What patients Google before booking a physio, dentist, or GP falls into five searches: a symptom or condition question, a service plus location search like "physio near me", a cost or bulk billing question, a "does it actually work" question, and a name or review check on the clinic. Each is a different stage of one decision. Around 77% of patients now run an online search before they book, so the clinic that answers all five wins the booking. The catch: the searches that convert best are also where clinics break AHPRA rules, so the compliant version is your edge.
Key takeaways
- Patients run five kinds of search before booking: symptom, service plus location, cost, "does it work", and a name or review check.
- Location searches dominate. In Australia, "GP near me" draws about 49,000 searches a month, "medical centre near me" about 27,000, and "bulk billing doctor near me" about 10,000 (Rankingeek, 2026).
- Cost is a real barrier. ABS data shows 7.7% of people delayed a GP visit and 16.1% delayed dental care because of cost, so a clear fees page captures demand your rivals ignore.
- The highest-converting searches, reviews and "best" and "results", are exactly where clinics breach section 133 of the National Law.
- Answer each search with your own factual words. No testimonials on pages you control, no superlatives, no "cure" or "guaranteed".
What do patients actually Google before booking?
A patient rarely books on the first search. They move through a decision, one query at a time. By the time they call, they have often run four or five searches and read several pages.
Around 77% of patients use online search before booking a medical appointment, according to healthcare SEO research reported in 2026. The demand is huge. In Australia, ABS data for 2024-25 shows 83.4% of people saw a GP and 53.9% saw a dental professional in the past year. Almost every one of them started with a search.
Those searches sort into five types. Each maps to a stage of the decision.
- The symptom search. "Why does my knee hurt going down stairs." The patient has a problem, not a provider in mind.
- The service plus location search. "Physio near me", "dentist Brunswick", "bulk billing GP open Saturday." Now they are shopping.
- The cost search. "How much does a physio cost", "dental checkup price", "does Medicare cover this."
- The "does it work" search. "Does dry needling help", "are dental implants worth it." They want reassurance before they spend.
- The name or review search. "[Clinic name] reviews", "best physio in Geelong." The final gut check before booking.
Most clinic websites answer one of these, the service page, and ignore the other four. That is the gap. It is also where the compliance trap sits, because two of these searches pull clinics straight into claims AHPRA does not allow.
Why "near me" is the search that decides the booking
The service plus location search is the one that turns into a booking. People who search this way are ready to act. They are not browsing, they are choosing.
The volume proves it. Here is what a few core Australian searches draw each month.
To show up here, you need a page built for the search, not a generic homepage. A clear service page for each location, each key service, and the plain answers a local patient wants: where you are, what you treat, how to book, and your hours.
This is honest, factual copy. It carries almost no compliance risk, because you are describing your service, not promising a result. My hub on SEO for healthcare covers how to structure these pages so they rank.
What patients Google when they compare clinics
Cost is one of the most searched and least answered questions in healthcare. Patients want a number before they call. Most clinic sites give them nothing, so they bounce and search again.
Cost is not a small worry. ABS figures for 2024-25 show 7.7% of people delayed or skipped a GP visit because of cost, and 16.1% delayed dental care for the same reason. When someone is weighing the spend, a clear fees page is the difference between a booking and a bounce.
A pricing or bulk billing page is one of the safest pages you can publish. There is no AHPRA rule against stating your fees. State them plainly. If you bulk bill, say who qualifies and when. If a service has a range, give the range and explain what changes it. You will capture searches your competitors leave on the table.
One line to watch. A discount or "free first visit" is an inducement under the AHPRA advertising guidelines, and it is only allowed if you also state the terms. So publish the price, and if you run an offer, publish the terms with it.
The "does it actually work" search
Before a patient spends real money, they check whether the treatment works. "Does dry needling help." "Are dental implants worth it." "Is Invisalign better than braces." These are research searches, and they are a chance to build trust.
They are also where clinics reach for claims they cannot back. This is the line that matters: every therapeutic claim must be supported by acceptable evidence. You can explain what a treatment involves, who it may suit, and what the process looks like. You cannot promise it will cure, fix, or guarantee a result.
So answer the question with education, not a sales promise. Describe the treatment honestly. Explain the trade-offs. A page that reads like a fair explanation earns more trust than one that reads like a pitch, and it stays on the right side of the rules.
The searches where clinics break AHPRA rules
Here is the trap. The two searches closest to a booking, the review check and the "best clinic" search, are exactly where clinics breach the National Law.
A patient searches "[your clinic] reviews" or "best physio near me" as their final check. Reviews clearly matter to them. So the clinic reacts by pasting five-star quotes and a review widget onto its homepage, and adding "the best clinic in town" to the header. Both break section 133 of the National Law.
Testimonials about clinical care are banned in advertising for registered health professions. The moment you display or curate reviews on a page you control, they count as advertising, and the ban applies. "Best" and "number one" are superlatives that create an unreasonable expectation, so they are out too.
The compliant way to win these searches is different, and it works better:
- Reviews on your Google Business Profile are fine. They sit on a platform you do not control, and they help you show up in the local map pack. Encourage them there, do not republish them on your site.
- Answer the "best" search with proof, not a superlative. Years in practice, qualifications, the specific conditions you treat, your process. Checkable facts beat empty claims, and they rank.
- Own your name search. Make sure your own site, not a directory, is the top result for your clinic name, with clear, honest information.
This is the whole argument for a compliance-first approach. The searches that convert best are the ones where careless clinics get flagged. Answer them cleanly, and you win the booking and stay safe.
Map the search to the page you publish
Here is the framework I use when I plan a clinic's content. Each search type maps to a page, and to the one rule that keeps that page compliant.
| What they Google | Page to publish | The rule to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Symptom or condition question | An education post on the condition | Explain, do not promise a cure or outcome |
| "Physio near me", "dentist [suburb]" | A service page per location and service | Describe the service, no superlatives |
| "How much does it cost" | A fees or bulk billing page | State any offer terms in full |
| "Does it actually work" | An honest treatment explainer | Back every claim with acceptable evidence |
| "[Clinic] reviews", "best clinic" | A strong, factual about and services page | No testimonials on pages you control |
Fill the five gaps and you cover the whole patient journey, from the first symptom search to the final gut check. Most competitors will still be running a single homepage and hoping.
How AI search changes what patients see
There is a new layer on top of all this. More patients now get an answer before they ever click a link. Google's AI Overviews and tools like ChatGPT read the same questions and summarise an answer at the top of the page.
That means your content is not just competing for a click. It is competing to be the source the AI quotes. Pages that answer a clear question in plain, factual language get pulled into those answers. Vague marketing copy does not.
This is good news for a compliant clinic. The writing that AI engines cite, clear, honest, well-structured answers, is the same writing AHPRA wants to see. My post on GEO versus SEO explains why ranking on Google alone is no longer enough.
The clinics that win the next few years are the ones that answer real patient questions honestly. That is the whole game. Rank for the search, answer it cleanly, and stay inside the rules.
This is general information for clinics and their marketing teams. It is not legal advice. The AHPRA advertising guidelines and the National Law are updated from time to time. Check the current versions on the AHPRA website, and get formal advice for high-stakes decisions.
