Pediatric Occupational Therapy Near Me: Local SEO

For pediatric occupational therapy practices: Google names relevance, distance and prominence as the factors behind local results, and says no one can ask or pay it for a higher position.⁠¹ What a practice controls is agreement: a Business Profile, a pediatric OT page and directory listings that state the same ages, services, location and next step.

Key takeaways

Relevance, distance and prominence are the local ranking factors Google names; it adds that chosen categories affect local ranking and that position cannot be bought or requested.⁠^1,2
Google compiles profiles partly from a business’s own website and from third-party data, so profile, page and listings need to match.⁠³
Google’s guidelines want a phone number tied to the specific location, or a website that represents that location, so the profile should open a page that leads with pediatric OT there.⁠⁴
AOTA describes an OT evaluation as an occupational profile plus an analysis of occupational performance, with the intervention plan developed afterward.⁠⁵
Google’s doorway-abuse examples include city or region pages that funnel visitors to one destination; a parent question gets its own page only when it supports a distinct decision.⁠⁶
Search Console reports the website and Business Profile performance reports the profile; Google says results depend on when, where and on what device someone searches, and on their history, so one manual search proves little.⁠^7,8
On DrSensory each clinic address is its own listing; paying adds a self-written description, the ages and conditions treated and family messages in the clinic’s portal, and buys no ranking promise.⁠^9,10

This guide follows one search from a parent’s phone to the first call; adult services have their own guides to adult OT clients and adult service pages, and eligibility, verification and categories are in the setup guide and the categories guide.

What does a search for pediatric OT near me show a family?

A mix of Google’s local results, ordinary web results and directory pages, each drawing on different information. Google describes local results as what a customer finds on Maps and Search when looking for a business near their location, and its own near-me example is a hair salon that might appear for "salons near me" because the owner provided an address and hours.⁠^1,3

A practice can appear in one of these and not the others, and no two families see quite the same results: Google’s Search Console help says results depend on when, where and on what device someone searches and on their recent history, and distance is measured from the searcher.⁠^1,7 The local SEO guide separates website search from local results for every discipline; the table applies that split to pediatric OT.

Search surface	What decides it	What the practice can change	Source
Local results on Maps and Search	Prominence, relevance and distance; the categories chosen	An accurate, complete profile; the right category; reviews asked for from every family	Google Business Profile Help⁠^1,2
Ordinary web results	Ranking systems built to favor helpful content created for people	A pediatric OT page that answers parents’ questions	Google Search Central⁠¹¹
Directory pages	Each directory’s rules; DrSensory places claimed listings above unclaimed ones on its city pages	A complete, accurate listing where families look	The directory’s own terms⁠¹⁰
The page the profile opens	The practice	Which page the website link opens	Google’s website and phone guideline⁠⁴

How does Google rank local results for pediatric occupational therapy?

By Google’s account, on relevance, distance and prominence, and no one can buy a better position. Its summary line says relevance, distance and popularity, then explains relevance, distance and prominence in turn, and it states that a higher local ranking cannot be requested or paid for.⁠¹

Factor	What Google says	What a pediatric OT practice can do
Relevance	How well a profile matches what someone searches for; complete, detailed information helps Google match it⁠¹	Pick the category that says what the clinic is, list its pediatric services, name its ages in the description
Distance	The gap between each business and the person searching⁠¹	Keep the address or service area accurate; words on a page do not move a clinic closer
Prominence	How well known the business is; links from other websites and the number of reviews feed into it⁠¹	Earn real links, such as a referral partner’s resource list, and ask every family for a review the same way

Categories count too: Google says the categories a business selects affect its local ranking, and asks for the fewest that describe the core business.⁠^2,4 Accuracy is the factor most within reach, since Google says complete and accurate information makes a profile more likely to show in local results.⁠¹

How should a pediatric OT practice ask families for Google reviews?

The same way for every family, with nothing offered in return. Google says a larger number of reviews and good ratings can help a local ranking, and its Maps content policy bars merchants from offering incentives for reviews, discouraging negative ones, or selectively soliciting positive ones.⁠^1,12 Asking only the families whose child made visible progress is selective solicitation. The review guide covers asking and replying.

Can a pediatric OT practice change the distance factor?

No: distance runs between the business and the person searching, and wording on a page cannot shorten it.⁠¹ Nor can a second address: Google does not accept a rented mailing address the business does not operate from, which it calls a virtual office, and a practice that only travels to families is a service-area business, allowed one profile for all the area it covers.⁠^4,13 Home-visit OT has its own guide to mobile and in-home therapy profiles. Telehealth-only OT is a separate case: to qualify, Google says a business must meet its customers in person during its stated hours, and it names online-only businesses as ineligible.⁠¹⁴

Which three records must agree for a pediatric OT search to work?

The Google Business Profile, the page it links to, and the clinic’s directory listings. Google compiles profile information from publicly available sources such as the business’s own website, from licensed third-party data, and from facts contributed by users and owners.⁠³ When the website says ages 3 to 12 and an old listing says birth to 18, a parent has to call to learn which is true.

Fact	On the Google profile	On the pediatric OT page	On directory listings
Name	The name the clinic actually uses on its sign, site and paperwork⁠⁴	Matches the profile	Matches the profile
Location	The clinic address or, for home visits, a hidden address plus a service area⁠¹³	Matches, with arrival details	Matches; never a home address for a service-area practice
Phone	A number that connects to the location⁠⁴	The same number	The same number
Ages served	In the business description	In the opening paragraph	In the ages field or description
Services	Listed as offered, where the category allows⁠¹⁵	Each one named, with what is not offered	The same services
Hours	Customer-facing hours; Google lists by-appointment-only businesses among those that should not give hours⁠⁴	The same, with after-school times as they are	The same, or a by-appointment option
Next step	Website link and phone	One route for pediatric OT inquiries	The listing’s inquiry route

Fix the record before the wording: the practice name, address and phone audit sets up the one record everything copies, and the local citations guide covers correcting listings that already exist.

Which page should a pediatric OT clinic’s Google profile link to?

The page that represents that location and leads with pediatric OT. Google’s guidelines want a phone number tied to the specific location, or a website that represents it, and rule out links that redirect people to landing pages other than the business’s own.⁠⁴ For a clinic offering only pediatric OT at one address, the home page can serve if it opens with ages, services and the contact route; a clinic that also sees adults, or offers PT and speech therapy, should link a location page that takes a parent to pediatric OT in one tap. The pediatric PT guide covers the PT page, and the multi-location guide a practice with several clinics. Some categories can add an appointments link, which should open a route a parent can use for a child.⁠¹⁶

What should a pediatric OT clinic list as services on its profile?

Only services it provides now, named the way a parent would recognize them. Google says businesses in certain categories can show their offerings, that a service may be highlighted when local customers search for it, and that custom service names should leave out personal information, prices and phone numbers.⁠¹⁵ The business description, up to 750 characters, is where to say what the clinic offers and which ages it sees.⁠¹⁶ Leave out services a partner provides or another location offers.

What should a pediatric OT landing page include, section by section?

Eight sections, each answering one question a parent has before calling. The general method for any pediatric service page is in the pediatric service page guide; this is what an OT page in particular needs.

Section	The parent’s question	What an OT page says	What it does not claim
Introduction	What, for which ages, and where?	OT for the ages you serve, at your address or in your area; the contact route	"Best", "top-rated" or any result
The evaluation	What does an OT evaluation find out?	The occupational profile and the look at everyday performance; length, who attends, what the family receives	A diagnosis, a visit count or a plan in advance
Clinicians	Who would see my child?	Licenses and certifications as held; the ages each clinician sees	Training nobody holds
Everyday activities	Which daily activities do you look at?	Dressing, mealtimes, play, handwriting, sleep routines, as true	That every concern is sensory
The visit	What happens when we arrive?	Entrance, parking, waiting area, where the caregiver sits, accessibility	Facilities the clinic lacks
Payment	How do we learn what we would pay?	Plans in network, self-pay, how benefits are checked	"All insurance accepted"
Scheduling	When could we start?	Evaluation availability, after-school capacity, the waitlist, the day it was checked	"No waitlist" when there is one
Family questions	What do we bring, and how do we ask about fit?	Records, forms, the inquiry route	A request for health details on a public form

For wording a wait honestly, see the waitlist guide; for payment, the insurance and fees guide. Photograph the space rather than children in sessions: HHS guidance for practices covered by HIPAA says marketing use or disclosure of a patient’s protected health information needs that person’s written authorization, with limited exceptions.⁠¹⁷

Opening paragraph for a pediatric OT page

"[your clinic] provides occupational therapy evaluations and treatment for children ages [the ages you serve] at [your address] in [your city]. We start by learning which everyday activities are hard for your child at home, at school or at play, and the evaluation shapes any recommendations. Call [your phone] or use [your inquiry form] to ask about fit, the next evaluation opening, how visits work and how we check your plan’s benefits."

Before it goes live: an OT at the clinic reads it for scope, the scheduler checks the availability wording, and whoever handles billing checks the benefits line.

Pediatric OT landing page outline

Heading: Pediatric occupational therapy in [your city] at [your clinic]
Who we see: [the ages you serve]; [the everyday activities you evaluate]; [what you do not offer]
The evaluation: [how long it lasts]; [who attends]; [what the family receives, and when]
Our clinicians: [each clinician, license and certification as held, ages seen]
Your visit: [entrance, parking, waiting area, where caregivers sit, accessibility]
Paying for care: [plans in network]; [self-pay]; [how benefits are checked]
Starting: [evaluation availability and the day it was checked]; [after-school capacity]; [the waitlist]
Family questions: [the questions your intake team hears most]
Contact: [one route for pediatric OT inquiries]

What can a pediatric OT evaluation settle, and what can it not?

It can describe how a child manages the activities the family is worried about and lead to a plan; its findings cannot be promised in advance. AOTA describes the evaluation as finding out what the client wants and needs to do, what the client can do and has done, and the supports and barriers to participation, through an occupational profile and an analysis of occupational performance, with the intervention plan developed afterward.⁠⁵ Say on the page that recommendations follow the evaluation.

It does not settle school eligibility. Under IDEA, a school must consider a privately obtained evaluation a parent shares, if it meets the agency’s criteria, in decisions about the child’s free appropriate public education, but whether a child has a disability is decided by a group of qualified professionals and the parent.⁠^18,19 Never write that a clinic evaluation qualifies a child for school services. The OT evaluation codes guide covers billing the evaluation.

Which everyday activities should a pediatric OT page name?

The ones the clinic evaluates and treats, in a parent’s words. AOTA’s practice framework sorts occupations into nine groups, from activities of daily living, health management and rest and sleep to education, play, leisure and social participation.⁠²⁰ On a pediatric page those become getting dressed, toileting, mealtimes, play, bedtime routines, handwriting and playing with other children; a parent worried about handwriting looks for that word, not "fine motor intervention". When one area is a program in its own right, the guides to handwriting and fine motor programs, feeding and swallowing services and infant development programs cover giving it a page.

How should a pediatric OT page describe sensory services?

As an assessed service, not the explanation for every concern. AOTA gives OT practitioners a central role in finding and addressing sensory integration and processing difficulties, and one of its Practice Smart recommendations reads: "Don’t provide sensory-based interventions to individual children or youth without documented assessment results of difficulties processing or integrating sensory information."⁠²¹ "Picky, clumsy or melting down? It may be sensory" invites a self-diagnosis the evaluation may not support. Say instead that, when it is part of the family’s question, the evaluation looks at how the child responds to sensory information in everyday activities, and point families who want background to DrSensory’s guide to sensory processing disorder.

Who should the page name, and with which credentials?

Every clinician who sees children at that location, with license and certification written as held. AOTA states that every state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, requires OTs and OTAs to hold a license to practice, and that a state license is different from NBCOT certification, which comes from passing its exam.⁠²² Say which ages each clinician sees and whether occupational therapy assistants provide sessions.

Which parent questions deserve their own page, and which stay put?

A question earns its own page when the answer needs more than a paragraph and helps a family make a distinct decision; the rest belong in the service page’s questions. Start from the intake log, not a keyword tool: list what callers and emailers ask, how often, and which answers the page should have given before the call.

Google’s guidance points the same way. Its helpful-content page lists producing lots of content on many topics in hopes some performs, and writing to a word count, as warning signs.⁠¹¹ Its spam policies describe scaled content abuse (pages produced in bulk chiefly to manipulate rankings, not to help people) and doorway abuse (pages built to rank for closely related searches, such as city or region pages that all lead to one destination).⁠⁶

What the parent asks	Where the answer lives	Reason
What happens at a pediatric OT evaluation?	Its own page, if the clinic can describe its process in detail	It supports a distinct decision: whether to book
How is clinic OT different from school OT?	Its own page, or a section of the evaluation page	Two systems with different rules
Do you see children with a particular diagnosis?	The service page questions	A yes or no, plus the evaluation route
Do we need a doctor’s referral?	The service page questions, linked to the payment page	The answer varies by plan and by state⁠^22,23
Do you have after-school appointments?	The scheduling section	It changes often; keep it in one place
Do you see children from a nearby town?	The location page, if the clinic serves families there	A page per town with the name swapped is the doorway pattern⁠⁶

Write each heading as the parent’s question and answer it in the first sentence, and keep promises out: no "most children improve within", no timeline before an evaluation. The pediatric OT channels guide covers the referral and community channels beside search.

Parent-question inventory

Question, in the family’s words: [as the caller put it]
How it reached the clinic, and how often this month: [phone, email, form, front desk; count from the intake log]
Did the page answer it? [yes, partly, no]
Where the answer goes: [its own page, the service page questions, scheduling, payment]
Who checks the answer: [an OT for scope; the scheduler for availability; billing for payment]

What pediatric details do families need before they call an OT clinic?

The ages the clinic sees, when it can see children, what the caregiver does during sessions, and how the clinic relates to early intervention and school services. A near-me search puts clinics side by side, and these are the facts a parent checks first.

Ages served. State the range in years, or months where it matters ("from 18 months"), and what happens at the top of it; the pediatric-to-adult transition guide covers teenagers moving on.
School-year scheduling. Say whether after-school appointments exist and how limited they are, whether school-day times are offered, and what changes in summer.
The caregiver’s role. AOTA’s description of what occupational therapy can do includes recommendations for caregiver and family training; say whether parents sit in, observe from outside, or join part of a session.⁠²⁴
Referral or order. It varies by state and by health plan: AOTA lists referral requirements among the state licensure laws and regulations it tracks, and HealthCare.gov notes that many HMOs require a referral for care from anyone but the primary care doctor, or the plan may not pay.⁠^22,23 Physician orders for therapy are a topic of their own; on the page, say how the clinic checks.
Languages and access. Name the languages sessions are offered in and how a family asks for an interpreter or an accommodation.

How do early intervention and school OT differ from a private clinic?

They are public systems with their own eligibility and rules. Early intervention under IDEA Part C serves eligible infants and toddlers under three, with services, occupational therapy among them, run under public supervision, without charge to families apart from any family payments federal or state law allows, such as sliding fees, and delivered in natural environments as far as appropriate.⁠^25,26 School OT is a related service under IDEA Part B, provided so that a child with a disability can benefit from special education.⁠²⁷

A private clinic is neither, and its page should not suggest it replaces either. DrSensory’s comparison of early intervention and private therapy explains the difference to families, and the IEP teams guide covers working alongside schools.

How should a pediatric OT practice measure local search?

With three separate records: Search Console for the website, Business Profile performance for the profile, and the practice’s intake log for who called and booked. None is a benchmark, and none reports what the others do.

Search Console. Its Performance report shows clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position in Google Search, grouped by query, page, country or device, showing the last three months unless you change the dates.⁠⁷ Filter to the pediatric OT page and read which queries reach it.

Business Profile performance. For a verified profile, Google reports the search terms people used to find the business, views, direction requests, call-button taps and website clicks; the searches metric updates at the start of each month, and the figures include Google Ads as well as organic results.⁠⁸ Linking the profile to Google Analytics puts those interactions beside website data.⁠²⁸

The intake log. Record each inquiry’s source as the family states it, the child’s age band, whether the clinic could serve the request, and whether an evaluation followed.

Pull the month. Export the pediatric OT page’s Search Console queries and the profile’s performance report for the same calendar month.
Sort the queries. Group them as the clinic’s name, pediatric OT terms, adult OT terms, other disciplines and unrelated.
Find the weak step. A shortage of impressions points to what the profile and page say; a shortage of clicks, to the page title and description; a shortage of suitable inquiries, to the page’s content and contact route.
Read the log. Count inquiries by source and fit, and note the questions callers asked that the page should have answered.
Change one thing. Make one correction, record what and when, and read the next month against it.

How do you separate pediatric OT queries from adult and branded ones?

Sort them by hand: the clinic’s own name; pediatric OT terms (pediatric OT, occupational therapy for kids, handwriting help); adult OT terms (hand therapy, OT after a stroke); other disciplines; everything else. A large adult group on a pediatric page suggests the page does not say clearly who it is for, and the branded group mostly reflects families who already knew the clinic’s name.

Monthly local-search review

Month reviewed: [the month and year]
Search Console, pediatric OT page: [impressions; clicks; top pediatric OT queries]
Query groups: [clinic name; pediatric OT; adult OT; other disciplines; unrelated]
Business Profile: [searches; views; calls; website clicks; direction requests]
Inquiries by source, and how many the clinic could serve: [Google profile; website; each directory; referrals]
Evaluations offered and attended: [counts]
The one change made, and other events: [what changed and when; school breaks, new referral partners, staff leave]

How does a DrSensory listing fit the pediatric OT near me pathway?

As one of the directory listings a family compares, and one of the records that has to match the profile and the page. DrSensory costs families nothing when they search for OT, PT or speech therapy close to home, through directories such as its occupational therapy directory; it lists clinics, not individual clinicians, and each listing stands for one practice at one address.⁠⁹

A basic listing exists for every clinic without charge, and claiming one costs nothing: find it, confirm the email address with a six-digit code, set a password.⁠⁹ The paid listing is $29.99 a month or $349.99 a year for the first location and $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for each additional one.⁠¹⁰ Paying unlocks a self-written description of up to 1,200 characters, up to five photos, hours, a website link, the ages and conditions treated, family reviews the clinic can answer in public, and inquiries delivered to the clinic’s portal.⁠^9,10 On a listing without a paid plan, a family’s message reaches the DrSensory team first, and the team attempts to pass it on; DrSensory cannot promise the clinic receives or answers it.⁠⁹

The paid fields a parent compares are the description, the ages and the conditions treated, so write them from the same record as the profile and the page. A clinic that sees families only by booking can choose the editor’s by-appointment option, shown where opening hours would be, which matches a Google profile that gives no hours.⁠^4,9 Each editor screen is explained in the claim and optimize guide, and the directory profile guide has a pediatric OT example.

DrSensory promises no ranking and sells no leads, and it does not assess clinical quality; a claimed listing gets an indexed profile page with structured data including its rating, and appears ahead of unclaimed listings on DrSensory’s own city pages, while featured city placement is marked coming soon and priced separately.⁠¹⁰ The listing value guide sets out whether a listing is worth its price for your practice.

What does the pathway look like for one pediatric OT clinic?

Here is one clinic working through the pathway in a week, then reading the result a month later.

Hypothetical. Tillbrook Kids OT, a made-up clinic, provides occupational therapy for children ages 2 to 12 at one address, with two OTs and one OTA. It offered adult hand therapy until last spring.

What the owner found:

The Google profile’s name read "Tillbrook Kids OT - Pediatric Occupational Therapy Near Me", and its website link opened a home page that still led with hand therapy.
One directory listing showed an old suite number; another said the clinic saw all ages.
Search Console showed the home page appearing for pediatric OT queries with few clicks, and the profile’s searches report included hand therapy terms.
The intake log showed six calls about adults in the month.

What changed:

The profile name went back to "Tillbrook Kids OT", the name on the sign, and the description now names ages 2 to 12 and the activities the OTs evaluate.
The website link now opens a pediatric OT page built on the outline above, with after-school capacity stated as it is and a line saying the clinic no longer sees adults.
Both directory listings, including the clinic’s paid DrSensory listing, were corrected from one record, with the age bands set to match.

What the owner reads the next month: whether adult calls fell, whether clicks to the pediatric OT page changed, and how many inquiries were for children the clinic could see, with a school break and a new referral partner noted beside the figures.

Which mistakes break the pediatric OT near me pathway?

Most come from writing for search words instead of describing the clinic.

A page for every nearby town. City or region pages that funnel visitors to one destination are among Google’s doorway examples, and blocks of text listing cities are its keyword-stuffing example; the city pages guide explains when a town deserves a page.⁠⁶
Reviews from happy families only. Selectively soliciting positive reviews breaks Google’s Maps content policy.⁠¹²
A new date on an unchanged page. Google lists changing dates to seem fresh, when content has not substantially changed, as a warning sign.⁠¹¹
"Every concern is sensory." AOTA’s recommendation is that sensory-based interventions for a child follow documented assessment results.⁠²¹

Frequently asked questions

Must "near me" appear in every heading on a pediatric OT page?

No. Google’s own near-me example is a business that appears because its owner provided an address and hours, and its spam policies treat repeating words until they sound unnatural as keyword stuffing; state the location clearly once.⁠^3,6

Can anyone promise a pediatric OT clinic a top spot in Google’s local results?

No. Google states that a better local ranking cannot be bought or requested, and it keeps its algorithm’s details confidential so that ranking stays fair.⁠¹

Should adult OT services share the pediatric OT page?

No. A parent and an adult patient ask different questions about ages, sessions and access, so give each a page; the adult version is in the adult service page guide.

Should a pediatric OT clinic’s Google business name say "pediatric OT"?

Only if the clinic really goes by that name on its sign, its website and its paperwork. Google’s naming rules exclude service details, and adding them can lead Google to suspend the profile.⁠⁴

Can each OT in the practice have a separate Google profile?

Only a clinician in a public-facing role who can be contacted at the verified location during stated hours, and Google adds that one practitioner should not hold multiple profiles for different specializations.⁠⁴

Does a paid DrSensory listing lift a clinic in Google’s results?

DrSensory makes no such promise. A claimed listing gets an indexed profile page with structured data including its rating, and a place above unclaimed listings on DrSensory’s own city pages.⁠¹⁰

Does a directory listing mean the clinic’s care has been checked?

Not on DrSensory: being listed is not an endorsement, and DrSensory does not check anyone’s clinical work, so families confirm fit, credentials, availability and payment with the clinic.⁠¹⁰

How often should a pediatric OT practice review its local search data?

Monthly suits the data: Google updates the profile’s searches metric at the start of each month, and Search Console can be set to the same calendar month. Read both beside the intake log.⁠^7,8

Sources

Google. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“When a customer searches for a business or place near their location, they’ll find local results on Google Maps and Search.”; “Businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results. If your business info isn’t accurate, your Business Profile might not show up for relevant searches in your area.”; under “Understand factors that determine local ranking”: “There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the search algorithm details confidential to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.”; “Local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity.”; “Relevance is how well a Business Profile matches what someone is searching for. To help Google better understand your business and match it to relevant searches, provide complete and detailed business info.”; “Distance refers to how far each business is from the customer who’s searching. If a customer doesn’t share where they are, Google uses what it knows about their location.”; “Prominence means how well-known a business is.”; “This factor’s also based on info like how many websites link to your business and how many reviews you have. More reviews and positive ratings can help your business’s local ranking.”.
Google. Manage your business category (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google.”; “Select a primary category that best describes your business.”; “Do not select a category for every product or service.”; “Health and beauty businesses: Can add a booking button to their profiles and update their list of services.”; “If you add or edit an existing category, you might be asked to verify your business again.”.
Google. Understand how Google sources & uses info in Business Profiles & local search results (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Information in profiles is compiled from a variety of sources:”; “Publicly-available information, such as crawled web content (e.g., information from a business’ official website)”; “Licensed data from third parties”; “Users who contribute factual information (such as addresses and phone numbers), and content (such as photos and reviews), including business owners who claim profiles through Google Business Profile”; “For example, if you own a hair salon, your business might appear in local search results for people who search for “salons near me” or “salons open now” because you’ve provided information that includes your address and hours.”.
Google. Guidelines for representing your business on Google (Google Business Profile Help; sections on basic guidelines, business description, name, address, website and phone, business hours, categories and individual practitioners). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Represent your business as it’s consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery, and other branding.”; “Choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business.”; “There should only be one profile per business, as this can cause problems with how your information displays on Google Maps and Search.”; “You should be upfront and honest about the information provided, focusing on content that’s relevant and useful to your customers to understand your business.”; “Your name should reflect your business’s real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers.”; “Including unnecessary information in your business name isn’t permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile.”; the examples of what a name must not include list “Service or product information”; and “Location information”; “If your business rents a physical mailing address but doesn’t operate out of that location, also known as a virtual office, that location isn’t eligible for a Business Profile.”; “Provide a phone number that connects to your individual business location, or provide a website that represents your individual business location.”; “Do not provide phone numbers or URLs that redirect or "refer" users to landing pages or phone numbers other than those of the actual business, including pages created on social media sites.”; “Certain types of businesses shouldn’t provide hours, including those with varied hours (like schedules for different types of activities, including showtimes, worship services, or classes) and those that operate only by appointment.”; “Provide your regular customer-facing hours of operation.”; “Do not use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business.”; “Select categories that complete the statement: "This business IS a" rather than "this business HAS a."”; an individual practitioner should create their own profile if “They operate in a public-facing role. Support staff should not create their own Business Profiles.”; “They can be contacted directly at the verified location during stated hours.”; “A practitioner shouldn’t have multiple Business Profiles to cover all of their specializations.”.
American Occupational Therapy Association. Evaluation & assessment (AOTA Practice, Domain and Process; citing the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 4th edition, doi:10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“The evaluation process is focused on finding out what the client wants and needs to do; determining what the client can do and has done; and identifying supports and barriers to health, well-being, and participation.”; “Occupational profile: Summary of the client’s occupational history and experiences, patterns of daily living, interests, values, needs, and relevant contexts.”; “Analysis of occupational performance: The step in the evaluation process in which the client’s assets and limitations or potential problems are specifically determined through assessment tools designed to analyze, measure, and inquire about factors that support or hinder occupational performance.”; “The occupational therapy intervention plan is developed after careful review and synthesis of information from the client’s occupational profile and the occupational therapist’s analysis of the client’s occupational performance.”.
Google. Spam policies for Google web search (Google Search Central documentation; last updated August 28, 2026). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Doorway abuse is when sites or pages are created to rank for specific, similar search queries. They lead users to intermediate pages that aren’t as useful as the final destination.”; its examples include “Having multiple domain names or pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page”; “Creating substantially similar pages that are closer to search results than a clearly defined, browseable hierarchy”; keyword stuffing examples include “Blocks of text that list cities and regions that a web page is trying to rank for”; “Repeating the same words or phrases so often that it sounds unnatural.”; “Scaled content abuse is when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users.”.
Google. Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup (Search Console Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“The Performance report shows important metrics about how your site performs in Google Search results.”; “The default view of the report shows click and impression data for your site in Google Search results for the past three months.”; “Clicks: The number of times a user clicked your site from Google Search results.”; “Impressions: How many times your site appeared in Search results.”; “CTR (click-through rate): The click count divided by the impression count.”; “Average position: The average position of the topmost result from your site.”; the dimension tabs include “Queries”; “Pages”; “Countries”; “Devices”; “Date range: To change the time period, click the date filter.”; “Even if a query appears in your list, you might not see your site in results if you run the same query in Google Search. This is because Search results are specific to the time, place, device, and recent history of the person searching.”.
Google. Understand your Business Profile performance & insights (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Performance data is available only for verified Business Profiles.”; “Performance data includes views, searches, and actions from both organic search results and Google Ads.”; “Searches: The search terms people used to find your business.”; “The searches metric is updated at the start of each month. It might take up to 5 days to show up.”; “Search queries show up whenever your Business Profile appears for a certain search. You can’t directly manage these queries.”; “Views: How many people viewed your Business Profile on Search and Maps.”; “Directions: How many people asked for directions to your business.”; “Calls: The number of times a customer clicked on the call button on your Business Profile.”; “Website clicks: The number of times people clicked on the website link on your Business Profile.”.
DrSensory. DrSensory for therapists (the For Therapists hub). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“A parent-facing directory, free on the family’s side and paid on yours.”; “Every clinic keeps a basic listing at no cost.”; “Claiming is free and has three steps: find your listing, confirm your email with a six-digit code, choose a password.”; “The first location is $29.99 a month or $349.99 a year; each additional location is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. It is priced per clinic, not per therapist.”; “The directory lists clinics rather than individual therapists, so one listing covers a whole practice at one address. Inpatient rehabilitation facilities and chiropractic practices are not listed.”; “Families search it for occupational, physical and speech therapy near them, read profiles and send messages.”; on a paid listing, the description is “Yours, up to 1,200 characters”; and photos of the practice: “Up to five”; “If you see families only by booking, tick “By appointment only”: the profile says so where opening hours would be, so nobody turns up at a door that is not open.”; “On a paid listing, your team does, in the portal; the email you receive only says a message is waiting. On a listing without a paid plan, the message comes to the DrSensory team, who try to reach the clinic by forwarding it on the family’s behalf; DrSensory cannot guarantee that the clinic receives or answers it.”; “DrSensory does not guarantee rankings, sell your leads or vouch for clinical quality, and says so on its pricing page.”.
DrSensory. Therapy clinic directory pricing (the DrSensory pricing page). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“$29.99/month”; “Or $349.99 a year. Each additional location is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.”; features a claimed listing adds include “Ages and conditions treated”; “We do not guarantee rankings.”; “A claimed listing gives you a dedicated indexed page, structured data including your rating, and placement above unclaimed listings on our own city pages.”; “We do not verify clinical quality.”; “Listing is not an endorsement, and we say so publicly on every results page.”; “Messages come to you directly, not through a call center, and we do not sell your leads.”; “Inquiries from families come to you, and only to you.”; the claimed listing’s rows include “Opening hours”; “Your website linked”; “Collect and display reviews”; “Reply to reviews”; and, for family inquiries, “Come to you, in the portal”; featured city placement is marked “Coming soon”; “Priced separately from your listing”; “Each location is a separate listing.”.
Google. Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central documentation; last updated October 5, 2026). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Google’s automated ranking systems are designed to prioritize helpful, reliable information that’s created to benefit people, and not content that’s created to manipulate search engine rankings.”; “Does the content provide original information, reporting, research, or analysis?”; “Do you have an existing or intended audience for your business or site that would find the content useful if they came directly to you?”; among the warning signs: “Are you producing lots of content on many different topics in hopes that some of it might perform well in search results?”; “Are you writing to a particular word count because you’ve heard or read that Google has a preferred word count? (No, we don’t.)”; “Are you changing the date of pages to make them seem fresh when the content has not substantially changed?”.
Google. Prohibited & restricted content (Maps user-generated content policy). “We do not allow merchants to:”; “Offer incentives – such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review.”; “Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”. Checked October 26, 2026.
Google. Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Service-area business: A business that visits or delivers to customers directly but doesn’t serve customers at their business address.”; “Service-area businesses can only have one profile for the whole area that they serve.”; “Hybrid business: A business that serves customers at its business address but also directly visits or delivers to them.”.
Google. Business eligibility and ownership guidelines (Google Business Profile Help). “To qualify for a Business Profile, a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.”; the ineligible businesses listed include “Brands, organizations, artists, and other online-only businesses.”. Checked October 26, 2026.
Google. Manage your services on your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Businesses in certain categories, like service businesses, might have the option to showcase their offerings directly on their Business Profile.”; “When local customers search Google for an offering you provide, that service may be highlighted on your profile.”; “Custom services that violate policy will be automatically rejected. Avoid including profanity, gibberish, personal information, prices, or phone numbers in custom service names.”.
Google. Edit your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help; sections “Website” and “Business description”). “Some business categories might be able to add more links to their website, like online orders, reservations, or appointments.”; information to include in the description: “What you offer”; “Do not exceed 750 characters in the description field.”. Checked October 26, 2026.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. Marketing (HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance; content last reviewed July 26, 2013). “With limited exceptions, the Rule requires an individual’s written authorization before a use or disclosure of his or her protected health information can be made for marketing.”. Checked October 26, 2026.
eCFR. 34 CFR 300.502 Independent educational evaluation (IDEA Part B regulations, current text, paragraph (c)). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“If the parent obtains an independent educational evaluation at public expense or shares with the public agency an evaluation obtained at private expense, the results of the evaluation— (1) Must be considered by the public agency, if it meets agency criteria, in any decision made with respect to the provision of FAPE to the child;”.
eCFR. 34 CFR 300.306 Determination of eligibility (IDEA Part B regulations, current text, paragraph (a)). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“(1) A group of qualified professionals and the parent of the child determines whether the child is a child with a disability, as defined in § 300.8, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section and the educational needs of the child;”.
American Occupational Therapy Association. Occupations and everyday activities (AOTA Practice, Domain and Process; citing the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 4th edition, American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2020, doi:10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“The broad range of occupations is categorized in the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4) as activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, health management, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure, and social participation.”.
American Occupational Therapy Association. Sensory integration & processing (AOTA Practice, Clinical Topics). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Occupational therapy practitioners play a central role in identifying and addressing sensory integration and processing challenges with clients across the lifespan.”; its Practice Smart recommendation “#2 Don’t provide sensory-based interventions to individual children or youth without documented assessment results of difficulties processing or integrating sensory information”.
American Occupational Therapy Association. Licensure (AOTA Career, State Licensure). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“The ability to practice occupational therapy is regulated by state licensure agencies.”; “All 50 states in the United States plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam require occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants to be licensed to provide occupational therapy services.”; “Your occupational therapy license is not the same as the certification that you earn by passing the exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).”; its resources on state licensure laws and regulations include “Referral requirements”.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HealthCare.gov. Referral (HealthCare.gov glossary). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“A written order from your primary care doctor for you to see a specialist or get certain medical services. In many Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), you need to get a referral before you can get medical care from anyone except your primary care doctor. If you don’t get a referral first, the plan may not pay for the services.”.
American Occupational Therapy Association. What is occupational therapy? (AOTA, About). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Occupational therapy enables people of all ages to participate in daily living.”; services typically include “an evaluation made just for you that lets us know your history, life experiences, and your interests. We call this your occupational profile”; under “What can occupational therapy do for you?”: “Occupational therapy can help you participate in life activities (occupations) and provide recommendations for:”; the list includes “Caregiver and family training”; “Occupational therapy services are provided by licensed occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, to people of all ages in homes, communities, schools, and healthcare settings.”.
eCFR. 34 CFR 303.21 Infant or toddler with a disability (IDEA Part C regulations, current text, paragraph (a)). “Infant or toddler with a disability means an individual under three years of age who needs early intervention services because the individual—”. Checked October 26, 2026.
eCFR. 34 CFR 303.13 Early intervention services (IDEA Part C regulations, current text, paragraphs (a) and (b)(8)). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“Early intervention services means developmental services that— (1) Are provided under public supervision;”; “(3) Are provided at no cost, except, subject to §§ 303.520 and 303.521, where Federal or State law provides for a system of payments by families, including a schedule of sliding fees;”; “(8) To the maximum extent appropriate, are provided in natural environments”; “Occupational therapy includes services to address the functional needs of an infant or toddler with a disability related to adaptive development, adaptive behavior, and play, and sensory, motor, and postural development.”.
eCFR. 34 CFR 300.34 Related services (IDEA Part B regulations, current text, paragraph (a)). “Related services means transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy”. Checked October 26, 2026.
Google. Connect your Business Profile to Google Analytics (Google Business Profile Help). Checked October 26, 2026.
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“You can link your Business Profile with Google Analytics to understand how customers interact with your local listings on Google Search and Maps alongside your website and app data.”; “When you link these accounts, performance data from your Business Profile, such as interactions, website clicks, calls, directions, messages, bookings, and menu clicks, is shared with your Google Analytics property.”.

Medical disclaimer. This page is for general educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is general guidance on running a therapy practice, not legal, compliance, billing or financial advice. Google changes its Business Profile features and policies, so check its Help pages in the sources before relying on a detail.

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