A few weeks ago I checked the knowledge panel (KP) of a NYC dentist and discovered that a prominent portion of the KP was now populated with Zocdoc appointment links. Below is what I tweeted.
I really don’t like that at all. Zocdoc appointment options are dragged into the Business Knowledge Panel. This dental clinic doesn’t want that and needs to give Zocdoc a kickback every time a user books an appointment through them. Have you ever seen this before @rustybrick ? pic.twitter.com/joQM8oQTIt
— Colan Nielsen (@ColanNielsen) October 19, 2022
This is what the Zocdoc appointment links look like.
How did Zocdoc show up in the KP?
If you see Zocdoc appointment links in your KP, they are there because of a setting that is enabled by default in the Zocdoc admin dashboard. As far as I can tell, if you’ve ever engaged with paid Zocdoc services, this feature is automatically enabled as part of theirs Partner Syndication Feeds.
How to remove Zocdoc from your Google business profile
When we first noticed the Zocdoc links in the KP, we contacted GBP Support and were told to contact Zocdoc directly. Danny Sullivan clarified in a tweet that we could return to GBP support if Zocdoc was found to be unauthorized.
This seems to be the help page specifically for this: https://t.co/tWPqlrAi4e
It seems to explain the steps to remove these, primarily going to the provider if authorized and telling them not to show up. If they are unauthorized, contact support to remove them. So try that? pic.twitter.com/7egKiQg33C
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) October 19, 2022
After GBP support told us to contact Zocdoc directly, the dentist emailed Zocdoc asking to turn the feature off and this was the response.
Zocdoc has disabled the feature and provided instructions on how to turn it back on and off in the future.
The switch to disable the feature is difficult to find. After completing the first two steps, you need to scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find the “Partner Syndication Feeds” toggle.
After the partner syndication feed was deactivated, the appointment links were removed from the KP within approximately 48 hours.
Have you encountered a similar situation with Zocdoc or other appointment providers? Tell us about it below.