Your current and prospective patients are talking and reading about your practice online, and the information out there about you is critical for the future of your business. Google, in it\u2019s ongoing effort to enhance the user experience, has optimized patient searches by placing online reviews for practices at the top of the search results page. There is no doubt that online reputation matters – even for medical practices that have been providing essential health services for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2017 Local Consumer Survey published by BrightLocal, a firm specializing in SEO tools and online monitoring for small businesses, found that 97% of consumers read online reviews for businesses everyday. Drilling down further, 12% of those consumers report reading online reviews every day. The same report found that 73% of consumers say they are more likely to trust a business when they\u2019ve read a positive review for it. <\/span> Patients who have had negative experiences are more likely to take to the internet to air their opinions. To ensure the content online about your practice is comprised of more approvals than grievances, you\u2019ll need to make an effort to promote positive experiences so patients take the time to write positive reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this considered, it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that recent research suggests positive reviews have an effect on revenue. A study on Yelp reviews<\/a> managed by Harvard Professor Michael Luca found that, where Yelp reviews penetrated local markets, people opted for local options with better reviews over well-known chain restaurants. This, he says, is a good sign for small medical practices vis a vis large health systems and national chain minute clinics. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Increasing the number of positive online reviews can help attract new patients to your medical practice, which translates to an increase in revenue. Even one additional star on a Yelp review can translate to a revenue increase of as much as 9%. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health care is a deeply personal experience for many, so data on patient utilization of online reviews is even more profound. One study<\/a>, co-researched by Google and Compete Inc., surveyed more than 500 hospital researchers to try and determine what influences people when they select a hospital and to what degree digital plays a role. They found the following:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Online Reputation Matters: Revenue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Improving Online Reputation: Social Media<\/h2>\n\n\n\n