Updating Your Clinic’s Google Profile with COVID-19 Changes

As you may know, Google creates online profiles for businesses, often without the business owner’s input. To retain or build trust with current or prospective patients, it’s important to keep your clinic’s Google profile up-to-date.

First, If you haven’t done so already, add or claim your business profile on Google and then verify it so it’s eligible to appear on Search, Maps, and other Google services. This is an effective and free marketing communications feature that can help grow your business in future.

Second, it’s important to make changes to your clinic’s Google profile (called Google My Business) to ensure you’re giving patients and the community the most up-to-date information about your clinic. If you’ve temporarily closed or changed your clinic’s operations due to COVID-19, consider making temporary changes to your profile, such as:

  • Adding a ‘What’s New’ post to your listing to communicate your COVID-19 changes or editing your business description to communicate your COVID-19 changes (through Google’s Edit Your Business Information section).
  • Updating your phone number if you’re working remotely (through Google’s Edit Your Business Information section).
  • Setting special business hours

Once you reopen your clinic or return to regular business operations, you can easily edit your profile to revert to your regular business hours, phone number and description or delete your ‘What’s New’ post. We will also provide instructions in this section and via the OCA bulletin to help you.

Please note, Google may review your changes for quality before publishing them, so your changes may not be immediately visible on Google Search and Maps.

Creating a Temporary ‘What’s New’ Post for COVID-19 Changes

Create a post screen in GoogleTo Create a ‘What’s New’ Post:

  1. Sign in to Google My Business, on your computer.
  2. If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
  3. Click the Posts option in the left side menu.
  4. Click the Create post button on the page displayed. Alternatively, if a pop-up window comes up about creating a post, click the Try it now button at the bottom.
  5. At the top of the Create Post page, select ‘What’s New’ from the type of post options (see image).
  6. For a photo, we’ve prepared the first two options for you but you can also source/create your own JPG or PNG image file to use, as long as it’s 400 px (width) X 300 px (height)
  7. Once you’ve selected an image to use, click Add photos and upload your selected image.
  8. In the ‘Write your post’ area insert a description about your changes, such as: Given growing COVID-19 concerns and the safety of our patients and community, we are temporarily closed, at least until (insert date). Please watch for updates on our website about when we will reopen. If you have any questions for us, please direct them to (insert your preferred email address) or call us at (insert your phone number if you are able to check voice mail message or answer live).Adjust this message to suit your clinic’s specific needs.  Please note, this section has a 1,500 character or approximately 250 word limit.
  9. Click the Preview button to see how your post looks and make any changes you would like to your copy.
  10. Click the Publish button to post.

Please note: You will need to repeat these steps for each clinic, if you have more than one.

Temporarily Editing Your Phone Number

Google business phone number field

If you are working remotely, you may want to temporarily edit your phone number.

To edit your Phone Number (through Google’s Edit Your Business Information section):

  1. Sign in to Google My Business, on your computer.
    • If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
  2. In the menu on the left, click Info.
  3. Scroll down to the phone icon and your phone number. Click the pencil icon on the right to open the edit screen.
  4. Insert your temporary phone number. (See image)
  5. Click Apply in the lower right hand corner.

Please note: You will need to repeat these steps for each clinic, if you have more than one.

Temporarily Setting Special Business Hours

Special dates screen

Google has an option for ‘setting special hours’ in your profile. If you have reduced business hours and some closures, this feature may be helpful. However, if you’re temporarily closed for numerous days, this feature is not practical because you need to individually enter information for each date, versus a range of dates.

To Set Special Business Hours:

  1. Sign in to Google My Business, on your computer.
    • If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
  2. Click Info > Special hours. (You’ll only find this section if you’ve already provided regular hours.)
  3. Select Add new date. A monthly calendar will pop-up.
  4. Click on the starting date for your reduced hours in the calendar. It will automatically be entered in the Select Date section. Enter the ‘opens at’ and ‘closes at’  times in the sections beside it. (See image)
  5. If your clinic is closed all day on this date, click the blue circle marked ‘Open‘ to switch it to ‘Closed.’
  6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for each day in your special business hours time period.
  7. When you finish entering all of your special hours, click Apply. Your special hours will appear only for the designated days.

Please note: You will need to repeat these steps for each clinic, if you have more than one.

Editing Your Business Description to Include COVID-19 Changes

If you choose not to add a post to your listing (as outlined at the top of this page), you can edit your business description to add a reference to your change in operations, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Business description in GoogleTo edit your Description to Include Your COVID-19 Changes (through Google’s Edit Your Business Information section):

    1. Sign in to Google My Business, on your computer.
      • If you have multiple locations, open the location you’d like to manage.
    2. In the menu on the left, click Info.
    3. Scroll down to the Add business description area. Click the pencil icon on the right to open the edit screen.
    4. Add text after your main business description (see image), such as: 
      • Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are temporarily closed. Please watch for updates on our website about when we will reopen.
    5. Click Apply in the lower right hand corner.

Please note: You will need to repeat these steps for each clinic, if you have more than one.

For more details, please check Google’s COVID-19 information page for affected businesses.