The Clinic Marketing Podcast - Local SEO & Healthcare Online Marketing Tips for Clinic Owners & Wellness Providers

Google’s New Anonymous Reviews: New Problems, Smart Responses for Clinics | Ep 141

• Darcy Sullivan • Episode 141

Share episode

Google’s new anonymous reviews are changing how your clinic shows up in Google Search and Google Maps. In this episode, I break down what the new anonymous review feature actually is, how it affects your reputation, and the simple steps you can take to manage it without losing your mind. We cover when to flag a review, how to respond without breaking privacy rules, and I share copy-and-paste reply templates you can customize for your own clinic so you are never stuck wondering what to say again. 

💥💥💥Episode webpage, show notes, and copy-and-paste templates >> https://propelyourcompany.com/google-anonymous-review/

Send in your questions. ❤ We'd love to hear from you!

NEW Webinar: How to dominate Google Search, Google Maps, AI-driven search results, and get more new patients.

>> Save your spot 🎉

In this 1-Hour SEO Planning Session, you’ll learn what it takes to thrive online and convert online traffic into foot traffic.

Plus, Get a Free Patient-Centered SEO Action Plan to Kickstart Your Strategy!

🎉 NEW Webinar: How to dominate Google Search, Google Maps, AI-driven search results, and get more new patients without spending a dime on ads

https://propelyourcompany.com/learn


📞Book a discovery call - Book a discovery call with Propel to see how smart SEO and website design can help your clinic get found online.

https://propelyourcompany.com/


Let's Stay Connected:


SPEAKER_00:

Hey there, it's Darcy Sullivan from Propel Marketing and Design, and you're listening to the Clinic Marketing Podcast. Today we are talking about something that is going to change how your reviews look inside Google Search and Google Maps. Google is rolling out a new feature that lets people leave anonymous reviews. In practical terms, that means a patient can leave a review using a custom name and a non-identifiable photo instead of their real name and regular profile picture while still being logged into a Google account behind the scenes. If you already feel like the world of online reviews is a bit like the Wild West, this might sound pretty scary. So in this episode, we are going to unpack what this change actually is, why Google's doing it, the pros and cons for clinics, and the smart moves you can make right now to protect your reputation and still get great reviews. So grab a cup of coffee and let's dive in. First, let's clear up what this feature is and what it's not. Now, depending on when you're listening to this episode, this feature may or may not be completely rolled out. In November of 2025, Google announced that Google Maps and Google Reviews are getting an option for users to post reviews anonymously. In the interface, this shows up as an option to use a custom display name and a generic or non-identifiable profile photo when you leave reviews. From the outside, when someone sees the review on your Google Business profile, they will see that chosen nickname instead of the person's real name. So they might see something like Happy Patient or Busy Mom and Boca instead of Jane Smith, the actual person's name. Behind the scenes, Google still knows who the account is. The user must be logged into a Google account, and Google can still track and enforce policies on that account. So they are not anonymous in a technical sense, but in the way that the public sees them, they will be. Here's a few important details to note. These anonymous reviews will count just like regular reviews for rankings and visibility. The same review policies are still in play, including rules against harassment, hate, explicit content, spam, and anything that shows a conflict of interest. The rollout is global over time, so you might not see it on your own Google account yet, but your patients may start seeing messages about this as Google promotes it in the future. So that's the overall feature at a high level. Now let's talk about why Google is doing this and what it means for your clinic. And hopefully you're still listening. Be sure to listen all the way to the end because I have a script for you about how to handle some of these anonymous reviews that are going to be coming in that might be negative because let's face it, you're going to be fighting spam in a whole new way. So why is Google doing this? Well, Google is positioning this as a privacy and safety update. For years, people have tried to leave anonymous reviews anyway by changing their Google name or creating a separate account. Google is basically making that behavior official and more user-friendly. There are a few reasons. People want privacy. We get that, right? Some are afraid to leave information, especially if they're leaving negative reviews because it's showcasing their name. And Google wants more review volume and more honest feedback. And privacy lowers that barrier for people to write those types of reviews. From Google's perspective, this can increase the number of reviews and make people feel safer when they talk about their experiences with specific companies. From a clinic owner perspective, this leads us straight into the pros and cons. Let's start with the pros, the upsides of this. The good news is hopefully more people may finally leave reviews. You probably have patients who love you but also don't want their name publicly tied to a review about a specific condition or treatment. With anonymous reviews, those people may feel more comfortable leaving feedback. That can mean higher review volume, more up-to-date reviews, which Google loves, and a better representation of how patients actually feel about your care. And think about this, especially if you offer services that people don't have really want to yell at the top of the roof that they are having a condition that you treat. This really could lead to more high-quality positive reviews. Again, you're gonna get more candid feedback. When people feel safer, they are often more honest. Some anonymous reviews may include details that patients would never share under their own name. This can lead to highlighting patterns in your front desk experience, revealing frictions, points, and scheduling, billing, waiting times, and communication, and give you very real language to use when you are improving your website, the content you push out, or your patient journey. You still need to filter out the noise, but there is real value in raw patient language, even when it stings a little bit. And again, we already highlighted this, but privacy alignments for sensitive services. If you're a therapist, counselor, fertility specialist, addiction clinic, or work with conditions people do not want to broadcast to the public, this can actually align better with patient expectations around privacy. They can praise your clinic without outing themselves to their neighbors. For some categories, this could be such a positive overtime. Now, there are downsides, so let's talk about those. Even before this change, fake and unfair reviews were already a problem. Anonymous reviews can dial this up. It's easier for bad actors, for people to come out like your competition to leave negative reviews, for former staff or personal enemies to attack your business, for people who were never patients to pile on during the dispute. Is this brand new behavior? No. But the optics are changing. When names are hidden by default, it becomes harder for a business to tell if a review is real or if it isn't. It can be harder to connect a real review to a real patient visit. Right now, if Jane Smith leaves a review about an issue with a specific appointment, you can sometimes connect that to your internal records and follow up appropriately while still staying HIPAA compliant. With anonymous reviews, it becomes much more difficult to make a public complaint to a real-world encounter. This makes service recovery harder and can be frustrating to your team. This can also bring on emotional wear and tear to your staff. There's already an emotional cost to reading harsh reviews when you genuinely care about your patients and their outcomes. Now imagine reading something that came from Anonymous patient 714. It can feel more like a drive-by attack and less like feedback from a real person you can make things right with. This can increase burnout from owners to staff members who are monitoring these reviews. You also have the risk for an increase in the number of spam reviews. There's already been a lot of commentary around this and the fact that this creates concerns in the future that may create more opportunities for spam and manipulation campaigns. We'll have to see how Google enforces its policies in practice, but the risk is real and one that you should plan for. Now, here's what's not gonna change, and this is important. Before this starts to sound like the scalia is falling, which it's not, let us ground ourselves in what is still true. Reviews still must follow Google's policies. This includes the bans on hate and harassment, explicit or dangerous content, off-topic rants or political content that does not relate to real experience, conflicts of interest, content that reveals personal health information without consent. Anonymous display names do not give someone a free pass. If a review clearly violates this guidelines, any of those guidelines, you can still flag it. This also brings us back to some of the basics. Reviews still matter for rankings. Reviews are still very strong as a local ranking factor in Google search and Google Maps. Quality, quantity, recency, and review text all play a role. Anonymous reviews are expected to carry the same ranking weight as a normal review. So you can't ignore reviews just because the system changed. You still want to collect a steady stream of new reviews, detailed text in those reviews, and a healthy overall rating. You still have the right to respond. You still can respond to these reviews even if the name is generic or anonymous. Your reply will now play an even bigger role in how potential patients interpret the reviews. They may think, I don't know who this reviewer is, but I can see exactly how the clinic handled it. You still have the same tools to report suspicious patterns. If you suddenly get a burst of one-star anonymous reviews that mention details that do not match to any of your patients, come from multiple locations where you know you don't have patients, or repeat nearly identical wording, you can document those patterns and submit them to Google through the reporting options. Will every bad review be removed? No. But you're not powerless. Now let's get into how your review strategy needs to adapt. We're gonna get practical here. What should you actually do differently as a clinic owner or marketing lead? Well, you need to keep asking for reviews and maybe lean into the privacy angle. Please do not stop asking for reviews because of this change. Instead, slightly update your language. Here are some examples you can use or adapt. If you feel comfortable, we would love it if you can share a review on Google. You can even choose a display name on your Google profile if you prefer not to use your full name publicly. Or your feedback really helps other people in the community find care. You are always welcome to adjust your Google name or photo if you prefer more privacy when leaving a review. You are not telling people to be deceptive. You are simply acknowledging that Google now offers different privacy options, and that's okay. I also want you to double down on internal documentation because you will not always be able to match a review to a specific patient. It becomes more important to document complaints and service issues internally, track patterns and front desk notes and patient follow-ups, keep a basic log of serious conflicts and disputes. That way, when you see an anonymous review that sounds familiar, you can still connect it to a situation you remember and respond thoughtfully. This one, this next step, is extremely important. Create a standard anonymous negative review response template. You want a HIPAA-safe, calm, professional framework you can reuse. Something along the lines of the following. And listen, if you're listening to this podcast episode, please be sure to visit the episode webpage and blog post where you can copy and paste the exact verbiage that I am about to provide you, along with other copy and paste resources to help you improve those reviews that you are getting in. Okay, are you ready? Here we go. Here is the suggested HIPAA safe, calm, and professional framework you can reuse. Something along the lines of thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. We are sorry to hear about your experience. We take all feedback seriously and always want our patients to feel heard and supported. Because of patient privacy laws, we cannot confirm whether someone is a patient or discuss care publicly. However, we would really like the opportunity to learn more and see if we can address your concerns. Please call our office at give the phone number and ask for give a name or use the contact form on our website so we can speak to you directly. This does a few important things. It shows future patients that you care and take feedback seriously. Stays on the right side of the privacy rules and invites a private conversation instead of a public flight. Now you may want to tweak the wording for your brand, but have a go-to template ready. You also need to train your team on what to flag. Make sure someone on your team knows what Google considers prohibited review content, how to flag a review within your Google Business Profile, and when to escalate suspicious patterns. Teach them the difference between we just don't like this review, and this review actually violates Google's policies. That will save you a lot of time and frustration. You want to make sure that you watch for volatilities in your overall ratings. During the early rollout period, you may see a bump in total review numbers. You might see more polarized reviews at extremes, extremely positive, extremely negative. You might see short-term swings in your SAR ratings. You want to be sure to monitor these trends, but try not to panic over every single little blip. Focus on long-term averages, volume of recent reviews, and overall story your reviews tell somebody scrolling through them. So what should you keep an eye out for over the next few months? This feature is new, like we've already mentioned, and Google has a history of testing things, adjusting things, and sometimes even rolling back changes because they create chaos. Here's what you want to keep an eye out for. One, your category. Be certain that your category is the correct category listed in your Google Business Profile. Certain types of clinics might see more abuse bra than others. For example, hot button areas like weight loss, mental health, and pain management. Watch for patterns in review text. Are you seeing more vague drive-by reviews? Or are people still writing detailed feedback? Use that to guide how you respond and what you emphasize in your own patient education. Make sure that you're aware of any updates in Google's policies. Keep an eye on Google's review policies. You want to stay on top of any updates in Google's policies. One of our goals at Propel is to try to make sure that we get you this information as soon as it starts to unfold, which is one of the reasons why we actually moved this podcast episode up because this is such an important topic. If you're interested in staying up to date, if you aren't already following our blog posts or getting our emails, please sign up by visiting propelyourcompany.com. And you can also always keep an eye on Google's review policy pages. And it's worth probably digging into your analytics. And if you need to, you can book an appointment by booking a discovery call with Propel if you need some additional help with your Google Business Profile listing, or you can also always book a Google Business Profile audit. Now, let's kind of summarize what is going on here and what it means for your clinic. All right, let's start to boil this down. So here's what we know so far anonymous reviews are being rolled out. Patients will be able to hide their names and photos publicly while Google still sees their account information in the background. This will make some patients more comfortable leaving honest feedback, especially in sensitive areas, which could be a good thing. It also increases the risk of spam, fake reviews, and emotionally tough feedback that feels less accountable. The core review fundamentals have not changed. You still need a healthy review profile, consistent new reviews, thoughtful responses, and a process for flagging violations. Clinics that will win in this new environment are ones that stay calm, stay patient-centered, and treat this as another reason to tighten up their systems instead of hiding from reviews. So what are your action steps after listening to this episode? One, update your review, ask scripts to gently acknowledge privacy options. Create or refine your negative review response templates, especially for anonymous reviewers. Train at least one team member on how to monitor and flag reviews properly. And four, keep your foot on the gas for earning more positive reviews from real happy patients. If you have any questions about these changes and how they might affect your specific clinic or type of practice, please feel free to reach out. Alright, that's it for today's episode. If you found this helpful, share it with another clinic owner or marketing manager who is stressed about reviews. And as always, if you want more resources to help you improve your visibility in Google search and Google Maps, check the show notes for the link. Thanks for listening to this episode.

Head Shot

Darcy Sullivan

Host