Many doctors have received emails about their online reputation from reputation management companies seeking their business, and get very upset with the results shown. If you've received a "report card" or scores from a reputation management company that shows you have failing "grades", its time for you to go back to school and learn a few lessons. Search for your name while sitting in your office and check the following:
1. Directory Listings vs What Patients See - Many report card generators scan known websites for any mention of your name and address. While this seems like a good way to keep on top of your presence, one critical factor is left out: your patients may never see many of these websites. Just because you're on a list doesn't mean it shows up in patient search results. The results you see most often include Healthgrades, Vitals, RateMDs, Ucomparehealthcare.com and Yelp. Google prefers well established sites and thats what gets the top ranking. Whatever you see on your results is what you need to worry about, not directories none of your patients will ever see.
2. Localization Affects What is Seen - Most results you see when searching are localized. Search for your name and title in Google and click the "Search Tools" link that displays just below the search box. You'll notice it shows your town. Google knows where you are and only displays those results relevant to where you are. In the case of review sites, Google (and Bing) tend to display top tier review sites within your area. In larger metropolitan areas, you'll see Yelp. In smaller cities you won't. Healthgrades and Vitals almost always make the cut for page one, but many directories found on report cards won't ever see page one, and your patients will most likely not see them either. Focus on improving the top tier sites that show up for your area.
3. Position Matters - Studies indicate the number 1 link gets 32.5 percent of clicks. Number 2 gets 17.6 percent, and Number 3 gets 11.4%. Every link past number three is single digits. If your website appears in the first three slots, your chances of clicks to review sites lower, but don't vanish. Patients do visit review sites, but the further down the page you push those sites, the lower the clicks. Focus on two factors: get your own pages and sites showing up in the top three results and focus on getting ranked on third party sites that show up on first page. You'll improve traffic to your website and reduce visits to rating directories. Especially if you provide reviews and testimonials of your own!
4. Star Results Change Constantly - If you look at the Google results for your name right now, as of this article's publication date, you won't see any stars for Vitals, Ucomparehealthcare, or RateMDs. These directories are not providing data in the format Google wants it, and Google, as well as Bing, punishes them by removing those pretty gold stars. These stars are a visual indicator to a patient and encourages them to see results at a glance, and to click through for more details. Healthgrades, Yelp, and ZocDoc consistently provide data the right way, and Google rewards them by displaying them first. The other rating directories will eventually get their data fixed again, and the stars will come back and the result positions will rise. But you can be assured they'll break again. You'll want to focus your reputation efforts on those quality sites that stay on top.
5. Change Drives Rank - Google search results are all about change. If you focus on improving your website's SEO and add data driven testimonials, you'll see the pages rise. Search for Dr. Daniel Burval and Dr. Plas James to see their rankings. You'll see their web pages and star rankings are through the roof because they have focused on these two things. Healthgrades and other directories still show up, but the first stars you see are their own websites. Because they actively add ranked testimonials to their websites, Google sees this change and rewards them with top positions. Healthgrades is the number one doctor rating site, but Google and Bing see your website as the number one resource about you - but only if you take the time to work on it.
Report cards and score cards give you a heads up about your online reputation, but you must look at it in context with your location and your website strategy. Identify your top directories that show up in your area for your results, then ask your patients to leave ratings on those directories.
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