People are often concerned that if they have bad reviews, it will damage their site’s rankings in the SERPS. We’ll take a look at that notion and see if there is any truth to it.
If you have been struggling with your SEO efforts and figuring out why nothing you are doing seems to work, this article should help clarify some of the confusion. It can often be difficult for one person to figure out all these different aspects of SEO. But as you read this, you can draw some real-world conclusions.
First off, let’s look at what causes a site to be ranked on the Google search results page (SERP). Several factors go into how your site is ranked. The first factor is content – the quality and quantity of the on-site content. Another important factor is backlinks.
Where a site may rank is also dependent on many other factors such as time of day, geographic location, and even the language used in the title of your site.
But what if you have many crappy reviews (not just bad ones)? Could they cause some serious damage to your rankings? Let’s take a look at that.
Let’s say you are running a health and medicine site. An unhappy customer leaves you a review saying that the quality of services offered wasn’t satisfactory; this could be devastating to your site. The review may even say that the doctor was downright rude and unprofessional in his care of their loved one or that the nurse was impatient and didn’t put any time or effort into the care of their child.
However, it is important to realize that Google’s algorithm does not rank sites based on a single review. If you have many such reviews, however, Google may eventually penalize your site.
That being said, Google does rank sites based on the site’s overall content. Most people understand that your site’s content is useful to others and is therefore positively rated. But you may be surprised that Google also rates your ability to deliver value in terms of many other factors such as reputation, trust, and freshness.
So, what can cause a website to lose its rankings because of bad reviews? Some SEO experts say they see it happen regularly. Bad reviews can, for example, lead to a site receiving negative publicity. If a site is getting poor ratings and bad reviews regularly, this can lead to this poor reputation being relatively permanent.
Websites with nothing but mediocre or bad reviews are going to be at risk of losing their rankings in search results.
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The Importance of Managing Your Online Reputation
What’s the solution to this issue? It is advisable to learn about reputation management.
Some of the reputation-management tips medical professionals need to consider include:
1. Respond to Bad Reviews Carefully
A bad review will leave you upset. Regardless of your emotional state in such an instance, you need to respond to such reviews carefully, or you’ll damage your reputation further.
What should you do? Be polite, and show a little concern. Also, state clearly that you have the client’s best interest in mind and that they can contact you if they have any questions.
2. Keep Track of Your Online Presence
This is an SEO tip medical professionals should be aware of because it could make a big difference.
For example, it is important to avoid negative comments on your websites as much as possible. If you are getting flagged for spam and negative reviews, this can hurt your search engine rankings.
3. Encourage Patients to Leave Positive Reviews
People can leave bad reviews, and you have no control over such matters. Nonetheless, if you notice a patient is happy with the services offered, you can encourage them to leave a positive review, and your online reputation will improve in the process.
You may ask yourself, why do some people leave bad reviews? Perhaps they were unsatisfied with the quality of services offered, and the bad reviews allowed them to let off some steam. On the other hand, a satisfied patient won’t feel the urge to write down a positive review, which is why you need to encourage them.
4. Take Time to Learn About How Online Reputation Affects Your Online Presence
SEO hasn’t been stagnant. It has incurred some changes over the years. It has become sophisticated, and the factors relating to how your site will rank have increased. One of these factors includes your online reputation.
How does your online reputation affect your site’s ranking? If you are getting a lot of bad reviews, it could hurt your site’s online reputation, especially if the bad reviews make their way to the first page of your site.
As a result, you should take online reputation seriously.
5. Encourage Your Staff to Offer Quality Services
This is one of the main reasons patients would feel the need to leave a negative review. If they are not satisfied with the quality of services offered, they are not likely to think twice before leaving a bad review.
As a medical professional, you need to provide quality services, which means improving your site’s overall quality. A good idea is to avoid cheap or unreliable service providers.
6. Keep Track of What Patients Say On Social Media
Social media is a great source for reviews. On social media, people talk about the quality of services they get from medical professionals. Patients will likely talk about their bad experiences online if you are getting bad ratings.
Bad reviews can also be posted on other platforms such as Facebook groups, review websites, and professional review blogs. Some people may even go as far as to tell the world about their experience at your practice through blogs or on Twitter.
Final Thoughts
If you get to learn about your online reputation, you can take steps to improve it. While building a reputation that you should be proud of may take time and effort, it is a worthwhile endeavor.
Keep in mind Google’s algorithm is complex. It does not rely solely on a site’s backlinks or how frequently it gets updated to determine its ranking. Google is aware that you may have a great site, but your reputation could have been affected by negative reviews, and as a result, your rankings will take a dip.
