Search for a psychologist, a bookkeeper or a GP in your own suburb on your phone. Before you click a single website, Google shows you three businesses on a little map with star ratings, phone buttons and opening hours. Most people never scroll past them. That box is your Google Business Profile, and for a local practice it's often more important than the website.
The annoying part is that it's free, it takes an afternoon to set up properly, and a lot of practices have either never claimed theirs or claimed it years ago and forgotten about it.
What it actually is
It's the listing Google builds for your business: name, address, phone number, hours, photos, reviews, and a link to your website. Google makes one whether you want it or not, pulling details from wherever it can find them. If you haven't claimed it, you don't control what it says. Wrong phone numbers, an old address after a move, "temporarily closed" stuck on a business that's very much open. All of that happens.
Imagine a new client driving to your old rooms because Google told them to. That's not a marketing problem, that's a bad first impression you never got the chance to prevent.
The five things worth fixing
1. Claim and verify it. Google will ask you to prove it's your business, usually with a short video of your premises or a verification code. If you work from home or see clients at several venues, you can hide your street address and list the areas you serve instead. Do that rather than publishing your home address to the world.
2. Pick the right category. "Psychologist" and "Counsellor" are different categories and they show up for different searches. Choose the one that matches what people actually type. You can add secondary ones, but the main category carries the most weight.
3. Make your details identical everywhere. Name, address and phone number should read the same on your profile, your website, your Facebook page and any directory you're listed on. Small differences ("Rd" versus "Road", an old landline) make Google less sure which details to trust.
4. Add real photos. The front of the building, the parking, the reception, the room where you'll actually see people. Nervous first-time clients want to know what they're walking into. Stock photos do nothing here.
5. Ask for reviews, and reply to them. Google gives you a direct link you can send after an appointment. A short message with that link is enough. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly.
A profile with a handful of recent reviews and the right phone number beats a gorgeous website nobody can find.
A note if you're in a regulated profession
Doctors, psychologists and other registered professionals have rules about advertising and about confidentiality. Never reply to a review in a way that confirms the person was your client. "Thank you for the kind words, we're glad to help" is fine. Anything that references their appointment or their situation is not. Check your own council's advertising guidelines before you offer anything that looks like a promotion.
Where the website fits
The profile gets people to your door, or to your phone. The website is where they decide whether to trust you once they've found you. They work as a pair. A profile that links to a slow, outdated site wastes the click, and a great site nobody can find wastes the work you put into it.
If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your listing, I'm happy to look at it with you, no charge. Most of the fixes take less than an hour.