Google Business Profile is the single highest-leverage marketing surface for a local med spa, and the one most consistently neglected. Here are the twelve things we check on every med spa scan, in priority order.
Foundations (must have)
- Verified GBP with the practice's full legal address and a local phone number that matches the website.
- Primary category set to "Medical Spa" (not "Spa" or "Beauty Salon").
- Service categories listing every treatment you offer with the canonical Google service name.
- Hours including holiday and special hours kept current — Google demotes inconsistent listings.
Photo + review velocity (the multipliers)
- At least 30 photos, with a fresh upload every two weeks. Practices that post weekly outrank practices that post quarterly.
- Review velocity above 1.5 new reviews per week sustained. The cadence matters more than total count.
- Reply to every review within 48 hours. Replies are themselves a ranking signal.
Content (the differentiators)
- Weekly Google Post — promotion, event, or product. Practices using Posts get 35-50% more profile views.
- Q&A section seeded with the 10 most common consult questions and answered by the practice.
- Service descriptions written in patient-search language ("Botox cost," "lip filler near me") not clinical jargon.
Technical (the easy wins)
- Bookings linked directly from the profile via the practice's actual booking system (Boulevard, Vagaro, etc.).
- Messaging enabled with a connected AI receptionist so questions are answered in under 60 seconds.
On a typical med spa scan, the practice is hitting 3 to 5 of the twelve. Hitting 10 of 12 is the inflection point where Google rewards you with the top-three pack on local searches.