“OK, someone said something negative about us online. What can we do?”
Unfortunately, just about any business is going to have to deal with this at one time or another.
Even the best, most successful business will run into someone who has something negative to say, warranted or not.
As we’ve mentioned before, usually, the best course of action is to, if possible, reach out. Should this be a comment on Yelp, YouTube, and the like, respond to the comment. See if you can help them. Moving the conversation quickly to email or the phone can be beneficial as well. That way, you don’t have “all your business in the street,” so to speak.
Danny Star and the team here have helped so many folks to improve their online reputation and then keep it sterling. While negative words about your company online can be damaging, it’s important to be cognizant of the ways that they can damage as well as the ways you’re protected from them.
“Customer Reviews are Not Used by Google’s Algorithms to Rank Web Search Results” But….
If someone has left a negative review/said something about your company online, read this article. “Google: Customer Reviews Not a Signal for Web Search” can put your mind at ease while focusing on what needs to be improved.
Specifically, John Mueller from Google says that “as far as I know we don’t use the number of customers or reviews when it comes to web search, with regards to ranking.”
So, you don’t have to worry about a customer review tanking your ranking.
However, the same is not true of Google My Business ranking.
Indeed, “Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s local ranking.”
So, a negative review can hurt your ranking of Google My Business.
That said, a negative review’s real harm comes from those who might see it and believe it. The people who would have done business with you but then saw a negative review and changed their mind – that’s where the true harm comes in. Also, that’s something Danny can help with.
Proactive, Positive Online Reputation Management
The same level of detail, attention, and craft that goes into your online marketing campaigns should also go into your online reputation management. That’s how Danny does it at his company. First, the team identifies “problem areas,” analyzing exactly what needs to be improved.
All of this is done with the utmost confidentiality as well as respect. From there, it could be a question of removing libelous, misleading, or untruthful content from the web. It could be about creating something new so as to clean out bad search results. New sites, listings, profiles, and more can help to set the record straight. Of course, all of this has to be done with constant feedback and reporting, so that the client knows what’s happening when.
For more ways on how to make sure your online reputation is what you want, schedule a consultation with Danny Star at (213) 457-3250.
