How to get your clinic on Google Maps in Nigeria

Why your clinic should be on Google Maps

The listings on that map come from Google Business Profile. A profile is free. It shows your clinic’s name, phone number, location, opening hours, photos and reviews. Patients can call you, get directions or visit your website straight from the listing.

This guide walks you through the process. Google updates its screens and rules from time to time, so some buttons may look a little different when you do it. Before you start, gather the details below. Use the same details everywhere, on your signboard, website, Instagram and WhatsApp, so patients and Google see one consistent clinic.

Create your profile and choose a category

Go to business.google.com and sign in with the clinic’s Google account. Choose the option to add your business, and Google will guide you through a series of questions.

First, type your clinic’s name. If Google suggests a listing that matches, your clinic may already be on Maps. A patient or someone else may have added it. In that case, select it and follow Google’s steps to claim it or request access from the current owner.

Next, choose your business category. This is one of the most important choices you’ll make, because it tells Google which searches to show you for. Pick the category that best describes your main service, such as “Dental clinic”, “Fertility clinic”, “Physiotherapist”, “Medical laboratory” or “Hospital”. You can add extra categories later for other services you offer, such as “Orthodontist” for a dental clinic that does braces.

Then add your phone number and your website if you have one. If you don’t have a website yet, you can still create the profile and add one later.

Address or service area: which one to choose

Google will ask whether customers can visit your location. Your answer decides how your clinic appears on the map.

If patients come to you, add your address. Then check the map pin carefully and move it onto your exact building if needed. Street addresses can be unclear in many Nigerian neighbourhoods, so use the clearest version of your address, the one a dispatch rider could follow.

If you go to your patients, set yourself up as a service area business. You list the areas you serve, such as Lekki, Ajah and Victoria Island, and Google hides your address from the public. This suits home-visit physiotherapy, home nursing and other care delivered at the patient’s door.

Some clinics do both. A diagnostic lab might run a walk-in centre and also collect samples at home. Google lets you show your address and your service areas together, so be honest about how you serve patients.

Verify your clinic

Before your profile can fully appear on Maps and Search, Google needs to confirm that your clinic is real and that you’re allowed to manage it. This step is called verification.

Google decides which verification method you get. It depends on things like your business type and location, and the options change over time. A common method today is a short video recording. Other clinics may see different options. Whatever Google shows you on screen is what counts, so read the instructions carefully before you begin.

If you’re asked for a video, plan it before you press record. The video generally needs to show where you are, that the clinic operates there and that you’re in charge of it. Things like these usually help:

• Your street, a nearby landmark or your clinic signboard, to show your location
• Your clinic in action, such as reception, equipment or a consulting room
• Something only an owner or manager can access, such as a staff-only office, the till or clinic documents
• One continuous recording, without cuts or edits

Clinic tip: record before opening or after closing, or keep patients and their records out of the frame. Your patients’ privacy comes first, even in a video only Google will see.

Complete your profile and collect reviews

After you submit, Google reviews your verification. This can take a few days, sometimes longer. If it’s approved, your profile can start showing on Maps and Search. If it’s rejected, read the reason Google gives, fix the issue and try again.

Now make your profile worth clicking. Add good photos, set accurate hours, including public holiday hours, and write a short description of what your clinic does. Add your main services. Keep everything up to date. A patient who travels across Lagos traffic and finds your doors closed will not trust your listing again.

Reviews help new patients decide whether to trust you. After a good visit, ask happy patients to leave a review. Google gives you a link you can share, so send it by text or WhatsApp while the visit is fresh. Reply to every review, good or bad, politely and briefly.

Clinic tip: in your replies, never confirm that someone was your patient or mention their treatment. Thank them, and invite anyone with a concern to call the clinic directly.

Never pay for reviews or post fake ones. Google can remove them and may restrict your profile.

Getting found is step one. Getting booked is the goal.

A Maps listing puts your clinic in front of nearby patients. What happens next decides whether they book. They tap “Call”: does someone pick up? They tap your website: can they see your services and book in a few taps? They send a message after hours: does anyone get back before they’ve booked elsewhere?

That’s the part most clinics leave to chance, and it’s exactly where we work.