What do I do about bad reviews on my business?

Just ten years ago, if someone was trying to decide whether or not to try a new restaurant, stay at a particular hotel, or even use a certain funeral home, they would ask around their different groups of friends to find out what type of experience they may have had and if those individuals would do business with them again.   While those conversations are still taking place, most of them are happening MUCH faster, perhaps even while they are doing business and they are reaching far beyond a small group of friends or co-workers.   We all know people are more inclined to be vocal about their negative experiences than the positve, so it's highly plausible that the majority of the reviews that are out there are negative and they are highly visible at the top of the search engines.  Do you know what customers are saying about your business and how quickly those reviews are being found?  

When looking for reviews about your business online, people use various sources online.  Some people will go to their favorite search engine like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc... and search for either the name of your business or the services you provide.  Others will go to their favorite review site.  And still others may use some social media sources.  Regardless of where they go, the majority of the review seekers will use the search engines.  What can you do as a business to ensure that people see significantly more positive than negative reviews on your business?

By using a combination of a quality search engine optimization (SEO) campaign and a review management service to encourage and solicit reviews for your business and give you more control over what's being said and how those reviews are distributed. With good diligent efforts, you can perhaps dominate the search results with your website, blog, and social network pages (like Facebook, Twitter etc.) and more positive reviews on your business. So when somebody searches for your company name, you have more likely controlled the results that they see.

Managing Your Reputation Online

Managing an online reputation could become a full time job but should be considered a part of your internet marketing strategy. There is great value in using the Internet as a research tool and this is a trend that is still growing. You need to have a website of your own and if you don’t already manage your reputation online then you should start.

A good online reputation can assist in generating new leads and increase conversions by as much as 10-20%. However, a poor online reputation could lose you money and the longer you leave it, the more difficult it becomes to control and recover.

Many of the social media outlets such as Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn are critical parts of managing your reputation online. WSI has prepared a Social Media strategy kit  that will help you to create and maintain your social media program (click to down load a summary).  This kit is located in our online internet marketing resource library.   If that whets your appetite then contact WSI internet marketing specialists for a free copy of the entire social media kit and a free consultation on improving your online image.

CLICK HERE if you missed PART I on what to do about bad reviews online.