There’s no doubt in the value of using Google Alerts as a tool for online reputation management.
Unfortunately, it may not be enough to get an accurate pulse on what’s being said about your practice.
In this blog, we’ll explore why utilizing alternatives can provide useful insight into a healthcare provider’s reputation as well as benefits for acquiring new patients.
Table of Contents:
Advantages of Using Google Alerts for Reputation Management
Disadvantages of Using Google Alerts for Reputation Management
Alternatives to Google Alerts for Reputation Management
Reasons Why You Should Be Using Track Your Doctor for Reputation Management
Other Tips To Help Healthcare Marketers Improve Healthcare Feedback Management
- How accurate is Google Alerts?
- How do I make Google Alerts more effective?
- How can Google Alerts help a company protect itself against threats to the brand?
- Is there a limit to Google Alerts?
- How can you start managing your online reputation effectively as a healthcare provider?
Advantages of Using Google Alerts for Reputation Management
Being a healthcare provider can be tricky. You need to stay on top of your online reputation and quickly address any negative reviews or comments from patients – but keeping tabs 24/7 isn’t exactly feasible! You need to check out monitoring tools that will help you track and manage your online reputation.
For one, people are using Google Alerts for reputation management. It’s a free tool that monitors any new content and gives you updates on any new content you’re interested in. Here are some advantages of using Google Alerts for online reputation management for doctors:
Great Tool for Healthcare Providers
Using Google Alerts is not a bad thing at all. In fact, Google Alerts is highly rated especially in terms of use, 4.5/5 rating. It is user-friendly and easy to set up. The process is straightforward, and users can choose to receive alerts daily, weekly, or in real-time. However, customers also find it hard to look for complete data on specific mentions in Google Alerts.
Google Alerts can be a great tool for healthcare providers to monitor their online reputation, but it is not enough on its own. To ensure that your organization’s digital presence remains secure and intact, you must also consider the disadvantages of using Google Alerts.
Real-Time Notifications
Google Alerts is a useful tool for managing one’s digital presence. It has custom notifications to help you track keywords associated with your business. It also helps make sure you’re also updated about issues that may arise in the future.
Customizable Options
You can customize the times and type of alerts that you receive based on what works best for you – such as daily updates or weekly digests via email. Through this, it helps you keep track of all mentions without getting overwhelmed by too many notifications at once.
Disadvantages of Using Google Alerts for Reputation Management
While Google Alerts can be a useful tool for monitoring your online reputation, it’s not perfect and has a couple of drawbacks for you to rely on it as your sole strategy for reputation management.
We’ve listed the main disadvantages of using Google Alerts, so you can make an informed decision and create a fool-proof strategy to boost your online reputation.
Limited Scope
Google Alerts only provides limited coverage of all mentions of a keyword. It doesn’t track conversations on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, nor does it provide detailed analytics on sentiment. This makes it difficult to know or measure how people feel about a particular topic or product.
Unrelated Keywords
Another disadvantage is that Google Alerts requires manual setup for you to monitor specific keywords or phrases. This can be time-consuming and may not capture every mention of you or your practice online. Also, there are often false positives with Google Alerts – meaning you could receive notifications for topics unrelated to your brand due to similar keywords being used in other contexts.
If these settings are not regularly monitored and updated as needed, you may miss out on important conversations happening outside your immediate area of focus. You will always need to manually look out for alerts, and who would want that, right?
Google Alerts may not be enough to properly manage a healthcare provider’s online reputation, as it is limited in its scope and you can miss out on important information. If you’re a healthcare provider, you should consider alternative solutions such as monitoring services or social media analytics tools that provide more comprehensive coverage.
There are also other alternatives that can offer free, cost-effective, less buggy, or new features that are more efficient for your healthcare feedback management.
Then what could be a more helpful tool for a physician’s online reputation? Let’s find out more.
Alternatives to Google Alerts for Reputation Management
We have to admit, Google Alerts is a great tool for tracking online review mentions for healthcare providers and patients, but it’s not the only option out there. There are several alternatives that offer more comprehensive coverage and better analytics capabilities that you sure wouldn’t want to miss.
Hootsuite and Sprout Social
Social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social are essential for any healthcare provider who wants to monitor conversations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
For instance, Dr. Kevin Pho of Medpage Today shares how he can easily manage pages and mentions using Hootsuite. He uses this reputation management tool to track his conversations on Twitter. He uses a specific hashtag on topics related to health communications and social media, the #hcsm hashtag. Hootsuite comes in free and paid versions.
If you want to try another monitoring tool to gain valuable feedback and improve your online reputation management for doctors, you can test out Sprout Social too.
Sprout Social can help strengthen your online reputation using review management. They offer a unique strategy to build a new approach that meets your unique needs. However, their pro version costs $399 per month. A bit pricey for some, but you can try their 30-day trial if you want to check it out.
Tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social provide the ability to promptly address any unfavorable feedback or remarks, thus aiding in upholding a desirable online image. We recommend that doctors use social media monitoring tools to get insights into how people feel on social.
However, your social media presence is not enough to increase your online visibility. There are other Google Alerts alternatives that can help you with that.
ReviewTrackers
An online reputation management software you can try is ReviewTrackers. They have a competitive market analysis feature that stands out in regional markets. You can relax and let them do the guesswork for you. You can instantly generate your online reputation report with review highlights, ratings, and keyword trends for doctors and healthcare providers.
Many businesses are using this software today and people are loving their exceptional customer service, but some people who left reviews are still having trouble getting the program to refresh, and there are some delays when extracting reviews through this software.
Reputology
Reputology is another online reputation management platform that provides an even deeper level of analysis by aggregating reviews from multiple sites like Yelp, Google My Business, and Facebook in one place. They also provide powerful analytics features that enable you to identify trends in customer feedback and take action accordingly.
In a study by Harvard Business School, even a one-star improvement on sites like Yelp can translate to 9% in sales. It only shows that online reputation management can have a great impact and improvement on your brand.
One of their users shares how Reputology helps gauge how they are doing through key performance indicators, spot trends, and comparing storefronts. Using this online reputation management platform, you can also monitor directories, review sites, and app directories.
Track Your Doctor
Out of all Google Alerts alternatives listed above, Track Your Doctor is specifically created for patients, doctors, and healthcare providers. It’s the leading online source of review and rating information on healthcare physicians.
Online reputation management is the number one area of specialty of Track Your Doctor. Healthcare providers can stay on top of customer reviews and ensure they provide quality care with every interaction using this service. This ultimately leads to higher patient acquisition rates over time.
If you want to enhance your profile and information as a doctor or healthcare provider, we provide the most detailed snapshot available for you.
Doctors do not need to pay to have a profile on Track Your Doctor. You can claim your profile for free, but the advanced features and reporting are only available once you upgrade for only $99 a month.
For healthcare providers looking for an effective way to manage their online reputation, Track Your Doctor and other Google Alerts alternatives are worth considering as all of them offer more comprehensive coverage. Now you can take more control of your online reputation by implementing an advanced patient acquisition solution that goes beyond Google Alerts.
By utilizing alternatives to Google Alerts, healthcare providers can better monitor their online reputation and respond quickly to potential issues.
Let’s discuss the benefits of using these alternative methods further with proper reputation management.
Reasons Why You Should Be Using ‘Track Your Doctor’ for Reputation Management
Healthcare providers who are looking to manage their reputation more effectively should consider using an alternative platform like Track Your Doctor and other platforms mentioned above to Google Alerts. Unlike Google Alerts, these platforms provide you with detailed insights, and it allows you to take proactive steps in addressing any negative sentiment before it becomes an issue.
Advanced analytical capabilities
Google Alerts alternatives like Track Your Doctor come equipped with advanced analytics capabilities which enable healthcare providers and marketers to monitor key metrics that lead to higher patient acquisition rates over time. It provides a clearer picture of how your campaigns are performing.
Customizable Reports
Track Your Doctor also offer customizable reporting tools which make it easy for healthcare providers and marketers to track progress over time by comparing data from different sources in one place. This allows you to pinpoint regions where changes need to be made so you can prioritize those areas initially.
By utilizing data from online reputation management platforms, doctors and healthcare providers like you can think of better ways to optimize your online presence and ensure positive experiences for your patients – from acquiring your services, to increasing the retention rate of patients, and eventually having loyal patients that will come back for more of your services.
Tips To Help Doctors Improve Healthcare Feedback Management Using Google Alerts Alternatives
1. Maintain a Positive Reputation Across Multiple Sites
Most patients now check online reviews of doctors before deciding if they are going to schedule an appointment. You need to embrace online ratings and reviews for you to maintain your online reputation.
If patients are happy with your service, they will leave positive testimonials for your healthcare practice.
To promote positive reviews, ask satisfied patients to leave a review on your website or on healthcare review sites like Track Your Doctor. Share positive feedback on your social media channels, and respond to positive reviews to show your appreciation.
2. Respond to Online Reviews
It’s a challenge to manage bad online reviews for your practice, but on the bright side, almost 70% of patients who share their negative feedback feel better when their concerns are addressed by healthcare providers.
When responding to negative reviews, be empathetic and professional. Acknowledge the patient’s concerns and offer to discuss the issue further offline. Remember that your response is not just for the individual patient, but for anyone who may read the review in the future.
In the long run, responding to online reviews can help turn unhappy patients into satisfied ones. It can also help you retain more patients.
3. Set Up Your ‘Track Your Doctor’ Profile
After years of helping doctors track and manage patient reviews, you too can manage your own online reputation if you will claim your profile on Track Your Doctor.
Physicians like you can benefit from claiming your profile or creating an account on Track Your Doctor by being able to track, respond to, and manage patient reviews from various review platforms. It also helps assess how you perform against your competitors near you.
Other than this, healthcare organizations also benefit from having an account on Track Your Doctor. You will have a clear understanding of how providers in your network rate online. Track Your Doctor helps organizations identify providers with a poor online reputation, which is impacting revenue and market share.
FAQs
How accurate is Google Alerts?
While trying to attract new patients, healthcare marketers can use Google Alerts effectively. Healthcare marketers can rely on Google Alerts as a trusted source of information because of its accuracy and dependability.
How do I make Google Alerts more effective?
Refine your search terms to include words that are relevant to your online presence and target audience, selecting appropriate sources and a frequency of alerts that works best for you. You can also create multiple Google Alerts with different parameters in order to ensure you get the most precise outcomes possible.
Is there a limit to Google Alerts?
You can set up as many alerts as you want and customize them according to your needs using Google Alerts. It’s a great tool for tracking online review mentions for healthcare providers and patients, but it’s not the only option out there.
How can Google Alerts help a company protect itself against threats to the brand?
By staying up-to-date with any mentions of brand, products, or services, Google Alerts can help protect a company. It can quickly identify any negative or potentially damaging content.
How can you start managing your online reputation effectively as a healthcare provider?
To manage online reputation for doctors effectively, start by monitoring your online presence regularly. Set up Google Alerts for your name and practice, and regularly check your reviews on healthcare review sites like Track Your Doctor.
The Bottom Line
Google Alerts can be a useful tool for healthcare providers like you looking to monitor your online reputation, but it is not enough. There are so many alternatives to Google Alerts that you can use to monitor your online reputation and stay up-to-date with any mentions of your name, practice, or medical specialty.
With these alternatives, you can now manage your online reputation, protect your brand from negative press, and maintain an excellent public image – something Google Alerts alone cannot provide.
Overall, it’s important to choose a reputation management tool that meets your specific needs as a physician, and to utilize it so you can stay on top of your online presence in the healthcare industry.