One of the questions we’ve received from our functional medicine clients is, “can you delete negative reviews on Google?”. While you can’t actually delete a review, there are other things you can do that will help when you get this feedback. The team here at Functional Medicine SEO guides our practitioners anytime they get a bad review.
Here are a few tips we’ve given them to navigate the situation.
1. Give a Response
It’s really important to respond to all reviews that are left on your page, whether good or bad. Google likes to see that your listing is getting interaction, so you can help yourself by in regards to organic search to your GMB page. However, the most important thing that a response does is show potential patients your character.
Give the patient a sincere response and assure them that you care about their frustrations and willing to work towards a solution. If it is a patient that you’ve dismissed, then you’ll want to keep your response generic and ask them to reach out to you by phone or email and you will be happy to discuss the concern with them.
Whatever response you give, do not become defensive towards the person. It’s better to leave a brief sentence and ask them to get in touch with you.
2. Flag Reviews That Go Against Google’s Policy
Reviews can be flagged that go against Google’s policy. We don’t recommend that you flag a review simply because it is negative, but if the reviewer is hostile, then you may consider going this route.
To flag a comment, go to the user view of your Google My Business listing, find the comment, and then use the flag button to mark it. You’ll have to select the reason you are choosing to flag the comment. Other people can go to your page and flag the comment as well.
3. Work to Get More Reviews
It’s always beneficial to your practice to get fresh, new reviews. If you’ve made it a habit to send your patients a review link to your GMB page at the end of their visit or upon completion of a treatment plan, then you will naturally knock that bad review down. However, if you haven’t been making this a priority, now is the time to start. It’s better for your latest review to be positive, because your most recent review is the one that will show up on the listing.
Contact us To Increase Your Reach
Here at Functional Medicine SEO, we work with our practitioners every day to increase their online presence. We offer SEO services for doctors, functional medicine practitioners, and holistic doctors. Our goal is to optimize your website and Google My Business listing to increase the number of calls and requests you receive.
Contact us now to learn more about our service. Or, you can fill out this form to receive a free strategy session from one of our SEO experts. We can’t wait to hear from you!
