What is the first thing you do before attempting a new restaurant or service? Like most people, you go online to check out the reviews. What were previous clients saying about the experience? Were they happy with their meal? Did they receive poor customer service? To find out if you enjoy a product, try it out or move on to the next alternative, ask yourself these questions. This is why online feedback is so valuable. Negative feedback can damage your business without the consumer ever realizing you’re there. Conversely, positive evaluations may help rocket your company, while bad comments might bury it.
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The Importance of Online Reviews
If you’re wondering how essential online feedback is, consider this. According to statistics, consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Google is the most popular site for reading reviews, with 59% of customers using it. More than half read at least four reviews before buying a product. Four reviews aren’t a lot to base a decision on, so you need to make the most of them!
Search Result Rankings and Reviews
Many different factors contribute to a website’s search engine rankings. Google has over 200 ranking factors that make up its algorithm, including reviews. While there isn’t a specific list of weighted ranking factors, we know they provide a significant impact. So don’t overlook this crucial element of your brand marketing.
You should be focusing your efforts on:
- Number of reviews for your business
- How often a review is submitted
- Number of websites where your business has reviews
- Quality of the person leaving a review – do they review other businesses regularly, or are they a one-time reviewer?
Keeping these factors in mind can help you make the most of your online reviews.
Stay Positive!
You want as many good reviews as possible. However, what isn’t so apparent is that you wish your firm to be featured on as many websites as possible. The more review sites your business appears on, the more backlinks it receives. But, of course, all of these should be good evaluations.
How do you get those positive reviews? Many times, it’s as simple as asking.
Overcoming the Challenge
Let me share a previous experience illustrating how simple it is to request a review. I was dining at a new restaurant for the first time, and the food was fantastic. The server recognized that we were enjoying our meal, so he asked us to leave a review on Google before we left. If we left a review on Google before departing
What Does All This Mean?
In essence, it implies that if you believe you are providing excellent service and have pleased clients, ask them to leave a review. Even better if you want to give an incentive. That solitary review might result in additional feedback. In my situation, we informed our friends about our wonderful experience as well as the review and complimentary beverages. Obviously, he was
Making Google Work For You
The company in the example below benefited from a positive review on Google, which will only help to boost their reputation. With reviews placed there by you, Google My Business can assist you. You’ve probably seen reviews on the right side of Google’s search results. One of Google’s algorithms uses location and distance ranking factors to improve local search results. As a company owner, you should ensure that your online presence is optimized for Google My Business. You may react to customer reviews if you have a verified Google + page. The more information and evaluations Google Maps has, the more reputable your business appears to be.
How You Can Take Advantage of Positive Online Reviews
Keep a list of people whom you believe will write positive comments. Aside from Google, ask clients to leave reviews on other sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, or any others that people would look for. You may make it simple for them by including a link in a follow-up email. All they have to do is visit the site and leave a review.
Make a list of happy clients you believe will post a favorable review. While it’s impossible to be too sure about their response, you should avoid soliciting reviews from dissatisfied consumers.
What Can I Do If No One Wants to Leave a Review?
If you’ve tried nicely, but no one wants to leave a review, it’s time to get inventive. First, you might consider offering a reward for leaving a review. A contest works because it provides a prize and allows your consumers to interact with you. Customers are more likely to choose your firm over another when they feel connected.
Overcoming the Negative
It’s no secret that people enjoy telling stories of terrible customer service. They believe they are exacting their revenge on the company that wronged them in some way. You’ve probably told a friend or two about poor service at one time or another. But, did you forget about the last time you received outstanding service? Did you compliment it? Even better, did you provide a positive review? We frequently demand exceptional service.
The primary way to overcome negative reviews is not to give people a reason to leave one. This means focusing on the best customer service every time.
Don’t Get Taken Down by Negative Reviews
The most significant way to overcome negative evaluations is not to offer individuals a cause to leave one. This implies focusing on outstanding client service at all times. If they identify a review as malicious, it will be flagged, and you may hope that it will be deleted. Our best chance of winning is to obtain more positive reviews to outweigh the negative ones. You want to prove that your one or two poor evaluations are outliers rather than the rule.
Respond to Your Reviews
Whether your feedback is good or bad, you should address each one. Remember, people appreciate a connection. They feel like they know you better after you respond. Of course, the manner in which you react to a positive review versus a negative one will differ.
Suggestions for Responding to Negative Reviews
You want to apologize and appreciate customers’ feedback when they give you a bad review. If you wish to attempt to repair the problem by offering them some recompense, request that they contact you to discuss it further. If you can come to a positive resolution, the client may even be willing to update their negative review with a favorable one.
If so, you’ve already tried, and any potential client who comes across the lousy review will see your reply and realize that you took the time.
Responding to a Positive Online Review
This is a no-brainer! Thank your customer and let them know how valuable their business is to you. Remind them to contact your firm if they need your services again. You may also want to inquire about their feedback with friends and family. This is a fantastic method to incorporate a positive review and a word-of-mouth recommendation.
Do You Need Help Improving the Reviews for Your Website?
Now you should have a greater idea of why your firm needs online evaluations and how they may assist you in improving your search engine ranking. Remember that Google and other search engines value the comments of your consumers and website visitors. Use these helpful tools to learn how they may help you improve your website’s rankings.
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