New features are constantly being introduced to online listings to help businesses manage the coronavirus outbreak’s effect on hours and operations. To help your healthcare organization capitalize on these newly available tools, we curated a list of the most important COVID-19 listings attributes and how to use them.
Here are healthcare-related COVID-19 features that are now active on listings platforms and third-party directories.
| Platform | Feature | Description | Use Case |
| Google My Business | COVID-19 Google Posts | COVID-19 Google Posts stay posted for 28 days and are displayed on mobile search, maps and other apps. | This can now be submitted via API, posts for chain businesses were previously barred from API access. |
| Google My Business | Attributes | Healthcare brands can add “COVID-19 info link” and “virtual care” attributes to their GMB profiles. These are displayed on mobile search only (may expand in the future). | Available only to healthcare brands in GMB, can be submitted in bulk or API. |
| Google My Business | Schema | Special Announcements for COVID-19 from health and government agency sites are highlighted in Google Search results. | Announcements can include: Facility closures, event rescheduling, and new availability of medical facilities, such as testing centers. |
| Yelp | Covid-19 Advisory Alert | A COVID-19 Advisory Alert is displayed at the top of all Yelp Business Pages. If you don’t provide a custom message, a generic banner will be shown. | Edit this alert to communicate specific updates about your business in response to COVID-19. |
| Yelp | Virtual Service Offerings | Choose from new virtual service offerings that will be displayed on your Yelp Business Page within the Services Offered section. Search results can be filtered to show virtual offerings. | Including, but not limited to: Virtual Classes, Virtual Consultations and Virtual Tours. |
| Temporary Service Changes | Indicate locations are “Open With Service Changes” or “Temporarily Closed” to announce temporary service changes on your Facebook Page and in searches. | The information can appear on the Page, the Page preview, in search and in curated lists of local resources on Facebook. | |
| Covid-19 Account Verification | Twitter is prioritizing Verification for Twitter accounts that have an email address associated with an authoritative health organization or institution. | Ensure your Twitter bio references (and links to) the institution you are associated with, and that the page you link to includes a reference back to your Twitter account. | |
| Urgent Hiring | Healthcare-related organizations can post new mission-critical jobs free for three months (April 1 to June 30). Jobs posted in these categories will receive extra promotion to highly relevant candidates through a special “Urgently Hiring” job category. | Companies include hospitals, medical device, medical practices and mental healthcare, disaster relief nonprofits, warehousing, supermarket and package delivery. | |
| Healthgrades | Telehealth Services Badge | Add a new telehealth services badge to profiles for physicians, NPs, and PAs. Consumers searching for care options will be able to use telehealth as a filter to quickly find providers they can see remotely. | Healthgrades will also support links from healthgrades. com directly to the physician’s website/landing page for the telehealth service. |
| Bing | COVID-19 Info Links | Add special announcements of hours and closures for local businesses, information on risk assessment and testing centers, and travel restrictions and guidelines. | Bing pulls in announcements from local businesses, hospitals, schools, government offices and others that use the schema.org markup for announcements and testing information. |
| Bing | Schema | Add special announcements of hours and closures for local businesses, information on risk assessment and testing centers, and travel restrictions and guidelines. A label showing your special announcements related to the COVID-19 pandemic with a link to your site may appear on web results, local listings and maps. | Bing may consume special announcements from local businesses, hospitals, schools, government offices, and more that use the schema.org markup for SpecialAnnouncement, gettingTestedInfo and CovidTestingFacility. |
| Apple Maps | COVID-19 Testing Locations | Healthcare providers, labs, and other businesses that would like to provide information on COVID-19 testing locations can now do so through Apple Business Register. | Searches for nearby testing information may include information on whether getting tested is recommended and, if so, how to locate a nearby testing facility and find instructions for getting tested. |
| CareDash | Provider Telehealth | Healthcare organizations and facilities can use new API telemedicine support features to let patients know about availability for telemedicine and schedule appointments. | An indicator will appear on all telemedicine provider profiles. Telemedical status can be activated via individual dashboard or through a bulk upload tool. |
This article will be updated as listings features are added, removed or changed. Click here for a PDF version.
For more on listings and reputation management during the pandemic, browse our COVID-19 Resources page.
The original version of this page was published at: https://utm.io/uy2j
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