Yes, Google reviews do matter significantly to dental and medical practices. Here are some reasons why:
- Trust and Credibility: Positive reviews on Google can build trust and credibility for your dental or medical practice. When potential patients see that others have had a positive experience with your practice, they are more likely to trust your services and feel more comfortable choosing you as their healthcare provider. You can say the same thing for negative reviews and their destructive effects too.
- Influence on Decision Making: Many people rely on online reviews, including Google reviews, to decide which dental or medical practice to visit. Positive reviews can sway potential patients to choose your practice over competitors with fewer or less favorable reviews. The one-source decision-making is a thing of the past. These days it is normal to hear about a doctor from your insurance company, then ask around from friends and family and research online. Checking their website and their reviews. So even if you have two positive sources going for you, an average 3-star rating will most likely stop a patient from picking up the phone.
- Local SEO and Visibility: Google reviews contribute to your local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts. The more positive reviews you have, the higher your chances of appearing in the local search results when potential patients look for dental or medical services in their area. This increased visibility can lead to more website visits and inquiries. However, this is not necessarily a direct correlation. But overall, a more active listing has a higher chance of a better ranking on the map.
- Feedback and Improvement: Reviews, both positive and negative, provide valuable feedback for your practice. They can highlight areas where you excel and areas that may need improvement. Paying attention to patient feedback can help you enhance your services and patient experience.
While negative reviews may be sometimes unfair, they point to a potential weakness. So even a negative review can have a positive long-term effect on the practice. - Patient Engagement: Encouraging patients to leave reviews can foster patient engagement. Patients who feel appreciated and heard are more likely to leave positive reviews, and this engagement can strengthen the patient-provider relationship. This may also result in getting referrals from those patients.
- Online Reputation Management: Addressing negative reviews professionally and promptly can help manage your online reputation. Responding to concerns and resolving issues publicly shows that you care about patient satisfaction and are willing to take steps to improve their experience.
- Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Positive Google reviews can act as powerful word-of-mouth marketing. People often share their positive experiences with friends and family, extending the reach of your practice’s reputation beyond the online platform. Being able to back up your claims with ‘social proof’ is an important factor in your online success.
Soliciting Reviews
It’s important to actively encourage satisfied patients to leave reviews on Google, as long as it’s done ethically and without incentivizing positive feedback. Responding to positive and negative reviews also demonstrates that you are engaged with your patients and value their input. Overall, managing your Google reviews and maintaining a positive online reputation can significantly impact the success of your dental or medical practice. Read this comprehensive guide to online reputation management in our blog.
The economic landscape has changed a significant amount of business is now conducted online. In fact, most people reading this post have likely shopped online at some point in their life. Most people will read the reviews at the bottom of the page before deciding whether or not to purchase a product from an online store.
Healthcare professionals know that these reviews are also relevant to the medical and dental industry. Physicians that local hospitals employ constantly hear the results of their reviews from the hospital administrators upstairs. Private practices often encourage patients to leave reviews on their way out the door. On the other hand, do practices encourage people to leave reviews online? Do Google reviews help when it comes to dental & medical website design?
The answer to this question is definitely yes. Some of the most important reasons that Google reviews matter from website design for dental & medical practices will be discussed below.
Google Reviews Help Because People Read Them
The first question most people ask about the reviews on their website design is whether or not people will read that section of the website. Websites are filled with all kinds of pages, such as a home page, an “about us” section, and a spot to contact the practice. There is also typically a spot on the website for Google reviews. Read our blog about important frameworks for healthcare websites.
Many providers are concerned about the presence of the reviews section because they may not want reviews to be made public. This makes sense because some people leave bad reviews because they are angry and not at all because the quality of the care they received was poor; however, these Google reviews are important because people read them.
Plenty of research has been performed on the effectiveness of reviews and whether or not people read them. The results of this research were relatively straightforward and showed that most people read reviews before deciding whether or not to go with a certain product or service. Also, most people read several reviews instead of just one. For people who are concerned about the presence of negative reviews, try not to worry. There are plenty of ways to moderate the reviews that land on a certain website; however, do not underestimate the power of reviews because people do read them. In fact, people are reluctant to go with a service that doesn’t have any reviews at all.
They are Important in the Ranking of a Website
The next reason that Google reviews help is that they help rank a website. People today do not rely on print or television ads to locate a good or service. Instead, they have a search engine at their fingertips at all times. Therefore, people use these online search engines to find what they want. It is important that practices have a website that will reliably show up at the top of results rankings because this will increase the practice’s visibility.
Research has shown that people rarely click past the first page of the results and will change their search query instead. Therefore, landing on the first page of the rankings is vital. One of the ways to do this is to tailor the dental & medical website design to meet the criteria of the search rankings.
Search engines will rank a website higher if they have reviewed it because people read reviews. The entire ranking system is based on what is relevant for the person entering the search query. Since people read reviews, search engines look for websites with reviews. The reward for a website with reviews is a higher ranking. This ranking is important because people see the website and will know it exists. The entire crux of competition in the innovation age revolves around online visibility.
Google reviews help to improve visibility by improving ranking. This leads to a growing customer base and growing practice. Check O360 Reputation Management Service to see how we can help build a 5-star rating for your practice.
Google Reviews Ensure that the Website Always has Recent Content.
In addition to Google reviews helping to improve a particular website’s ranking, they also help boost the website in another way. Google reviews provide fresh content for the website regularly. When search engines are looking for a particular good or service, they want to ensure the website is regularly updated.
A website that isn’t updated regularly is unlikely to have relevant information for the person looking for that product or service. The search engine will check the dates on the most recent information on the website to see whether or not it is recent. Since Google reviews always have a date on them, this is easy. Healthcare professionals encouraging their patients to leave Google reviews at each visit will have at least some patients who leave reviews after their visit.
This means that reviews are posted with a recent date, and search engines will notice this. The reward is going to be a higher ranking due to the dates of the content. Having fresh content is important for improving a ranking. Check out our Content Marketing service.
Google Reviews Help to Manage a Practice’s Online Reputation
Sometimes, people leave negative reviews on Google reviews. This is to be expected because no practice can please everyone. Instead of getting angry every time a negative review is left, try to view the review as helpful criticism for improving the practice.
Some people are more comfortable leaving negative feedback online because it allows some form of anonymity. When people see a negative review, they should try to contact the customer and figure out what went wrong to improve their practice for the future. In this manner, the practice will have a PR department that can help manage the reputation of the practice.
If the practice is taking steps to improve its customer service and manage patient feedback, patients will notice this and appreciate the effort. This is a concrete way that Google reviews can help manage a practice’s reputation and grow its customer base.
Clearly, Google reviews provide many ways to grow a medical or dental practice. They provide a way for patients to leave feedback that can be incorporated into future visits and help increase the practice’s online visibility and grow the customer base. Remember, building a reputation takes time, so you may never catch up if you wait until you have a few bad reviews. The time to look at your digital marketing options is now. The next time the practice wonders whether to invest in Google reviews, consider these important points.
