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Reviewing the Google Updates — For Dentists

November 28, 2016

Filed under: Uncategorized — sunrise @ 3:50 pm

While I was writing an article last month about online listings, I felt my ears burning. Just after that was published, there were some significant  Google updates that have had an impact on the listings and review sites that dentists rely upon.

Sometimes it may seem like we are at the whim of our Google masters. So many people now rely on the Google search engine to find local businesses, read reviews, or research a subject that can make or break you.

Understanding Google Search Result Pages

When you conduct a branded search on Google, i.e. “Today’s Orthodontics, Canton”, you will see a box on the right-hand side that provides information about the business from the Google My Business listings.

You are also shown ratings and reviews that now (since the most recent updates) show not only Google reviews, but also ratings from various third party sources around the web. You’ll likely see reviews suggested in the knowledge panel from places like Facebook, Yelp, and Healthgrades.

You might see reviews for your company from sites you haven’t even used! As a dentist, it’s important to manage your listings, especially on review sites where patients are talking about you. You’ll be mentioned on sites like Yelp whether you want to be or not, so make sure your practice is represented accurately.

Review sites aren’t just important for the feedback and ratings you receive. Google and other search engines provide weight to them that have an effect on your search rankings. It’s not just your 4.6-star rating they care about, either. Search engines look for consistency in your business information (name, address, phone number), photos of the practice, and the relative authority of the website itself.

What Dentists Need To Do

Now that we understand that Google is looking at a handful of specific sites for their reviews and ratings of your practice, what do we do with that information? We work with dentists and other health specialists all the time, and one of the most frequent problems we see is outdated or inconsistent information.

Which sites does Google think are important?

When you conduct a branded search for your practice, take note of several things. First, how does your Google My Business profile look? This page is a necessity, so it should be claimed and optimized.

When your business is displayed in the knowledge panel, what are the other review sites that Google displays? Those are also a very high priority. Google is suggesting that for your industry and location, those review sites might be the best places for a potential patient to check you out.

In addition to those, you will likely see even more sites populate the results page with ratings. These might be part of the basic requirements that we covered last month, but some will likely be different. Sites such as idoctorgoogle.com or Mapquest might not normally be priorities for you to optimize, but as they are already displaying on the first page of results for your practice, they have now become important. Make sure they are claimed and are in good shape.

This is Good News

If you’re on top of your online game, the recent Google updates (only one of which we discussed here) are great news. Less than half of dentists even have pages on Yelp, so for those of you who are managing your online reputation and actively seeking reviews from patients, this will only give you an even greater advantage in the local market place.

I’ll be the first to point out that managing reviews is more time consuming than you would think. Some pages will be hard to claim, while others might seem to be holding a listing hostage for money (looking at you, Yext).

Time and consistency will bear the plump fruit of this vine, leading to your practice having better visibility and an improved online reputation. If you’re finding it difficult, specialists in reviews and SEO can quickly get the ball moving for you.

~Brodie Tyler

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