There is no doubt that the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has thrown
many dentists, and their patients, for a major loop. We want to keep
you informed and updated on any changes in your marketing services
offerings as they arise.
In an effort to keep business listing information flowing and
uncluttered, Google announced on 3/20/20 that it was temporarily
disabling and limiting many features in Google My Business.
Additionally, Google also added a “temporarily closed’ option on 3/25/20
into Google My Business for businesses that are closed as a result of
coronavirus (more info below).
So what is different? What do you need to know? Let’s break it down for you below.
The main features that have been removed:
New Reviews
- During this period, no new reviews will be published to Google
My Business profiles. Potential reviewers will still be allowed to post
and see their own reviews at this time, but they will not be visible to
the public.
- It has not been disclosed as of yet whether these pending reviews will be visible once Google has lifted its restriction.
Review Replies
- Review replies have also been temporarily disabled. Without new
reviews being posted, there is obviously less of a need for your
business or marketing partner to respond right now. You will not be able
to respond to any existing reviews currently on your profile, either.
Q&As
- Noticed that your Q&A section looks different? Maybe it is
gone altogether? Don’t worry as these are also part of Google’s
temporary GMB changes. Q&As have been removed, and will not be
visible to the public, and potential patients will not be able to post
new questions.
The main features that have been limited:
Adding, Claiming, and Verifying Listings (with a catch)
- While this is not being completely removed, Google’s listing
review process is now favoring and prioritizing health-related
businesses, with dental care being included! Businesses that are not
health-related can expect delays when adding and claiming listings, as
well as receiving listing verifications.
Editing Business Information
- Limitations to updating business information such as open and
closed status, special hours, temporary closures, your business
description, and business attributes will NOT be imposed on
health-related industries. This is a good thing for you and your
practice as the previous prioritization also applies here.
Other changes we have seen:
Google Posts Are Now More Important Than Ever
As of today, Google has created a special COVID-19 Google Post type
that we are already implementing for our SEO clients. On top of these
special formats, we continue to recommend using Google Posts as a way to
help stay in touch with your patients, and also to alert them of any
hour changes or updates to your Emergency Dental services. If you have
any special messaging you would like to share, we would be happy to
create a post for you.
As always, Google Posts are an effective method to ensure important
information and changes about your practice are visible to searchers in
your local area.
Temporarily Closed Button
This will allow your business to be marked as temporarily closed. If
you are planning on continuing to take emergency clients during this
crisis, we recommend staying away from this as you will likely see a
drop in rankings. However, if you are closing down for an extended
period of time, this will help keep your current and future patients
updated on your most recent status. We always recommend keeping your
information as accurate as possible to help searchers at this time.
Why is Google doing this?
Google has publicly spoken about their reasoning for doing this. As
you can expect, the pandemic has also affected their workforce, as well
as their outlook on helping businesses like yours navigate the pandemic.
The reasons for the removals and limitations:
- To ensure health-related businesses are able to keep customers updated about critical information whenever possible.
- To
limit the burden on businesses who are likely to be inundated with
questions related to COVID-19, which heavily involves health-related and
dental care providers.
What’s next?
There is no timeframe or limit on how long these changes will be in
place, but we expect they won’t be the last changes we’ll see during the
COVID-19 crisis.
We will continue to keep you posted in our CampGDW sessions, blogs,
via email, and our social media groups on this and any other changes
that may arise.
Rest assured we are working hard to keep our clients informed and updated to the best of our abilities!
As always, if you have questions or want to learn more, please contact your account manager or support@greatdentalwebsites.com