Google has been relentless in its pursuits to promote Google+ as one of the most important future elements of the Internet. Since Google controls a lion’s share of the global online search business, clearly Internet marketers and SEO specialists are waking up to the realization that if they ignore Google+, they will be doing so only at their own peril.

Google has been encouraging webmasters, content managers and website owners to provide information on the Internet that can be connected to verified online profiles. Anonymity spells low quality on the Internet in most cases, and Google is building a strong case against this practice. To put this entire thing in perspective for doctors and dentists, it can simply be said that if your medical or dental practice is not on Google+, your Internet marketing strategy is on the road to irrelevance.

While it is true that hundreds of millions of Internet users, including medical professionals, already have their online profiles on social media, but the hard business fact is that social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are competitors, not allies, of Google. In any case, Google+ has been evolving at a rapid pace, and it already boasts of a broader range of features compared to Facebook and Twitter.

Having an impactful online profile begins with an impactful image or profile picture. A number of research studies have shown that a powerful image is able to improve the CTR (click-through rate) by anywhere between 30 and 40 percent in most cases. Once the Google+ profile has been created, it is a good idea to link it with the online content owned or promoted by the doctor or dentist. Google+ allows the user to link to various websites that he or she may be contributing to, as well as to public pages and profiles of others.