A recent consumer review survey from BrightLocal has provided interesting insights into the growing power of local search for doctors and dentists. The effectiveness of local search has improved significantly over the last two years. The study showed that 37 percent of consumers used Internet search to find local businesses at least once per month, and a whopping 95 percent of consumers used Internet search to find local businesses in the last one year.

Right Time, Right Place

The goal of local SEO is to ensure that a business or service is present at the right time at the right place. A growing number of businesses are realizing the need to make “moment of interest” connections with local online visitors. It is that “moment of interest” connection when a potential customer turns into an actual customer for a local business.

Local SEO is not just about spreading information and creating awareness about the presence of a local business or service. It is also about the actual conversion of buying intent into sales. Investing in SEO is probably the most cost-effective approach available to a small business or professional service provider in the local market to achieve this sales conversion.

Doctors and Dentists Thriving on Local SEO

The BrightLocal study analyzed the type of businesses that have been gaining the most due to local SEO. Medical and dental practices came in the top five categories that are achieving positive results with local SEO. The other four business categories include restaurants, general stores, hotels and retail shops.

Leading search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo continue to serve as the biggest means for a consumer to identify a local business and seek its products or services. Doctors and dentists with websites ranking high in search results for a large number of localized keywords stand to gain the most in terms of actual patient conversions.

Power of Consumer Reviews

The study noted that 73 percent of consumers say positive customer reviews encourage them to trust a business more. This figure is up from 58 percent last year. 67 percent of consumers also said that it takes them six reviews or lesser to form an opinion about a local business or service. Number of consumers reading 10 or more reviews has gone down by 22 percent from previous year.

In other words, online reputation for doctors and dentists has become more important than ever before. Potential patients are forming opinions faster, and relying on lesser number of online reviews to build trust. Investing in local SEO and online reputation can prove to be hugely advantageous for medical and dental practices, as this study has shown.