dominate your online reputation
Online Reputation Tips
Introduction
Online reviews are a fact of life for most businesses today. The good news is that they're still new enough that you can use them to your advantage, if you know how to play the game. Here's what you need to know about how online reviews work and how to get the most out of them, whether your business is big or small.
Make the most of your Google My Business listing.
To make your Google My Business listing more attractive to people searching for your business, make sure to complete all of the required information. This includes:
A complete profile photo of your business.
Accurate hours of operation, address and phone number.
A link to a website that has content about what you do (if appropriate). In many cases, Google will not show a link that appears on the page being linked to as well as on another page within your site or blog. You can use nofollow tags in some cases if you want this link to be followed by search engines but not by visitors who click on it (more details here). You should also use keywords relevant to what you do when writing descriptions and titles if possible without going overboard with keyword stuffing or spammy tactics because they won't help with rankings anyway—and may hurt them!
Respond to feedback and reviews, especially negative ones.
In the world of online reputation, a bad review can sink your business. Negative reviews are one of the most common complaints from customers, and they need to be addressed as quickly and effectively as possible.
Respond to all feedback, positive or negative. Even if someone leaves a positive review for you, take the time to respond with gratitude and excitement at their kind words.
Respond quickly (within 24 hours) and with empathy (responding with "I'm sorry" is not enough). If it's an angry customer who just had a bad experience, responding quickly shows that you care about their issue—and paying attention to how they feel will help inform how you solve it later on.
Ask customers to write reviews on multiple sites.
If you want to get the word out about your product or service, ask customers to write reviews on multiple sites.
Facebook and Yelp are two of the most popular places for people to leave comments about local businesses, and they're also easy places to start. Once you've got some reviews on these sites, Google My Business will show up in search results as well. And if you're looking for more exposure, consider adding TripAdvisor and Foursquare—or any other site that's relevant to your business model—to your list of review-seeking channels.
Create a Yelp account for your business and respond to feedback, good and bad.
Get more customers by creating a Yelp account for the business and responding to customer feedback, good and bad. A few years ago, I went to one of our local restaurants that had been getting great reviews on Yelp. I was so impressed with how many people had left positive reviews about this place that I decided to give it a try myself!
The restaurant was packed when we arrived - no surprise since it was Saturday night in a city where there are lots of other options for dining out. We put our name in at the hostess stand and waited just long enough before being seated at an excellent table overlooking the lake (view spoiler)[(hide spoiler)]. The waiter came over right away with water glasses, menus, utensils, etc., but not too soon so as not make us feel rushed or ignored while he took care of his other customers first (which happens sometimes). He listened carefully when we told him what kind of drinks each person wanted; then he returned quickly with those beverages plus some breadsticks while also asking if anyone needed anything else before taking their order – again without rushing us unnecessarily because he knew we were hungry based on seeing how eagerly everyone dug into their appetizers once they came out with them already devouring them like animals!
Use Facebook Reviews.
Facebook is one of the most popular and highly trafficked websites in the world. As a result, it makes sense to leverage Facebook as an important tool in your online reputation strategy. In addition to providing an easy way for customers to leave reviews, you can also ask them directly by posting on your page or sending an email out with a link asking them to review you on Facebook. These requests should be strategically placed in places where they are likely to be seen by people who have already made purchases or interacted with your brand so that there is a high likelihood of users seeing them and responding accordingly.
Another reason why Facebook reviews are so effective is because they're easy for users who don't normally write reviews themselves (e.g. friends and family members) to share without having their own accounts on review sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor opened up first! This means that even if someone doesn't know how else they could help improve their favorite brand's reputation online, they might still find ways through sharing links via social media platforms like Twitter which could lead them straight back into those pages where there would then hopefully be more opportunities available within each respective site where these conversations happen regularly between individuals who have experienced good service firsthand versus simply relying solely upon third parties such as journalists or news organizations who may not always have access
Build a small business website with a blog component, like WordPress, that allows customers to leave reviews on posts.
To help protect your online reputation, you should create and maintain a small business website with a blog component, like WordPress. This will allow customers to leave reviews on posts. You can also include pages with information about your business and contact information so people can easily find it and get in touch with you if they need something.
In addition to these basic features, we recommend that every small business have an about page that outlines who the owners are as well as their mission statement and goals for their company. A privacy policy should be included on this page as well so that visitors know how you collect and use information from them (for example: do you sell contact info? Do you share it with third parties). If possible, provide a list of social media accounts where people can follow updates from the company rather than just providing links directly into those sites themselves—this will keep things tidy without getting cluttered! Finally, make sure there is always contact information available either directly through the site itself or via linking offsite where appropriate (such as contacting customer service via email address).
Encourage positive reviews from satisfied clients.
Get feedback from your clients.
We can't stress this enough: asking for reviews is the best way to make sure that your online reputation is on track. You'll be able to see what kinds of experiences people are having with you, and if there's anything you can improve upon. If someone had a positive experience with you and would recommend you to others, it's worth asking them for their testimonial so that it can appear on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Use online reviews as part of your overall marketing plan
Online reviews are important to your business. They are a key way to gain new customers, improve your business and create customer loyalty. Use online reviews as part of your overall marketing plan:
Use online reviews as a way to grow your business. By showing potential clients what others think about you, you can increase the trust they have in your company. If they see that others think highly of you, they may be more likely to do business with you themselves!
Use online reviews as a way to build customer loyalty by giving them an opportunity for their voice to be heard or answered publicly (or privately). You could even create an incentive system where each time someone leaves positive feedback on Yelp or another site, they get special perks like exclusive coupons or discounts! This will help build excitement around leaving feedback which means more people will be inclined towards leaving it because they know there's something really cool waiting at the end!
Conclusion
In conclusion, online reviews are a tool that you need to use as part of your overall marketing plan. They are not just there to be read by customers; they can also be an opportunity for you to create more sales leads and even increase traffic on your website.