Google Places Optimization: Tale of a Chiropractor that went from #44 to #1 on Google Local
2 weeks ago I started working with a very cool Chiropractor and took his practice from #44 (page 5) on Google “Local” to #1 at the very top of Google. The practice is in a large metro city, in a highly competitive market – so several techniques where used to move him to the top. This case is so complicated and interesting I decided to do a mini case study. See it below the image.
1st I wanted to give you a peek at his stats. We hit #1 on May 11th and you can see the positive impact it’s already made. The practice is now getting over 1,000 impressions and 20 actions per day and that’s after only a week.
CASE STUDY BELOW – Stats April 23 – May 19th
It all started 2 weeks ago on a Sunday, when a young Chiropractor contacted me for help with his Google Places listing. He owns a highly successful practice with his sister and Father. The practice is mature and gets most of their new patients by word of mouth.
He was having a problem with what he called a “rogue” Google Places listing that had knocked his legitimate practice listing down to #44 in the rankings where no one could find it, because that put their listing on page 5 of the Google map search results.
As I did research I found 2 other duplicate listings, so it turned out that like many medical and dental practices he had a badly fractured Google listing. Not only are multiple listings in violation of Google’s TOS, but having multiple listings divides up the trust factors Google attributes to a company that can add up to make a better ranking.
On top of the fractured/rogue listings problem, the Dr. in trying to bring the 44th place listing up, had added his city to his practice name – so it read Chiropractic Practice Name + City. He didn’t realize this is also against the Google TOS. You are only supposed to use the legal business name, without adding any keywords or geo-modifiers.
So we dug in and got busy fixing and optimizing the listing. We removed the city from the practice name and merged the additional listings. Merging is VERY tricky and often results in losing reviews and citations if you aren’t careful. In fact the merging process is so convoluted that I asked the Google Places team to work on some help docs around the issue. They tell me they are working on it.
Additionally I added several pieces of data to the listing, including a secret key I discovered that I don’t think anyone else knows about. Voila, the changes moved him up to his rightful spot at #1. Again, this is a great practice that really cares about their patients and deserves to be #1 so I was thrilled to help them get there.
Have questions about your Place listing, duplicate listings or merging? Feel free to contact me for a free consultation. Always happy to help!
Here are a couple of my reviews. The 1st is from the Dr. in this case study.
I couldn’t believe my results!
PS STAY TUNED… I have another great Chiropractic case study coming soon. Just need to find the time to write it. 
Contact Linda for a friendly, helpful, no-pressure consultation!
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#1 Dennis wrote on May 25, 2010 :
Sure does make you feel good when your client is sitting in the # 1 spot.
I have a mortgage client and he is a branch of the corporate which is located in another state. There are about 15 branches in all and as such, I have his corporate name, city and loan type in the name section and I feel I am not violation of Google’s TOS for that reason I just mentioned. His business is local, the product is his specialty.
Also, when claiming a business for a client, you mentioned that you are claiming an existing listing so do you have the post card verification as the only option? I’ve been running into that as of late.
Your thoughts?
Oh and what’s the secret key, a strategically placed link?
Thanks. –Dennis
#2 Keith Biggs wrote on May 25, 2010 :
What do your services cost?
#3 Linda Buquet wrote on May 25, 2010 :
Hi Dennis,
“There are about 15 branches in all and as such, I have his corporate name, city and loan type in the name section and I feel I am not violation of Google’s TOS for that reason”
Actually if I’m understanding what you said correctly that IS in violation of Google’s TOS. You can only use the legal company name in the name field. You can’t add any keywords or geo-modifiers or you can get penalized. The category field and description are what you use for keywords.
If you are changing name, address or phone it usually make you post card verify although it’s a little inconsistent and hard to predict.
Nope, secret key isn’t a link.
#4 Linda Buquet wrote on May 25, 2010 :
Hi Keith,
My fees vary based on a couple factors depending on your situation and how much work it looks like it will take to get you to page one. Some cases are easier than others.
Feel free to contact me for a free consultation. If you use my contact form and give me your URL I can do the research before we talk. Or if you’d just like to call I can do the research as we talk. No pressure, just helpful advice.
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=10244141122078708316&q=760+781+5663&hl=en
Thanks, Linda
#5 Barb Smith wrote on May 26, 2010 :
I think I’ve done well on my own and just hope I can keep it up
#6 Linda Buquet wrote on May 26, 2010 :
Awesome Barb, glad to hear it.
Staying on top depends in part on how competitive your market is. And I don’t mean competitive in terms of how many Chiropractors are in your market, I mean how many know how to optimize their Places listings.
The Chiropractor in this case study is in the MOST competitive market I’ve ever seen. He has 3 competing Chiropractors using massive BLACK HAT techniques to try to outrank each other for 1st page listings. That’s why he doesn’t want me to mention his name or city. He doesn’t want them to know what he’s doing. They are just ruthless! (One has over 600 black hat entries – and I thought the locksmith business on Google Places was dishonest!)
But again that’s very rare. Most other Chiropractic markets are only mildly competitive, because not that many Chiropractors know how to optimize Places listings yet.
So in some markets you can be on the 1st page just through sheer luck, until others start optimizing and leap frog past you.
I’d encourage all Chiropractors to check though to be sure your listing isn’t fractured. Many Chiros are. Search Google Maps (not regular search) for your phone number, then your address and see if extra listings come up.
Many times Google will pull listings from other sources so there will be the main one you set up for “ABC Chiropractic”, then another for “John Smith D.C. – ABC Chiropractic” and another for “Dr. John C. Smith”.
Duplicate listings are against Google’s TOS and hurt your ranking because they divide up your Google trust factors between different accounts. That also mean the upstream data provides all are feeding conflicting data to Google too, so all those listings have to be corrected as well. Once all those issues are fixed it can literally make the difference between a #44 ranking and a #1 ranking!
Hope this helps and best of luck!
Linda
#7 Linda Buquet wrote on May 26, 2010 :
Oh and by the way I have a post coming soon that goes into more details about fractured listings.
Plus am working on reporting about another case study of a practice I took from the 3rd page to the #2 spot on Google’s 1st page. Their situation was pretty interesting as well.
#8 Dr. George wrote on May 26, 2010 :
Hi, good stuff and I agree how it works. I should know as been doing this in various forms since the mid 90s. As a Chiropractic/doctor business consultant we have helped hundreds on marketing thru the internet From the Andy Roddick Foundation on marketing to Attorneys. WE can dominate any market with in a month. And being a Dr. myself I under stand the Fear over this they have. If from a consulting stand point I can ever help you or your clients please let me know.
#9 Why LOCAL SEO is a lot Trickier than you may Think - Catalyst Local Marketing Blog wrote on June 2, 2010 :
[...] SEO. I quickly discovered all of Google’s quirks however and find Local SEO and specifically Google Places Optimization a frustrating challenge worthy of all my time and [...]
#10 Tale of the Fractured Chiropractor that Shot to the Top of Google Rankings - Catalyst Local Marketing Blog wrote on June 3, 2010 :
[...] FYI: This is the 2nd Chiropractic case study I have done. If you missed the 1st one, please read it here: Google Places Optimization: Tale of a Chiropractor that went from #44 to #1 on Google Local [...]