Discover how leading alternative medicine practitioners use categories and services to reach patients seeking holistic healing. GMB Everywhere reveals exactly what your competitors list to capture those patient searches.
Imagine a patient dealing with chronic pain, insomnia, or stress, searching for "acupuncture near me" or "holistic medicine" on Google. They see a list of alternative medicine practitioners—some at the top, some buried below.
Ever wonder why some alternative medicine practitioners show up first while others don't? That's what we're going to explain. And don't worry—we'll keep it simple.
Your Google Business Profile (or GBP for short) is basically your alternative medicine practice's online business card on Google. It shows your name, location, phone number, hours, photos, and patient reviews. When someone searches for holistic or alternative treatments, Google decides which practitioner profiles to show based on a few key things.
Google wants to show people the best, most relevant results. So it checks three main things about your business. Think of these as the "three pillars" that hold up your local ranking.
This sounds obvious, but many alternative medicine practitioners have inconsistent information online. Google checks if your name, address, and phone number match everywhere—your website, healthcare directories, and Google. If they don't match, Google gets confused and won't show your profile properly.
Quick check: Is your practice name spelled exactly the same on your website, healthcare directories, and Google profile?
When someone searches "fertility acupuncture near me" or "holistic stress relief," Google looks at your practitioner profile to see if you provide those services. If you haven't listed them, you won't show up—even if you specialize in those treatments.
This is where categories and services come in. We'll explain these in detail in the next section. For now, just know that telling Google exactly what you do is really important.
Google reads patient reviews. Lots of positive reviews tell Google that patients trust your practice. Replying to reviews shows you're responsive and professional. Both boost your search ranking.
Think about it: would you choose an alternative medicine practitioner with 3 reviews or one with 50+ positive reviews? Google thinks the same way.
Here's the good news: You don't need to be a tech expert to improve these things. Most of it just takes a few minutes to set up.
Now, let's dive deeper into the part that matters most for alternative medicine practitioners: categories and services. Once you understand these, you'll be ahead of most practitioners in your area.
Remember when we said Google needs to know what you do? This is where you tell it. Let's break this down into two simple parts.
Why this matters: Of all the things you can control on your Google Business Profile, categories have one of the biggest impacts on your local rankings. Pick the wrong ones, and you won't show up when patients search. Pick the right ones, and you'll appear for the exact services you offer. Our case study proves that adding relevant categories doesn't hurt your rankings—it actually increases your visibility.
Think of categories like labels on a filing cabinet. Google uses them to sort businesses into groups. When someone searches "alternative medicine practitioner near me", Google opens the "Alternative Medicine Practitioner" folder and shows what's inside.
If your practice isn't in that folder, you won't show up. It's that simple.
You get to pick one primary category (your main label) and a few secondary categories (extra labels for other holistic services you offer).
Here's what a typical alternative medicine practitioner might choose:
Pro tip: Not sure which categories to pick? The checklist below will walk you through exactly how to find the best categories for your alternative medicine practice.
If categories are the folders, services are the specific items inside. They tell Google (and prospective patients) exactly what you offer.
Let's say someone searches "herbal medicine consultation near me" or "acupuncture for fertility." Google will check if you have those therapies listed as services. If you do, great—you'll show up. If you don't, Google assumes you don't provide them.
Think of it like a treatment menu. If a therapy isn't listed, patients searching for it won't know to call you.
Services an alternative medicine practitioner might list:
The more therapy types you list, the more patient searches you can show up for. Just make sure you actually provide what you list!
Here's a simple action plan:
Not sure where to start? The checklist below will guide you through the categories and services in just 20 to 25 minutes.
Work through each item below. By the end, your alternative medicine practitioner profile will be optimized for better local rankings and more patient appointments.
Explore optimization guides for similar alternative medicine services
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How to use:
Open any business on Google Maps - primary and secondary categories display automatically beside the profile
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Search for any term on Google Maps - click the Local Scan button to compare all GBPs
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Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'AI' button beside the GBP to use AI features
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Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'Find more' button beside categories
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How to use:
Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'Basic Audit' button beside the GBP
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How to use:
Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'Review Audit' button beside the GBP
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How to use:
Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'Teleport' button beside the GBP
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How to use:
Open any business on Google Maps - click the 'Post Audit' button beside the GBP
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