Your oral health care group received more website visitors, phone calls and new enquiries last month. That sounds positive. But which branch actually grew? And at which location did people come in, but no first appointment was scheduled?
With only one group total, you cannot answer those questions. A strong location can hide a problem at another branch. Conversely, a smaller location can perform well for the available capacity, while the absolute number of enquiries remains lower.
Therefore, you first measure patient growth at multiple locations. Only then do you add up the figures for the group picture.
Short answer
Give each branch the same measurement route: local visibility, actions from the Google profile, visit to the location page, new contacts, suitable enquiries and scheduled first appointments. Use the same definitions and the same period everywhere.
Then do not only compare numbers. Also look at where there is capacity, what care the location offers and which part of the contacts is being followed up well.
This prevents one overall figure from deciding where your time and budget go. It fits the broader approach to patient growth for dental practices: visibility, reviews, enquiry routes and follow-up work as one system, while each location has its own entry point and local market.
Why a group total can put you on the wrong track
Suppose that three branches together receive 90 new contacts. That number does not tell the whole story:
- which location caused the growth;
- whether the contacts reached the correct branch;
- how many calls were answered;
- how many enquiries fit with the available care;
- how many first appointments are scheduled;
- or a location received more requests than it could process.
The same applies to Google profile actions. A route click is not a field visit. A call click does not mean the phone has been answered. A website click does not tell where someone ultimately made an enquiry.
Therefore, use group figures for the overview, not for the diagnosis. The diagnosis begins per branch.
Build the same measurement route for every location
A practical overview follows the journey from searching for a first appointment. Keep the steps for each location the same:
| step | What you record per branch | Which does not yet prove it |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | relevant search queries and profile views | that someone is considering the practice |
| Profile promotion | website click, call click or route request | that there was indeed contact |
| Website visit | visit the location or treatment page | that the form has been sent |
| New contact | form, answer call or return call request | that the enquiry is suitable |
| Appropriate enquiry | location and general care requirement match offer and capacity | that an appointment has been scheduled |
| First appointment | planned first appointment for that location | that the patient has attended the appointment |
This separation makes visible where a location loses growth. Many profile actions with little contact require a different improvement than many contacts with few planned appointments.
Start with the Google Business Profile per location
Each physical location has its own local position, own reviews and own interactions. So do not rate those profiles as a whole.
For each verified Business Profile, Google shows searches, views, requests for directions, call clicks and website clicks, among other things. You can download performance data for multiple profiles at once and compare locations in a spreadsheet. Google also explains this in its official guidance on Business Profile performance data.
Record at least the following for each profile:
- name of the branch;
- measurement period;
- relevant searches;
- profile views;
- click website;
- click to call;
- route requests;
- number and recency of reviews.
First check the basics. Opening hours, telephone number, website or appointment link, categories and location information must belong to the relevant branch. The checklist for a dental practice's Google Business Profile helps you check this.
Please note when linking with Google Analytics
Google Analytics can be linked to one or more Google Business Profiles. This is useful for a central overview, but there is an important limitation with multiple locations.
Google states that statistics from linked Business Profiles are added together. That report does not let you filter or segment the figures for an individual profile. It also provides data for the past six months. See the official documentation on linking Google Business Profile with Google Analytics.
So use the link for the group view. Use the export from Business Profile Manager when you want to compare locations separately.
Make website traffic recognizable by location
After clicking on the profile, it must remain clear which branch someone viewed. This is easier to achieve when each location has its own content page with:
- the correct address and telephone number;
- current opening hours;
- treatments that are actually offered there;
- the team or the relevant caregivers;
- a clear contact or enquiry route;
- explanation of what happens after the enquiry.
A location page is not an excuse to stack almost identical SEO pages. Only write your own page when that location also has its own, useful information.
Then measure website visits at the page level. Search Console can show which search queries a specific location page appears in. Analytics can show which visits and which events belong to that page. That does not prove that someone has become a patient yet, but it does keep the online entrance recognizable.
Provide a location for each contact immediately
The location should not have to be inferred from free-text notes afterwards. Add a dedicated location field to the enquiry route when patients can choose between multiple locations.
When making a new contact, only note what is needed to assess the route:
- chosen or assigned branch;
- contact channel;
- general enquiry category;
- source as far as known;
- whether or not a suitable continuation is appropriate;
- whether or not a first appointment.
Use fixed answer options. This prevents variants such as "Center", "center location" and "head office" for the same practice.
Do not request detailed medical information for a marketing report. Keep personal data and clinical information out of the growth overview and, wherever possible, report aggregated figures for each location.
Also measure what happens after the enquiry
A branch can look strong online and yet lose growth when it comes to phone calls or follow-up. Therefore, check each location:
- how many calls are answered;
- how many missed calls are returned;
- how many forms receive a response;
- how long a requester waits for that response;
- how many contacts fit with the available care;
- how many first appointments are planned.
A call click from Google and a answered conversation are different measurement points. The same applies to a sent form and a scheduled appointment.
See the full checking sequence in the article about new patient enquiries between Google and reception.
Compare locations fairly
Use the same definitions, but do not automatically expect the same result. Locations may differ in:
- scope of the local search area;
- competition;
- opening hours;
- available treatment capacity;
- treatments and expertise;
- age and popularity of the profile;
- accessibility and parking facilities.
A smaller branch does not necessarily have to provide the same number of enquiries as the main location. Compare the result with the role and capacity of that location.
The question is not only which branch has the largest number. Also ask:
- does the location get a suitable request for the available space?
- Is a larger part of the interest being properly followed up?
- does local visibility grow with relevant search queries?
- link reviews and location information to the actual offer?
- Is there a bottleneck that needs to be resolved first?
When the schedule is already partly full, the separate approach to targeted growth with limited capacity helps you decide which enquiries are still desirable for each location.
Make a monthly table without mixing apples and pears
Place locations next to each other and use the same columns for each row:
| establishment | Relevant profile views | Profile promotions | New contacts | Appropriate enquiries | First appointments | Most important leak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location A | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | one concrete observation |
| Location B | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | one concrete observation |
| Location C | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | fill in per month | one concrete observation |
The example rows deliberately do not contain invented results. Only enter numbers that come from a named source and note the measurement period and definition for each column.
Only then add a total rule. This way, the group picture remains available without the differences disappearing.
Discuss one leak per branch every month
A dashboard is only useful if it leads to a targeted decision. Discuss per location:
- Where in the route is the greatest deviation?
- Is this a measurement problem or a real practical problem?
- Which single improvement can explain or solve this?
- Who controls the implementation?
- Which outcome will we assess next month?
For location A, this could be a wrong website button in Google. For location B, it could be missed calls. For location C, the online message may not connect to the treatments for which there is space.
Do not send everything at the same time. Then it will no longer be clear afterwards which change had an effect.
This is how you start without an extensive dashboard
You can test this approach first in a simple spreadsheet:
- Make one row per location.
- Choose one fixed monthly period.
- Download the profile performance of all locations.
- Add website visit per location page.
- Count answered contacts, suitable enquiries and first appointments.
- Check if definitions are the same for each location.
- Identify the earliest demonstrable leak for each location.
After two or three fixed measurement moments, it becomes clear which information is reliable enough for a dashboard and which registration should be improved first.
Frequently asked questions about patient growth per branch
Can you compare multiple Google Business Profiles together?
Yes. In Business Profile Manager you can download performance data for multiple profiles. Keep the locations in the spreadsheet separate and only then add a group total.
Is Google Analytics enough for comparison per location?
Not on its own. The linked Business Profile statistics of multiple profiles are added up in Google Analytics and cannot be filtered by profile there. Therefore, combine the profile export with location pages and internal enquiry data.
Which metric is most important per location?
No single metric tells the whole story. Follow at least the route from relevant visibility to actual contact, suitable enquiry and scheduled first appointment.
Can locations be directly compared by numbers?
Only with context. Keep definitions and periods the same, but also assess numbers in addition to local demand, supply, opening hours and available capacity.
