10 Methods To Get More Dental Google Reviews

If you want to attract more patients to your dental office, Google reviews can serve as a powerful tool. But if your practice is like many, you don’t organically receive many patient reviews.

Implementing strategies to acquire more patient reviews can help you leverage this effective marketing tool, instilling trust in potential patients and making your practice more visible in search engines. Weave’s Communication Platform, dental software, and Reviews tool all make the process of collecting and managing Google reviews easier.

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Below are the top ways to get more dental Google reviews for your practice.

10 best methods to increase your dental Google reviews

Your practice can use several strategies to collect Google reviews from satisfied patients. Below are the most effective methods your dental clinic should be implementing.

1. Optimize your Google Business Profile first

When was the last time you updated your practice’s Google Business Profile? Or do you have yet to claim this profile at all?

Your Google Business Profile is a profile within Google search results that appears when users search for your dental practice or perform more general searches, like “dentist near me.” Optimizing this profile makes it more visible in search engines, leading more people to see it and read your reviews. There’s no sense in collecting more reviews if your profile isn’t ready to go.

These tips can help you optimize your dental Google Business Profile:

• Make sure your profile is verified, accurate, and filled out with information like services, hours, and photos of your practice.
• Choose the most accurate categories and subcategories, such as “Dentist” and “Cosmetic Dentist.”
• Keep your profile active with posts, updates, and photos, as these show evidence of ongoing engagement and help increase your search engine rankings.

Your Google Business Profile is a free marketing tool that has the potential to attract and convert leads. Collecting more Google reviews will only increase this tool’s effectiveness.

2. Make leaving a review frictionless

Most patients won’t be motivated to leave a review on their own, even if they have a fantastic experience with your practice. But the ones who do decide to leave a review should have a seamless experience when doing so.

Your practice can make the review process easier by:

• Generating a direct review link that takes patients to the “leave review” screen
• Using QR codes in waiting rooms, on cards, and at checkout that direct patients to this link
• Embedding review prompts or buttons on your website or patient portal
• Using tablets or kiosks in the office as optional drop-in review stations
• Setting up Review tools in Weave that automatically request reviews from patients at specific times

3. Ask at the right moment (and in person)

The best reviews come from happy patients whose experiences with your practice are fresh in their minds. Your practice can be strategic about when you ask dental patients for reviews to increase the chances of a satisfied patient leaving one.

You can train staff to ask for reviews verbally after a positive interaction or at checkout. “Natural asks” make this process more seamless; for example, your staff can use language like “We hope your visit went well! Would you mind sharing your feedback on Google?”

In contrast, you should generally avoid asking right before a procedure or after a stressful appointment. Be mindful about choosing a moment when the patient feels satisfied.

4. Send post-visit reminders via email or SMS

The best time to ask for online reviews is generally after a patient’s appointment, when they have an experience with your practice in mind that they can discuss in the review. Using automated email marketing and texting tools can allow you to send post-visit reminders to every patient and acquire more Google reviews than ever before. You can combine thank-you messages with review requests and a direct link to your review site.

Using both email and SMS channels ensures that you engage patients where they prefer to receive messaging. You can create succinct templates for both platforms that kindly ask for patient feedback with a friendly tone.

When using these communication tools, you can segment your patient base by type or the likelihood of leaving a positive review and tailor your messaging accordingly.

5. Involve your team in a review-driven culture

Your dental staff can help further your campaign to collect more Google reviews. Creating a culture of seeking reviews ensures that every staff member does their part to collect patient feedback.

Your practice might set team goals or monthly review targets and encourage staff to work together to meet those objectives. Maybe you designate “review champions” and recognize those staff members who generate the most reviews.

Internal dashboards like Weave Analytics can make it easier for staff to communicate about competitions and monitor their progress.

6. Be transparent about how reviews help your dental practice

You don’t need to try to trick patients into leaving reviews. Many patients appreciate transparency from their healthcare providers about how certain marketing efforts directly benefit their practices. You can use the same approach to educate patients about why Google reviews are so important for your practice.

Maybe you share printed or digital materials during intake or follow-up that explain how reviews help you reach more prospective patients. You can post signage in waiting rooms with QR codes and a quick note about how much you appreciate reviews for your dental practice. You can even include a short message like “We’d love your feedback on Google” on business cards and receipts.

7. Use reputation/review collection software or tools

Integrating your review requests with existing practice management software can help you streamline the process of collecting reviews and avoid adding more time-consuming tasks to your staff’s workloads.

Dedicated tools like Weave Reviews make it easy to dispatch post-appointment emails a specific amount of time after appointments, so you never miss an opportunity to seek feedback. You can also use this tool to track reviews, messages sent, and response rates, and even receive notifications for every new review your practice receives.

8. Share and amplify existing reviews

Along with collecting new dental Google reviews, you can make use of your existing reviews for marketing purposes. Consider featuring positive Google reviews on your dental website, social media pages, and patient newsletters. Make these features more engaging by converting short quotes into visual graphics, and ask reviewers if you can tag or credit them to motivate others.

As you promote reviews, you can encourage followers to see all of your reviews on your Google Business Profile, directing them to this marketing tool.

9. Encourage specific, helpful feedback in reviews

While any positive review can support your online reputation and attract new patients, some types of reviews are even more valuable. The more specific a review is, the more helpful it is for prospective patients looking to make informed decisions about your practice.

You can encourage patients to leave specific reviews by asking questions during the review collection process, such as:

• What dental services did you receive? (“teeth whitening,” “dental implant,” “Invisalign,” etc.)
• What did you like most about our dental care? (“gentle cleaning,” “caring staff,” “pain-free experience,” etc.)
• Was there anything specific you enjoyed about your experience? (“environment,” “staff interactions,” “outcomes,” etc.)

These types of questions can encourage patients to provide thoughtful reviews. When they include keywords like “gentle cleaning” and “teeth whitening” in their reviews, prospective patients looking for that type of experience can find your practice more easily and receive confirmation that your dental team will meet their needs.

10. Monitor, respond to, and refine your review strategy

The ways in which you respond to patient reviews can significantly impact the effectiveness of your review strategy. It’s generally good practice to respond to every review your practice receives, both positive and negative, in a timely and professional manner.

For positive feedback, you can thank the reviewer and state how much you value their business. For negative reviews, you can attempt to right the wrong by inquiring more about the patient’s experience or offering to recompense with discounted services or a free follow-up.

Your dental practice should get into the habit of monitoring review patterns regularly. Take note of drops and surges in review frequency and assess which services generate the most reviews. This data can help you adjust your timing, messaging, and team responsibilities to further increase dental Google reviews.

For more tips, take a look at our blog 7 Habits To Gain More Dental Patient Google Reviews.

Avoiding pitfalls and staying compliant when acquiring Google reviews

Collecting dental Google reviews is only one piece of the puzzle if you want to make the most of patient feedback as a marketing tool. You should also be aware of a few common pitfalls that could hurt the effectiveness of your review strategy or even put you at risk of non-compliance.

Don’t offer incentives for reviews

It may be tempting to offer incentives, like discounted services or gift cards, in exchange for positive reviews. But this is considered unethical and goes against Google’s policy. If the platform finds that you have been offering incentives for reviews, it might ban your Google Business Profile, which can hurt your rankings in local search results.

Instead, focus on creating a positive experience for patients that naturally encourages them to write great reviews. Make scheduling easy, provide excellent patient care, and don’t be afraid to explain what reviews mean for your practice.

Don’t over-push on unhappy or at-risk patients

Asking for reviews from patients who are dissatisfied with your practice can cause more harm than good. Instead of seeking as many reviews as possible from your patient base, be mindful about which patients may be most receptive to you asking for feedback. You don’t want to over-push someone who already has a negative opinion of your practice.

At the same time, don’t cherry-pick who you ask too much. Strike a balance between seeking general feedback from your patient base and avoiding burning bridges with unhappy patients.

Don’t neglect old reviews

Your old reviews can aid your marketing strategy, and you shouldn’t overlook them. But reviews age, and if your practice hasn’t received any new reviews in some time, this can reflect poorly on your reputation.

Send out periodic requests to keep your review stream fresh. New reviews are valuable for your search rankings because they show that your dental practice is still actively building patient relationships. They also confirm to prospective patients that your practice has not changed operations since receiving positive reviews years prior.

Avoid generic, robotic asks

Patients won’t always respond well to generic review requests, like “Leave us a review, please.” These days, people receive review requests from a large percentage of the businesses they visit, and they won’t be motivated to engage with all of them.

To help your review requests stand out, personalize your messaging and use warm, human language. Include the patient’s name and the specific procedure they received in the message. Your practice management software can automatically input this information into the message based on the patient’s digital file.

Use kind words and add a personal touch, such as explaining how feedback helps your practice. This type of messaging can be more motivating than a bland, blanket review request.

Suggested workflow and timeline

Timing matters for requesting patient reviews. Your practice should plan out a strategic timeline for requesting feedback and reminding patients who have previously been prompted. This might look like the following:

• Day of visit: Front desk staff ask the patient verbally for a review and hand them a card with a QR code linking to the review website.
• One hour post-visit: An automatic SMS or email with a direct link to the review website is dispatched to the patient.
• One to two days later: A gentle follow-up email or SMS is dispatched to the patient if they have not left a review yet.
• Weekly team review: Each week, your front desk staff monitors new reviews, responds promptly, and celebrates five-star reviews. This ensures that no reviews go overlooked for longer than a few days.
• Monthly review meeting: Once per month, your entire team takes a look at review rates and brainstorms improvements, such as changes to scripts or review request timing.

Automated review request tools make the first three steps in this timeline easy. You can set up automations to send the appropriate review requests at specific times to each patient. It may be a good idea to mark your calendars or create a team meeting for the last two steps in the timeline to ensure that you stay on top of your review monitoring procedure.

Measuring success and KPIs

Like any marketing strategy, gathering dental Google reviews is a tactic that requires careful monitoring and adjusting to be the most successful for your dental office. During your monthly review meeting, your team should track and analyze these metrics:

• Number of new reviews received per month: Ideally, this figure should increase after implementing your review strategy. While it may eventually plateau, you should see a steady stream of new reviews each month.
• Review response rate (how many reviews you respond to): This rate should ideally be 100%, but your practice may not have the time or resources to achieve a perfect response rate each month. Just keep an eye on this figure, and if your responses start to slip, implement a strategy to be more consistent.
• Average star rating over time: This should increase or stay the same, never decrease. If you see your average rating begin to decrease, take a closer look at the negative reviews and low ratings you received. You may implement a reputation management strategy to rectify these problems and persuade the patient to increase their rating.
• Review velocity (the number of reviews received per week): This figure may vary from week to week, and you should seek to understand why. High weeks may indicate that you are using effective strategies to collect reviews.
• Review-to-conversion metrics: The goal of your dental Google review strategy is to ultimately increase conversions, or new patients added to your practice. Be sure to monitor your reviews in the greater context of patient acquisition. If you can trace any calls or leads to review influence, take note of these connections and use them to inform your marketing strategy.

Making reviews a part of your dental office’s strategy

Dental Google reviews are not just nice to have; they are a foundational marketing tool that builds trust and provides social proof of your practice’s reliability. Reviews have the potential to significantly impact your practice’s patient acquisition rates and, ultimately, your bottom line.

Your practice doesn’t need to implement all of these methods at once. You can introduce them gradually, monitor their performance, and adjust as needed. Consistency is the key to an effective review management strategy; you should aim to respond to all reviews and seek feedback from patients regularly. 

Weave helps dental practices manage reviews, patient communications, and a range of other important tasks throughout the day. Request a demo to learn more.