If you run a podiatry practice, you probably know the feeling of a full diary that still does not quite add up. The same patients come back every six to eight weeks for nail and skin care, which keeps the lights on, but the work you would most like more of (a runner who needs a proper biomechanical assessment, a person with diabetes who should be having regular foot checks, a child with sore heels) arrives unpredictably or not at all. The reason is simple. Most of the public thinks podiatry means nails, and the other streams reach you through different doors: a GP's referral pad, a sports club, a school, an aged care manager, or one very specific search. This guide takes each stream in turn, then covers the referral relationships, search, your website and booking, Google Business Profile, advertising and the rules. Our podiatry industry page gives the short version; this is the long one.
Six patient streams, six different front doors
It helps to stop thinking of "podiatry patients" as one group. Each stream has its own reason for visiting, its own rhythm, its own way of finding a practice, and its own value to you over time. We are deliberately not putting dollar figures on them, because fees, rebates and costs differ from practice to practice and we would only be guessing. The shape of each stream is more useful than a number anyway.
| Stream | Typical rhythm | How people find you | What it asks of your marketing |
|---|---|---|---|
| General foot care and nail work | Recurring, often every six to eight weeks | A local search, a neighbour's word, a nearby pharmacy or GP mention | Easy phone and online booking, clear hours, a Google Business Profile that is right |
| Sports and biomechanics | A burst of visits around an assessment, then occasional review | A specific search about a pain, a club, a coach, a physiotherapist | Pages that explain what an assessment involves; relationships with clubs and allied health |
| Orthotics | Follows an assessment, then fitting and review visits | Usually arrives from the assessment itself or from a referrer | Calm explanation of what orthotics are generally used for and what the process looks like |
| Diabetes and high-risk foot care | Regular review, built on a clinical plan | Almost always via a GP, diabetes educator or the patient asking what is available | A referral-friendly page and a clear way for a GP's rooms to send a patient to you |
| Children's feet | Occasional, driven by a parent's worry | A parent searching late at night, or a referral from a GP, school or paediatric clinician | Plain-language pages for parents; a welcoming first visit described honestly |
| Aged care and home visits | Scheduled rounds, steady and predictable | Aged care managers, community nurses, family members arranging care | A clear page on areas covered, how visits work and who to call; fast replies to enquiries |
General foot care and nail work: the base that needs a steady trickle
This stream behaves like a recall business. Patients who return on a rhythm give you a predictable diary, but any recurring base shrinks over time as people move, change their mind or stop being able to travel. Growth here means a steady flow of new regulars, and new regulars mostly arrive through local search and word of mouth. That makes your Google Business Profile, your opening hours and the plain act of booking more important than any clever campaign. Many of these patients are older and prefer to phone, so lead with a tappable number as well as online booking.
Nail surgery sits inside this stream but behaves differently. Someone searching for help with an ingrown toenail is often uncomfortable today and wants to know roughly what is involved, how soon they can be seen and what it costs. A page that sets out the process, what to expect on the day and your fee, written in a calm tone, answers the question that stops people from picking up the phone. We would encourage publishing fees where you are comfortable doing so, because the alternative is that the next practice does.
Diabetes and high-risk foot care: a referral pipeline
Diabetes-related foot care depends on two things lining up: a patient who knows regular foot checks matter, and a GP or diabetes educator who knows you have capacity and send people your way. Neither happens because of an appointment book. A short, plain page explaining how a patient is typically referred or arranges an assessment, what a check involves and what to bring is useful to patients and to GP reception staff who field the question. If you are unsure about eligibility details for any government-supported care plan, tell patients to check with their GP rather than quoting rules that may change.
GP and allied referral relationships
For three of the six streams, referrals matter more than search, so it is worth treating them as a small, deliberate project rather than something that happens by chance. Referrers send patients to people they trust and find easy to work with. That mostly comes down to being easy to refer to and reliably closing the loop.
- Make referring effortless. A page for referrers with your contact details, a downloadable or fax-friendly referral form if your referrers still use one, the conditions you commonly see and your usual waiting time. Reception staff will use it before the GP does.
- Close the loop. A short, clear letter back to the referring GP or allied health professional after the first visit is the single habit that keeps referrals coming. It is also good clinical practice.
- Be specific about what you do. A referrer who knows you do biomechanical assessments, nail surgery, high-risk foot checks and home visits will think of you for all four. One who thinks you do nails will think of you for nails.
What people actually search for
Search behaviour in podiatry splits into three kinds, and each deserves a different page. We are describing the shape of searches rather than quoting volumes, since we have no reliable figures to share.
- Plain local searches. "Podiatrist near me", or the suburb plus "podiatrist". These are people who already know what they want. They are won by local SEO, a well-kept Google Business Profile and a site that loads quickly on a phone.
- Symptom searches. An ingrown toenail, heel pain in the morning, a child who walks on their toes, a corn that keeps returning. These are people who do not know what service they need. They are won by pages that describe what is happening in ordinary words, what a podiatrist can do about it and what the first visit looks like.
- Question searches. Whether orthotics work for a particular complaint, how often a person with diabetes should have their feet checked, what a gait assessment is. These are researchers. They are won by honest, evidence-aware pages that say what is known and what is not, and they are the pages most worth writing carefully.
Website, booking and Google Business Profile
A website that shows the whole practice
The most common weakness we see on podiatry sites is that they describe a nail clinic. If biomechanics, orthotics, diabetes foot care, children and home visits are each a few words in a list, the site only attracts people who already know to ask for nails. A better structure is one page per stream, each opening with the reader's situation, followed by what you do, what a visit involves, and how to book. Our guide to what a practice website costs covers the money side, and our website service page describes how we build them.
Booking that suits the patient in front of you
Your patients span from teenagers who book on their phones to older patients who want to speak to a person. Offer both, and make sure online booking shows only what each appointment type needs: a nail appointment is not the same length or kind as a first biomechanical assessment. Recurring patients should be rebooked before they leave the room or by a message they have agreed to receive. If you send reminders and recalls by email or text, the consent and unsubscribe rules matter; our guide to patient emails, recalls and the Spam Act walks through them, and practice booking systems and your website covers how the two should fit together.
Google Business Profile: your front window
For general foot care, your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a person sees, before your website. Choose the category that fits, keep your address, hours and phone number correct, add genuine photos of the entrance and rooms, list your services in plain words and keep your holiday hours up to date. Patients will leave reviews on their own, which is their right. The rule for you is to avoid republishing, linking to or reacting to reviews that talk about clinical care; see patient reviews: what you can and can't do. Do not ask patients to write reviews in exchange for anything. For the wider routine, our local SEO checklist has the steps, and our SEO service page explains what we do on top.
When advertising makes sense
Advertising is not the first thing to fix. If the website does not explain your services and the profile is half-complete, paying for clicks mostly pays for people to leave. Once the basics are right, there are a few places where Google Ads can be worth a look.
- Urgent, price-sensitive searches, such as ingrown toenail treatment, where a person wants to book soon and compares practices on clarity. A tight local campaign pointing to your nail surgery page can work.
It makes less sense for recurring nail care, where local search and referrals do the work for less, and for any stream that arrives through a referrer. Measure booked appointments, not clicks, and set a budget you can live with if it takes a few months to learn what works. Healthcare advertising on Google has its own policies, which we cover in Google Ads for healthcare: what you can and can't run. Our Google Ads service page explains how we set campaigns up, and we will say honestly if your practice is better served by fixing the profile first.
The advertising rules, in podiatry terms
Podiatry advertising falls under section 133 of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which says a regulated health service must not be advertised in a way that is false, misleading or deceptive, offers a gift or discount without stating its terms, uses testimonials, creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment, or encourages indiscriminate or unnecessary use of services. AHPRA's guidance applies to your website, social media and any ads. The general explainer is in AHPRA advertising rules in plain English. The points below are the ones that matter most for podiatry.
Protected titles: who can say what
AHPRA says three professions have specialist registration under the National Law: medicine, dentistry and podiatry. That matters to you in two directions. If you hold specialist registration, you can use the title you are registered for, and AHPRA is clear you must not stretch it into an adjacent area. If you do not hold it, you must not use "specialist", "specialises in", "specialty" or "specialised", or anything that implies it, and the same goes for any other title that belongs to registered specialists. The accepted alternatives are phrases such as "substantial experience in" or "working primarily in", which are fine when they are true. A practice can describe a focus on sports or children's feet in those terms, and AHPRA gives "sports chiropractor" as an example of a descriptive term that signals a focus without claiming specialist status. Misusing a protected title is an offence under sections 113 to 119 of the National Law.
Orthotics, outcomes and images
Write about what an assessment involves and what orthotics are generally used for. Do not promise that they will resolve a condition. If you list conditions and say you treat or help them, AHPRA expects you to make clear how, and to have acceptable evidence behind the claim. Before-and-after photos need particular care: images must not be edited or enhanced, they must not make it unclear whether the treatment caused the result, and they must not create an unreasonable expectation. Wound and nail photos are exactly where this arises. If you are unsure, leave them out.
Reviews, stories and offers
A comment that praises friendly staff or easy booking is not a testimonial about clinical care. A comment saying a procedure fixed years of pain is, and publishing, linking to or even interacting with one on a channel you control counts as using it. AHPRA also notes that patient stories about personal benefit can create an unreasonable expectation. If you advertise a discount or a gift, such as a first-visit offer, the full terms must be in the same advertisement. Avoid urgency tied to health, such as "don't delay" or "limited time only", and avoid suggesting people need regular check-ups with no clinical reason.
- A podiatry growth checklist
- Google Business Profile is complete and currentCategory, hours, phone, address, services and real photos
- Each patient stream has its own page in plain languageNail care, nail surgery, biomechanics, orthotics, diabetes foot care, children, home visits
- A referrer page exists for GPs and allied healthContact details, how to refer, who you see, usual waiting time
- A short letter goes back to every referrer after the first visitThe habit that keeps referrals flowing
- Titles and descriptions are checked against AHPRA's rulesNo "specialist" wording unless the practitioner holds that registration
- Any advertising is tracked on booked appointmentsNot clicks or impressions
Questions podiatry practices ask us about growth
Most of our patients are regulars for nail care. Where does growth come from?
From new regulars arriving through local search, word of mouth and, for older patients, the people who arrange their care. A complete Google Business Profile and easy phone booking do more here than almost anything else. The other streams then add variety and value on top.
Should we publish prices for nail surgery and orthotics?
For nail surgery, we would lean towards yes, because people in discomfort compare practices on clarity. For orthotics, many practices explain the process and explain that cost depends on the assessment. Whatever you publish should show the total price, not just a starting figure.
Can we say we have a particular interest in sports or children's feet?
Yes, if it is true. Phrases like "substantial experience in" or "working primarily in" describe a focus without implying registration you do not hold. Avoid "specialist" wording unless the practitioner holds specialist registration.
Is Google Ads worth it for a podiatry practice?
Sometimes. It tends to suit urgent searches such as ingrown toenails, or promoting a new clinician or location. It is rarely the best first spend. Fix the profile and the website first, then start small and measure booked appointments.
How do we get more GP referrals?
Make referring easy, tell referrers precisely what you do, and write back after the first visit. Meeting the practice manager and offering something useful, such as a short talk, usually works better than any written pitch.