We all know that online reviews are important. According to Moz, reviews on your Google Business Listing are the 3rd largest factor contributing to the local pack (maps) position. So, by building up reviews over time, you can receive a boost to your overall visibility within the maps.
Going further than this, Local SEO Guide found that receiving reviews that include the keyword within the content is the 2nd largest ranking factor, with the 1st most important being your existing positions within the organic results. This means that the content of your review can impact your position for specific treatment terms you’d like to rank for. So, for example, if your practice Google Business Listing receives reviews specifically for dental implants, it could give a boost to your postition for dental implant searches within your area. The same goes for other treatments and even for location terms.
Google is using review content to find as much information as possible about your business and the topics your business relates to. When Google reads reviews that specifically speak about a treatment, they learn that your practice is a provider of this treatment and in turn boost your visibility for it in the local area.
To try and enourage patients to leave a review which includes a specific keyword, prompt them to think about the treatment they received. Wether you are asking your patients in person, or via email, think about you can mention the following questiong to give ideas for the review. For example:
This will encourage them to leave a more detailed review for the practice, increasing the likelyhood of keywords being included.
Recent studies suggest that online reviews and thier content are becoming more important than other off-site factors such as citations and links for local rankings. Therefore it’s more important than ever to incorportate review building into your practice online marketing strategy.
