Local SEO for GP Practices & Clinics: Rank for “Near Me” Without Gaming the System

Local SEO for healthcare is about being genuinely easy to find and trust, not tricking Google. For UK GP practices and clinics, that means a clean Google Business Profile, clear service/treatment pages, accessible content, and honest patient feedback.

Below is a practical, “owner-doable” guide with a printable-style monthly checklist you can share with your team.

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Why “Near Me” Matters for GP Practices and Clinics

Patients increasingly search phrases like “GP near me”, “NHS walk-in clinic”, or “private physiotherapist near me” on their phones. Google decides what to show based on three core factors:

• Relevance – how well your practice matches the search (services, content, categories)
• Distance – how close you are to the searcher
• Prominence – overall trust signals (reviews, quality website, brand recognition)

You cannot change a patient’s location, but you can improve:

• How clearly you describe services for the local area
• How trustworthy and active your online presence is
• How easy it is for patients (including disabled users) to access your information

For NHS and UK healthcare providers, you must also stay compliant with:

• NHS guidance on digital communications and patient information
• WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards (increasingly expected for all healthcare sites)
• GMC/NMC/HCPC and NHS guidance on ethical use of reviews and online testimonials

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Google Business Profile Setup in 20 Minutes

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is often the first thing patients see when they search for your practice by name or “near me”. Treat it like your digital front desk. Step 1: Claim or Create Your Profile (5 minutes)

• Go to Google Business Profile and sign in with a practice-owned Google account (not a personal one).

• Search for your practice name:

  • If it appears, click “Own this business?” and follow the verification process. If not, create a new profile and enter:

• Practice name (exactly as registered)

  • Address (match website and NHS listings)
  • Phone number
  • Website URL
  • Opening hours

• Choose the most accurate primary category, e.g.:

  • “Medical clinic”
  • “General practitioner”
  • “Walk-in clinic”
  • “Dental clinic” (if applicable)

Add any relevant secondary categories, such as “Physiotherapy clinic” or “Psychologist”.

Step 2: Complete Core Details (10 minutes)

Accuracy and completeness are key. Incomplete or inconsistent profiles can confuse patients and harm trust. Core details to complete

• Name, Address, Phone (NAP) Ensure they match exactly across:
• Website
  • NHS profile
  • Care Quality Commission listing
  • Any directories (e.g. BUPA, private insurers)
• Hours Include:
• Standard surgery hours
  • Extended hours or walk-in times
  • Note bank holiday arrangements where possible
• Website & Appointment Links Link to:
• Main practice website
  • Online booking or “request appointment” page (e.g. NHS App or practice triage form)
• Description 2–3 short paragraphs, in plain language, e.g.:
• “We are an NHS GP practice in South Manchester providing general medical services, chronic disease management, childhood immunisations and women’s health clinics. New NHS patients in our catchment area are welcome to register.”
• Avoid keyword stuffing; write for patients, not algorithms.

Step 3: Add Services, Photos and Accessibility (5 minutes)

Services

• Add key services consistent with your website, such as:
  • NHS GP services
  • Minor illness clinic
  • Travel vaccinations
  • Physiotherapy
  • Mental health support
  • Use clear, non-technical language and avoid misleading claims.

Photos

• Upload:

  • Exterior of the building (so patients recognise it)
  • Reception area and waiting room
  • Accessible entrances, ramps, lifts, and signage
  • Keep images up to date and avoid identifiable patients. Accessibility info

• Use GBP attributes where available:

  • Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Accessible toilet
  • Lift
  • Hearing loop (if present)
  • This supports both accessibility and trust.

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Treatment / Service Page Framework That Works

Your website should clearly explain what you do, who it’s for, and how to access it. This is both good for patients and good for local SEO.

Use a consistent framework for each key treatment/service page.

Recommended Service Page Structure

1. Clear page purpose

• Short intro explaining the service and who it helps, e.g.:
  • “Our asthma clinic supports children and adults with asthma to manage their symptoms and reduce flare-ups.”

2. Who this service is for

• Describe typical patient groups or conditions.
• Use inclusive, plain language.

3. What’s involved

• Explain:
  • What happens at an appointment
  • Typical assessments, tests, or treatments
  • Any preparation required

4. How to access the service

• Specify:
  • NHS pathway (e.g. “You can access this service after a GP referral”)
  • Self-referral options (where allowed locally)
  • Wait times if they are consistently long (be honest and realistic)
  • Link to:
    • Online consultation form
    • NHS App
    • Relevant local NHS pages (e.g. IAPT services, sexual health services)

5. Safety and urgent advice

• Clear guidance on:
  • When to call 111
  • When to call 999
  • When to contact the practice urgently
  • Use bold text sparingly for critical safety points.

6. Accessibility and formats

• Provide:
  • Easy Read PDFs where possible
  • Large print option (or instructions: “Ask reception if you need this information in large print or another format.”)
  • Avoid images of text; use real text so screen readers can read it.

7. Internal links

• Link to related services, such as:
  • Asthma clinic → smoking cessation, flu vaccination, child immunisations
  • Women’s health → cervical screening, contraception clinic, pregnancy services

8. Local and “near me” context

• Naturally include local context where relevant:
  • “We provide NHS GP services for patients living in the [Neighbourhood] area of [Town].”
  • “Our physiotherapy clinic serves patients from [Area A], [Area B] and surrounding communities.”

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Internal Links That Lift Your Pages

Internal links help both patients and Google understand your site structure and which pages matter most.

Principles for Effective Internal Linking

Make it useful to patients

• Link where someone might genuinely want more detail:

From conditions pages to service pages:

• “Back pain” page → “Physiotherapy” and “Exercise clinic” From homepage to key services:
• “Same-day urgent assessment” → “On-the-day appointments” page

Use descriptive anchor text

• Avoid: “Click here”

• Better:

  • “Learn more about our travel vaccination clinic”
  • “See how to register as a new patient” Highlight your priority pages

• Make sure your main revenue / priority services are linked from:

  • Homepage
  • Main navigation
  • Related service pages
  • Relevant blog articles

Respect accessibility and WCAG

• Ensure links are clearly visible and have sufficient colour contrast.
• Underline or otherwise differentiate links; do not rely on colour alone.
• Make link text meaningful out of context (good for screen readers).

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Area Pages: When (and When Not) to Use Them

Many practices want to rank for searches like “GP near [Neighbouring Town]”. The temptation is to create dozens of thin “SEO pages” listing place names. This is not appropriate for healthcare and often looks spammy.

When Area Pages Make Sense

Use area/coverage pages only when all are true:

• You genuinely serve that area (it is in your practice catchment or realistic travel radius).
• You can provide unique, helpful content for that area.
• The content is clearly written for patients, not search engines.

Good examples of area-based content

• “Our Practice Area and Catchment”
• Explains which postcodes/streets you cover.
• Includes a clear map (with alt text for accessibility).
• Clarifies how to check eligibility to register.
• “Visiting Us from [Neighbourhood]”
• Directions and travel advice (bus routes, parking, cycle access).
• Accessibility information for visitors.

When to Avoid Area Pages

Avoid creating a separate page for each nearby town/estate if:

• The only difference is swapping place names.
• There is no meaningful difference in services or access.
• It might confuse patients about who can and cannot register.

Instead, use one strong, clear catchment/area page and mention nearby areas naturally in your main content where relevant.

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Q&A and Posts: A Simple Routine

Google Business Profile offers Questions & Answers and Posts features. Used well, they:

• Answer common patient queries before a phone call
• Show Google that your profile is active and maintained
• Provide clear, consistent messaging (e.g. about flu clinics or bank holiday opening)

Q&A Best Practice

• Add common questions yourself, then answer them (this is allowed).
• Examples:
  • “Can I register with your practice if I live in [Area]?”
  • “Do you offer online consultations?”
  • “Is there parking or step-free access?”

Keep answers:

• Brief and clear
• Consistent with your website and NHS profile
• Non-promotional and factual

Posts Routine

Use Posts for timely updates, such as:

• Flu or COVID vaccination campaigns

• Seasonal advice (e.g. hay fever, heatwaves)

• Service changes (e.g. new phone system, changed triage process)

• Health awareness weeks with local relevance Posting cadence

• Aim for 1–4 posts per month.

• Reuse content from your website news or practice newsletter.

• Keep text accessible:

  • Short paragraphs
  • Plain language
  • Avoid dense jargon

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Reviews: Ethical, Compliant and Helpful

In the UK, healthcare providers must be careful with reviews to stay compliant with professional and advertising standards.

Ethical Review Practices

You can:

• Encourage general feedback about the practice experience.
• Provide clear routes for feedback:
  • NHS website review link
  • Friends and Family Test
  • Google Reviews link from your website or email footer
  • Respond to reviews professionally and without sharing patient-identifiable information.

You must not:

• Offer incentives for positive reviews.
• Selectively solicit reviews only from patients you know are happy.
• Disclose any clinical details in responses.

Safe Response Framework

• Thank them for feedback.
• Avoid confirming they are a patient or any details.
• Offer a route to follow-up offline if needed.

Example (positive):

• “Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad you had a positive experience with our team.”

Example (negative):

• “Thank you for raising this. We are sorry you were unhappy with your experience. Please contact the practice manager on [phone/email] so we can discuss this in more detail.”

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Monthly Local SEO Checklist (Printable)

Use this as a simple internal checklist for your practice manager or digital lead. You can paste it into a Word document, print it, and tick items monthly.

Google Business Profile

Profile accuracy

• Check name, address, phone and opening hours are still correct.
• Update any temporary changes (e.g. new clinic times, bank holiday hours).

Content & engagement

• Add at least 1 new Post (e.g. campaign, announcement, seasonal advice).
• Review Q&A: answer any new patient questions.
• Upload any relevant new photos (e.g. updated signage, new accessibility features).

Website Content

Service and treatment pages

• Review one or two key service pages:
  • Check information is accurate and aligned with current guidelines.
  • Confirm contact/referral routes are clearly described.
  • Update any outdated timeframes or processes.
  • Add at least one internal link from a news article or blog to a relevant service page.

Accessibility (WCAG awareness)

• Run a quick accessibility check:
  • Are headings used logically (H1 > H2 > H3)?
  • Are images of text avoided?
  • Are new images uploaded with meaningful alt text?
  • Test one key page with a screen reader or online accessibility checker.

Local & Area Information

Catchment and directions

• Confirm your practice area/catchment details are still correct.
• Update travel information if:
  • Bus routes have changed
  • Parking arrangements have changed
  • Any new access instructions apply (e.g. building works, temporary entrances)

Reviews & Feedback

Monitoring

• Check new Google Reviews, NHS reviews and Friends & Family feedback.

• Respond to all new Google Reviews in a professional, non-clinical way. Learning

• Note any repeated themes (phone access, waiting times, staff friendliness).

• Share a brief summary at a practice meeting and identify one small improvement action.

Governance & Compliance

Consistency and risk checks

• Ensure messaging about:

  • Registration rules
  • Access routes
  • Private vs NHS services is consistent across:

• Website

• NHS profile

• Practice leaflet

• Google Business Profile

• Confirm no posts or pages:

  • Overclaim outcomes
  • Discourage necessary in-person assessment
  • Breach advertising or professional guidelines

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Key Takeaways

• Local SEO is patient-centred communication, not tricks. When your digital presence is clear, accurate and accessible, “near me” visibility improves naturally.
• A fully completed Google Business Profile is essential and can be set up and optimised in under 20 minutes, with small monthly updates keeping it fresh.
• Well-structured service pages support patients and search engines alike, especially when they include clear pathways, safety advice and internal links.
• Area pages should reflect real catchment and travel information, not just lists of place names.
• Reviews, Q&A and posts help demonstrate that your practice is active, listening and trustworthy—provided they are handled ethically and in line with UK healthcare standards.

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Next Steps for Your Practice

To put this into action over the next month:

• Week 1: Claim and fully update your Google Business Profile. Add services, photos and a clear description.
• Week 2: Choose 3–5 key services (e.g. new patient registration, chronic disease clinics, women’s health) and ensure each has a dedicated, patient-friendly page following the framework above.
• Week 3: Improve internal links from your homepage and recent news items to those key service pages. Review your catchment/area page for clarity and accuracy.
• Week 4: Implement the monthly checklist as a recurring task for your practice manager or digital lead. Agree who owns:
• GBP updates
• Website content checks
• Review monitoring and responses

By embedding these tasks into routine practice management, your GP surgery or clinic can consistently appear for the right “near me” searches, support NHS access goals, and provide a better digital experience for every patient who looks you up online.