A Step-by-Step Framework for Optimizing Your Therapy Practice's Google Business Profile

When someone searches "therapist near me" or "anxiety therapist in [city]," Google surfaces three local results before any organic website listings. That block — the map pack — is driven almost entirely by your Google Business Profile, not your website.

For therapists, this creates a specific opportunity: a well-optimized GBP can put a solo practice on equal footing with a large multi-clinician group, because Google weights relevance and completeness heavily alongside authority.

Three core factors drive local map pack rankings:

• Relevance — how closely your profile matches what the searcher is looking for (controlled by your categories, services, and description)
• Distance — proximity to the searcher or the location specified in the query
• Prominence — your profile's overall authority, shaped by reviews, links, and activity signals

Of these three, relevance and prominence are the ones you can actively improve. Distance is fixed by your physical location or service area.

Industry benchmarks suggest that therapy practices with complete, actively maintained GBP profiles earn meaningfully more map pack impressions than those with sparse or outdated profiles — though the exact lift varies by market competition and the specificity of the search queries in your area.

One more reason GBP matters specifically for mental health practices: clients in distress often search with high urgency and click the first credible local result they see. A complete, trustworthy-looking profile — with photos, hours, reviews, and a clear description of your specializations — converts searchers into appointment requests at a higher rate than a bare-bones listing.

This guide walks through each component of your GBP in the order that has the most impact, starting with the decisions that are hardest to undo.

Your primary category is the most consequential field in your entire Google Business Profile. Google uses it to decide which searches your listing is eligible to appear in. Choosing the wrong primary category is one of the most common — and most damaging — mistakes therapy practices make.

Primary Category Recommendations by Practice Type

• Licensed therapist / psychotherapist (individual practice): Use "Psychotherapist" as your primary category if available in your region. It is more specific than "Mental Health Service" and aligns with how clients search for talk therapy.
• Psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner: "Psychiatrist" is its own distinct category — use it rather than a therapy-adjacent label if medication management is your primary service.
• Group practice or multi-specialty clinic: "Mental Health Service" or "Mental Health Clinic" may be appropriate as the primary, with more specific categories added as secondary.
• Marriage and family therapist: "Marriage Therapist" is a recognized Google category and can serve as primary if couples/family work is your core offering.
• Counselor (LPC, LPCC): "Counselor" exists as a category and is appropriate if your licensing title aligns — do not misrepresent credentials in your category selection.

Adding Secondary Categories

Google allows multiple categories. Use secondary categories to reflect additional services your practice genuinely offers — for example, a therapist who also facilitates group sessions might add "Mental Health Service" as a secondary category alongside "Psychotherapist."

Do not add categories for services you don't provide. Google's guidelines prohibit this, and it can result in profile suspension.

What to Avoid

Avoid overly broad categories like "Health" or "Medical Clinic" as your primary — they reduce relevance for therapy-specific searches. Similarly, avoid placing specialization keywords ("EMDR therapist," "trauma specialist") in your business name field. That belongs in your description and services section, not your name.

After category selection, profile completeness is the next major lever. Google explicitly rewards profiles that answer as many of a searcher's questions as possible before they click through to a website.

Services Section

Add every therapy modality and presenting concern you work with as individual service entries. Examples:

• Individual Therapy
• Couples Counseling
• Anxiety Treatment
• Depression Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Therapy
• EMDR
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
• Telehealth Therapy

Each service entry can include a short description. Use this space to write one to two plain-language sentences about what the service involves and who it helps. Do not write marketing copy — write the kind of clear explanation a good clinician would give a prospective client.

Health Attributes

Google surfaces specific health-related attributes for therapy profiles. These filter into search results when patients use them as criteria. Complete every attribute that applies honestly:

• Telehealth / online care available
• Insurance plans accepted (list each individually if possible)
• Wheelchair accessible entrance and restroom
• Languages spoken
• Gender of provider (some patients filter by this)
• Identifies as LGBTQ+ friendly (if applicable and accurate)

Business Description

You have 750 characters. Use the first 250 characters thoughtfully — that's what's visible before a reader clicks "more." Include your city or neighborhood, your primary specializations, and the client populations you serve. Naturally work in the search phrases your ideal clients would use ("anxiety therapist in [city]," "trauma therapy for adults").

Do not mention specific outcomes, guarantees, or language that implies you can cure conditions. This is both a Google guideline issue and an APA ethics consideration. If you are uncertain whether a claim crosses a line, the more conservative choice is the right one. This is general guidance, not legal or licensing advice — verify standards with your state licensing board and professional association.

Hours and Contact Information

Keep hours accurate and updated. Mark holiday hours in advance. An incorrect phone number or hours listing is a direct conversion failure — a prospective client who calls during listed hours and gets no answer is unlikely to call back.

A complete GBP that never gets updated sends a passive signal to Google. Profiles with recent photos and regular posts consistently rank better than static ones in our experience working with healthcare practices — and in the therapy context, they also build the visual credibility that converts a searcher into a caller.

Photo Strategy

Upload a minimum of:

• Exterior photo: Your building entrance, signage, or parking area — helps clients find you and confirms the location is real
• Interior photos (2-3): Waiting area and therapy room — warm, professionally lit images reduce the anxiety of a first visit
• Headshot or team photo: A professional photo of you (and your clinicians, if group practice) humanizes the profile
• Logo: Used as your profile icon in some display contexts

Do not use stock photos. Google can detect them, and prospective clients find generic imagery off-putting for a service as personal as therapy.

Privacy note: Do not photograph clients or anything that could identify a client in any image. This is both a HIPAA concern and basic ethical practice.

Google Posts

Google Posts appear directly on your profile in search results. They have a lifespan of roughly seven days for standard posts. A consistent posting cadence — even once every one to two weeks — keeps your profile active and gives Google fresh content signals to process.

Appropriate post topics for therapy practices:

• Mental health awareness dates (Mental Health Awareness Month, World Mental Health Day)
• Brief psychoeducational content ("What to expect in your first therapy session")
• Office updates (new telehealth availability, holiday hours, new clinician joining)
• General wellness information that aligns with your specializations

Do not publish posts that make clinical claims, reference specific client outcomes, or use language that implies designed to results. When in doubt, write as if your state licensing board is reading it — because they can.

Reviews are a prominent local ranking signal and the most visible trust indicator on your GBP. But for therapists, the standard "ask every client for a review" advice creates real HIPAA exposure if not handled correctly.

The Core HIPAA Issue

Asking a client for a Google review — and then responding to that review publicly — can constitute an implicit disclosure that the person is your patient. Under HIPAA, that is a disclosure of protected health information (PHI). This is general educational information, not legal advice. Consult your privacy officer or healthcare attorney for guidance specific to your practice.

A Compliant Review Collection Approach

• General invitations, not targeted requests: Rather than emailing a specific client asking for a review, some practices include a general note in their intake paperwork or website that reviews are welcome. This separates the request from the therapeutic relationship.
• Let clients opt in: A client who voluntarily leaves a review has chosen to disclose their relationship with your practice publicly — that is their right. Your role is to not confirm, add to, or reference that relationship in your response.
• Never use review management software that auto-sends requests to patient lists: This creates a clear trail linking identified individuals to your practice.

Responding to Reviews

Respond to every review — positive and negative. For positive reviews, a short, warm, generic response works well: "Thank you for sharing your experience — we're glad you found what you were looking for." Never reference the nature of the services provided.

For negative reviews, the response is harder. The standard reputation management advice — "address the specifics" — can violate HIPAA if applied to a therapy context. The correct approach:

• Acknowledge the concern without confirming the person is or was a patient
• Provide a direct phone number or email to resolve the matter offline
• Keep your response brief and professional

Example neutral response: "We take feedback seriously and want every person's experience to be positive. Please contact our office directly at [phone] so we can address your concern."

For a full treatment of review response compliance, see our therapist SEO resource hub.

Setting up your GBP correctly is the foundation. Maintaining it is what separates profiles that hold their map pack positions from those that slowly drift down as competitors invest more consistently.

Monthly Maintenance Tasks

• Check for Google-suggested edits: Google allows the public and its own algorithms to suggest changes to your profile. These can include incorrect hours, wrong addresses, or category changes. Log in monthly and review any pending edits — accept accurate ones, reject incorrect ones.
• Update photos quarterly: Stale photo libraries signal neglect. Add at least one new photo every quarter, even if it's just a seasonal exterior shot.
• Post at least twice per month: Consistency matters more than volume. Two thoughtful posts per month outperforms a burst of ten posts followed by three months of silence.
• Respond to new reviews within 72 hours: Response speed signals engagement to Google and builds trust with prospective clients reading the review thread.

Watch for Profile Suspensions

Google occasionally suspends GBP profiles for guideline violations — real or perceived. Common triggers for therapy practices include:

• Business name containing keywords beyond your actual practice name
• Multiple practitioners listed under a single profile when each should have individual profiles
• Service area set too broadly relative to physical location
• Sudden spike in reviews (flags as potentially manipulated)

If your profile is suspended, you can appeal through Google's reinstatement process. The appeal is more likely to succeed if your profile is otherwise clean and compliant.

When to Consider Professional GBP Management

Managing a GBP correctly takes consistent time and judgment — particularly for the compliance nuances specific to mental health practices. If your practice is in a competitive market, handles multiple clinicians, or operates across multiple locations, the complexity compounds quickly. Professional GBP optimization as part of therapist SEO may be worth evaluating against the time cost of managing it in-house.