Your online reputation is much more than just reviews. Yellow Pages, Google, Yahoo, Yelp and so on – the web is full of such listing platforms that provide vital information including your practice name, address, practice number, specialization, hours, website information and more. If your patients/potential patients try finding you there, these should reflect your accurate details.
Why are your online business listings important?
It’s needless to state the importance of Internet in healthcare today. It can be accurately described as a new warehouse of healthcare information and online business listings often serve as the front door to patients looking for physicians, surgeons, dentists and physiotherapists. But unfortunately, websites listing businesses online like Google, Google Local, Yelp, YellowPages, etc. pull out information from databases that are usually laden with errors. Incorrect or incomplete information in these listings can prove detrimental to your practice as increasing numbers of people are referring to them to find the best practitioner. If you still haven’t chosen to put efforts to update your practice information, chances are quite high that either you will be losing potential patients who search for you by your name/practice or they can be misled by incorrect information. Another important reason to keep the listings updated is that the physician profiles from these are pulled out to numerous other medical sites and sources that witness a high volume of traffic of people looking for healthcare services. Of these, there can be many potential patients looking for your specialty and area of expertise. By not showcasing your medical experience, treatment options offered at your practice, professional associations and board certifications, you’ll not only lose out on potential patients but also stand a close chance of losing these patients to your competitors.
The fix
Claim your online listings
Well, claiming and managing all of your online listings can definitely be a lot of work, but then there is no gain without any pain. It’s going to be well worth the effort as these sites often create the first impression a potential patient has about your practice.
The easiest and fastest way to find out where you are listed on the Internet is to run a Google search by your name and specialization. Then, go to each listing individually and update it for incorrect, old or missing details. While making updates, be sure that you add important details such as your website, email, phone numbers, practice hours and complete address. Also, add your picture so that patients can visually distinguish you from others.
Go to well-known websites such as Yelp, Vitals, Healthgrades, Google Local and Facebook and see if your practice is listed. If it isn’t listed on these websites, figure out an option on the respective website that allows you to add your profile. Make sure that you have your practice listed on the directories relevant to your specialization.
Categorize yourself correctly
People who refer to the Internet to search for a physician usually look out for a particular specialist. So categorizing yourself correctly is of utmost importance as it can mean more potential patients visiting your profile. If your practice is misclassified, it means you can miss out on new patient opportunities. Physicians should categorize themselves keeping in mind that it will lead to more patient appointments. Also, make sure that the information is consistent in all directories as it represents your brand.
As they say, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” People who research on the Internet to choose a physician will turn to some other option if they feel the information about you isn’t updated or correct. Make sure that while updating your profile on various online listings, you don’t leave out on any key information.