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The landscape of online consumerism continually changes, and it can be challenging to keep up. Your education, skills, and techniques may set you apart from other competitors, but potential clients want to feel confident that you are the best choice to perform their plastic surgery.
The technicalities of your practice are often pushed aside when it comes to what your previous patients are saying about you and your practice.
Plastic Surgery Studios contributed to an article in the Aesthetic Society News Spring 2018 Edition (page 95) exploring how utilizing patient testimonials can improve website traffic.
Utilizing Patient Testimonials to Improve Website Traffic
Potential plastic surgery patients want to know they are choosing the best plastic surgeon to care for their specific needs.
One of the best ways to be sure of that is to highlight the experiences of previous patients. Online, a patient’s testimonial or review can be just as beneficial as a best friend’s recommendation.
Why Do Reviews Matter?
Studies conducted by BrightLocal show that over 90 percent of consumers read customer reviews when searching for businesses. Out of the people surveyed, 85 percent of them stated that they trust online reviews just as much as a friend’s recommendation. 49 percent of those people said they would not choose a business with less than a four-star rating.
Through these studies, it is evident that poor online reviews can be detrimental to your business.
On the other hand, positive reviews can positively impact your business’s visibility on search engines. It is important to appear favorably online to increase your chances of appearing in Google’s SERP (search engine results page).
To learn more about ranking on Google, check out our guide to Google’s local “3-Pack” of SEO Fundamentals.
Patient Testimonials vs. Reviews
Patient reviews are different from patient testimonials. Patient testimonials are often given to you directly by your patients, and you can post them on your website.
Reviews are left on platforms such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, and RealSelf.
Both patient testimonials and patient reviews are crucial to your business, but Google My Business (GMB) reviews are displayed and extremely important in maximizing SEO.
Do Testimonials and Reviews Impact Click-Through Rates?
A study conducted by BrightLocal showed that reviews have a significant impact on click-through rate. Businesses with higher ratings have significantly higher click-through rates than businesses with low ratings. Additionally, businesses with no ratings at all have higher click-through rates than businesses with low ratings.
In this case, it is better to have no reviews than poor ones.
Monitoring Your Online Reputation
As with any business, not every review you receive is going to be positive. Some people will never be satisfied with a service; others only choose to leave negative reviews. Thankfully, Google is working to improve programs that identify spam or fake reviews.
As a business owner, you should be checking your online reviews periodically. When you come across a negative review from an actual patient, you can reach out to them to understand why he or she had a poor experience and find out how you can correct the issue.
Feeling heard and understood may prompt the patient to change or alter their review. However, even if they are not going to change their review, you had the opportunity to hear a patient’s concern and maybe even make changes to avoid a review like that in the future.
Optimize Your Web Presence With Plastic Surgery Studios
You may feel that you do not have time to monitor your web presence constantly. To save time, consider hiring a reputable outside company to do the monitoring for you.
Plastic Surgery Studios can help. If you are interested in learning more about how you can optimize your web presence, please give us a call at (888) 525-6360 or send us a message.
