Google Business Profile for a HOF Clinic

When someone is thinking about getting facial harmonization and doesn't know anyone who has had it, the path is usually the same: search on their phone for "harmonization clinic near me" and look at the map. What shows up there, with a rating, photos, hours and a call button, is the Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business). For many orofacial harmonization (HOF) clinics, it is the first storefront, and it costs little beyond time and care.

This guide shows how to set up the profile, what to fill in, how to handle reviews within ethical limits and professional confidentiality, and what a health clinic needs to avoid. It does not replace Google's policies, which change, or your professional council's advertising rule.

Why does the profile matter for a HOF clinic?

Deciding to have a procedure on your face is a matter of trust. Before booking, the patient wants to know where the clinic is, whether it looks serious, whether it has openings and what other people say. The profile answers all of that on one screen:

• location and directions to the clinic;
• phone number and a link to message or book;
• opening hours;
• photos of the space;
• rating and comments from people who have been treated.

A clinic without a verified profile misses the chance to show up in those results, and one with an abandoned profile signals disorganization: wrong hours, an old phone number, photos from years ago.

How do you create and verify the profile?

1. Use the clinic's account. Create the profile with an institutional email the clinic controls, not an employee's personal email. If the person who created it leaves, the profile can't be stuck with them.
2. Check first whether one already exists. Sometimes the address already has a profile created by third parties. Claim it instead of duplicating it, because duplicate profiles hurt the clinic.
3. Fill in the data exactly as it is. Name, address, phone number and hours identical to the CNPJ registration (Brazil's business registry), the website and the storefront.
4. Verify. Google confirms the location exists through one of the methods it offers at the time (for example, a code, a call or a video). Without verification, the profile has little visibility.
5. Keep access for more than one person, with a defined role, and know who the owner is.

What should you fill in for each field?

Write the description for the patient, not for the search engine. A clear description that mentions the city and neighborhood naturally helps more than a list of repeated terms.

Which photos should you use?

Photos are what patients look at most, and a health clinic has an advantage: it can show hygiene and order.

Good choices:

• the storefront and entrance, so people recognize the place;
• reception and waiting room;
• a clean treatment room, with the counter and materials put away;
• the team, with each person's authorization;
• parking or access, if useful.

Avoid:

• a patient photo without a specific image use consent form for advertising;
• before and after photos, unless your council's rule allows them and the authorization exists (see what you may advertise);
• images of syringes, products or procedures in progress, which some rules restrict;
• stock photos presented as if they were of the clinic;
• projections or simulations presented as results.

How do you handle reviews within ethical limits?

Reviews are the most sensitive part of a health clinic's profile, because they combine three sets of rules: Google's policies, the professional council's advertising rules and professional confidentiality.

What Google allows and prohibits

Under Google's content policies for reviews, they must reflect a real and impartial experience. In general, the following are prohibited: fake or paid reviews, reviews by someone who did not have the experience, multiple accounts by the same person, reviews written about a competitor to harm them and incentives in exchange for reviews, such as discounts, gifts or free services, including in exchange for removing a negative review. Reviews that violate these rules can be removed, and the profile can be penalized.

What this means in practice

The council and testimonials

Advertising rules in health care often restrict the use of patient testimonials and the publication of praise as self-promotion. The rule varies by council: sharing a screenshot of a flattering review in stories or ads can be considered advertising with a testimonial. Read your council's current rule before reusing reviews in any piece. For general context, see advertising in HOF.

How to reply without breaching confidentiality

The patient may expose themselves in a review, but you remain bound by confidentiality. When replying:

• do not confirm that the person is a patient;
• do not mention the procedure, date, product, price or treatment;
• do not discuss the case in public;
• be brief and courteous, thank them for the comment and offer a private channel ("we ask that you contact the clinic so that we can talk").

Hypothetical example of a reply to a negative review: "We are sorry that your experience was not what you expected. Out of respect for professional confidentiality, we do not comment on cases in public channels. We ask that you contact the clinic at the phone number on the profile so that we can listen and talk with the attention you deserve."

If the review contains defamation, third parties' personal data or threats, report it to Google and talk to your lawyer before replying. For the documentation that protects the clinic in a dispute, see patient record and informed consent.

How does the profile connect with the rest of your digital presence?

The profile doesn't work alone. The more consistent the whole picture, the more trust the patient has:

• Identical name, address and phone number on the profile, website, Instagram and storefront.
• Profile link in the Instagram bio and on the website.
• QR code or card at reception, with the link to leave a review, with no pressure and no incentive.
• Fast replies to messages that arrive through the profile. A message button that goes unanswered does more harm than not having the button.
• Consistency with your positioning: what the profile promises must be what the clinic delivers. See HOF clinic positioning.

If the clinic also invests in ads, the profile is the natural destination for people who search for the name. See paid ads for HOF within the rules.

How do you track performance?

The profile's own dashboard usually shows, in summary form, how many people viewed the profile, called, asked for directions or clicked through to the website. Use three questions:

1. Are calls and direction requests going up or down?
2. Can the people who call actually be answered?
3. How many of those people became a booked consultation?

Record in the patient's file how they found the clinic, to compare what the profile promises with what it actually delivers. For the next step after first contact, see post-consultation follow-up and patient referrals, which tends to feed reviews spontaneously.

Common mistakes

• A profile name stuffed with keywords instead of the clinic's real name.
• A category that doesn't match the service offered.
• Outdated phone number or hours.
• Offering an advantage in exchange for a review.
• Replying to a review with the patient's name, procedure or price.
• Leaving the profile under the personal account of someone who has left the clinic.
• Publishing before and after photos without checking the council's rule and without authorization.

Profile checklist

• Is the profile verified and does the account belong to the clinic?
• Are the name, address, phone number and hours exactly the real ones?
• Do the primary and secondary categories match what the clinic does?
• Is the description informative and free of promises of results?
• Are the photos current, and do they avoid exposing patients without authorization?
• Do I have a rule for inviting patients to leave reviews, without incentives and without filtering?
• Do I know how to reply to reviews without breaching confidentiality?
• Did I check my council's rule on testimonials and before and after photos?
• Does someone on the team check the profile at least once a week?

A truthful, up-to-date and well-kept profile is worth more than a high rating built on shortcuts. It reflects the clinic the patient will find when they open the door.