• 2
• Dental Marketing ,
• 07 Nov

Online reviews have become one of the most powerful promotional tools.

Why? Because most people will check web ratings before they opt to buy from a company or become their clients. This is especially true when it comes to the healthcare industry.

In fact, this profession ranks 3^rd in the importance of online reviews. Given that most people have some sort of medical anxiety, it makes sense that they will do proper research prior to giving a company a chance.

According to the official data, approximately 80% of people will check online dental reviews prior to visiting a practice.

But there is more to dentist reputation management.

These online dental reviews are also crucial for search engine optimization or SEO. With them, it is easier for Google to determine the position and legitimacy of a business. As such, it is something that can work wonders for you.

But, first thing first.

Let’s mention all the reasons why dentist reputation management is so important.

Keep reading!

What’s the secret behind dentist reputation management?

Here is an intriguing thing: online reviews are the second-best promotion for dental practices after word-of-mouth marketing!

This might seem like an interesting fact, but when choosing a dentist, potential patients are used to getting a recommendation.

Nowadays, since people are changing cities and workplaces all the time, it is also normal they will change their dentists. Occasionally, they will find themselves in a new city without having anyone to ask for a recommendation. So, they will turn to dental review sites.

The new dynamic environment is troublesome for dental practitioners as it forces them to invest more money in advertising. Traditional word-of-mouth marketing has its limits, which is why things such as dentist reputation management have become so popular.

One thing that is often overlooked is how online reviews affect search engines.

SEO and online reviews

Search engine optimization entails numerous things. Among others, it includes managing online reviews.

How do these ratings affect Google rankings?

It’s simple.

Google is becoming smarter with each passing year. In the last year or two, there has been more emphasis on user experience and user-generated factors. In other words, sites and pages that get more clicks and views, also get a significant ranking boost.

Reviews that have high grades usually get a higher click-through rate. In turn, they will also have better Google rankings.

According to a study, by improving your dental practice from 3 to 5 stars, you can see a visit increase of 25%! These percentages are really high and shouldn’t be neglected.

The interesting thing about SEO and online reviews is how they impact each other.

For example, providing good service will lead to higher ratings, more dental patient referrals, and overall better dental SEO.

On the other hand, if you have good on-page optimization and images, there is a chance more people will interact with your site, thus increasing rankings and leading to more visitors.

So, everything counts!

If you want to do what’s best for your business, we suggest that you hire a dental SEO company that will work in unison with your dental staff.

You might think that this isn’t necessary, but by covering both sides, you can rest assured that your company progresses the way it should.

What can dentists do to improve their online reputation?

Even though you should partner up with a dental marketing company, there are lots of things that you can do by yourself. As already mentioned, it is a process where lots of things rely on you. In fact, the owner can perform some optimization by himself or herself, but it is always better when you have a professional in your corner.

Here are some of the things you can address yourself:

1. You can claim or create a business account on valuable sites and online directories

The first step towards optimization (and having a local web presence), it by confirming your business data. There are lots of websites where you can do this.

So, what’s the point of this?

Simply put, you are “telling” Google that you’re a legit business with a legit address and contacts.

If you are a new dental practice, you will have to create these accounts yourself. However, if you existed for a while, there is a good chance that an account has already been created, so all you need to do now is claim it.

Claiming an account is pretty straightforward; just fill your business data!

This is called creating a local listing.

This information is not only important for reviews, but they also give patients and potential patients additional data. For example, it makes it easier to find your office. That way, not only are becoming more credible, but it increases your conversion as well.

Most common review sites include Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business, YellowPages, etc.

In the dental niche, the most important sites are Vitals and RateMDs.

Make sure to create a social media account in each of these popular platforms.

There are no drawbacks; you can only benefit from it. Google My Business is especially important, so pay attention to it!

2. Focus on NAP consistency

As already mentioned, retaining legitimacy is your top priority. This is why you need to be very careful when filling information. A dental practice requires the same information through the web. This is called NAP consistency.

Keep in mind that this will not necessarily lead to benefits. Instead, if you mess up your information, it might lead to potential issues.

You see, Google will downrank all the sites that don’t have consistent information. The search engine regards this as a suspicious behavior why it will never give advantage to sites that have different information on various sites.

Maintaining NAP consistency isn’t hard. Just make sure to visit various sites within one day and fill exactly the same information on all of them. You can also go back if you made a mistake and rectify it.

3. Persuade patients to leave reviews

If you are certain in the quality of service, then you should take advantage of it! Make sure to ask patients to leave a review!

It shouldn’t be too hard to ask a patient to leave a review. Just make sure to be polite, and most patients will help you out. In fact, you can tell them directly how important this is for their business.

At the same time, you have to be a good judge of the situation.

If a person is dissatisfied with your work, the last thing you need is to point them towards review pages. This can only ruin your web reputation as they are more likely to leave a negative review.

4. Address reviews

In a way, reviews are like a comment section on blogs and social media.

People don’t leave reviews just for the sake of it. Instead, they want to voice their frustration, satisfaction, or to exchange opinions with other people.

While you cannot go back in time and improve your service, you can definitely address negative reviews. Make sure to ask them what was wrong. Show commitment to doing better.

Also, avoid conflict of any kind as this can lead to further frustration for a patient.

Positive reviews should also be addressed.

The main reason why you should be doing this is so you can retain a patient. According to studies, dentists who respond to positive online reviews have a significantly higher patient retention rate.

5. Learn from your reviews

Besides the fact, these reviews can be used for promotional activities, and as a way to increase profit, they can also be great for improving your business.

What do we mean by that?

Every one of these reviews has certain merit. After reading a few, you can get a better grasp of your service and whether or not people are satisfied.

Among others, these reviews can show you the potential areas of improvement. People often leave reviews when they’re extremely satisfied or dissatisfied; you should focus your attention on these individuals.

While your ego might feel embarrassed, you shouldn’t take it personally. Instead, use the reviews as a way of growing.

The dental practices which take them seriously are more likely to improve their processes.

6. Compare them with competition

Getting lots of positive reviews is great. But how do you compare with your competition?

Make sure to browse other reviews and see what kind of ratings they’re getting. These grades can be a real eye-opener and can tell you why you have the edge over the competition. They can also tell you why you’re performing below expectations.

Make sure to read them thoroughly. Pay extra attention to things that are repeating as they are more likely to be valid.

Final words

You see, dentists can learn a lot from web reviews.

We suggest that you start experimenting with them as soon as possible.

But, if you want to maximize their potential, it is much better to hire a company that specializes in dentist reputation management. This way, you can improve processes rather quickly, eliminating negative practices and putting emphasis on positives.