Jeremy on Marketing Podcast

How to Beat Your Competitors on Google Maps in 20 Minutes The physical therapy clinics outranking you on Google Maps are already showing you what they're doing to win. Their business categories, services, reviews, photos, and posting activity are all valuable clues. You just need to know where to look. In this episode, Jeremy walks through a free competitor research strategy using the GMB Everywhere Chrome extension, explains what he discovered while analyzing physical therapy clinics in Kennebunk, Maine, and shows you how to identify opportunities to improve your own Google Maps rankings. Episode Topics Why your local competitors are the best starting point for Google Maps optimization How to use the free GMB Everywhere Chrome extension What Jeremy discovered analyzing physical therapy clinics in Maine How primary and secondary business categories influence local visibility Why recent Google reviews matter How to identify weak competitor profiles and improve your own listing Why Your Competitors Are Your Best SEO Research When clinic owners want to improve their Google Maps rankings, they often search for general SEO advice or hire someone to optimize their listing. But local SEO is different from market to market. What works for a physical therapy clinic in Dallas may not be the same strategy that works in a smaller town in Maine. Jeremy recommends starting with the clinics already ranking in the top three local results. Those businesses provide a useful benchmark for understanding which categories, services, reviews, and profile activity are associated with strong visibility in your specific market. The Free Tool Jeremy Uses: GMB Everywhere Jeremy recommends a Chrome extension called GMB Everywhere to research competing Google Business Profiles. The free version provides useful information that isn't always obvious when viewing a standard Google Maps listing. With the extension, you can investigate: A competitor's primary and additional business categories Review activity and how frequently new reviews appear Google Business Profile posting activity Differences between competing local listings How rankings change across nearby geographic areas Jeremy uses this tool as part of Patch's local SEO research to identify opportunities for physical therapy clinics. What Jeremy Found in Kennebunk, Maine To demonstrate the process, Jeremy analyzed physical therapy clinics appearing in Google Maps around Kennebunk, Maine. Several findings stood out. Primary categories: Four of the six leading clinics used "Physical Therapy Clinic" as their primary category. Limited optimization: One ranking clinic had only a single business category, suggesting room for competitors to improve their profiles. Business names: A clinic with approximately 40 reviews ranked competitively despite other clinics having substantially more reviews. Its business name closely matched the local search. Secondary categories: Only two of the six clinics used "Sports Medicine Clinic," highlighting a potential opportunity for clinics that genuinely offer sports rehabilitation. Reviews: Every clinic had a five-star rating, making review activity and other profile differences especially useful to investigate. The lesson isn't to copy every competitor blindly. It's to identify what's working locally and find legitimate ways to build a more complete, relevant profile. 1. Find the Real Top Three Competitors Start by searching for physical therapy near you on Google Maps. Ignore sponsored listings and identify the top three organic map results. Jeremy also recommends checking rankings from different areas around your clinic. You might rank first near your office but appear much lower just a few miles away. Use Google's "Search this area" feature or location-based research tools to understand how your visibility changes throughout your market. 2. Compare Categories and Find Opportunities Next, examine the primary category used by each leading clinic. If most of the top competitors use the same primary category, that's a useful signal to evaluate for your own business. Then compare their additional categories. For example, if your clinic specializes in sports rehabilitation and competitors aren't using an applicable sports medicine category, that may represent an opportunity. However, Jeremy emphasizes that categories must accurately reflect the services your clinic provides. Adding unrelated categories simply to appear in more searches can create problems rather than improve your results. 3. Find Weak Profiles and Outbuild Them The final step is to identify competitors who aren't consistently maintaining their Google Business Profiles. Look for clinics with: Outdated photos Infrequent Google Business Profile posts Incomplete service listings Limited recent review activity Missing or outdated business information Jeremy recommends creating a simple comparison sheet with each competitor's categories, services, recent reviews, latest post, and latest photo. Then compare those details with your own profile. You don't need to outperform every competitor on every metric immediately. Start by identifying the weakest competing listing and improving the areas where your clinic has the clearest opportunity. Why Review Activity Matters Jeremy emphasizes the importance of looking beyond a clinic's total review count. A competitor with hundreds of older reviews may not be collecting new feedback as consistently as a smaller clinic. Compare how many reviews competing clinics have received recently and build a consistent process for requesting genuine patient feedback. The goal is to strengthen your clinic's reputation over time while keeping your Google Business Profile active and relevant. The Takeaway You don't need to guess what a strong Google Business Profile looks like in your market. Start with the clinics already ranking well. Research their categories, services, reviews, and activity. Then identify opportunities to make your own listing more complete and useful. Find the top three. Study what they're doing. Identify the gaps. Build a better profile. Twenty minutes of focused competitor research can give you a clearer direction than another generic list of SEO tips. Get the Free Google Maps Playbook Jeremy created the Number 1 on Google Maps Playbook for PT Clinic Owners to walk you through the complete optimization process. It includes the Kennebunk competitor analysis, a competitor comparison worksheet, and all six Google Business Profile optimization steps with video walkthroughs. Use the playbook alongside GMB Everywhere to evaluate your clinic and build an actionable local SEO plan. Get a Free Local SEO Audit Want to know where your clinic ranks across your local market? Patch offers a free local SEO audit to help physical therapy clinic owners understand their Google Maps visibility and identify opportunities for improvement. Get Your Free Local SEO Audit More Free Resources Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on local SEO, Google Ads, AI, and clinic growth. Free Google Ads Audit Free Patient Follow-Up Guide Free AI Admin Training

3 Ways to Get Your Physical Therapy Clinic Into Google's Top 3 Everyone is talking about Google Ads and Meta Ads, but one of the most valuable patient acquisition opportunities for physical therapy clinics is often overlooked. Google Maps. In this episode, Jeremy explains why local SEO remains one of the best ways to attract patients actively searching for physical therapy, how your Google Business Profile influences your visibility, and the three most important steps to help your clinic compete for a spot in Google's top three local results. Episode Topics Why Google Maps is essential for attracting high-intent patients How local SEO complements Google Ads The importance of choosing the right primary business category Why your clinic's business name matters for local rankings How consistent Google Business Profile updates support visibility How reviews, photos, and accurate business information strengthen your profile Why Google Maps Matters More Than Ever When someone searches for physical therapy near them, they're often looking for help right now. Unlike social media advertising, which interrupts someone scrolling through their feed, local search connects your clinic with people actively looking for treatment. And today's Google search results put significant attention on the map listings. Patients can immediately compare clinics based on reviews, location, hours, and available services without ever visiting a website. Jeremy explains that clinics appearing in both paid search results and the top Google Maps listings have an opportunity to build additional visibility and credibility with potential patients. 1. Choose the Right Primary Category Your Google Business Profile category tells Google what kind of business you operate. Jeremy explains why selecting the correct primary category is one of the most important steps in improving local search visibility. When he operated Ripple, adding too many loosely related categories created confusion about the clinic's primary services. Instead of clearly identifying the business as a physical therapy clinic, the profile also emphasized personal training, wellness, and other services. His recommendation is to keep your primary category focused on what your clinic actually does. Search for physical therapy in your city, examine the categories used by leading local competitors, and make sure your own profile accurately represents your business. 2. Make Your Business Name Clear and Accurate Google needs to understand exactly what services your clinic provides. Jeremy explains that including physical therapy in your legitimate business name can help make that connection clearer. For example, a name focused entirely on performance or wellness may not immediately communicate that the business provides physical therapy. However, any changes must reflect your actual business name. Your Google Business Profile should match your real-world branding, signage, website, and business documentation. Don't add keywords to your listing name simply to manipulate rankings. Inaccurate business names can put your profile at risk of suspension. 3. Update Your Google Business Profile Consistently Setting up your Google Business Profile once and forgetting about it isn't a long-term local SEO strategy. Jeremy recommends maintaining a consistent weekly routine to keep your profile accurate, active, and useful to potential patients. That routine includes: Publishing a Google Business Profile post each week Adding authentic photos of your clinic, staff, and services regularly Checking business hours, especially around holidays Responding promptly and professionally to patient reviews Consistently asking patients for honest Google reviews Keeping your services and business information accurate Jeremy recommends making review requests part of the patient experience, particularly when patients reach meaningful milestones in their care. The goal is to make maintaining your Google Business Profile an ongoing part of clinic operations rather than something you only revisit when rankings decline. What Better Google Maps Visibility Can Look Like Jeremy shares examples from Patch clients who improved their local rankings after optimizing and consistently maintaining their profiles. One pelvic health clinic in Newton, Massachusetts, increased its top-three visibility from 21 to 53 locations across an 81-point local ranking grid. Another clinic in Waco, Texas, improved from 14 to 36 top-three positions. These examples illustrate how improving your Google Business Profile can expand your visibility across the neighborhoods surrounding your clinic. The Takeaway Google Maps can be one of your clinic's most valuable sources of new patients. But strong local visibility requires more than creating a listing and hoping patients find you. Choose the right category. Make sure your business name accurately represents your services. Keep your profile updated, collect genuine reviews, and consistently maintain your information. Local SEO takes time, but the work you put into your Google Business Profile can continue supporting patient acquisition long after you've made the updates. Get the Free Google Maps Playbook Jeremy created the Number 1 on Google Maps Playbook for Physical Therapy Clinic Owners, including a video walkthrough of the six-step optimization process, a setup checklist, review request templates, review response examples, a business description template, and Google Business Profile post ideas. Use the playbook to evaluate your existing listing and identify opportunities to improve your local visibility. Get a Free Local SEO Audit Want to see how your clinic is performing in local search? Patch offers a free local SEO audit to help you understand your Google Maps visibility and identify opportunities for improvement. Get Your Free Local SEO Audit More Free Resources Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on local SEO, patient acquisition, Google Ads, AI, and clinic growth. Free Google Ads Audit Free Patient Follow-Up Guide Free AI Admin Training

3 Big Takeaways From PT Biz: AI, CRMs, and the Future of Physical Therapy The physical therapy clinics that win over the next few years won't necessarily be the ones working the hardest. They'll be the ones building better systems behind the scenes so their clinicians can focus on delivering better care. In this episode, Jeremy shares his three biggest takeaways from the recent PT Biz event in Denver, including how clinic owners are adopting AI, why CRMs are becoming essential to clinic growth, and how physical therapists can position themselves as the quarterbacks of their patients' healthcare. Episode Topics Why clinic owners are becoming more comfortable using AI How AI phone agents and automated follow-up prevent lost opportunities Why having a CRM isn't the same as actually using one How AI can simplify SOP creation and clinic operations Kelly Starrett's vision of the PT as the quarterback of healthcare Why the future of physical therapy extends beyond treating an injury 1. AI Is Becoming a Normal Part of Running a Clinic A few years ago, conversations about AI made many clinic owners uncomfortable. At this year's PT Biz event, Jeremy noticed a major shift. Owners weren't asking whether they should use AI anymore. They were asking how to implement it. They're recognizing that missed calls, unanswered inquiries, and inconsistent follow-up are costing them opportunities. AI can help by answering incoming calls, responding to leads, following up with potential patients, and keeping conversations moving when the clinic is busy. Jeremy's point is simple: your marketing is only as effective as the system that follows up with the people it generates. Even the best Google or Meta ad won't produce a new patient if nobody responds when that person reaches out. 2. Your CRM Needs to Do More Than Store Contacts The second major shift Jeremy noticed was how clinic owners are approaching their CRMs. Instead of asking whether they need a CRM, they're asking how to make their existing system more effective. When Jeremy ran Ripple, his CRM helped him track every inquiry, organize follow-up, and identify the people who needed another conversation. That approach played an important role in growing the clinic to two locations and seven physical therapists before he sold the business. But simply having a CRM isn't enough. A useful CRM should: Track where leads come from and what happens after they inquire Identify missed opportunities and patients who need follow-up Connect with the clinic's EMR and other patient systems Support personalized communication instead of generic templates Provide the foundation for AI-powered workflows and automation Jeremy also explains how AI makes documenting processes easier than ever. Instead of spending weeks writing SOPs manually, clinic owners can record themselves explaining a workflow and use AI to turn it into a structured process for their team. The CRM provides the foundation. AI helps execute the system built on top of it. 3. Physical Therapists Should Be the Quarterbacks of Healthcare Jeremy's favorite takeaway from the event came from Kelly Starrett. Starrett emphasized the idea that physical therapists should position themselves as the quarterbacks of their patients' healthcare. That means thinking beyond a short plan of care focused on resolving one injury. Patients are increasingly interested in improving their overall health, performance, longevity, and quality of life. They're exploring strength training, nutrition, sleep, recovery, preventative care, and other ways to stay healthy. Jeremy believes physical therapists are uniquely positioned to help guide those conversations, coordinate with other qualified healthcare professionals, and become trusted long-term resources for their patients. Instead of simply treating knee pain for a few visits and sending someone on their way, clinics can build lasting relationships centered around movement, performance, and continued care. Systems in the Back. Better Coaching in the Front. These three takeaways are closely connected. If clinic owners are overwhelmed by missed calls, manual follow-up, administrative work, and disconnected systems, they have less time to focus on the patient experience. AI and CRM automation can remove much of that operational friction. That gives physical therapists more room to become the trusted coaches and healthcare guides their patients need. The Takeaway Jeremy challenges clinic owners to focus on three priorities: Fix your phone and follow-up: Make sure new patient opportunities aren't being lost because nobody responds. Make your CRM your own: Connect your systems, personalize your communication, and build workflows around how your clinic actually operates. Expand your role in patient care: Become a trusted resource who helps patients think beyond the immediate injury. The clinics that succeed won't just use more technology. They'll use technology to create more time for meaningful patient relationships. See How Patch Can Help Patch helps physical therapy clinics build AI phone agents, automated follow-up, CRM systems, and marketing workflows that keep patient acquisition moving without requiring the owner to manage every step. Schedule a Free Call With Patch More Free Resources Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on AI, patient acquisition, follow-up, and clinic growth. Free AI Admin Training Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic Free Patient Follow-Up Guide

The Next 70 Days: How PT Clinic Owners Can Finish 2026 Strong Most physical therapy clinic owners are getting ready to slow down for the holidays. Jeremy thinks that's a mistake. In this episode, Jeremy explains why the final 70 days of 2026 could be your biggest opportunity to get ahead of competing clinics, how to organize the rest of the year into three focused marketing sprints, and why building systems now matters more than waiting for a fresh start in January. Episode Topics Why the holiday slowdown mindset can hurt clinic growth What Jeremy is seeing in physical therapy search demand and advertising competition The three marketing sprints to finish 2026 strong How open enrollment and holiday gift cards can generate year-end revenue Why CRM automation, follow-up, and AI systems matter more than willpower How to get a head start on your 2027 goals Stop Assuming the Holidays Have to Be Slow Every year, clinic owners start telling themselves the same story: patients are busy, nobody is looking for physical therapy, and marketing can wait until January. But Jeremy argues that those assumptions aren't necessarily supported by what is happening in the market. He shares that September brought the highest physical therapy search volume he's seen, along with increased competition and higher costs per click in Google Ads. That means clinics continuing to market themselves are competing for patients while other owners are considering pulling back. The opportunity isn't necessarily disappearing. Some clinic owners are simply choosing to stop pursuing it. Build Systems Instead of Relying on Willpower One of the biggest lessons Jeremy learned while growing Ripple was that a clinic cannot depend entirely on the owner remembering to do everything. Instead of relying on manual effort, he built systems around missed calls, new patient inquiries, pricing objections, evaluations that didn't convert, and former patients who stopped coming in. Those systems kept follow-up happening even when he wasn't personally managing every conversation. Today, AI makes creating and implementing those processes significantly easier. Clinic owners can use AI to document workflows, create SOPs, organize follow-up, and support their front desk without spending weeks building everything manually. Sprint 1: Open Enrollment Now through mid-November The first priority is open enrollment. Reach out to current patients, former patients, and warm leads. Promote the offer across email, social media, and personal conversations. Build cash flow before the holiday season. Jeremy recommends using this campaign to help patients commit to future care while taking advantage of the open enrollment offer before holiday spending takes over. The key is preparation and consistent personal follow-up, not simply sending a few promotional emails. Sprint 2: The Holiday Gift Card Campaign Mid-November through mid-December Once open enrollment wraps up, Jeremy recommends shifting directly into a holiday gift card campaign. The strategy involves offering a discounted evaluation as a gift card, creating an opportunity to generate revenue while introducing new patients to the clinic. It's a way to build an evaluation pipeline during a period when traditional organic search demand may begin to soften. Rather than inventing an entirely new promotion, Jeremy recommends following a campaign structure that has already worked. Sprint 3: Fill January Before January Arrives Mid-December through the new year The final sprint focuses on getting ahead of 2027. Reach out to patients who may want to use remaining benefits before the year ends, reconnect with people who have fallen out of care, and start scheduling January appointments before the holidays are over. Instead of waiting until January to rebuild your schedule, use December to create momentum for the new year. Pick One System and Build It This Week Beyond the three marketing campaigns, Jeremy challenges clinic owners to identify one process that needs to work better. That might be: New patient lead follow-up Missed call response Holiday gift card follow-up Reaching out to canceled appointments Reactivating former patients Use AI to document the process, create a clear SOP, and give your team a system they can actually follow. You don't need to rebuild your entire business this week. Start with one system that removes a recurring problem. The Takeaway The final stretch of 2026 isn't the time to coast. It's an opportunity to build cash flow, fill future appointments, strengthen your operations, and enter 2027 with momentum. Break the remaining weeks into focused sprints. Execute the campaigns that already work. Build systems that don't depend on your constant attention. Don't wait until January to start working on next year's growth. Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook Prepare for the first sprint with Jeremy's Open Enrollment Playbook, including the campaign timeline, email sequence, patient outreach lists, follow-up scripts, CRM setup, and marketing checklist. Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook See How Patch Can Help Patch helps physical therapy clinics build marketing, CRM, follow-up, and AI systems that keep patient acquisition moving without requiring the owner to manage every step. Schedule a Free Call With Patch More Free Resources Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on patient acquisition, AI, follow-up, and clinic growth. Free Patient Follow-Up Guide Free AI Admin Training Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic

3 Reasons Your Open Enrollment Campaign Will Fail Open enrollment can be one of the most profitable campaigns a cash-based physical therapy clinic runs all year. But it isn't automatic revenue. In this episode, Jeremy breaks down the three biggest mistakes that cause open enrollment campaigns to underperform, why some clinics sell just a handful of packages while others sell 75 or more, and what clinic owners need to do now to make their 2026 campaign successful. Episode Topics Why sending emails alone won't drive a successful open enrollment campaign The importance of personal follow-up with current patients and warm leads How to amplify your offer across multiple marketing channels Why your staff needs to be involved in the campaign The preparation timeline for November 2026 open enrollment 1. You Skip the Manual Follow-Up This is one of the biggest differences between clinics that sell a few packages and clinics that generate significant open enrollment revenue. Jeremy explains that approximately 80–90% of open enrollment revenue in the campaigns he's run comes from personal outreach, not mass emails. That means building a list of people who already have a relationship with your clinic and reaching out directly. Your outreach list should include: Current patients nearing the end of their packages Past patients who never continued into another plan of care Leads from workshops, referrals, or advertising who never booked People engaging with your open enrollment emails or social posts Jeremy recommends three personal follow-ups during the 2026 campaign: November 2: Campaign launch November 11: Mid-campaign follow-up November 19: Final reminder before open enrollment closes These should be personalized conversations, not generic promotional text blasts. The emails create awareness. The personal conversations drive the sales. 2. You Don't Amplify the Campaign Open enrollment isn't just an email campaign. Your patients need to see the offer repeatedly throughout the campaign window. Jeremy recommends reinforcing the message across multiple channels: Email sequences that explain the offer and remind patients of important dates Instagram and Facebook posts throughout the campaign Personal text messages and phone calls Signs at the front desk and inside treatment rooms Conversations between patients and their PTs during appointments Each channel supports the others. A patient might see an Instagram post, skim an email, notice a sign during treatment, and finally make a decision after talking with their PT. Jeremy also recommends involving the entire staff through regular updates, team meetings, and incentives so the campaign becomes a clinic-wide effort rather than another task for the owner. 3. You Wait Until the Last Minute This is the mistake Jeremy believes is most likely to derail clinic owners preparing for 2026. Open enrollment requires more than a last-minute email written the night before launch. You need time to: Build and organize your patient and lead outreach lists Write and schedule the email sequence Create social media graphics and in-clinic materials Set up your CRM and follow-up tracking Prepare your staff and assign responsibilities Finalize your offer, landing page, and campaign deadlines The clinics with the strongest results started preparing weeks before open enrollment began. Some even generated package sales before the official launch. For 2026, Jeremy recommends opening the campaign on November 2, with outreach lists and campaign materials ready during the week of October 26. Waiting until November to start building everything means you've already lost valuable time. The Takeaway Open enrollment works when you treat it like a complete sales campaign instead of a few promotional emails. The three mistakes to avoid are simple: Skipping personal outreach Failing to amplify the offer across multiple channels Waiting too long to prepare Build the lists. Schedule the emails. Create the assets. Get your staff involved. Then personally follow up with the people most likely to benefit from continuing care. The offer matters, but the execution is what makes the campaign successful. Get the Free Open Enrollment Playbook Jeremy put together the complete Open Enrollment Playbook to help clinic owners build and execute their campaigns. The guide includes the campaign timeline, email sequence, patient outreach lists, follow-up scripts, CRM setup, landing page structure, social media strategy, and preparation checklist. Download the Free Open Enrollment Playbook More Free Resources Subscribe to the Physical Therapy Marketing YouTube Channel for more strategies on sales campaigns, patient acquisition, follow-up, AI, and clinic growth. Free Patient Follow-Up Guide Free AI Admin Training Get a Free AI Phone Agent Built for Your Clinic