How to Get More Customers as a Optometrist in Australia

Most optometrists in Australia built their practice on word of mouth. A satisfied patient tells a friend, that friend books an appointment, and the cycle continues. That worked brilliantly 10 years ago. It doesn't work anymore — at least not on its own.

Here's the reality in 2026: 97% of consumers search online before choosing a local business. When someone wakes up with blurry vision, notices their kid squinting at the whiteboard, or simply needs a new pair of glasses, they grab their phone. They type "optometrist near me" into Google. They check reviews. They compare websites. And they call whoever shows up first.

If that's not you, it's your competitor down the road.

The good news? Getting more customers as an optometrist in Australia doesn't require a massive advertising budget or a marketing degree. It requires a system — a repeatable, measurable approach to showing up where patients are already looking.

We built this guide based on what actually works for optometry practices across Australia right now. Not theory. Not outdated tactics. Real strategies that drive real appointments. Whether you're a solo practitioner in suburban Brisbane or running a multi-location practice in Melbourne, these steps apply to you.

Let's get into it.

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TL;DR

• This is a step-by-step guide to getting more customers as an optometrist in Australia
• We cover Google Maps, reviews, your website, content marketing, and AI search
• The average optometrist appointment value sits between $100 and $800 (higher with specialty lenses, ortho-k, or myopia management)
• Every strategy here compounds over time — the sooner you start, the faster results build
• You can do this yourself or let us handle it for you

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Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most valuable free tool available to your practice. When someone searches "optometrist near me" or "eye test [suburb]," Google serves up a map pack — those three businesses displayed with a map at the top of search results. That's where your GBP lives. And that's where most clicks happen.

If you haven't claimed your profile yet, go to business.google.com and do it today. If you claimed it three years ago and haven't touched it since, that's almost as bad as not having one at all.

Here's how to optimise it properly:

Complete every single field. Business name (your real trading name — no keyword stuffing), address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and business category. Your primary category should be "Optometrist." Add secondary categories like "Eye Care Centre" or "Contact Lenses Supplier" if relevant.

Write a compelling business description. You get 750 characters. Use them. Mention the suburbs you serve, the services you offer (bulk-billed eye tests, contact lens fittings, children's eye exams, dry eye treatment), and what makes your practice different. Write for humans, not algorithms.

Upload high-quality photos. Practices with 100+ photos get 520% more calls than average, according to Google's own data. Photograph your storefront, your testing equipment, your frame displays, your team. Update photos monthly. Patients want to see what they're walking into.

Post weekly updates. Google Business Profile has a Posts feature that most optometrists ignore completely. Use it to share seasonal eye care tips, new frame arrivals, special offers, or practice news. Each post signals to Google that your business is active and engaged.

Set up messaging and booking links. Make it as easy as possible for patients to reach you directly from your profile. If you use an online booking system, link it. If you don't, at least enable the messaging feature.

Your GBP is your digital storefront. Treat it like one.

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Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Your website needs to do one job above all else: show up when potential patients search for optometry services in your area. That means ranking for local keywords — the actual phrases people type into Google when they need an eye test.

Start with the fundamentals. Your homepage should clearly target your primary location. If you're based in Parramatta, your title tag might read: "Trusted Optometrist in Parramatta | [Practice Name]." Your meta description should include a call to action and mention key services.

But the real growth comes from service + suburb pages.

Create individual pages for each core service you offer:

• Bulk-billed eye tests in [suburb]
• Children's eye exams in [suburb]
• Contact lens fitting in [suburb]
• Myopia management in [suburb]
• Dry eye treatment in [suburb]

Then, if you serve multiple suburbs, create location-specific versions. An optometrist in Sydney's Inner West might build pages targeting Newtown, Marrickville, Ashfield, and Leichhardt — each with unique content relevant to that area.

These pages don't need to be 3,000 words. They need to be genuinely useful: explain the service, mention who it's for, include pricing transparency where possible, and feature a clear booking call-to-action.

Technical essentials matter too. Your site needs to load in under three seconds on mobile. It needs to be mobile-responsive (over 60% of local searches happen on phones). It needs proper schema markup — specifically LocalBusiness and Optician schema — so search engines understand exactly what your business does and where it's located.

For a deeper dive into ranking strategies specific to your industry, check out our complete SEO guide for optometrists.

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Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Reviews are the new word of mouth. They're also a direct ranking factor for Google Maps. Practices with more reviews — and higher average ratings — consistently outrank competitors in local search results.

Most optometrists know reviews matter. Very few have an actual system to generate them consistently. Here's how to build one.

Ask at the right moment. The best time to request a review is immediately after a positive experience. For optometrists, that's typically right after you've delivered good news about their eye health, fitted them with frames they love, or solved a problem they've been struggling with. The emotional high drives action.

Make it stupidly easy. Create a direct link to your Google review page (you can generate this in your GBP dashboard). Put that link in a follow-up SMS or email sent within two hours of their appointment. Don't make patients navigate three menus to find where to leave a review.

Use a simple template. Your follow-up message doesn't need to be fancy:

"Hi [Name], thanks for visiting [Practice Name] today! If you had a great experience, we'd really appreciate a quick Google review — it helps other patients find us. Here's the link: [URL]. Thanks! — The team at [Practice Name]"

Set a target. If you're seeing 20 patients a day and asking all of them, you might get two to three reviews per day. That's 60-90 new reviews per month. Within six months, you'll have a review profile that dominates your local competitors.

Respond to every review. Positive or negative. Thank people by name for positive reviews. For negative reviews, respond professionally, acknowledge their concern, and offer to resolve it offline. Prospective patients read your responses just as carefully as the reviews themselves.

One practice we work with in Adelaide went from 47 Google reviews to over 300 in eight months simply by implementing a consistent SMS follow-up. Their phone enquiries increased by 40% over the same period.

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Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing for optometrists isn't about publishing blog posts nobody reads. It's about answering the questions your ideal patients are already asking — and being the practice that shows up with the answer.

Think about what your patients ask you every single day:

• "How often should I get my eyes checked?"
• "Are bulk-billed eye tests really free?"
• "What's the difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist?"
• "Can screen time actually damage my child's eyes?"
• "What does a contact lens fitting involve?"

Each of those questions is a blog post. Each blog post is an opportunity to rank in Google, build trust, and guide a reader toward booking an appointment.

Focus on three content types:

1. Educational guides. Detailed articles that answer common questions thoroughly. These build authority and attract top-of-funnel searchers who might not need an appointment today but will remember you when they do.

2. Service explainers. Content that walks patients through what to expect from specific treatments or services. "What Happens During a Children's Eye Exam" removes anxiety and objections simultaneously.

3. Local content. Posts that tie your expertise to your community. "Best Practices for Eye Health During Australian Summer" or "Understanding Medicare Bulk Billing for Eye Tests in [State]" perform well because they're specific and locally relevant.

Publish at least two pieces per month. Consistency beats volume. Every article should include an internal link to a relevant service page and a clear call-to-action to book an appointment.

Content isn't a quick win. It's a compounding asset. The article you publish today might generate appointments for the next three years.

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Step 5: Optimise for AI Search (GEO)

Here's what most optometrists aren't paying attention to yet: AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews are changing how patients find healthcare providers. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) is the discipline of making sure your practice gets recommended in these AI-generated responses.

When someone asks ChatGPT "Who's the best optometrist in Canberra for children's eye care?" — you want to be in that answer.

AI search engines pull from a combination of sources: your website content, your Google Business Profile, review sites, directory listings, and authoritative third-party mentions. The practices that show up consistently across these sources are the ones AI recommends.

Practical steps to improve your AI search visibility:

• Ensure your practice is listed accurately across major Australian directories (Healthdirect, HotDoc, Yellow Pages, True Local)
• Build content that directly answers specific questions in a structured format (headings, bullet points, clear definitions)
• Earn mentions on third-party sites through partnerships, local press, or professional associations
• Keep your NAP (name, address, phone) consistent everywhere

GEO is still early days, but the practices that start now will have a significant head start. We've published a detailed guide on GEO for optometrists if you want to go deeper.

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Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. And too many optometry practices invest in marketing without any idea whether it's actually working.

Here's what to track monthly:

Phone calls from Google Business Profile. GBP tracks call clicks directly. This is your most important lead metric. If this number is going up month-over-month, your local visibility is improving.

Website form submissions and online bookings. Set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics (GA4) for every form, booking widget, and click-to-call button on your site. If you can't tell how many enquiries your website generates, you're flying blind.

Keyword rankings. Track where you rank for your top 20-30 target keywords: "optometrist [suburb]," "eye test near me," "children's optometrist [city]," and so on. Use tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or BrightLocal.

Review velocity. How many new reviews are you getting per month? What's your average rating? Are you responding to all of them?

Revenue attribution. This is the gold standard. When a new patient books, ask how they found you. Track it in your practice management system. Over time, you'll see exactly which channels deliver the highest-value patients.

Set up a simple monthly dashboard. Even a spreadsheet works. The point is consistency — reviewing the same metrics every month so you can spot trends and double down on what's working.

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When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is doable yourself. But let's be honest: you became an optometrist to help people see better, not to wrestle with Google's algorithm.

Consider the DIY route if:

• You have five or more hours per week to dedicate to marketing
• You enjoy learning new digital skills
• You're in a low-competition area where basic optimisation goes a long way

Consider hiring a professional if:

• You're in a competitive metro area where multiple practices are fighting for the same patients
• Your time is better spent on patient care (and it probably is at $300+/hour)
• You want results faster and don't want to risk costly mistakes

At MoneyNearMe, we work exclusively with Australian service businesses. Our local SEO packages for optometrists range from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on your competition level and growth goals. Every engagement includes GBP optimisation, content creation, review strategy, and monthly reporting with transparent metrics.

When your average patient is worth $300-$800, you only need a handful of new appointments each month to see a strong return. Most of our optometry clients see positive ROI within the first 90 days.

Get a free visibility audit for your practice →

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can optometrists get more customers online?

Optimise your Google Business Profile, build service-specific website pages targeting local keywords, generate consistent Google reviews, and create educational content that ranks in search results.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as an optometrist?

Fully optimise your Google Business Profile with photos, posts, and complete information. Most practices see increased calls within 30 days of a proper GBP overhaul.

How much should I spend on marketing as an optometrist?

Most successful practices invest 5-10% of revenue. For a practice earning $500K annually, that's $25K-$50K per year, or roughly $2,000-$4,000 per month across all channels.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for optometrists?

SEO delivers better long-term ROI and compounds over time. Google Ads delivers immediate visibility but stops the moment you stop paying. The best strategy uses both.

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Ready to stop losing patients to competitors who simply show up first online? Talk to our team about a local SEO strategy built for your practice →