The 5-Point Review Health Check Every Practice Should Run Monthly
🧠 You Track Patients, Revenue, and Staff — Why Not Your Reputation?
You probably already track:
- Daily appointments
- Monthly production
- Staff performance
- Revenue goals
- No-show rates
But here’s a critical question most practices don’t ask:
“How healthy is our online reputation this month?”
Your Google reviews are your first impression, your public scorecard, and your most visible form of trust.
Yet most dental, chiropractic, and medspa practices treat reviews like a one-time project — not a living, breathing asset.
This post gives you a simple, repeatable 5-point review health check to run every month.
If you do it, you’ll:
- Catch small issues before they become big problems
- Outpace local competitors
- Align your team around reputation
- And protect the ROI of your marketing long term
✅ Why You Need a Monthly Review Health Check
Most practices only look at reviews when:
- A bad one comes in
- A patient mentions something concerning
- Or they’re trying to “boost SEO” temporarily
That’s reactive.
A monthly health check makes your reputation proactive. Just like a hygiene appointment, it helps you:
- Identify decay early
- Strengthen weak spots
- Keep your online presence polished and protected
It takes 15–20 minutes a month — and can save you thousands in lost leads over time.
📋 The 5 Metrics You Need to Track Every Month
Let’s walk through the 5 things you (or your office manager) should check every 30 days.
1. Review Velocity (How Many New Reviews You Got)
This is the first sign of life. If your review count is stagnant, your reputation is at risk.
What to check:
- How many reviews did we get on Google this month?
- How does that compare to last month?
- What’s the 90-day trend?
Why it matters:
- Google favors consistent activity, not just high totals
- Patients judge you based on recency, not just rating
- Competitors with higher velocity will overtake you — even with fewer reviews overall
Target to aim for:
- Dental: 15–25/month
- Chiropractic: 10–20/month
- Medspa: 20–30/month
- Other businesses: 8–15/month
💡 If you're under these targets, it means your review funnel is broken or inconsistent.
2. Review Recency (How Old Is the Most Recent Review?)
Even if your volume is solid, an old top review kills momentum.
What to check:
- What’s the date of the most recent Google review?
- How many reviews have come in the last 14 days?
Why it matters:
- Google shows the latest reviews first — stale reviews look like you’ve gone quiet
- Patients are 2x more likely to call a business with recent feedback
- Recency impacts trust, conversion, and map rankings
Danger zone:
- If your latest review is more than 30 days old — you’re fading from Google’s radar
3. Review Sentiment (How Many Were Positive vs Negative?)
Don’t just count reviews — read them.
What to check:
- How many reviews this month were 4–5 stars?
- Any 1–3 star reviews?
- What are people praising — or complaining about?
- Are specific services or staff mentioned?
Why it matters:
- Negative reviews drop your average fast
- Keywords and sentiment affect SEO relevance
- Positive mentions can guide marketing content
- Recurring complaints = operational blind spots
Bonus insight:
- Use AI to track review tone and extract trends (ex: long wait times, messy bathroom, rude staff)
💡 Don’t wait for 5 bad reviews in a row. One issue mentioned twice = red flag.
4. Review Responses (Did You Reply to Every Review?)
Most businesses never respond to their reviews. That’s a mistake.
What to check:
- Did we respond to 100% of reviews this month?
- Are our replies personalized and warm — or generic?
- Did we address any negative reviews professionally and promptly?
Why it matters:
- Google sees replies as engagement signals
- Patients expect responsiveness
- Silence = perceived indifference (especially for bad reviews)
Best practices:
- Reply to all reviews within 48 hours
- Thank by name when possible
- Address specific feedback
- For negatives: apologize + offer resolution offline
💡 Use AI to generate review replies in real-time — so you never fall behind.
5. Top Review Visibility (What Are the First 3 Reviews Prospects See?)
This one is often overlooked — but it’s make-or-break.
When someone Googles your business, they see a preview of 3 reviews — usually the latest and/or most relevant.
What to check:
- Go to Google
- Search your practice name
- Read the 3 review snippets Google shows publicly
Are they:
- Positive?
- Recent?
- Service-specific?
- Reflective of your brand?
Or are they:
- Generic?
- Old?
- Negative?
Why it matters:
- These 3 reviews act like your front door
- Every warm lead sees them — often before they visit your website
- Even one bad review in the preview can kill a conversion
💡 If the top 3 reviews are weak, your review strategy needs immediate attention.
🔁 Bonus: 3 Things to Do With Your Review Insights Each Month
Knowing your data is just the beginning. Here’s how to act on it:
1. Recognize Staff Named in Positive Reviews
- Share in team huddles
- Highlight in your newsletter or Slack
- Celebrate specific moments (not just volume)
This boosts morale and encourages consistent service excellence.
2. Use Positive Reviews in Marketing
Take excerpts and repurpose them in:
- Google Ads
- Instagram Stories
- Flyers and print materials
- Website testimonials
When your ads match what people are already saying, trust goes up — and so do bookings.
3. Fix Operational Issues Cited in Negatives
If patients mention:
- Wait times
- Staff attitude
- Cleanliness
- Scheduling issues
…don’t dismiss it. Use it to improve.
Address complaints privately, but act on patterns publicly — that’s how you build lasting trust.
🧠 Why Review Health Ties Directly to Your Bottom Line
Let’s be blunt:
Your reviews affect whether people call you, book with you, and trust you — before they ever speak to you.
No matter how much you spend on ads or how nice your office looks:
- One negative review at the top kills conversions
- A stale review profile lowers your ranking
- A 4.3 rating next to a competitor’s 4.8 gives them the edge
A weak review profile makes all your marketing work harder.
A strong one makes everything convert better.
📈 What a Healthy Review Profile Looks Like
⭐ 4.7+ average rating
🧾 20–30 reviews/month (depending on size)
📆 Most recent review < 7 days old
💬 100% response rate to reviews
🔁 Trends monitored monthly
📌 Positive top 3 review visibility
🧠 Keywords like “gentle,” “helpful,” “no wait,” “pain-free,” “[city name]” appear regularly
🙋 Staff names and service types are mentioned organically
🧰 Tools to Make Review Health Easy to Track
Here’s how to simplify the process:
Use:
- Google Business Profile to scan top reviews and ratings
- Monthly email reports from your review system to spot trends
- A shared doc to track key metrics with your staff
Or, better yet — automate it all.
⚙️ How GetReviews.Live Makes This Entire System Hands-Free
With GetReviews.Live, your practice gets:
- A smart Google review stand or SMS-based prompt system
- Review filtering to catch negative feedback privately
- AI-generated responses to every Google review
- Monthly trend reports showing sentiment, staff mentions, and velocity
- Visibility tracking for your most recent and most impactful reviews
You stay in control — without needing to remember a thing.
Your team stays engaged.
Your patients stay loyal.
Your reviews stay strong.
🏁 Final Thoughts: Don’t Let Your Reputation Drift
You wouldn’t let your hygiene schedule go unchecked for 6 months.
You wouldn’t ignore production trends.
So don’t ignore your reviews.
Your online reputation is an asset.
It either builds trust for free — or bleeds trust silently.
A monthly 5-point checkup gives you:
- Clarity
- Control
- Confidence
And it ensures your next 1-star review doesn’t catch you by surprise.
Because when you manage your reviews the way you manage your business — you win.
🔗 Ready to Put Your Review Health on Autopilot?
GetReviews.Live gives you:
- A monthly inflow of fresh, positive reviews
- Private feedback routing for unhappy clients
- AI-powered responses to every Google review
- Review trend reports — all hands-free