Guide
Doctolib outranks my website: what can I do?
Type the name of your practice into Google. If the first result is a Doctolib page and not your website, this guide is for you. It is not inevitable, and it is not a reason to leave Doctolib.
Why Doctolib ranks ahead of you
Doctolib, France's leading online booking platform for healthcare, is used by a large share of practitioners in France. Its website is huge, constantly updated and very fast, and every practitioner page is built the same way, with the information Google expects: name, specialty, address, opening hours, reasons for consultation. Google has trusted this website for years.
Next to it, a practice website is often small, dated and slow on mobile, with a single "our treatments" page and details that do not quite match the Google Business Profile. So when someone searches for "Dr. So-and-so's dental practice", Google picks the source it considers most reliable: Doctolib.
What it costs you
On the Doctolib page, patients do not see your practice the way you want to show it: not your photos, not your explanations, not your detailed fees. They see a booking form and, right below it, a list of other dentists available sooner. A patient who was looking for you by name can leave with an appointment somewhere else.
And for every search that does not include your name ("dental implant" plus your city), the Doctolib page does not help people find you: it only serves those who already know you.
How to put your website back in front
1. A website that deserves the top spot
Google puts the most useful source first. So your website needs to say more about your practice than Doctolib does: one page per treatment, fees, the patient journey, the team, photos of the practice, frequently asked questions. Fast on mobile. We cover all of this on our dental practice website page.
2. A Google Business Profile you control
Claim the profile, complete it, add your photos, and set your website as the official website. When the profile and the website confirm each other, Google treats your website as the reference source for your name. See your Google Business Profile.
3. Identical information everywhere
Practice name, address, phone number (NAP) and opening hours must be written exactly the same way on your website, your Google Business Profile, Doctolib and online directories. Every discrepancy gives Google a reason to prefer Doctolib, which is consistent.
4. Structured data
Invisible code on your website (schema markup) that tells machines: this is a dental practice, here is its name, its practitioners, its treatments, its opening hours. Doctolib does this on every page. Your website should too.
5. Keep Doctolib in its place
Doctolib remains your booking tool. Your website links to it for appointments, and so can your Google Business Profile if you wish. Patients find you on your own website, and book with the tool they already know.
How long it takes
For searches on your own name (branded searches), the change is often visible within a few weeks once the website and the profile are in order. For non-branded searches (a treatment and a city), it takes several months of work, which you follow on a dashboard. The diagnostic gives you a realistic timeline, based on your city and the practices around you.
The diagnostic starts with exactly this search: your name on Google, your position on the map, what AI tools say about you. You see it on screen, during the call.
Sources
This guide is based on the following official documentation, last checked on September 27, 2026.
On the blog
Our articles on this topic.
Google Business Profile for a multi-dentist practice: one profile, or one per dentist?
The rule Google has written for group practices, the conditions a dentist must meet to have a profile, the table of setups, the name of each profile under the Dental Council's rules, the seven steps to get things in order and the ten-minute check.
Read the article ArticleBuying a dental practice: what to do with the website, the Google Business Profile and the name
What a dentist buying a practice needs to recover online (Google Business Profile, domain name, website and Doctolib), and how to keep the link with the old name patients still type.
Read the article ArticleMoving a dental practice: the step-by-step checklist to stay visible on Google
The online timeline for moving a dental practice: Google Business Profile edited rather than recreated, website, Doctolib, directories, AI search, and the first-month check.
Read the article ArticleWhat to put on a dental practice website: the twelve things a patient looks for before calling
The twelve things a patient looks for on a dentist's website, in their order, each with where it belongs and the common mistake, followed by a ten-minute test.
Read the articleFrequently asked questions
What dentists ask us about this.
Should I leave Doctolib to rank better?
No. Doctolib takes your appointments, it does not get you found. Closing your account does not remove the page from Google and deprives you of a tool your patients appreciate. The answer is a website and a Google Business Profile that are more complete than the Doctolib page.
Why does Google prefer the Doctolib page to my website?
Because Doctolib is fast, consistent, constantly updated and structured the way Google expects, while many practice websites are dated, slow and short on detail. Google picks the source it considers most reliable.
Will my website rank ahead of Doctolib for my name?
That is the most achievable goal: for your own name, a complete, fast website linked to a consistent Google Business Profile usually wins back the top spot within a few weeks. We do not guarantee a ranking, we measure it every month.
What's next
Let's talk about your practice.
The simplest step is to request your diagnostic: you will see where your practice really stands on Google, on the map and in AI answers, and we walk through it together on a video call.
No commitment.