5 Ways to Repair Your Online Reputation
Every business receives a negative online review at some point, it’s inevitable. However, you need to understand how to mitigate the repercussions of negative reviews to ensure the online reputation that you worked so hard to build remains intact. Otherwise, you may engage too late and risk permanent damage to your business.
Here are five ways to repair your online reputation:
Search engine optimization, or SEO, relies on quality content, whether it’s user-generated or paid. The more high quality content your website produces, the higher Google and other search engines rank you on the results page for relevant keywords. However, you have to be generating content that targets those keywords and phrases.
For example, if you are an optometrist, you can create a blog that covers everything optometry, from common eye diseases to preventative eye care. This way, when someone searches optometry-related topics, such as “how to prevent glaucoma,” you are among the top links on the result page.
Social media is the perfect place to give your clients updates about your practice and interact with them both publicly and personally. Most social media platforms allow you to create business profiles, including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. A business profile enables you to check insights regarding user engagement, reach, and followers.
Plus, it gives your patients a place to leave reviews and a chance for you to showcase the best ones! This is critical, as Google will recognize social media reviews when people search for your business. So the more reviews, the better!
If you haven’t already, you need to claim a listing on all major healthcare directories, including Healthgrades, Vitals.com, and most importantly Google. Businesses and medical professionals have the unique ability to claim a Google My Business listing. This opportunity isn’t offered to everyone. The president, celebrities, and politicians are not allowed to claim a listing, but you can!
Google My Business is free and allows you to establish a profile that shows whenever someone searches for your business or related keywords. You should include all of your practice’s relevant information, including:
- Phone number
- Address
- Hours of operation
Google My Business also allows you to publish posts to inform viewers of any updates, such as special offers, new hours, and even rebrands!
If your reputation took a hit due to someone posting inappropriate, sensitive, or illegal content, you may be able to ask Google to take down the listing. Make sure to read up on Google’s current removal policies to see if you are eligible for removal. Also, if the original defamatory content was hosted on another website, be sure to contact them as well and ask them to remove it.
Last, but certainly not least, generate more patient reviews. You should have a revolving door of new patient reviews each week to ensure your reviews accurately reflect your current practice. Neglecting review generation, could result in lopsided ratings that showcase past negative reviews that no longer represent your brand.
The more reviews, the merrier, as it shows prospective patients that you are active and keep your current clients engaged.
Repairing a damaged online reputation most certainly doesn’t happen overnight. You need to consistently work to amend it through different avenues in order to counteract the damages. So, you must remain patient and dedicate hard work into genuinely improving your practice.
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