the importance of online reviews for your practice

the importance of online reviews for your practice
17 June 2011 | | Internet, Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation

It is estimated that up to 35% of searches in the UK return local search results, and with the smartphone revolution well under way this figure is likely to increase. Local optimisation is very important to businesses such as dentists and here at Dental Design we offer a number of local SEO services which can help to increase your local rankings.

Our clients can, however, be proactive and help increase their rankings themselves by garnering online reviews for their dental practices. It is considered that online reviews are one of the most important ranking factors in local search. A practice can get reviews direct through google places or they can be indexed through 3rd party review sites such as Dentist Finder (www.dentistfinder.net)

What is Google Places?

Google Places is a directory which lists your dental practice’s name, address, contact details, a positional marker on the map and a link to your website. Google Places can be optimised with pictures, videos and  patient reviews.

To keep track of how your business listing is performing, Google includes a personalised dashboard within Google Places that shows visitor data, top search queries  and how many clicks through to your website.  Your Google Places business listing also allows patients to leave reviews along with an option for you to respond.

Google now displays an integrated (organic + Google Places) listing in the search results when a user searches with a local modifier (city/town location) so it is very important to optimise for both your website’s organic and Google Places listing. As mentioned above, online reviews are deemed one of the most important ranking factors when it comes to local search and there are 2 ways that you can acquire them; direct reviews through Google and reviews from 3rd party sites such as Dentist Finder.

What is Dentist Finder?

Dentist Finder (www.dentistfinder.net)  is a dental search directory that enables potential patients to find a dental practice in their local area and read reviews before booking an appointment. The Dentist Finder directory has on average over 10,000 unique visitors every month searching for dental practices, so we highly recommend that our clients claim their Practice listing in order for potential patients to contact them. By claiming your listing, you can upload your business description, images of the practice and most importantly have the ability to send out patient review requests. This is done through the admin area of the site – all you need to do is gather a patient’s email address and enter it into the system. Dentist Finder will then send out a patient review request to the email address you have entered. It is as simple as that! The system will also automatically send out a reminder a week later if the patient hasn’t responded.

If you can get your patients to leave direct reviews through your Google Places listing, the reviews will be indexed and show up immediately. However to leave a review, the user my first sign in and create a google account which can be time consuming. The advantage of using dentist finder to increase online reviews of your practice is that no sign up is needed and that you can target patients who would be willing to leave a positive review.

 

 

 

More posts from our team


Previous Post:
Next Post:

Back to all news

Reviews2024
Five Star
Reviewed Marketing
5 gold stars
google review logofacebook review with 5 stars
"Excellent service from James at Dental Design, thank you very much for your prompt attention whenever I get in touch! Would definitely recommend to a friend" Alison Tarmey View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Would definitely recommend to a friend"
5 gold stars
"As a dental practice manager I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough. They are just brilliant at what they do. Lucy and her colleagues are just an email or a phone call away...." Emma Smith View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough"
5 gold stars
"Really great company to deal with. They always respond quickly and are truly reliable. I would 100% recommend, the staff are so friendly and helpful." Michelle Molloy View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Really great company to deal with"
5 gold stars
"I got increased traffic and new patients applying to my surgery, once Dental Design upgraded my website. They are very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations..." Joanna Gallop View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations"
5 gold stars
"Lucy has been a star, responding to and acting upon our requests in a prompt, efficient and professional manner, as well as the rest of the Dental Design team..." Abhay Shah View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "I cannot recommend them highly enough"
5 gold stars
"...Since the website has been up and running Lucy Mander has been our point of contact. She has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us, especially during COVID-19 lockdown... " Lucy Jones View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us"
5 gold stars
"Thank you for all your help and support, and the provision of valuable learning aids for our patients and staff alike in these difficult times. We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!" Sandra Luck View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!"
5 gold stars
"Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism and can-do attitude. All of their staff are exceptionally competent and knowledgeable..." Harvey Rook View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism"
5 gold stars
"Having done extensive research into all the dental website companies, the team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled..." Neil Shah View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "The team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled"
5 gold stars
"The team at dental design (especially Rosie) are absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help. They are professional, friendly and extremely efficient. Rosie always gets back..." KiKi Wilmot View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help"
5 gold stars
"Dental Design are fantastic to work with, our website is amazing and the support they provide is second to none. Our account manager Rosie L is a fabulous point..." Luke Lucas View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "Dental Design are fantastic to work with"
5 gold stars
"Having worked with the Dental Design team for the last six months, I've found them not only helpful, but friendly and approachable too. I bombard Marcus with regular..." Sophie Harper View Full Testimonial
Google reviews logo "always met with a swift and professional response"
5 gold stars
desk with branded documents