A doctor can spend years—or decades—building a reputation in their community and still lose patients to a clinic that is simply easier to find online. Before talking about visibility, let us look at what it costs just to keep the doors open.
The monthly cost of simply being open
These are working estimates for a small doctor-led clinic of about 300 to 400 square feet in Mysuru. Your locality and the size of your clinic will move them up or down.
| Expense | Approximate monthly cost |
|---|---|
| Clinic rent | ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 |
| Receptionist or assistant | ₹12,000 to ₹20,000 |
| Electricity (lights, AC, equipment) | ₹1,500 to ₹3,500 |
| Internet and phone | ₹800 to ₹1,700 |
| Water, cleaning and housekeeping | ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 |
| Consumables, printing and small repairs | ₹1,000 to ₹2,000 |
| Total | about ₹27,000 to ₹60,000 |
So a clinic can spend roughly ₹30,000 to ₹60,000 every month before it sees a single patient or pays the doctor. That is why an empty waiting room hurts so much.
How do patients find a doctor?
For decades, the answer was simple: a relative’s recommendation, a neighbour’s advice, or walking past a board.
That still matters. Referrals and walk-ins remain a large share of new patients for many clinics.
But search has become the other big door. We could not find a reliable India-wide figure, so here is what surveys in the United States show:
- In one poll, 46% of people said they turn to Google to find a new doctor, compared with 32% who rely on word of mouth and 29% on a referral from another doctor.
- Another study reported that 58% of patients started their search for a provider with Google.
- Use of AI chatbots for health information doubled in a year, from 16% to 32% of adults in one 2025 survey.
Indian numbers will differ, but the direction is clear: a large and growing share of patients now check Google, and increasingly an AI assistant, before they pick up the phone.
Is a directory listing enough?
We searched “dentist in Mysore” on Google ourselves. The first page showed clinic websites, a hospital chain, two directories (Practo and India Dental Clinic) and a Facebook community thread where people recommend doctors to each other.
Two things stand out. First, directories compete on the same page as you, and they own the relationship with the patient. Second, the social post that appeared was a community thread of recommendations, not a doctor’s own profile page. We found no data on how often patients search a doctor’s social media profile. Our experience is that they mostly look at Google reviews, photos, the website and opening hours.
A directory listing is a starting point. It is not your online home.
The one profile that matters most: Google Business Profile
When someone searches “dentist near me”, the map listing is usually the first thing they see. It shows your name, your reviews, your photos, your timings and a Call button. Patients often decide in seconds.
A professionally managed Google Business Profile means:
- the correct pin on the map (we once fixed a pin that had been wrong for five years, see our story)
- accurate services, timings and categories
- good photos of the clinic and the team
- a steady flow of genuine reviews, and replies to them
- consistent name, address and phone number across the web
Our Google Business Profile checklist covers the basics, and our page on websites for doctors explains why your own website still matters.
What we offer doctors
Unnati GeoRank builds fast, mobile-first websites and manages the Google Business Profile for clinics and other local businesses in Mysuru. Our Pro plan is a one-time fee of ₹30,000 to ₹45,000, with no monthly SEO retainer. It includes:
- a 5 to 8 page website on your own domain, written to respect medical advertising norms
- hands-on Google Business Profile management, with 5 to 8 profile posts linked to your site
- testimonial and review cards, and your own login to update text and photos
- help on WhatsApp directly from our founders or a trained local lead manager, with no call centre
After the first year, an optional Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) of about ₹12,000 to ₹18,000 a year covers your domain, hosting, security, backups, a yearly health check and an SEO audit.
Put that next to the numbers above. A one-time setup that costs about one month of your clinic’s fixed expenses, plus maintenance of roughly ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 a month, is a small price for being easy to find. If you spend ₹30,000 or more every month to keep your clinic open, visibility is not an extra. It is what makes the rent worth paying.
Message us on WhatsApp and we will show you where your clinic stands on Google today.
Sources for the survey figures: Harmony Healthcare IT poll via TechTarget, PatientPop study via eMarketer, Rock Health 2025 survey via Fierce Healthcare. Salary range based on Indeed salary data for Mysuru. Rent, utility and clinic-size figures are our own estimates.