How can an your practice get more Google reviews?
Good practices often have too few Google reviews, because nobody has time to ask. Why asking only happy patients breaks Google’s rules, and how OmniTrust texts every patient after their appointment, passes concerns to you privately and sends everyone the same review link.
How can an eye care practice get more Google reviews?
By Dr Kuki Hundal, founder of Omni A-Eye
The short answer: ask every patient the same way, and never pick who gets asked. When a good practice has too few reviews, the usual cause is a busy team. OmniTrust texts each patient after their appointment and holds a proper two-way conversation in your practice's name. It passes any concern to you privately, so that you can address any issues before a review is left.
Why do good practices have so few Google reviews?
In clinic, the best feedback you'll ever get is said out loud. A patient tries on their new glasses and tells your dispensing optician it's like having new eyes.
Or, they get up from having vision correction surgery and it's a wow moment.
Lovely. Then they go home, and it's never written down anywhere.
Meanwhile, someone is supposed to ask for the review. Usually that's whoever is on the desk, at the end of a transaction, with the next patient waiting. "Would you mind leaving us a Google review?".
Some practices put a card by the till instead: a laminated monument to good intentions.
The result is a review count that doesn't match the practice. An American optometrist described it on Reddit last year. The big chains nearby had hundreds of Google reviews, the practice had about eight, and despite years in business it made them "look sketchy". Asking patients felt awkward and wasn't working. (Reddit, r/optometry)
You can have twenty years of loyal patients, and Google still shows as though you opened last month.
Why do Google reviews matter so much for an eye practice?
Patients choose an optometrist, or a surgeon, the way they choose most things now. They search, then they read what other patients said.
Private ophthalmology is no different. A YouGov survey of more than 2,000 people, reported by Healthcare Today, found that people choosing a private consultant want up-to-date information, including patient satisfaction ratings, and that missing information leaves them uncertain. (Healthcare Today)
So the practice down the road with four hundred reviews looks a safer bet than yours with forty, even if yours is the better practice. And a most recent review from eight months ago doesn't say "trusted for twenty years". It says "are they still open?"
Reviews bring you something more useful than stars, too: what patients actually think, while there's still time to do something about it.
Can you send the review link only to happy patients?
No, although some review software is built to do exactly that.
It's called review gating. A text goes out asking how the visit went. Happy patients get the Google link. Unhappy ones get a private feedback form, and the public never hears from them. On paper, it's a tidy way to collect five-star reviews.
Google's own policy says businesses must not "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers". (Google Maps content policy) In the UK, the CMA's guidance on fake reviews, published in April 2025, lists encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews as a form of cherry-picking that can mislead people reading them. (CMA fake reviews guidance)
Google also bans offering anything in return for a review, and says you shouldn't pressure people to write one while they're on the premises. That rules out "five pounds off your next eye test", and the hopeful hover by the card machine.
So the safest route is also the simple one. Ask everyone, the same way, and let them say what they think.
The trick is to use AI to find out who might not be happy so you can get to them first and resolve any concerns they may have.
What does it look like when reviews look after themselves?
A patient collects their glasses at eleven on a Thursday. At two o'clock, a short text arrives in your practice's name, asking how today went.
They reply, and it turns into a real conversation. They're asked how they would rate their experience. If they're delighted, they're thanked and asked if they would leave a review - if they consent - the AI sends them your Google review link. If something wasn't right, say the frame is pinching or the wait was too long, OmniTrust asks a question or two, thanks them and tells them the practice will be in touch. Your practice manager gets an alert by SMS or email or both that afternoon with what was said, so someone can ring before the end of the day and solve the issue.
Nobody at the desk had to ask ahving just taken the patient's credit card and charged them the fee. The compliment that would have been said out loud is now on Google, in the patient's own words.
In a private ophthalmology clinic, the clinic chooses the moment, for example after a consultation, or once a patient has been discharged.
How does OmniTrust work?
OmniTrust is the Omni A-Eye worker for reviews and reputation. It runs on rules your practice sets.
It sends a short text after the appointment types you choose, at the time you choose.
It holds a two-way conversation, using wording your practice has approved.
It gives every patient the same link to your Google profile..
It passes any concern straight to a named person at the practice, with the conversation attached.
It hands any question about eyes or symptoms to your team. It doesn't answer clinical questions.
It only texts patients you're allowed to contact, and anyone can opt out.
It never writes, edits or posts a review. Patients write their own, in their own words.
To get started, OmniTrust only needs your Google review link. Nobody needs access to your Google account.
What changes for the practice?
More of the goodwill you've already earned ends up on Google, and nobody at the desk has to ask for it. When someone is unhappy, you hear first, while you can still put it right.
Importantly - you now OWN your own review. You don't need to 'pay rent' for them.
See it on your own phone
On the demo call, we'll send the OmniTrust text to your mobile as if you were one of your own patients, using your practice's name. Reply however you like, delighted or furious about the car park, and watch the alert arrive in your inbox.
Dr Kuki Hundal Founder, Omni A-Eye
FAQ
Is it allowed to ask patients for Google reviews? Yes. Google allows businesses to ask for reviews. What its policy forbids is discouraging negative reviews, selectively asking for positive ones, offering incentives, and pressuring people to review while they're on the premises.
Can I ask only my happy patients for a Google review? No. That's review gating. Google's policy prohibits it, and the CMA's guidance on fake reviews treats encouraging only satisfied customers as a form of cherry-picking.
What is review gating? Checking how a customer feels first, then sending only the happy ones to Google and steering the unhappy ones to a private form. OmniTrust can the same Google link to everyone - the practice owner decides how they want it setup.
Can I offer a discount or a free eye test in exchange for a review? No. Google's policy bans offering payment, discounts or free goods or services in return for a review.
What happens if a patient says they're unhappy? OmniTrust thanks them, asks what went wrong, and alerts a named person at the practice straight away so they can follow up.
Does OmniTrust write reviews for patients? No. It never writes, edits or posts a review. Patients write their own.
Does OmniTrust need access to our Google account? Not to get started. It only needs your practice's Google review link.
Will OmniTrust answer a patient's clinical question? No. Any question about eyes or symptoms is handed to your team.
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