Google update showcases reviews from third party sites. How does this affect dentists?

Google recently updated its review search functions. Seems like the popular search engine changes things up all the time. It's important to be aware of these updates and how they help or hurt your dental practice reviews.

Google recently released an addition to the knowledge panel called “Reviews from the web.”(1) This is incredibly important because most dentists focus their strategy for reputational management on Google and Yelp.

What is “Reviews from the web”?

Your knowledge panel is a box that provides information about your business when potential patients search for your brand or services on Google. This information is controlled via your Google My Business account and pulled from various third party sources. Previously, only Google reviews were shown in this box, but moving forward, Google will pull ratings from various websites across a variety of verticals and will showcase up to three of these ratings. See the photo for an example.

How does this impact dentists?

Small and niche review sites will get more visibility for their reviews of your practice. Many of these review sites automatically create profiles for different businesses, which means there are reviews out there that you haven’t managed. Healthgrades and other dental directories are important to keep an eye on because they also hold a high authority in this industry, and can be seen as more influential compared to Facebook.

How can you stay ahead?

• You can start by searching for your practice on Google to see if they have started pulling reviews from third parties.

• Scour the web for websites with reviews of your practice, and claim profiles with multiple reviews.

• If a specific website has multiple bad reviews, promote getting more good reviews on these sites in an attempt to boost your overall rating and dilute the negative reviews.

• Take it to the next level by using a reputational management system such as BrightLocal, which automatically pulls your review information from 20 different websites. They also offer a free 30-day trial, which is useful if you want a quick snapshot.

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Alex Lopez is a search engine marketing specialist at Big Buzz Inc., a full-service dental marketing agency. He manages over $150,000 in yearly online advertising for leading dentists across the nation. Discover what marketing can do for your practice with a complimentary consultation at bigbuzzinc.com/contact-us.

References
1.Sterling G. Google adds “reviews from the web” to critic reviews in local search results. Channel: Local. http://searchengineland.com/google-adds-reviews-web-critic-reviews-local-search-results-258315. Accessed September 13, 2016.