Dental Practice Growth Through Online Reputation
Getting new patients through word of mouth has always been essential for dental practices.
One question our customers often ask us is: “When it comes to getting Google reviews, is it better to continue to get more of them?
The simple answer is yes. But let’s dive in and discover why.
These days, much of word of mouth marketing is done through social media, as people share their feedback and opinions about businesses through online reviews. Google reviews in particular influence your practice’s online presence in a variety of ways.
What do you see in the reviews section when you Google search your practice? A healthy flow of recent, positive reviews, or just a few scattered ones with little to no text? In either case, your team should be making a daily effort to get more high-quality Google reviews, because the more you receive, the more your practice benefits.
Here’s how:
People read and believe Google reviews when searching for a dentist.
Do you use Google to look up what people are saying about a product or service before trying it out? For nearly 90 percent of consumers, according to a 2014 survey, the answer is “yes!” And that’s just for things like finding somewhere to eat or what movie to watch this weekend. For more important decisions, like choosing a dentist, studies suggest that people do a lot more research, including reading reviews of all their options.
Google is the perfect place to focus your efforts on getting reviews because it’s the most familiar, accessible online service in most people’s lives. While other services may offer a place for more specialized reviews of dental or medical practices, they’re not the first place people go when gathering information. When the average person wants to see what other average people think of a dental practice in simple, relatable terms, they go to Google.
Having more Google reviews boosts your local search ranking.
One of the ways Google is continuing to refine their algorithm is by tailoring search results to the user’s local area. For example, when someone searches “dentist,” Google will return with practices in that user’s city or town. The order in which these practices appear is called local search ranking, and by having more positive Google reviews, your practice is more likely to be listed in the top results.
More reviews = more credibility.
No matter how glowing a review may be, it’s not very powerful alone—it needs to be backed up by others to carry any weight with potential patients. A steady supply of favorable reviews not only helps to build your reputation but also reinforces all the positive things people have said about your practice in the past.
Patients saying good things about your practice online brings in more patients. Obvious, of course! The hard part is finding an effective and comfortable way of turning your existing patients into advocates.
Getting Google reviews can be easy.
We’ve made Getting google reviews simple with our MSP Reviews service! A practice team member enters the patient’s cell number, and the patient receives a text message and link to write their review—right there in the practice—and the review is published immediately on Google.
With MSP Reviews, you can quickly and easily build a strong base of Google reviews that will give potential patients an excellent first impression when they’re searching for a dentist. And by continuing to obtain positive reviews, you’ll ensure that your practice stands out in search results as a premier care provider in your city.
Ready To Begin Finding Dental Patients with Digital Dental Marketing?
About the Author: Adrian Lefler is a dental marketing expert and one of the founding members of My Social Practice. My Social Practice is a digital dental marketing company located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Adrian is passionate about helping dental practices grow. If you’d like to book Jack or one of the other members of My Social Practice’s speaking team, you can do that HERE. Interested in learning more about the benefits of SEO for dentists, our dental websites service? Learn More Here.
