Patient experience has become an important piece for hospitals and clinics in the last few years. That’s not to say it hasn’t always been a focus, it’s just that the experience a patient has can now be broadcast to millions of potential patients through sites like Google, Yelp, Healthgrades, and rateMDs.com. RateMDs.com, alone, touts over 2 million reviews and they are just a fraction of the 4 collectively mentioned. To compound the impact, over 77% of consumers begin their search for health care online.
With that said, it’s safe to say that online reviews are here to stay for the healthcare industry. Therefore, medical professionals must ensure the hospital and/or practice harnesses any and every positive patient experience to share with the world through online reviews.
Improving Online Visibility
With a number like 77%, it’s obvious that your hospital or clinic must have online visibility, in a positive light. In fact, “>.
Where To Focus On Collecting Online Reviews
When it comes to collecting online reviews, every vertical is different. One thing across verticals that is the same is the need to focus on the big 3. The big 3 is made up of Google, Yelp, and Facebook. It is crucial to have these 3 part of your strategy for the following reasons:
- Google – reviews can impact online search at a local level. In theory, with increases in quality and quantity, a business can rank higher in the Google Maps search results.
- Yelp – Yelp is a popular review platform in Australia, especially for the food and hospitality industry. Many consumers rely heavily on Yelp reviews to make dining decisions. Ensuring positive reviews on Yelp can lead to increased customer trust and generate more business.
- Facebook – With over 20 million active users in Australia, Facebook is an essential platform to collect and showcase online reviews. Facebook reviews can help establish credibility and engage with customers, as well as attract potential customers who trust the opinions of others.
By focusing on these three platforms, businesses can build a strong online reputation and improve their visibility in local search results. To learn more about how to effectively collect and leverage online reviews for your business, watch a demo of our platform at https://www.podium.com.au/watch-demo/.
map pack. In addition, reviews are represented by gold stars, which can help increase click-through-rates (CTR).
Yelp – reviews from Yelp can also be displayed in Google local search results. Although Yelps reviews are not represented with stars within the map pack, they are represented as individual search results.Facebook – with nearly 890M daily active users, Facebook provides the opportunity for exposure. Although not generally seen in Google search results, business pages can be found on Facebook’s platform allowing for more visibility.Aside from the big 3, there are numerous vertical-specific sites for healthcare. A few of the most common are Healthgrades, RateMDs, and ZocDoc. It’s important to share positive patient experience on vertical-specific sites like these. They can be the first results to show up when someone searches a term like “doctor reviews”. If your hospital or clinic can be well rounded on various review sites, you’ll increase visibility.
Conclusion
Patient experience has become top of mind for the healthcare industry. It’s not that it wasn’t important before, it’s that the internet allows for good and bad words to travel. Turning a positive patient experience into an online review is a relatively inexpensive way to increase brand trust and online visibility. If one approaches online reviews correctly, they can acquire high-quality reviews on standard sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook while complementing those efforts with sites like Healthgrades, RateMds, and ZocDoc.
Lastly, it’s important to ensure you have reviews on multiple platforms in order to be visible for the various search paths consumers might take when searching out doctor or hospital reviews. With 77% of consumers starting their healthcare search online, it’s imperative for hospitals and clinics to take advantage of patient experience and collect online reviews.
