You can get more new patients with Zocdoc by ensuring that you show up and stand out in search: increasing your visibility when patients search for care, and highlighting the quality of care that you provide.

To reach more new patients on the Zocdoc Marketplace you’ll first want to improve the likelihood that you’ll show up in Zocdoc’s search results. Your Zocdoc Search Score helps you see how well optimized your account is based on what matters to patients. It also shows you the steps you can take to perform better in Search. To view your Search Score, log into your Zocdoc account and select Dashboard.

You can think of your score as an estimate of the relative strength of your account—or in other words, how likely it is that new patients can find and book with you. Search Score is calculated using key factors that are important to patients and contribute to bookings, such as near-term availability, consistent new patient availability, popular visit reasons, and top insurances.

A low Search Score is below 29%, which means you are not showing up in Search as often as you could be. A high Search Score is 100%, which means you’ve taken the general recommended steps to improve your performance. Zocdoc providers with a 100% search score had, on average, 5 times more new patient bookings than those with a score below 70%.

Note:

Appointment availability is an important factor to patients when searching for care. In fact, 48% of bookings on Zocdoc are for appointments within 72 hours. That’s why we recommend keeping your Zocdoc calendar up to date with near-term availability. Patients also value the flexibility to find appointments that work with their schedules. We recommend always displaying availability in the next four weeks too. Learn more about managing your availability.

Most practices integrate their practice calendar with Zocdoc. With a Zocdoc Calendar Integration, you can connect your Zocdoc calendar to your practice calendar— for free— so you only need to manage one schedule. Calendar Integration automatically updates your practice calendar when you get a Zocdoc booking. Likewise, it checks your practice’s calendar to update your Zocdoc availability in real-time. Learn more about Calendar Integration.

Practices with a Zocdoc Calendar Integration see 25% more patient bookings in their first 6 months if they show real-time availability. If you do not have a full Calendar Integration with Zocdoc, remember to consistently add up-to-date availability on your Zocdoc calendar.

Patients typically search and find providers by visit reason, so keeping them up-to-date ensures you show up in the most relevant search results. Your Search Score can show you the top visit reasons that patients are searching for and therefore book most often for your specialty. Learn more about your visit reason settings.

Patients typically filter results by their insurance plan, so having complete and up-to-date insurance information ensures you show up in every relevant search result. Your Search Score can show you the top insurances that patients search and book most often for your area. You can manage your insurance information in the Insurance tab, under Settings. Learn more about your insurance settings.

More reviews help you stand out in search and receive more bookings—patients are 30% more likely to book with a provider with at least 30 reviews than one with fewer than 10 reviews. If you have fewer than 30 reviews, you can request reviews from patients who did not book through Zocdoc. Learn more about requesting reviews.

Sponsored Results is a paid advertising product on the Zocdoc Marketplace that helps you grow your booking volume by maximizing your visibility to patients in search. On average, practices see a 44% increase in new patient bookings after joining Sponsored Results. Learn more about Sponsored Results.

Adding all of your providers who see patients in your office—like nurse practitioners, physician assistants, dental hygienists—to Zocdoc increases your opportunities to attract new patients. This maximizes the number of search results your practice appears in and it also gives patients complete and accurate access to all of your providers’ availability.

To add providers for free, log in to your Zocdoc account and navigate to the Providers page. Then, click “Add” at the top of the page and select whether you'd like to add a provider or resource.

Showing accurate availability, and using a Calendar Integration when one is available, enables you to honor appointments as scheduled. When you get new bookings through Zocdoc, review them quickly to make sure you have the information you need to see the patient. If there are issues or you need more information, reach out to the patient.

Following these best practices can help reduce cancellations and ensure a smooth patient experience. It can also help you earn the Patient Choice badge, which increases your visibility in search and helps you attract more patients.

Contact our friendly Service team to discuss how you can optimize your practice.