Those of you who read my blog posts on Internet marketing and strategy know that I have been a huge fan of Google. Simply stated, Google is by far the most dominant and popular search engine. Since 90% of buying decisions these days are influenced by people searching on the Internet for products or services, I have taken the position that it is extremely important that your dental practice website position well on the local Google business Map.

One of the best ways to optimize the position of your site is by accumulating reviews from satisfied and happy patients. There is a direct correlation between the quality and volume of patient reviews and how you rank on the map. Not surprisingly, studies show that people choose from the top two or three sites.

It used to be relatively easy for someone to leave a review on Google. But about three months ago, Google Pages morphed into something called Google+Local. Google changed its rating system (stars to Zagat) and required anyone trying to write a review to join Google+Local. This required you to leave your full name and a bunch of information about your friends and your interests. The theory was that Google was trying to become the next Facebook. Google claimed it instituted these changes in order to try to prevent false or spam reviews detrimental to legitimate businesses.

Well whatever they did has been an unmitigated disaster because it is now almost impossible to post a review. The person writing the review from his/her computer sees the review published on his/her computer screen, but the review does not transfer to the Google Page of the business. I’m not certain if dentists are aware of this, but go ahead and try to write a review and you’ll see exactly what I am speaking about. Check your own Google+Local page and most likely you will not see a new review posted in over three months.

I took some flak recently when not because of this problem with Google –but because of the Apple Maps connection to Yelp on the new iPhone 5 – I started recommending that dentists spread their reviews around and to try to solicit reviews from their patients on Yelp. Well guess what–even though Yelp aggressively filters reviews–at least they get posted!

I am distressed and disappointed with what Google has done. They are without a doubt harming their own brand. How can a company so smart be acting in this manner? Google of course doesn’t even answer the phone–all complaints have to be done by e-mail, and they rarely if ever respond. I have enlisted the help of a number of tech savvy people, but to date nobody has been able to figure this out. I can say that over the past two weeks, a very small number of reviews are starting to get through. But it is very spotty. So when a patient wants to write a review for you, don’t waste the opportunity. Have them use Yelp until further notice.

The good news is that Google references reviews from all other rating sites. So your Yelp reviews will help your position on the Google Map. Go figure!!

A new client recently asked me a question about disability insurance. I referred her to a that I had written a few years ago. But her question prompted me to revisit the inner workings of disability insurance, so I would like to share with you my latest thoughts and recommendations.

1. Purchase a policy that is non-cancelable/ guaranteed renewable. This type of policy cannot be changed by the insurance company. Policies that are not guaranteed are typically group policies.

2. Only consider purchasing what is called “own occupation”. In the event that you are disabled and cannot work as a dentist, with this type of policy you can earn income from other sources yet still be able to collect your full disability benefits. This is a more expensive policy, but if you don’t buy this type of coverage, income earned from other sources will be deducted from your benefits.

3. With “own occupation” coverage, you are basically insuring your career–all the money, hard work, and years of education that it took for you to become a dentist. Why wouldn’t you want to insure that to the fullest extent possible? In fact, with “own occupation” coverage, if you become disabled,  you still retain the option of ownership of your dental practice

4.  You want your policy to pay residual or partial benefits if you are still able to perform some duties as a dentist, but not all duties.

5. Be sure that mental/nervous disorders are covered. Most policies don’t cover this for dentists.

6. Keep coverage relevant to your current income–not what you were earning 5, 10, or 15 years ago

7. You absolutely must have an office overhead expense policy in addition to your disability coverage. Disability coverage is designed to cover your fixed personal expenses–mortgage, college tuitions, student and/or business loans, etc.

8. Avoid shopping for price. When you buy disability insurance, you are buying a promise. If it is cheap coverage, it is probably a bad promise.

According to everything that I read, it is not only possible–but probable–that a dentist will become disabled before the age of 65. That being said, it is so important to have the proper coverage. I strongly advise having a disability insurance expert review the contract language in the policy. These contracts can either be written in your favor, or in favor of the insurance company. Your choice!