Did you know your *STARS* won’t be seen in local search unless you have 5+ Google reviews?
Here is a crystal clear reason why you need to collect online reviews from your clients on Google! If a potential client performs a local search on Google (“Chiropractor” + your city), the top of the results page will include a small map with three business listings. Many refer to this limited map section as the “local pack”.
It may go without saying, but we’ll say it anyways… You want your practice to appear in the local pack!
By appearing in the local pack, your business listing stands out. It is visible before any of the organic search results. Also, within the “local pack" results, Google displays details about the three listed businesses. These details include the business name, phone number, address, hours, online review rating, and quick links for the website and directions.
One can argue that the online review rating is the most important component of the displayed information. The displayed rating is the first impression a potential client has of your practice and of your top competitors!
Now, you need to know that your chiropractic office might not immediately appear in the local pack. On top of that, even if your office does appear in the local pack, your listing may not include your star rating. Now that you know this, you need to set two goals for yourself.
Two Seemingly Simple Local Marketing Goals for Chiropractic Online Google Review Building
- Rank in the top 3 results in local search
- Display review rating in local search result
How to Get More Five-Star Online Google Reviews on Google for Your Chiropractic Practice
When it comes to improving your ranking on search engines like Google, you have to remember that there are hundreds of factors that are considered when deciding what results to display and in what order. On top of that, Google and others keep the details about their search algorithms a secret. Even though many details remain a secret, it is fairly easy to figure out that Google prefers to display local businesses with high quantities of positive reviews from trustworthy sources.
So, if you want to accomplish the two goals above, then you need to focus on getting more five star reviews; Starting with reviews on Google.
Get Five Google Reviews ASAP
You’re initial step in improving your odds of standing out on Google local search results are to get five online reviews on your Google My Business profile. Even if your chiropractic business appears in the first three local results, if you have less than five Google reviews, no stars will appear with your listing.
Keep this in mind: Five Google reviews is the price of entry, not the finish line.
Make It Easy to Get Five Star Google Reviews
Getting more positive online reviews might sound simple, but it requires a game plan. You need to be able to encourage your clients to submit reviews. It’s important to let your staff know about these goals and encourage patients as well. For example, you could choose to incentivize your clients as they leave their appointment, send them an email after their visit or both. Clearly having a very simple way for them to do this on your website is key.
Using a solution like our Chiropractic Online Review Building service provides you a single point of entry for every patient interested in writing an online review. You can direct all of your patients to your branded landing page where they are asked to rate your practice on a five-star scale. When a patient gives you a positive rating of four or five stars on this page, they are instantly provided links to your preferred review website(s).
How to Protect Your Chiropractic Business From Bad Google Reviews
With over 90% of potential clients trusting online reviews as much (or more) than personal referrals, you can’t afford to have an unhappy patient leave a negative online review. If you do get a bad review, take a deep breath, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll go over how to handle a bad online review in another post.
The absolute best solution for a negative online review is to prevent a negative online review. Thankfully there are tools, such as our Chiropractic Online Review Building service that makes it possible for you to recover an unhappy patient before they leave a negative review. In the case of our service, if a patient gives you a rating of three stars or lower, they get a form to provide feedback. Their contact details and comments remain private and are emailed to your inbox. With your personal touch, this can turn a negative review into a five-star review. We have many examples of doctors turning these potentially negative experiences into positive and prosperous relationships.
How to Show Off Your 5-Star Online Reviews
Don’t just count on your stars to shine on review sites. You should display them proudly on your own website. Whether you have a ChiroHosting N8 Chiropractic Website or use a different platform, you can automatically collect, filter, and display your online reviews. Part of our Chiropractic Online Review Building service includes the Review Stream. Review Stream automatically collects all of your online reviews, making it effortless to display your latest and greatest reviews. Reviews are added to your stream as soon as they are posted. And, they are filtered to only display your best, five-star reviews.
What To Do Next to Help Boost Your Chiropractic Business’ Local Search Ranking on Google
TAKE ACTION! Use our FREE Review Scan to see your online reviews from across the web. As we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, it can be overwhelming for you to manage your online reviews, social media, and other online marketing efforts. You should be doing what you do best… helping patients with chiropractic. If you feel like you’re spending more time worrying about your online marketing than you are helping patients, feel free to contact us to see if our services can help. have questions about our services and/or just want to ask us questions about how to DIY.
Schedule a 1-on-1 Call at a Convenient Time For You!
We’re not a pushy sales organization. We’re happy to simply answer your questions and perhaps offer you some tips. We are also extending you a Free Setup for Online Review Builder.
In next week’s blog, we will discuss the changes coming about with the discontinuation of Google Map Maker. Hint...anyone can edit your chiropractic business data. It's more important than ever to be vigilant about the management of you Google My Business listing.
Thanks!
ChiroHosting Team
