Category and services — where most practices lose
Your primary category should be Optician, or Optometrist where that better describes the practice. Practices listed under a generic health or retail category will not appear for “opticians near me” regardless of how good they are.
Then itemise the services: eye tests, contact lens fitting, children's eye tests, home visits, hearing care if you offer it, and any NHS services you provide. This is exactly what chain branch profiles leave blank, and each entry makes you eligible for searches the category alone will not win.
The NHS searches nobody is targeting
“NHS eye test near me” and “free eye test [town]” carry real volume and are poorly served. If you provide NHS sight tests, saying so plainly on the profile and on a page of your own captures patients who are actively looking and who often stay for frames and lenses.
The same applies if you take part in a local minor eye conditions service. Urgent eye problems are searched for at speed, and a practice that states clearly it can see people quickly wins visits that otherwise default to A&E or a chain.
Reviews, and the collection point that works
Review recency matters more than total count, and opticians have a natural collection moment most practices miss: the collection appointment, when the patient is pleased with new glasses and standing at the desk. Asking then, with a link ready, produces a steadier flow than any campaign.
Reviews that name the test, the dispensing and the person do more than generic praise, because they match how the next patient searches. Never incentivise — it breaches Google's policies and risks the reviews you already hold.
Duplicates, hours and proximity
Check for duplicate listings under your practice name or phone number, particularly if the practice has changed ownership or name — an old listing can quietly outrank the one you manage.
Keep hours accurate including late nights and Saturdays, because “opticians open Saturday” is a real search and Google matches it against what you have published. And accept that a chain branch physically closer to the searcher will sometimes win on distance alone; that is not a fault in your listing, and it is why the product and NHS searches matter more for an independent than the generic one.