A New (Old) Way to Review Your Dental Practice on Google

 
Lots of changes have taken place of late in the dentist local search for new patients space.

From a newly minted Google Maps to recently added structured data attributes, there are some simple and some not so simple local dental seo ways to separate yourself from the competition when someone in your area goes on the local search for a dentist.

We’ll get to the maps and reviews in a second, but here’s what Google has to say about highlighting your local dental practice data…

You can use Data Highlighter to tag data about your business, such as its name, address, customer reviews, and ratings. Then Google can present your data more attractively — and in new ways — in search results and in other products.

Now call your dental website provider and make sure they are taking advantage of every single snippet of your dentist office local new patient grabbing data.
 

 

How Have Reviews for Dentists Changed on Google Maps?

 

If your dental practice is at all concerned with how many reviews your Google My Business listing(s) communicate to potential new patients in your local area, now is your time to be a star!

Remember back when Google bought Zagat and changed their review system to Zagat’s 30 point scale?

Well, Google has now gone back to the old 5 Star rating system for local businesses – sort of.

In their blog post about local business getting a new rating system, Google goes on to mention that…

Users who opt-in to the new Google Maps will now rate businesses on a scale that ranges from one to five stars. The system maintains the precision of the former 30 point scale while improving the readability and accessibility of the business listings.

Your customers will be able to find up-to-date, accurate information on your business faster than ever. As a business owner, you’ll notice that past ratings have been mapped to the five-star system.

These updates will continue to roll out on Google Maps, Google Maps for Mobile, Google search results and Googl My Business in upcoming months. Zagat reviews are still available throughout Google, and you’ll continue to see Zagat throughout Google products with editorial reviews and curated lists awarded to notable places.
 

So How Many Reviews Does It Take to Get to the Top of the Google Local Rankings?

 
Who knows…don’t worry about it and continue to organically & systematically pursue patient reviews on Google AND sites like Manta, Vitals.com, RateADentist, AngiesList, MerchantCircle, Local.com, or a couple hundred others.

But you must crawl before you walk grasshopper, in order to get reviews of your dental practice to even show up on your Google My Business listing you NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST 5 REVIEWS.

So maybe no number of reviews requirement, but there is somewhat of a magic number when it comes to a minimum requirement of Google even making your reviews visible when someone in your area goes on the local search for a dentist.

More changes on Google, local seo, and social dental media to come…but first make sure your patient reviews are making it past the Google spam filter.

Do You Find Your Dental Practice Reviews Not Showing Up on Google?

Download our FREE Google Reviews Checklist to make sure you aren’t violating any Google terms in the way you collect, promote, or publish local dentist reviews.
 

Want More Google Reviews? Grab This Toolkit