It is no big secret that the World Wide Web has completely altered how people go about shopping, whether it is for basic goods or for major services. Major decisions in health and healthcare are no different. Therefore, those looking to pick a specific senior housing or assisted living center will spend a lot of time researching online before they make a decision on which facility is the best for their loved one. In fact, this is one of the most highly internet-researched topics in the healthcare industry.
Even though patients themselves may not be the ones doing the searching, relatives of a senior citizen will almost always go online to find out more about a specific facility by reading online reviews for assisted living facilities.
Selecting the appropriate place to seek reviews can be an overwhelming task, and those searching really want to see first-hand experience from customers as a form of reassurance. Feedback available on review sites is one of the best places for these prospective customers to find information. However how do you prioritize which sites to entice your customers to post reviews first? We've put together a quick list of popular sites where having positive reviews could mean the difference between your center getting a new client or not.
Where do people go to review assisted living facilities?
Google Plus for Business - Google Plus is by the most important site to solicite positive reviews. The main reason for this being that Google is the largest search engine in the world and gives priority to their review site over others. By having an active Google plus page, complete with positive reviews, your website stays fresh with content and can outrank your competitors in localized searches. Because Google ties in their Google Plus product with Google places and with their search algorithm it is not uncommon for the reviews on Google to be some of the first reviews a relative will see when searching locally online.
OurParents - This site is golden for people looking for information about senior living facilities. It offers company profiles for thousands of facilities across the country, including local demographics and customer reviews that offer a star rating system.
Golden Reviews - Golden Reviews is a care facility directory with more than 100,000 reviews from current or previous clients. The site allows users to search for care facilities according to location, Medicare rating, and features.
Yelp - Even though Yelp is a general business review site, it offers those searching for first-hand reviews of senior living and care facilities valuable information on an easy-to-search platform. The primary benefit of Yelp is users can create a profile and directly communicate with other reviewers.
Caring.com - Using a star-based system, users can offer a rating and a text review of senior care facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. With more than 55,000 reviews, this site is valuable for those looking for information.
How to get reviews for your senior care facility
Knowing that so many prospective clients head to the internet to read customer reviews it is important that you take what steps you can to ensure your facility information is available on review sites. The first thing to do is to setup your page accurately and completely with Google My Business and Yelp (for starters) Be sure that the address of your facility is exactly the same as it appears on your website. The accuracy of your address in local listing sites is paramount to successful online marketing for assisted living facilities. The easiest way you can do this is to encourage happy clients to leave reviews. Don't try to force the idea, but if you know someone is thrilled with your services, politely ask them if they would be willing to share a review on one or two of the aforementioned websites. Even just a few good reviews will help you get recognition, but following this method over time will easily build your online reputation.
