Q&A was part of Next Level Practice, the most supportive community for therapists starting a private practice. In this video, Joe answers the question based on what the difference is between Google / Facebook / Yelp reviews.
Question
Google or Facebook reviews, or Yelp, which are better to ask colleagues for?
Answer
Well they each have different purposes. I actually know a clinician down in Chicago. He had been out in the San Francisco area, and people just kept writing Yelp reviews about him. And, when he moved, that’s the only marketing he’s done. He just changed his address to Chicago and he’s now like number one in Yelp. So, for clients, I think Yelp is a really good one. But, of course, most codes of ethics don’t want you to ask your clients for testimonials. So, definitely don’t do that.
When we’re talking about ranking in Google, that’s definitely where you would want to spend your time initially. So, if I was to structure it, I would first start with your Google Review profile. When you go to any town on Google Maps, the top three will most likely only have a handful of reviews. So, if you can get more than whatever the leader is, it is likely that within a week or so, you will be ranking number one. So, I would really shoot for having as many local people do it, but even if you have people from this group do it. Actually get to know the people, don’t just do it for people. You want to have some legitimacy behind it because your name is associated with that review. So, if it’s your accountability partner, people in your small group, if you get to know each other, that’s a really great way for you to build your reviews.
Facebook reviews, I think those are the least important of the three. They’re just getting people onto your page, but having a page is good enough – people will naturally do that. I wouldn’t really push that as much.
Joseph R. Sanok, MA, LLP, LPC, NCC
Joe Sanok is an ambitious results expert. He is a private practice business consultant and counselor that helps small businesses and counselors in private practice to increase revenue and have more fun! He helps owners with website design, vision, growth, and using their time to create income through being a private practice consultant. Joe was frustrated with his lack of business and marketing skills when he left graduate school. He loved helping people through counseling, but felt that often people couldn’t find him. Over the past few years he has grown his skills, income, and ability to lead others, while still maintaining an active private practice in Traverse City, MI. To link to Joe’s Google+ .
