Because Google Places’ directory listings often show up first before the top ten web pages, it is an important opportunity for every local small business to participate.   In our last lesson we discussed the importance of making sure that you fill your Google Places profile out completely and carefully, so that you get the maximum advantage from your most productive keywords.

One aspect of Google Places that every business owner needs to be aware of is that consumers are encouraged to share their reviews of the businesses that are listed.  That means that if a customer has an exceptionally good experience at your business, they will have the opportunity write a review.  That review will show up in your actual Google Places listing.

However, the opposite is also true.  When customers have a bad experience, they will be empowered to leave a review about your site on the Google Places page.  This scenario is now amplified because Google has now tied their social network to their business directory.  Therefore, the customer who reviews your business will be potentially sharing that review with their personal or professional network.

The nature of reviews online is such that most of the people who respond tend to do so when they have a bad experience.  Those who have the experience that they were expecting or that they feel they paid for are unlikely to respond.  Therefore, you will need to make sure to either have a staff person monitor your Google Places listing, or you will need to make it part of something you do personally if you don’t have a staff.  One bad review on your Google Places listing could be enough to discourage a prospect from trying out your product or service.

When you do get a negative review there is no need to panic.  Google Places gives you the opportunity to answer the person who left the review.  Additionally, Google is taking steps to make sure that the review that is left is authentic by connecting the permission to write a review to their social network.

In our next lesson, we will discuss what you can do when you have negative information that appears in the other business directory listings as well as in the top ten search results.  Call us today if you have already noticed negative listings near your keywords or in your Google Places reviews. We will share the best practices of other companies like yours when they too have received negative reviews.

The post Lesson 19 – Google Places – Online Customer Reviews appeared first on wLw.

The strategy is not much different for executives closely associated with your company.  Consumers and business people will often conduct a Google search about a company’s executive as well as their company.   In the mind of customers, you the owner or manager  ARE the company.  Therefore, if negative information about a company seen online can keep a prospect away; the same is true of negative information about the owners and visible executives.

Executives should take care to post positive information on their site and platforms with their personal/professional name.

1)      Blogs-Executives and owners should attempt to make sure their name is secured and if possible populated with an active blog.

2)      Social Media-Executives and owners should make sure their personal account reflect what they would want their best customer to see.

3)      Videos-Executives and owners should make sure that videos posted with their name and/or the company’s name should be complementary.

Because the situation gets more complex as the internet grows more varied in the different kind of platforms it has, it is prudent to call on someone else to manage your personal internet profile.  The profession is now called ‘Reputation Management’ and the service can be found amongst independent online marketers.

However, you will want work with someone that you know well and that knows you well to undertake this kind of service.  Call us today so that we can evaluate your online reputation and show you what you will need to do next to weed out information that will reflect negatively on your company.

We will now move away from reputation management and SEO and on to Social media in our next lesson.

The post Lesson 21 – Managing Your Personal Reputation appeared first on wLw.

However, in some of the lesser used business directories you do not necessarily have the same kind of opportunity across the board.  That means that those who use sites like Yelp.com, CitySearch.com or Angie’s List might go unanswered having left negative feedback.  Answering them is not always going to be an option once their review is posted.

Additionally, it doesn’t always read well to a prospective customer if you are seemingly making excuses for what was perceived to be bad service.  So you will need to be careful as to how you approach the situation.

The best way to manage your reputation online for your company is to make sure that you have as much positive information as you can posted and positioned online.  That means having everything from blog posts to customer reviews, to emails, to personal conversations, to videos.  Whenever you have positive feedback from your customers, make sure (with your customer’s permission of course) that this information is posted where people who are looking for your products and services will see it.  The best way to weed out negative information online about your company is to make sure that there is honest and positive information that displaces it.

Additionally, make sure to monitor all of your keywords for reviews that are posted about your company.  When you have the opportunity to do so, you should answer them.  Moreover, you will want to make sure that those customers that have good experiences go through the trouble of rating you.  Make sure to remind them with signage, emails and even their receipt when it is relevant.  However, you will want to stop short of offering an incentive for customers who complete the review.

In our next lesson we will discuss what to consider when your company owners and executives have a considerable amount of negative information appearing about them online.  If you see negative information in the business directory sites, the top ten listings or anyplace else online about your company call us so that we can help you to resolve it.

The post Lesson 20 – Managing Your Business Reputation appeared first on wLw.