Managing online reviews - a guide for improving your local SEO

Online reviews and reputation management are crucial elements of an effective local SEO strategy. Yet many businesses struggle to build and manage their online reviews. In this guide, we explore how you can generate reviews and boost your online reputation.

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Why are online reviews important for local SEO?

Online reputation management is one of the most effective ways to boost your local SEO. A business with a stronger online reputation is more likely to rank higher in local and localised searches than a business with a bad or limited reputation.

When it comes to determining local SEO ranking factors, it is strongly believed that reviews are an important factor. In particular, Google will focus on reviews on your Google Business Profile, third-party sites (such as directories), and first-party reviews on your website.

Alongside the benefits of boosting your local SEO performance, online reputation management also has a positive impact on your customers. The first of these is increasing customer loyalty and retention as positive reviews are far more likely to encourage repeat business.

A business with a strong online reputation is also going to appear more credible to potential new customers. This, in turn, is more likely to attract new customers to your business when looking for a suitable option to address their search query.

The more trust that customers have towards your business will also help drive this. A business with a much stronger online reputation is far more likely to be trusted by searchers, giving you a competitive advantage.

By focusing on managing your online reviews, you can benefit from more satisfied customers. As more customers are attracted to your business, you will also benefit from an increase in sales and revenue.

How can you earn online reviews?

One of the challenges businesses face when looking to grow their online reputation is gaining reviews. Gaining natural reviews that accurately reflect your business is crucial for boosting rankings and influencing customers’ purchasing decisions.

If your business is struggling to gain reviews, here are some tips:

Ask for reviews

One of the first (and most effective) methods of earning online reviews is by asking your customers. More often than not, many customers will just need a nudge or reminder to leave a review. Providing you’ve delivered an exceptional experience; your customers should be happy to oblige.

However, the way you ask is important. You can’t force your customers to leave reviews and you should in no way offer any monetary exchange for reviews (this violates Google’s guidelines). Simply asking if a customer will leave a review should be sufficient. This can be done by:

In-person – ask a customer in person after purchasing if they will leave a review.
Email follow-ups – sending an email to a customer using an automated tool asking for feedback after a purchase or service.
SMS – you could also send a short text with a link to leave a review if customers have opted in for SMS messages.
Receipts – leaving a reminder at the bottom of a receipt or invoice although this can sometimes be missed.

Regardless of the method, including a direct link to the review page makes it easier for customers to leave a review. The easier the process, the more likely they are to leave you a positive review.

Choose the right moment

If you want to build up a pool of successful reviews, choosing the right moment to ask is crucial. Pick the wrong moment, and you could either be left with no review or (even worse) a negative review. So, when is the right moment to ask?

The best time to ask is after a successful purchase or experience. If a customer has expressed satisfaction with the service or product, then that would be a great time to ask them. This can either be in-person or online. Solving a problem for a customer can be another good time to ask them.

Use the right tools

There are many different places for customers to leave a review. Whether it’s on your Google Business Profile, a business listing, or social media, you want to make sure the review is added where it will benefit most.

Google Business Profile is the most effective place for building up your online reputation for local SEO purposes. As customers will see the average review score of your business in a star-rating system and the reviews themselves, it has a much more direct impact on influencing decisions.

Another factor that makes Google Business Profile the ideal platform for building your online reputation is that it has built-in review links. This makes it much easier to manage your reviews in one place and benefit from a strong pool of links.

Respond to existing reviews

Once a customer leaves you a review, you should try to respond as quickly as possible. Whether you are left a positive or negative review, you should engage within 2 days. This shows to customers that you value them and their feedback. It also encourages more customers to leave a review.

Incentivise ethically

We already mentioned that providing a form of monetary exchange for a review is unethical and breaches Google’s guidelines. However, you can still incentivise ethically to encourage customers to leave a review. Here are some ideas for how you can incentivise ethically:

Enter the customer into a prize giveaway
Give them loyalty points
Provide access to exclusive content

In no way should you pay for positive reviews or attempt to manipulate a customer’s review.

How should you manage your online reviews?

Now that we’ve covered how you can gain online reviews, it’s time to look at how you can successfully manage them. Managing and responding to reviews also plays a crucial part in helping to boost your online reputation.

Claim your listings

The first step for managing and responding to reviews is ensuring you claim your listing. Claiming and updating your business profiles on a range of major platforms is crucial for ensuring accurate information and managing your online reviews, whether for a Google Business Profile or online business directory.

Monitoring reviews

If you are regularly encouraging customers to leave reviews, then you must monitor them. This is especially important for reviews across multiple platforms. Some platforms, such as Google Business Profile, provide notifications for new reviews.

For third-party sites, you can either set up email alerts or a Google Alert. This is a notification from Google that sends you an email every time there is a new listing matching your chosen criteria. Alternatively, you can manually check the sites yourself regularly.

Respond to all reviews

Responding to reviews is the most important element of online reputation management. Whether the review is good or bad, it is an ideal opportunity to show how much you value your customers and their feedback. In the case of a bad review, you can help rectify the problem.

There are some tips you should consider when responding to positive and negative reviews.

Responding to positive reviews:

Always use the reviewer’s name.
Thank the customer for leaving a review.
Be specific and relate to the customer where possible.
Encourage the reviewer to return or try something new.

Responding to negative reviews:

Always respond professionally and promptly.
Apologise and thank the customer for their review.
Avoid being defensive and acknowledge the issue.
Never argue with a customer as it reflects badly on potential customers.
Let the customer know you will contact them directly to offer a resolution.
Keep your response as short as possible.

Use feedback to improve your customer experience

Every business will hate receiving negative reviews. Yet, if multiple reviews relate to a recurring theme, it highlights an area that you need to improve. This could be slow service, a lack of information, or product issues.

Once you have made the improvements based on customer feedback, make sure you let them know. Encouraging the customers to return after making the changes can be a good way to help turn a negative review into a positive.

Use good reviews in marketing

Social proof is one of the strongest elements you can incorporate into your marketing and website. Showcasing the good reviews and ratings you achieve is a strong factor that will influence customers’ purchasing decisions.

There are a few ways you can incorporate these reviews. The first is to add testimonials and customer reviews towards a point of purchase on your website. This can be a strong influencer to shift customers decision to taking that final action and purchase.

You can also share good reviews and feedback with your social media followers. This indicates that you value your customers and the feedback they provide. Using positive reviews in email campaigns and ads can also be a good persuasive tool for influencing customers’ purchasing decisions.

Be consistent

The final tip for managing your online review and reputation is to be consistent. This ensures you make online reputation management a weekly task to help mitigate the effects of any bad reviews, while also responding to reviews as quickly and professionally as possible.

You should also make sure that the tone and voice you use to communicate with customers in reviews are reflective of your brand. This ensures a unified approach that customers can quickly identify, boosting brand recognition and a stronger connection with your audience.

Online reputation management is a vital element of a successful local SEO strategy. By encouraging customers to leave reviews and managing these reviews, you will strengthen the reputation and visibility of your business. In turn, you will benefit from a much stronger presence in the local search results. Combining building and managing online reviews with other local SEO strategies is a sure way to skyrocket your business!