What is Reputation Management?
Reputation Management is the process of monitoring and responding to reviews that your business receives online. This has become a vital focus for businesses over the last decade and is a necessary part of brand management. A recent study shows that 93% of consumers read online reviews before purchasing a product or service and a business with score of 3.3 is the minimum that a consumer would consider engaging with.
How do reviews affect search engine rankings?
Reviews can also affect your search engine ranking. The process of finding businesses has changed a great deal now that the internet is in the pocket of most consumers in the country. Businesses used to rely on paid media marketing and word-of-mouth referrals for most of their new business. Now that more and more consumers are turning to search engines to choose businesses, Google has started filtering out local businesses with less than a 4-star score.
“Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking.
More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’ local ranking.
Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimization (SEO) best practices apply.”
– Google
How to Optimize for Local Search Results
Local searches are not just for finding new businesses. Consumers use these searches to find directions, contact information, the least busy time to visit a business and reviews from past customers. Ensuring that all your business information is accessible online and that all reviews have a response, whether positive or negative feedback, will boost the number of consumers that want to do business with you.
Google My Business
One of the most vital needs for any brick-and-mortar business is a fully managed Google My Business account. Claiming your business listing in this way not only allows for your listing to rise in the local search results but engaging with customers and regularly posting to your GMB page will show consumers that your business is a trustworthy source for the kind of service and customer experience that they are looking for. This account will also provide you with valuable insights into your presence in local search and how consumers are engaging with your business listing.
Yelp
Another necessary listing that any business should utilize is their Yelp listing. With over 224 million reviews on this site and counting, Yelp has been a driving force of consumer decisions for years. The first step is to claim or create your business listing, if you haven’t already, and ensure that your information is correct. An ongoing effort to respond to reviews and consumer questions through this profile is necessary as well to show potential customers that they should choose your business over your competitors.
How do we help?
With our robust review management platform, our clients can not only monitor the reviews they receive but it is also possible to automatically generate review requests for customers at any stage of the customer journey to be sent via email or text. Our platform also provides automatic data syncing with over 250+ different listing sites across the web. Using this feature, your business information and hours of operation can stay up to date with ease by only updating in one place. Contact us today to discuss how our Review Management program can help your business to succeed in your local market.