Word of mouth has long been the best advertising. Nothing speaks to the high standards of a business than a positive recommendation from someone who has first-hand experience with them. Nowadays, word of mouth still exists but has taken on a new form - online reviews. People are looking to online reviews more and more. Platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor and FourSquare are playing a huge role in most people’s decision-making process. And for local businesses Google Places is the game-changer.

If your dental practice gets positive reviews, it can lead to increased traffic to your website and more patients coming through your doors. There are a number of things you can do to help you gain more reviews of your practice and improve your visibility in the Google local rankings for your area.

Online Presence

Having a local presence online is hugely important for your business. Your website should already have information such as your opening hours, contact information and your address, as well as information about your dental practice. If you are missing any of this information go and include it now before moving onto the next step.

Claim Your Location

To improve your ranking in the Google Local listings it’s critical that you show the location of your dental practice on Google Maps. Your contact page is a great place to embed a map showing your location or alternatively you can include it on the sidebar or the footer of your website so it is easy for patients to find.

To claim your dental practices location, add your address to http://google.com/business. As soon as you confirm the location, your dental practice will show up on Google Maps.

Get Reviews

In order for your dental practice to start showing in the local search results, you need you need to start gathering positive reviews. The reviews should be made at your Google Places listing and there are a number of different ways you can get these reviews.

1. Ask
   The easiest and most straightforward way of gaining more positive reviews of your practice is to simply ask your patients. Your receptionist can ask patients as they leave or the dentist themselves can ask as they say goodbye after treatment has been completed. Be polite and don’t be pushy, that’s a surefire way of getting yourself a negative review.

2. Signage
   Putting signs up in the clinic is another great way of encouraging patients to leave a review. A small poster with bright colors works best and make sure to include a link to the review website. Keep the message short and friendly.

3. Business cards
   On the back of your business cards, why not include a request for a review. If you hand out appointment cards this is another great location to ask patients for a review.

Getting your business into the local search results is crucial in driving more traffic to your website and getting more patients in the door. With a few simple changes you can encourage your existing patients to leave a positive review so you can start ranking faster and grow your dental practice.