If, in France, a medical establishment has a special status on many aspects, it does not escape the need to take care of its online reputation. Of course, it does not provide services or sell products. The medical profession offers vital expertise to its patients. However, this know-how is scrutinized and evaluated as for all other professions and must be visible on the Internet. It is crucial to inspire confidence in patients who entrust you with their health. Remember that your Google My Business listings are important sources of information for patients looking for data on a professional or a practitioner.

To attract new patients, healthcare professionals cannot use advertising since it is forbidden to them. Therefore, online reputation is all the more crucial for them. And it represents one of the best assets to increase the visibility of the healthcare sector through the publication of numerous positive reviews on search engines and dedicated review sites. Unfortunately, bad reviews can also swarm through doctors’ profiles. They can tarnish their reputation and quickly drive away patients. The fact remains that some comments do not belong on the online profiles of professionals.

Through this article, we help you determine the line that should not be crossed by individuals when writing comments on a web page. We explain how to deal with criticism when it is justified and how to proceed with the deletion of notes or comments when they are inappropriate.

What Google reviews can doctors delete?

Anyone can freely publish reviews (ratings and/or comments) on Google and other search engines, online directories or dedicated review platforms. If the freedom of expression is thus assured, it is not less framed. Because there are clearly defined limits and each site publishes them in full view of everyone. Google is no exception and you can consult the web page describing its rules dedicated to reviews at any time.

Google My Business and Google Maps reviews are considered undesirable as long as they belong to the following content categories:

• Spam and false content
• Illegal or restricted speech
• Off topic publications
• Terrorist or sexual statements
• Offensive, dangerous or degrading statements
• Identity theft
• Conflicts of interest

As you can see, you do not have the right to delete reviews published on your Google My Business listing at will. You can only ask the Google team to remove reviews if they are fake (they are not from real patients) or inappropriate (they incite hate, have nothing to do with your business, etc.).

If you are not happy with a patient’s opinion but it does not fit directly into one of these categories, you will not be allowed to delete it. You will have to live with it. Rest assured, there are ways to deal with this and save your reputation. We’ll cover the response to reviews very quickly in this article.

What actions should I take to have a Google doctor review removed?

If a review is found to be unlawful and unfairly damaging to your healthcare facility’s reputation, you can report it to Google teams to have it removed from your Google My Business profile.

You can report the problematic review from Google Maps or from the Google Search engine. First, make sure you’re signed in to your Google My Business account and then follow these steps:

1. Search for your Google My Business listing from Google Maps or Google Search
2. Click on your number of Google reviews

3. Find the inappropriate review, click on the three little dots and then click “Report Review” on Google Search or “Report as Inappropriate” on Google Maps.