Franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices makes sure patients with a complaint find the practice near them, with the right specialism, therapist and availability. We take over that marketing for head office: one central approach, carried out locally for each practice.
What makes marketing for physiotherapy chains different?
A patient does not search for a brand name, but for what is wrong with them: back pain, a sports injury, neck problems. They then choose the practice that is close by, shows the right specialism and has an appointment available soon, often without a GP referral.
That is why franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices does not start with the brand, but with the moment a customer nearby makes a choice.
How do patients search for physiotherapy practices?
Customers rarely search for the brand name of the franchise. They search for their question and choose from what appears nearby.
| Search query | What the location needs to be chosen |
|---|---|
| physiotherapist back pain [town] | Specialisms listed as services in the profile and on the practice page |
| physio without referral | Clear explanation of direct access and insurance cover |
| manual therapy near me | The right subcategory and a listing for each therapist |
| physiotherapy evening opening | Correct opening hours, including evenings and Saturdays |
How the same question sounds in an AI assistant
In ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews, patients ask longer questions, for example: "Which physiotherapist near me specialises in sports injuries and has evening appointments?" An AI can only recommend a practice if those details are stated literally in the profile, reviews and location page. That is why we combine local visibility with GEO and AI visibility.
What goes wrong at physiotherapy chains?
A head office marketing team often only spots these problems once franchisees complain about them. We look for them in advance.
One category for all practices
Every practice is listed only as 'physiotherapist', even though one offers pelvic floor therapy and another sports physiotherapy. Google and AI then cannot tell them apart.
Merging with a health centre
Practices at the same address as a GP or health centre are sometimes merged or confused by Google.
Therapists are invisible
Patients choose a person, but the names, specialisms and photos of the physiotherapists are nowhere to be found online.
Reviews about waiting times go unanswered
Complaints about waiting times and insurance cover get no reply, while every next patient reads them.
Our approach for physiotherapy practices
For each channel, we set out what we do for physiotherapy practices. In the scan, we test the order of priorities against the figures for your locations.
| Channel | Use for physiotherapy practices |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Specialisms as services, evening opening, direct access and wheelchair accessibility per practice |
| Practice pages | A page per practice with therapists, specialisms, insurance information and directions |
| Review management | Privacy-compliant replies within 24 hours, without confirming that someone is a patient |
| Google Ads | Campaigns on complaint plus town, especially for new practices and specialisms |
| Content | Explanations per complaint that AI assistants can cite, with a practice FAQ |
No time or expertise in-house? Leave your franchise marketing to us.
Rules and points of attention for physiotherapy practices
Professional confidentiality applies to review replies: never confirm that someone is a patient and never mention treatment details. Healthcare providers must also be transparent about their fees under the rules of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa), and patients may not be selectively asked for a review.
We record these agreements in the style guide for the franchise brand, so every location does the same thing. Where there is legal doubt, we consult your lawyer.
What does better visibility deliver for physiotherapy chains?
The NFV healthcare sector, under which we classify physiotherapy practices, counted 38 franchise brands with 2,201 locations and €2.8 billion in revenue in 2025. That is an average of around €1.27 million in revenue per location per year. The worked example below shows from which revenue effect the Growth package pays for itself.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Average revenue per location per year | €1,272,149 |
| Per month | €106,012 |
| 1% extra revenue per year | €12,721 |
| Cost of Growth package per year | €3,000 |
| Break-even point: required revenue growth | 0.24% |
Which KPIs matter for physiotherapy chains?
Alongside the standard KPIs in our monthly report (visibility, customer actions, reviews and position in Maps), in this sector we also look at:
| KPI | Why |
|---|---|
| Appointment requests per practice | A direct measure of new patients |
| Visibility for complaint keywords | Shows whether specialisms are being found |
| Response time to reviews | Builds trust with patients who are still deciding |
When should you plan marketing for physiotherapy practices?
January (New Year's resolutions and the new insurance year), spring (running season) and autumn (insurance cover running out) are the busy months. If you only start when the peak begins, you are too late. We prepare profiles and campaigns a month in advance.
How do we start franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices?
No big project up front, but a ninety-day plan. During that period we set up the basics, run the first campaigns and deliver a report per location. After that, you decide whether we roll out to all the physiotherapy practices in your franchise brand.
| Period | What we do |
|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | Baseline measurement at three locations for searches such as physiotherapist back pain [town] and physio without referral, plus an AI test with a fixed set of questions |
| Weeks 3-4 | Google Business Profile: specialisms as services, evening opening, direct access and wheelchair accessibility per practice |
| Month 2 | Practice pages and review management: privacy-compliant replies within 24 hours, without confirming that someone is a patient |
| Month 3 | Google Ads live and the first monthly report with appointment requests per practice and visibility for complaint keywords |
Checklist: is your physiotherapy franchise in good shape online?
- Specialisms listed as services in the profile and on the practice page
- Clear explanation of direct access and insurance cover
- The right subcategory and a listing for each therapist
- Correct opening hours, including evenings and Saturdays
- Content: explanations per complaint that AI assistants can cite, with a practice FAQ
Can you not tick off every point for every location? Then the free scan shows exactly where the gains are.
Who works on franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices?
Our permanent team works on franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices: founder Gijs Bodenstaff is the contact for your head office, Angela analyses local visibility and leads per location, Elisabeth manages the local Google Ads and Peter builds local authority. Ten regular freelancers, trained by us, take care of profile management and reviews per location. Read more about Franchise-Marketing.nl.
Related sectors and services for physiotherapy practices
This page is part of franchise marketing for healthcare brands. Comparable sectors are franchise marketing for dentists and marketing for padel chains. For physiotherapy practices we focus mainly on local SEO for franchise chains and answering reviews per location. What it costs is explained under pricing per location; you can start with a free scan of three locations.
Frequently asked questions about franchise marketing for physiotherapy practices
Are we allowed to ask patients for a review?
How do you respond to a review that describes a treatment?
From how many locations is this worthwhile for physiotherapy chains?
Do you also work for physiotherapy chains that are not franchises?
What do franchisees of physiotherapy chains notice about this?
Physiotherapy practices: can customers reach our locations through AI assistants?
How does a physiotherapy practice get found for a complaint such as back pain?
What if our physiotherapy practice shares an address with a health centre?
When is the busiest period for physiotherapy practice marketing?
How does a physiotherapy chain make its therapists visible online?
Sources
Gijs Bodenstaff
Franchise marketer, local SEO and GEO specialist, author
Curious how the locations of your physiotherapy franchise are doing? Request the free scan of three locations.