar and look for a section labeled “Add business description.” Click on the pencil icon next to that field, which will bring up a menu that will let you enter a brief description of your business.