The significance of online reviews in Healthcare Marketing
Online reviews are the new “word of mouth” in the healthcare marketing sector. Online reviews play a vital role in shaping the patient’s opinion about a healthcare facility and also their decision to visit your healthcare practice.
In this digital age, patients rely heavily on online reviews as much as personal recommendations. A majority of the lot even book an appointment online based on online reviews.
According to research stats:
68 % of patients form an opinion by reading just 1-6 reviews
74 % say that positive reviews help assert their belief in a local business.
60 % of patients expressed their disbelief on any medical service which has negative reviews
Reviews can prove out to be both– beneficial or harmful. As they can help you to acquire new patients — or cause you to lose them. The result you may reap from online reviews depends on your approach towards the same.
Why are online reviews important in healthcare marketing?
Online reviews don’t only help acquire new patients and shape the reputation of a healthcare provider but also impact your local search ranking.
The ranking of your website within the search engine result pages (SERP) matters. This is so because approximately 75 % of users click the primary 10 Google organic results (i.e. those on Page 1), according to experts.
Although Google never shares the exact algorithm they use to rank websites in search results in order to keep things fair and spam-free when it’s about local ranking, Google has always been open about the three primary factors it uses for ranking, these are:
- relevance
- distance (or proximity)
- prominence
Google depends on your online reputation — specifically, patient reviews — as a major factor to measure how prominent your business is. Review count and score are factored into local search ranking which means more reviews and positive ratings will improve a business’s local ranking.
Most healthcare providers lack the time to micromanage every segment of their business. Online reviews also do that for you as they give you an insight into your own organization. For example- if something or someone isn’t working well, you’ll hear about it through an online review.
Online patient reviews also help to determine What keywords do the patients use to reach your services? Do they match your marketing?
Now since the advantages and usage of online reviews are quite evident it’s up to you to make the best out of them.
Still here? We understand. After all, it’s about your online reputation and the influx of new patients. Also, managing the negative reviews or just the general reviews can be worrisome since you need the right type of expertise at the right place.
But wait, here’s the good news, you can shed off all your worries as we’re here only for you.
We are an Integrated Healthcare Marketing Agency with an expert Creative, Content, Digital & Client Servicing team that specializes in Healthcare & Life Sciences. We understand the importance your patients have in your life and hence care for them by caring for you with the right BHAAV.