Dentists Looking To Gain More Online Reviews (the right way) Use Google+ Local…& More!
Dentists from Tuscaloosa to Timbuktu are rejoicing over today’s roll out of the new Google+ Local reviews widget as part of their Google Places for Business dashboard.
This is big for dentists (and all local small businesses), like bigger than the organic search results silently subtly shifting to paid real estate, bigger than the announcement of Google+ Business pages, and bigger than Google buying Zagat a couple of years back.
Take Google’s word for it…Today, we’re introducing Reviews in Google Places for Business. Now you can learn what your customers are saying about your business on Google and across the web, in one place. If you have a verified business listing, you will now see your customer ratings and reviews in the easy-to-use review inbox.
What Are The Google+ Local Reviews Highlights For Dentists?
Having the reviews widget in the Google Places for Business dashboard affords dental practice owners a way to see how patients are reviewing their dental office not only on Google+ Local…but also across the ENTIRE web.
Dentists with verified Google+ Local listings can:
- Read reviews for your dental practice from around the web
- Respond to reviews from Google users
- Check reviews analytics to get an overview on how and where your local dental practice social ambassadors are evaluating your practice
To get started, login to your business listing dashboard, click your practice listing(s) you’d like to manage, and choose ‘Reviews‘ from the left hand navigation menu.
You’ll see a Reviews inbox listing any reviews Google users have left for your dental practice as well as a compilation of snippets of reviews written about your dental practice. Learn more about how Google compiles these reviews about you and your practice.
Dentists Check Your Reviews From Around The Web
Your new Reviews inbox will display a list of all of the reviews your dental practice has received on Google – and snippets of reviews taken from elsewhere around the web.
In order the read the complete review, simply click on it – and if the review is just a snippet from some other website out there where people leave reviews about their dentists, you’ll get automatically zoomed to that site where your review originally appeared.
Tip: If you believe a Google review violates the posting guidelines, dentist can use the Flag as inappropriate link from the actual business listing. (don’t try to abuse the system to dog out your dental competition…Google will find out, and could penalize YOU)
How Should Dentists Respond To Online Reviews?
You can now respond to your Google reviews right in the text box that appears beneath the full Google review. This has existed since one of the last Places for Business updates, but it’s now even more of a time saver.
Engaging with the actual people who are kind (or not so much) enough to leave you active feedback is a great way for dentists to learn about your patients, what they think about your practice, and to gain more digital word of mouth referrals.
Note: When dentists reply to a review on their Google listing, just remember that you’ll be posting as your dental practice Google+ Local page when you reply to reviews, and that your reply will be posted publicly. According to Google, replies to reviews may also not appear immediately on your business’s Google+ Page.
Dentists responding to online reviews allows your practice to build relationships with existing patients…and beyond, the reviews (and your replies) are also public. It’s a good idea for dentists that reply to online reviews to keep the following guidelines in mind:
- Be nice and don’t get personal. This isn’t just a guideline–it’s also a good idea as a local business owner. It’s difficult to win an argument with a frustrated patient or parent, and you want to avoid burning bridges. Keep your responses useful, readable, and courteous. In addition, responses should comply with Google’s local content policy.
- Keep it short and sweet. Users are looking for useful and genuine responses, but they can easily be overwhelmed by a long response.
- Thank your reviewers (you can say that again!). Respond to happy reviewers when you have new or relevant information to share. You don’t need to thank every reviewer publicly, since each response reaches lots of people in, around, and searching in or for your surrounding area, not just the one person that left the review about your stellar dental work.
- Be a friend, not a salesperson. Your reviewers are already patients, so there’s no need to offer incentives or advertisements. Tell reviewers something new about your practice or share some additional information of interest to them…or your surrounding local community.
Do you think Google’s new reviews widget will help your dental practice get (and respond to) more online reviews?
Grab a copy of our FREE Google+ Local for Dentists ebook if you’re looking for some game-changing insights including:
- How dentists can use Google+ Local to capture more online reviews…the right way!
- The magic number of reviews needed to get those eye-catching “Gold Star” ratings.
- The 3 most important RANKING factors to boost your dental practice Google+ Local listings above the competition.
