Cataract, LASIK, retina — patients start with “near me” and choose from Google’s Map Pack. We scored 208 eye practices in New York to see who they find. Free, takes 60 seconds.
We started where we’re based and searched the way patients do. The median practice has 100+ reviews at 4.5 stars — and the map still goes to a handful of multi-location groups.
Our audits of 208 New York–area ophthalmology practices, May–September 2026. Search volumes and cost per click: Google Ads monthly averages, September 2026.
A cataract patient and a LASIK patient look for you in completely different ways. We track each one separately.
Many cataract patients don’t search alone — an adult child is often reading along before the first consult. What they look up is the surgeon: the name, the reviews, and the lens options.
LASIK patients compare three or four practices before they book, and the national chains sit in the same search results. In New York, the click costs more than twice the national rate.
Most retina and glaucoma patients arrive with a referral and still search your name before they call. So do the optometrists who send them.
Dry-eye patients usually search for what they feel, long before they know the name of a treatment. We match those searches to the treatments you offer.
Practice counts: Our audits of New York–area ophthalmology practices, May–September 2026; a “page” is a dedicated URL for that treatment. Searches and cost per click: US Google Ads monthly averages, September 2026.
“Ophthalmologist” is the word on the door. “Eye doctor” is the word patients type — almost three times as often, and it’s a search you share with every optometrist nearby.
| Patients type | Rather than | As often |
|---|---|---|
| eye exam 132,550 | comprehensive eye exam 1,840 | 72× |
| cataract surgery 37,480 | lens replacement surgery 780 | 48× |
| dry eye treatment 14,240 | dry eye syndrome treatment 430 | 33× |
Ahrefs US keyword data, September 2026: monthly searches for each phrase with “near me” or a place name (“eye doctor brooklyn”), summed across the US.
The practice and every surgeon, the right categories, and every new review answered within 24 hours, to a protocol you approve.
Paid Search + Reviews
Cataract, LASIK, retina, glaucoma, dry eye — each written around how patients search for it, with your surgeons’ credentials.
Visibility Project
Paid search for the lines you choose — usually LASIK and premium lenses. You set the budget; we show you where it went.
Paid Search + Reviews
30 minutes. Online. No obligation.
Your most relevant searches on Google, next to three practices nearby
Whether ChatGPT and Google AI name you when patients ask
Google, Yelp, and WebMD — correct, complete, and consistent
Volume, rating, and whether new reviews get an answer
Questions eye practices ask us.
Our audit pulled public signals for each practice: Google Map Pack and organic positions for five searches built around the practice’s neighborhood and treatments, review counts, ratings and owner replies, website structure, and directory listings on Google, Yelp and WebMD. One location per practice, New York metro, audited May–September 2026.
Reviews help — practices with 100+ reviews made the Map Pack 67% of the time — but one in three still missed it. Categories, profiles, pages and review replies all play a part. The appeario Audit shows which one it is for you.
Rarely. Of 331 neighborhood-plus-treatment searches from our New York audits (“cataract surgery upper east side”), only 6 had measurable volume. Patients search “near me” or on Maps, and Google fills in the location.
Yes, within Google’s healthcare ad policies. Clicks run $22 nationally and $50+ in Manhattan, so we agree with you up front where the budget goes.
Every reply follows a protocol you approve up front: it never confirms that the reviewer is a patient or mentions their care, and it moves specifics offline. Replies go out within 24 hours; anything under 3 stars or sensitive goes to you first.
The appeario Audit is free. Paid Search + Reviews starts at $890/month with no minimum term. Visibility Projects — treatment pages, doctor profiles, schema — start at $1,490 one-time.
The Google Map Pack (also called the Local Pack) is the map and about three listings on near-me searches. For specialty practices, those slots are where patients ready to book tap first.
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