Online Reputation Management for Doctors – 10 Must-Follow Strategies

28 mins read

Online reputation management for doctors. A modern customer searches the web and reads user reviews before deciding whether a certain product or service meets their expectations. The same rule is applied to choosing doctors and healthcare specialists. The more people leave positive reviews about the qualifications of certain specialists, the more likely they are to book an appointment with them. Online reputation management for doctors is a crucial factor that lets them stay ahead of the competition and look good in their customers’ eyes. 

Considering the growing interest in and demand among niche-specific experts for doctor reputation management, we have decided to share a compilation of the most effective techniques and approaches for doctors’ effective online reputation management. You asked, and we did. This article considers the most effective online reputation management for doctors. 

What’s Online Reputation Management for Doctors

Online reputation management for physicians and niche-specific healthcare specialists falls under the category of marketing services that can improve the online presence of health professionals. Doctor reputation management services take care of tackling the reviews, embarrassing public incidents, and bad press coverage that might affect the success of a medical practitioner. 

Medical practices see one-third of drop-in visits and calls when a negative review or media coverage about a doctor appears online. Doctors appear in crisis mode whenever it happens and often face difficulties restoring their reputation. 

Reputation management companies commonly refuse to divulge the techniques aimed at doctor reputation management. Unlike most other agencies, PRNEWS.IO knows how to approach reputation management for doctors. 

We are often asked about must-follow medical reputation management software and tips for doctors. Our services help doctors and niche-specific professionals displace negative news from Google search results, replacing them with positive, new, and fresh ones. We can also help you control and create info reasons in your industry. Besides, you can order publications from news sites and the most trusted media outlets in your niche. 

If your medical practice deals with reputation issues, check out the following physician’s online reputation management guide.

Online Reputation Management for Doctors: Top 10 Strategies

#1 Building a Website Dedicated to Your Practice

It’s the first and foremost step that every healthcare specialist should take. A website is the most effective online marketing tool that introduces you to the digital world, tells your story, promotes your services, and reveals testimonials about the quality of services a physician provides.

Launching a website has multiple benefits for doctors, like:

  • When patients look up a physician’s name on the web, they will come across your website. 
  • In online reputation management for doctors, it’s vital to run a website that represents critical information about the doctor’s expertise. An official web page takes a central place in online reputation management, from which the rest of the websites dedicated to your business will link.
  • A personal website can serve as a forum where doctors can share updates about their practice, show leadership, and engage with patients. 

Simply put, running an official website is one of the most effective online reputation management strategies for doctors. 

#2 Running a Blog

Running a blog is the next must-follow strategy for online reputation management for doctors, which all marketing professionals recommend you implement. Physicians can use blogs to communicate with patients and show their expertise in multiple areas. While keeping a blog regularly updated, doctors and healthcare projects are more likely to get new clients, garner repeat business, and rank higher in Google search results.  

Running a blog can seem like a daunting task. However, when done right, it can bring many rewards to physicians, like:

It leads to more business and referrals. 

  • It guarantees that your content will become findable in Google search results. That’s why most reputation management companies focus their efforts on creating medical blogs to bury negative results in search engines. 

#3 Contributing Blog Posts to Other Sites

When dealing with doctor reputation management, the key to success is creating timely, relevant content associated with a physician’s name and spreading it across the web. The next step following the creation of a doctor’s blog is to create new content to be published on other sites and blogs related to your niche. 

At PRNEWS.IO, we have an impressive database of the top-trending and most trusted websites and blogs related to the medical and healthcare industries. We can help you develop topics that most favorably showcase your skills and expertise and get them published on other blogs and sites with backlinks to your official web resource. 

Content Marketing Platform

  • 100,000+ media publications;
  • get backlinks to your product;
  • scale work with content distribution.

#4 Creating Powerful Social Media Presence 

Search engines consider multiple signals when ranking content for a specific search term. Social media is among them. The number of visits logs draws Google’s attention, and websites get from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. The strong correlation between Google search results and social media activities drives the most successful reputation management campaigns for doctors. Creating strong social media profiles combined with frequent posting has proven to be one of the most effective physician’s online reputation management strategies. 

#5 Implement Local SEO Practices

Google stats reveal that 97% of users search for local businesses online. That’s why it’s vital to focus on implementing local SEO practices for better online reputation management for doctors. 

The priority for physicians and healthcare centers is to ensure that locals searching for a physician’s name in Google see relevant results. The most vital step worth considering is claiming a local Google business listing. Thus, when users search for a physician’s name, Google will provide them with the doctor’s Google map location, address, and phone number. 

#6 Responding to All Google and Yelp Reviews 

Most customers go to Google and Yelp when looking for new service providers. Dealing with customer reviews is one of the best ways for doctors to attract new clients. However, doctors’ responses have not always sounded appropriate or even legal. That’s why physicians should have a staff person for this task who will respond to user reviews politely and less emotionally. 

The most appropriate approach for doctors dealing with user reviews is to reply to both positive and negative feedback. This way, people researching doctors online can make the right decision after seeing how a medical specialist interacts with clients. 

Should doctors respond to negative reviews? Definitely yes. Getting a negative review doesn’t ruin a specialist’s reputation. You cannot please everyone, and it’s fine that not all patients a doctor deals with leave only positive reviews. When dealing with negative reviews, the right approach is to keep your head cool and give professional answers to every person. 

#7 Create Healthcare Directory Profiles 

One more essential strategy on online reputation management for doctors is to create profiles on various platforms set up specifically for doctors and healthcare specialists. Similar to social media platforms, doctors’ healthcare directory profiles let physicians organically rank in Google and other search engines. The most popular online directories for doctors include CareDashDoximitySharecareWebMd, etc. 

Physicians can easily influence Google search results by creating online profiles in established directories. Typically, the setup process does not require much time or effort. Google sees verified directories as a legitimate signal for ranking doctors’ profiles higher in search results, thus making them more findable for the target audience. 

#8 Create Profiles on Q&A Sites

The technique is often ignored in medical reputation management for doctors. By creating profiles on Q&A sites and writing replies to questions written by other users, doctors can improve their ranking positions in search results.

Quora is one of the leading Q&A sites where everyone can create a free profile and contribute to the community. It’s a content platform where everyone can showcase expertise, credentials, and thought leadership and push down negative content associated with a specific physician’s name or business practice.

#9 Use YouTube

YouTube is the second most popular search engine globally, which people use to find relevant content, testimonials, and other data. It’s also one of the most effective online reputation management tools for doctors. Physicians may use YouTube to learn new methods, share their expertise, attract new patients, and even find new employees. 

To get the maximum rewards from using YouTube for online reputation management, reputation management companies should create relevant content and promote it to the target audience. Both long and short videos can help deal with negative reviews. While watching doctors’ video content on YouTube, people can see them in action, feel their personalities, and relate to them as physicians outside of online negative reviews.

#10 Showcasing Skills on SlideShare

Creating SlideShare online profiles is the last but not the least effective doctors’ online reputation strategy. It’s a social network that lets physicians publish professional presentations, infographics, and documents online. The platform works similarly to other social media platforms mentioned on this list. Just like Quora, SlideShare is organized around topics. Using a robust strategy lets doctors and businesses reach higher positions in search results while burying negative reviews. 

Industry Experts about Online Reputation Management for Doctors

Medical Director, Addiction Psychiatrist & Innovator at TelepsychHealth


Bruce Bassi
, Medical Director, Addiction Psychiatrist & Innovator at TelepsychHealth

It’s important for physicians to showcase their positive feedback as well. Most patients research a physician before scheduling an appointment. If a physician passively allows directories to take over their online presence, it’s most likely their reputation will be taken over by the most upset and vocal patients.

However, the vast majority of physicians also have many, many very satisfied patients, but those individuals are less likely to submit a review. Working on these other suggestions in this article will give a viewer a better sense of balance of who that physician is, and who they have helped.

Liudmila N. Schafer, MD, FACP 
Associate Professor of Medicine 
Medical Oncologist
Founder and CEO of The Doctor Connect 

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

Having a presence online and using social media platforms can be beneficial for physicians in building their reputations and reaching a wider audience. Here are some ways that physicians can help do this online: 

Provide education for the community in a way that they understand. Discussing certain diseases, symptoms, or medical terminology in layman’s terms will help the audience better understand their health and build trust between them and the physician. This trust greatly improves a physician’s reputation. 

Help with the growing patient population. By using free online platforms (like social media), physicians are able to reach more patients without physically seeing them in person. Many doctors don’t have big donor sponsors and can’t get the promotion for their practice that some others can. But by using online platforms, they can grow their popularity/reputation without these big donation sponsors.  

Present your expertise in a better way. Doctors’ appointments are generally very short, so by using online platforms, doctors can extend a patient’s doctor’s visit and their education and give more information that might not just be applicable to a singular patient but can reach the masses! 

Help patients understand different medical specialties. Many people don’t know all of the different types of specialties or doctors there are out there, so by making their presence known online, physicians can increase the general public’s health literacy and therefore improve their own reputation. 

Increase doctors’ network with patients and peers. Online platforms such as social media allow doctors and physicians to reach more people. By doing so, they can expand their network by improving their reputation through word-of-mouth communication. It also allows physicians to exchange their expertise with other doctors and see what’s going on in their field so that they all can learn from each other and improve their credibility. 

Can increase information about doctors at any time vs. at a specific time of promotion in the academic rank. An online presence allows physicians to post and gain knowledge 24/7, 365 days a year. This ability to disseminate information to the masses allows doctors to be accessible to patients to make appointments without the fear of malpractice and learn about their health at any time. 
An online presence can express other skills like business and hobbies. Patients want to see that their doctors are human and real people and seeing their hobbies increase their likability, relatability, and overall reputation.

Brian Clark BSN, MSNA Founder at United Medical Education

Each doctor should start their own blog so they or may share their skills, accomplishments, and achievements through their blog postings. They can also impart their knowledge to others and create excellent blog posts. The users’ reputations and level of involvement will both automatically rise as a result. A quality piece of content will boost SEO rankings and increase traffic. For free PR, you can also participate in blogs, interviews, and talk shows. Establishing a blog and being helpful will validate reputation management. A strong reputation management campaign should include bogging as a strategy.

Brian Clark is a certified registered nurse anesthetist and founder of United Medical Education. He noticed a lack of instructional material on the internet on important emergency life-saving techniques and decided to do something about it. He founded United Medical Education in an attempt to provide free, clear, and comprehensive education and certification for students.

Claire Lamb, Director at Skout PR

Reputation Management tools compile everything and provide you with data that allows you to see a wider, clearer picture.

For a doctor, reputation management is obviously something very important and should be approached diligently. A doctor with a bad reputation is a doctor that will struggle to find new patients and, with our advanced online world, the word can spread quickly. And bad news spreads especially quickly.

Step one is to keep a close eye on what people are saying and monitor a platform that provides you with instant updates. Once you begin to understand where your reputation currently sits, you can make the appropriate steps to improve news coverage, work at getting more positive reviews published, and even focus on areas where you might be falling behind. There’s so much you can do to improve the online reputation of a doctor, but first, you must understand where you currently sit. That’s where an online Reputation Management tool can help.

Kelly Ashlen, founder of Sexsi Toys & marketing director for a medical clinic 

Kelly Ashlen, founder of Sexsi Toys & marketing director for a medical clinic

As a doctor, managing your online reputation and public relations can be crucial for attracting new patients and maintaining trust with existing ones.

Here are a few tips for managing a doctor’s online reputation effectively:

Monitor your online presence regularly. Set up Google Alerts for your name and practice so you can stay informed about what is being said about you online.

Respond to reviews and comments. Both positive and negative feedback can provide valuable insights and give you an opportunity to connect with your patients. Be professional and courteous in your responses, and try to resolve any issues that may be raised.

Encourage satisfied patients to leave reviews. Ask your happy patients to leave a review on your practice’s website, Google Business page, or other review sites. This can help to improve your online reputation and attract new patients.

Keep your website and social media profiles up-to-date. Make sure your website and social media profiles reflect your current practice, contact information, and services. This can help to improve your online visibility and make it easier for patients to find and contact you.

Engage with your online audience. Social media platforms can be a great way to connect with your patients and potential patients. Share interesting and relevant content, and respond to comments and questions in a timely manner. This can help to build trust and establish your practice as a thought leader in your field.

Overall, the key to maintaining a good online reputation is to be proactive and engaged with your online presence. By staying on top of what is being said about you and responding to feedback in a professional and respectful manner, you can help to maintain a positive online reputation for your practice.

Dr. Dev Batra, Dual-Board Certified Vascular and Interventional Radiologist│Dallas Vein Institute

Online reputation management for doctors is the practice of actively managing a doctor’s reputation online. This includes monitoring reviews, responding to customer comments, and engaging with patients on social media. It also involves creating positive content such as blog posts, press releases, and other online content to highlight a doctor’s qualifications and experience. The goal of online reputation management is to ensure that a doctor’s online presence is as positive and professional as possible.

Tips & Tricks for Taking Care of a Doctor’s Online Reputation

1. Monitor and Respond to Online Reviews: It’s important to review and respond to online reviews of your practice, whether they are positive or negative. Responding to positive reviews will help to build a positive online presence, while responding to negative reviews can help to resolve any issues and build trust with potential patients.

2. Engage with Patients on Social Media: Social media is a great way to engage with current and potential patients and build relationships. Try to create a balance between informative content and engaging posts that will help foster a connection with your audience.

3. Create Positive Content: Creating positive content such as blog posts, press releases, and other online content to showcase a doctor’s qualifications and experience is a great way to build a strong online presence. This can help to show potential patients that the doctor is knowledgeable and professional.

4. Leverage Online Directories: Taking advantage of online directories such as Yelp and Google My Business can help to increase visibility and reach more potential patients.

5. Invest in SEO: SEO is an effective way to help potential patients find a doctor online. Investing in SEO will help to optimize a doctor’s website and content to increase visibility online.

Dr. Michael Green, MD, an OB/GYN at Winona, a female-founded anti-aging wellness center

Build a solid library of social proof. Make mining positive google reviews a top priority.

By doing this, onlookers will gain a great first impression of you. Positive online reviews will greatly contribute to building an outstanding reputation as a physician.

According to HubSpot, 88% of customers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations. If someone happens to leave a negative review, be sure to politely respond to it.

Dr. Sony Sherpa, a holistic physician and writer at Nature’s Rise, an organic wellness company

Modern technology has allowed healthcare professionals to conduct consultations and deliver care online. This highlights the importance for physicians to build and manage their reputation online as they do in their physical clinics or institutions. Effective online reputation management for doctors can protect your integrity in the online world.

One effective way to build and manage a good reputation is to encourage patients to leave online reviews. In today’s society, one bad review after another and you might have to witness the downfall of your practice. But positive reviews don’t just come freely. Assess how you deliver care to patients, especially those that you can control, such as showing empathy and being honest about complications.

How you deliver patient care significantly impacts your online reputation, but it isn’t all that. Building your online presence can also help improve your digital standing. Create a professional website and optimize it, and be active on social media. Nowadays, patients check a physician’s website and social media profiles first before they reach out. Make sure what your website and social media communicate to people are in line with the values of your practice.

Bottom Line

Doctors can bury negative reviews and improve their online reputation by following the recommendations described above. While creating fresh, authentic, and relevant content, healthcare specialists can replace negative reviews and improve their positions in search engines. However, it takes time to see the results of online reputation management for doctors. Be patient and wise while working on your reputation. 

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