Ask most doctors what gets them found on Google and they'll guess ads, or the website, or luck. The real answer is quieter and mostly free: reviews. They're one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide who shows up first, and one of the most neglected. Here's how to get more of them, the right way.
Reviews are how Google decides who to trust
When a patient searches for a practice nearby, Google has to rank the options. A steady flow of recent, genuine reviews tells it you're active, real, and trusted. It tells the patient the exact same thing in the same glance. Few things move you up the local results faster.
The number one reason you don't have more: you don't ask
Happy patients almost never leave a review on their own. Not because they're unhappy, but because it didn't occur to them. The practices with hundreds of reviews aren't lucky. They simply ask, every time, on purpose.
Ask at the right moment
Timing is everything. The best moment is right after a visit went well, while the patient still feels it. A week later, the feeling has faded and so has the review. Build the ask into the moment, not into an email they'll scroll past.
Make it effortless
Every extra step costs you reviews. Hand them a direct link or a QR code that opens straight to the review box. The harder it is to find where to leave one, the fewer you'll get. Remove the friction and the reviews follow.
Respond to every single one
Replying to reviews, the glowing ones and the rough ones, signals to Google that the business is active and tells future patients you actually care. A thoughtful response to a hard review often does more for trust than the five-star ones do.
One rule you can't break
Never buy reviews or offer anything in exchange for one. It breaks Google's rules and it's the fastest way to get your profile flagged. Real reviews, asked for at the right time, are the only ones worth having.
Reviews are part of the same system as everything else: show up, build trust, make it easy to choose you. If you want help building that system for your practice, see what we do or learn who we are.
Want this for your practice?
Book a discovery meeting and we'll show you exactly where to start.