The Do's and Dont's of online reviews
Many companies are
at the mercy of Google Reviews these days. As everyone relies on Google for new
business, they are important to maintain. Also, Google Reviews specifically are
linked to the Google Maps results and appear top of the search results page for
company names. If people are doing a local business search they will also find
them.
Other major review websites like Trustpilot, Review Centre and others also play a role on how your company is perceived online. Many business directories like Yell or Yelp also showcase reviews. If you are a hotel, you may rely on your TripAdvisor or Booking.com reviews for example and so there are industry specific review sites too.
With all these review sites it is important to know how to manage your reviews effectively. If you are getting bad reviews knowing how to stop them and get more positive reviews could mean your business doing well, closing down or having to change its name. Here are some tips on what to do and what not to do with regard to your company's online reviews.
Do - cultivate good reviews and ask clients who you have done a good job to take the time to review you. Some may even offer to do so, so allow them to do it as easily as possible by sending them a link to the page you want them to put a review on. You can offer small incentives like 10% off your new order for example.
Don't - reply to a bad review. Replying makes the page seem more balanced as far as Google and the moderators of whatever website you are using. This makes it harder for the review to be removed. It is best to report it to the website itself rather than get dragged into an online argument.
Do - try to contact the person who wrote the bad review asking them to remove it. Unless they are a blogger in which case they may publish your email asking to take the review down on their website for more content. Keep it over the phone when it comes to these negotiations.
Don't - bombard your page with fake positive reviews. It looks fake to have only five star and one star reviews on a page and will attract reviews saying your positive reviews are fake and made by the company. Pay attention to the frequency of your reviews and keep positive reviews being published in the same frequency.
Do - use a reputable reputation company you find in the SEO results for online reputation management. This means they spent years building their online presence, are a local company and didn't just pop up overnight by flipping the ppc switch. Shop around for quotes but remember that if it is too cheap or done in India you might as well throw your money down the drain. Look for a company that takes a personalised approach to your campaign and is happy to discuss it with you at all times, not tell you to wait for the monthly report. The best way to measure your progress with an online reputation management campaign is to simply look on Google (incognito browser). Try Pure Reputation. They are not playing a numbers game, and instead look to do a great job for each client they work with. Call them today on 02071834227.