9 Ways To Get More Google Reviews For Your Dental Practice

Practice Management

Google reviews are extremely beneficial for many dental practices because they increase the visibility of their dental office and help attract new patients. Positive reviews can help to build trust and credibility with potential patients, making it more likely that they will choose your practice over others in the area. Additionally, reviews provide valuable feedback for the practice, allowing the dental team to identify areas for improvement and address any concerns that patients may have.

Reviews from patients can show the level of care, professionalism and overall experience of the office. It can also increase your dental SEO and make your practice more visible in Google search results when people search for dental services.

Make Sure Your Google Business Profile Is Set Up Correctly!

First, you need to make sure your Google Business Profile (formally Google my business) is set up. Google Business Profile is a free tool provided by Google to help local businesses manage their online presence. When a dental office creates a Google business page, it provides relevant information about the dental practice such as its name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and types of dental procedures or services offered. This information is then displayed on Google Maps and in search results when people search for related businesses in the area.

A Google Business Profile makes it easier for prospective patients to find dental practices and read reviews. Personal recommendations and good reviews are powerful when attracting new dental patients. Additionally, businesses can also post updates, images and respond to customer reviews, making it an effective way to manage online reputation and your online presence.

9 Ways To Get More Google Reviews For Your Dental Practice

Finding a way to get more google reviews is challenging. Google is too powerful of a review site to miss out on. So here are several ways to encourage your dental patients to leave a quality review about your dental practice on Google:

1) Ask Them Directly

Is it awkward, yes. Is it worth it, YES! When asking a patient for a Google review, it is best to wait until after their appointment when they are most satisfied with the care they received. You can ask them directly, during their patient appointment, while they are in the office, or you can follow-up with them via email or phone call afterwards. It is important to provide clear instructions on how to leave a review, such as providing a link to your Google listing, and to make sure they understand that their feedback is appreciated. You can let them know that reviews can help other people find your practice, and also help you to make improvements to the service. Additionally, you can remind them that reviews are a great way to support small businesses like yours.

2. Make It Easy

Making it easy for dental patients to leave a Google review involves providing clear and concise instructions, and providing easy access to the review page. You can include a link to your Google listing in your email signature and on your dental practice website, so that patients can easily find it.

Additionally, you can create a QR code that links to your Google review link listing and place it in your office waiting room or in the reception area. You can also use in-house computer or tablet so patients can leave their reviews in-person. Another way to make it easy is to include the link to leave a review in any post-appointment emails, follow-up call or text message you send to patients, making it easy for them to leave feedback right away.

3. Keep Reminding Them

People forget or they are busy, sometimes they need a little nudge to get the ball rolling! Here are a few different ways you can remind dental patients to leave Google reviews:

  1. Email: Send an email to patients after their appointment, thanking them for coming in and asking them to leave a review. Make sure to include a link to your Google Business listing in the email.
  2. Text message: Send a text message to patients with a link to your Google Business listing, asking them to leave a review.
  3. In-office: Display a sign in your office asking patients to leave a review on Google. You could also provide a handout or brochure with instructions on how to leave a review.
  4. On the phone: When following up with patients over the phone, take a moment to ask them to leave a review on Google.
  5. Surveys: If you are using a practice management software that allows for patient surveys, you can include a question about whether they have or will leave a review of your business on Google.

Also, you should check your Google Business Profile listing to make sure that you are verified, so that you are able to respond to the reviews left by your patients.

4. Do NOT Incentivize Positive Online Reviews

Google's terms of service strictly prohibit offering incentives in exchange for patient reviews. Offering incentives can lead to a violation of Google's policies and your business listing could be penalized or suspended.

It's important to keep in mind that reviews should reflect the honest opinions of customers. Offering incentives for positive reviews can lead to fake or biased reviews, which can ultimately damage your reputation and mislead potential customers.

Additionally, you should avoid asking only satisfied patients to leave a review, and always remind patients that you welcome all feedback, whether its a positive or negative review.

5. Respond To Every Google Review

When responding to online reviews, it's important to be prompt, professional, and empathetic. Start by thanking the reviewer for their feedback and take the time to read their comment carefully. For negative reviews, address any specific issues or concerns they may have mentioned in their review and apologize if appropriate.

For a positive review, express your appreciation and thank them for choosing your dental practice. In either case, invite the customer to contact you directly to discuss their experience further and try to resolve any issues they may have had. End your response by thanking the customer again for their feedback and let them know that you value their input. Remember to keep your responses short and to the point, it's important to be respectful and professional.

6. Put The Google Review Link In Your Waiting Room

They are just sitting there waiting.... put it right in front of them! Here some benefits why you might want to put a QR code for online review link in your waiting room:

  1. Convenience: By providing a QR code for online reviews, you make it easy for patients to leave a review while they're still in your office. This can increase the likelihood that they'll take the time to leave a review, as they're already thinking about their visit to your office.
  2. Timely feedback: You'll be able to receive feedback from patients soon after their visit, while their experience is still fresh in their minds. This can help you quickly identify and address any issues that may have come up during their visit.
  3. Increased visibility: Having a QR code for online reviews in your waiting room can help increase the visibility of your business on review sites like Google, which can help attract new patients and improve your search engine rankings.
  4. Showing you care: By providing a QR code, you are showing that you care about your patients' feedback, and you are actively looking for ways to improve your services.
  5. Better Reputation: Gathering positive reviews will help you establish and maintain a good reputation among your patients and potential patients, which can help attract new patients, and create loyal ones.

7. Get A Review Collection Software

There are various software options available for collecting Google reviews for a dental office. Some popular choices include BirdEye, Podium, and Grade.us.

These software tools allow dental offices to easily request reviews and track reviews from patients, as well as manage their online reputation across multiple review sites, including Google. They typically include features such as automated review requests via email or text message, the ability to respond to reviews directly from the software, and analytics to track review performance over time. Some of them may also include the integration with the practice management software, where reviews can be captured right after the appointment. It would be best to research different options to find the one that best meets the needs of your specific dental office.

Making review requests a part of the patient experience with review software makes collecting more reviews for your dental practice much easier and automated.

8. Use Social Media To Collect Online Reviews

There are several ways to use social media to get more dental practice reviews for a dental office:

  1. Create a strong social media presence: Establish a presence on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and post regular updates about your practice. This will help keep patients informed about your services and make it easy for them to find you online.
  2. Encourage patients to leave reviews: Let your patients know that you have a presence on review sites and ask them to leave their feedback. You can do this by including links to your review pages on your website, including them in your email signature or on your business cards.
  3. Share positive reviews: Share positive reviews that you receive on your social media pages and dental website. This will not only show potential patients that you have happy customers, but it may also encourage other patients to leave reviews.
  4. Respond to reviews: Make sure to respond to all reviews, whether they are positive or negative. Responding to bad reviews will show potential patients that you care about what they have to say and that you take their feedback seriously.
  5. Run social media campaigns: Run social media campaigns that encourage patients to leave reviews.
  6. Utilize hashtags: Use relevant hashtags when posting about your practice on social media. This will make it easier for patients to find your posts and reviews.

9. Give Your Patients A Call

Yup you can always call your patients and ask for a google review. You can call to check in on them after their appointment. During that call, you can ask them if they are satisfied with the care they received and if they would be willing to leave a review. Keep in mind that it's important to follow Google's guidelines for reviews, which prohibit offering incentives in exchange for reviews or asking patients to leave only positive reviews. It is important to keep your reviews organic and unbiased!

Do Dental Practices Even Need Google Reviews?

Online reviews can be a powerful tool for encouraging potential customers to seek out dental services. Happy patients make more happy patients!Here are a few ways in which reviews can help:

First, online reviews provide potential customers with valuable information about the quality of a dental practice's services. By reading reviews from other patients, prospective customers can get a sense of what to expect in terms of the level of care, the professionalism of the staff, and the overall experience of visiting the practice. This information can help potential customers make informed decisions about whether or not to schedule an appointment.

Second, online reviews can serve as social proof, which can help to build trust in a dental practice. When potential customers see that other people have had positive experiences with your dental practice, they are more likely to believe that they, too, will have a positive experience. This can be especially important for people who are anxious about going to the dentist, as reviews can provide reassurance that they will be in good hands.

Finally, reading reviews can also give potential customers a sense of the practice’s values and approach to care which can align with their own. If a potential customer sees that a practice prioritizes certain areas of care such as children’s dentistry, orthodontics or Emergency dental care, they may be more inclined to make an appointment with that practice. It also can also give them a sense of the practice’s range of services which they may not have been aware of before.

How To Get Google Reviews For Dental Office

Getting more google reviews is hard work, but worth it. Online reviews can provide potential customers with valuable information about the quality of a dental practice's services, build trust in the practice, and give them a sense of the practice’s values, approach to care and the range of services they offer. All these factors can contribute to a customer choosing a specific practice over another.

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Zach Westerhoff

Zach Westerhoff

Co-founder & Head of Product

Zach Westerhoff is a dental marketing expert. Join Zach and over 5,000 dentists to learn how to scale your dental business like a tech startup. Zach managed digital marketing teams & campaigns for large SaaS companies and retail giants. As co-founder of teethtalk ads, his goal is to help dentists advertise their practice to patients looking for treatment.

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