3 Proven Strategies for Online Reputation Management That Will Skyrocket Your Reviews

In today’s digital age, your online reputation has become very critical. Thanks to the internet and social media, businesses have a lot of channels to communicate with their audience.  To promote a brand's positive image on the internet, businesses need to have online reputation management (ORM) strategy in place. ORM is a practice that involves improving and influencing what people say about your brands and products in the digital space to help you attract and retain customers. Based on ReviewTrackers data 94% of customers said they are avoiding a business with a negative online reputation and reviews. To promote the image and credibility of your company, here are the three proven strategies that you can use to boost the overall reviews.

Strategies To Use For Your Business

Your online reputation management strategy can take different forms. Here are the three critical elements to focus on.

1. Manage Your Search Engine Results

Search Engine Results are the content that appears on the first page of Google when consumers are looking for information related to your brands. These results are quite critical in boosting your SEO; therefore, you need to manage them in a way that they are a true representation of your business. Run a Google search in incognito mode to know how your business ranks. You are highly likely to get a few negative results if you don't have an ORM strategy. Fortunately, you can manage your search results by producing and promoting relevant and new content with the right keywords.  Before posting your content, ensure that you’ve also done proper keyword research to help you get a spotlight on search engines. With the right features, your new content will appear on the first page and relegate the negative content to page two or three. If your team needs more skills to manage the search results, there are certified training programs that come in handy in transforming your marketing personnel. Here are some steps you can follow to improve your search engine results:

• Optimize Content: If your business deals with different products, you need to optimize the content pages using the best SEO writing practices for all the possible search terms. This makes it easier for consumers to discover your content.
• Relegate The Negative Content: You can gradually displace the negative reviews on multiple brand search terms with new content. This tactic helps you have more positive reviews on page one.
• Create Content On Negative Reviews: Once you have identified the negative reviews and information, you can create online content on the topic to redirect traffic.

  2. Respond To Every Online Review/Comment In Real-Time

Customers look at how companies respond to online reviews and comments when shopping online. According to the local consumer review survey conducted by BrightLocal, 79% of consumers value online reviews the same as personal recommendations. In addition, they are more likely to purchase your product if the review appears authentic. If you are running a business, how you respond to both negative and positive feedback impacts your online reputation. Your strategy should involve responding to all comments quickly and professionally. For this to be effective, your business should have staff that handles these reviews and comments in real-time.  You can sign up your employees for a training course to help them learn how to respond to customers in a way that improves sales. If you don’t have an in-house team, you can also outsource agency partners that specialize in providing this service. Additionally, if your company has franchises and branches in other regions, you’ll need to craft guidelines to improve online reputation, especially when responding to negative comments. For your social media platforms, you need to keep track of all the comments and respond in real-time to avoid negative backlash. You can also publicly acknowledge all the reviewers to make them feel appreciated. Keeping constant communication with the customers will keep them coming to buy more from your business.

3. Get More Reviews On Major Review Sites

When running a business, you need to monitor your reviews on platforms such as Yelp, Tripadvisor, Google Reviews, Facebook, Amazon, or ConsumerReports. Each industry has a major review site that consumers use to get information about your company’s reputation - therefore, you need to be keen on that. As proof that these sites hold so much power, Yelp generated net revenues of more than $269 million in the third quarter of 2021 and had a traffic of over 31 million.  Consumers rely heavily on such sites for information about the products and services they would like to buy. When customers are dissatisfied, they are more likely to write a review and rating, influencing other consumers. To get more ratings on major review sites, you can do the following,

• Send Email Reminders: Target your loyal customers with email reminders to encourage them to review your products and services on these major review sites. You can use these email marketing tips to improve your deliverability and customer feedback. The more reviews on Google or Yelp, the better your rating. Using this strategy for online reputation management is a game-changer.

• Use Text Messages: If your business is flexible enough, you can prompt your customers to review your products via text message. In addition, you can also talk to them in person if there's no issue.
• Don’t Generate Fake Reviews It’s quite common for businesses to have fake reviews. According to research by Statista, 64% of reviews in the supplements category on Amazon were fake, and so was up to 61% of reviews in the electronics category. Generating fake reviews to improve your online rating is unethical and against most regulations.

Summary

Online reputation management leaves a lasting impression on the consumers. Therefore, whether you have negative or positive feedback, you need to handle both of them professionally and efficiently for the reputation of your business. To effectively protect your good name, monitor your search results, respond to each comment and boost your reviews on major sites. The faster you manage these areas in your business, the more credible your company appears. Your online reputation directly impacts your sales; therefore, you also need a dedicated team to handle these customer reviews. To boost their skills, there are online training and certification programs they can enroll in to benefit your business.