Short answer
For most new healthcare practices, SEO and Google Business Profile work should come first, since that's where patients with active, immediate intent to book are actually searching. Social media builds trust and awareness over a longer timeframe but rarely drives direct bookings for a brand-new practice with no existing following.
Why search intent matters more than reach
Someone searching "dentist near me" has already decided they want an appointment; someone scrolling Instagram has not, and is unlikely to stop scrolling to book a dental check-up unless something unusually compelling interrupts them. Search captures existing demand, while social media mostly has to create interest from a passive audience, which is a slower, less direct path to a first booking for a practice with no patients yet.
Where social media genuinely earns its place
Once a practice has some patient volume and a modest review history, social media becomes more valuable as a trust-reinforcement tool: a prospective patient who found you through search will often check your Instagram or Facebook before booking, looking for signs of an active, credible practice. At this stage, social media supports conversion rather than driving it directly, which is a different, still valuable, role.
The resourcing reality for a new practice
A new practice usually has one or two people wearing many hats, and spreading limited time across search visibility, a content calendar, and community management on social platforms often means doing all three poorly rather than one or two properly. Prioritising Google Business Profile completeness and foundational SEO, then adding social media once bandwidth allows, tends to produce a stronger first six months than trying to do everything simultaneously.
A practical sequencing that works for most new practices
In the first month or two, focus entirely on Google Business Profile, a functional booking-friendly website, and any paid search needed to bridge the visibility gap while SEO builds. From month three onward, once there's some patient volume and early reviews, introduce a modest, consistent social media presence, a post or two a week, rather than an ambitious daily content calendar that's hard to sustain alongside running the practice itself.
What a realistic first-six-months budget split actually looks like
For a new practice with a limited but genuine marketing budget, a reasonable split in the first six months is roughly 70 to 80 percent toward search visibility, Google Ads and foundational SEO combined, with the remainder toward a modest, sustainable social media presence rather than a large, ambitious content operation. This isn't a fixed rule, a practice in a category where social proof and visual content genuinely matter more, certain cosmetic or allied health services, for example, might reasonably shift more toward social media earlier. The key principle is starting from where genuine patient demand is being expressed right now, in search, rather than where a channel simply feels more comfortable or familiar to manage. As the practice matures and search foundations are solid, this ratio can shift meaningfully toward social media and content, since the marginal value of additional search investment naturally declines once the fundamentals are well established, while social media's trust-building role becomes more valuable with a larger existing patient base to draw reviews and content from.