It appears that more and more patient reviews are disappearing from Google, Yelp, Citysearch and other review sites. So here’s the secrets to getting patient reviews to “stick.”
- Google and other review sites prefer accounts that are actually getting used… not just created for one time use like creating a review.
Google ain’t no dummy when it comes to seeing what companies are doing to get reviews. You can actually hire a “reputation management” company to write reviews about your practice. How’s that for honest and ethical?
The problem they run into is this… they create a dummy Google+ account for their “patient”… then they post a review. One of two things happens at this point:
#1 – The account never gets used again and lies dormant. Google sees that the account never gets used again so they recognize the review as spam.
#2 – The account gets used A LOT to post reviews about all kinds of businesses from all across the country (sadly… all across the globe). Now the account doesn’t just lie dormant like in #1. But let’s see what Google sees when that happens. Google thinks “WOW… John in Virginia reviewed a sandwich shop in Florida… a Chiropractor in North Dakota… a mechanic in Georgia… a CPA in California… and a (fill in the blank)”
I think you get the idea. Either John really loves to get out and travel to see these different companies… or this is someone creating reviews. Let’s remove all of the reviews and mark this account as spam in the future.
- Google doesn’t like to see the reviews coming from one IP
Even though Google has said in the past that it’s okay to have patients and consumers post reviews from one location such as your office during a visit… they are blocking more and more of these reviews.
It falls into the same category as #2 above. Even if different accounts are used Google still sees that they are coming from the same location and it looks like spam. It’s almost like someone is sitting at home writing reviews for this particular company. It just raises a red flag from Google.
You need to have your reviews coming from different IP’s. If you’re not familiar with IP… it’s simply the location you are accessing the internet from. When I’m at Starbucks I have a different ISP than when I’m at home. Each of your patients have their own IP at their house.
- Google doesn’t like to see a bunch of reviews for the same business come in all at once… and then never again.
This is a common problem I see. Ten reviews will get posted in a day or two and then nothing ever happens again. That doesn’t sit well with Google. Get reviews CONSTANTLY and CONSISTENTLY. Make it a part of your practice routine. That way even if some of them get removed you will have more coming shortly to replace them.
Like it or not… you have to play by Google’s rules if you want to play on their website. So here’s the secrets to getting reviews that “STICK” on Google and the other top review sites. Make sure they are coming from Google accounts that are used and “mature”. Make sure that the account is up to date by posting some photos and has some regular status updates. Make sure the reviews are coming from different IP’s. And make sure that they are coming in on a regular basis.
And stop calling it reputation “management”. In today’s world… it’s reputation MARKETING
Click Here to see the software my team uses to change IP addresses… stay anonymous with Google… and successfully post patient reviews online.
Contact me to have your reviews posted by my team. 80% stick.
