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Every business wants to have a great reputation. But how do you achieve that? While many simply rely on their products and service and hope for the best, the most savvy businesses take a more proactive approach. That's where online reputation management comes in.
Assessing, building, tracking and managing your reputation is no small task. However, once you get to grips with the core concepts and techniques, you'll find that it's an initiative well worth your attention. Here's everything you need to get started with online reputation management.
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Often shortened to ORM, online reputation management is all about monitoring, analysing and shaping the way people perceive your brand online. Depending on the type of business you have, 'online' might include places like social media, Google results, blog posts, industry news sites and review sites. Basically, anywhere that a potential customer could find your company mentioned on the web.
There are several tools and techniques that fall under the umbrella of online reputation management. Typically, it includes things like:
A business may use just some or all of these strategies, but the end goal for Online Reputation Management is always the same - making sure your company is represented in the best possible light.
Warren Buffett, one of the world's wealthiest people, once said: "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
Each mention of your brand online contributes to your overall reputation. With the majority of customer journeys now starting on the Internet, it's all the more important that these mentions are as positive as they can be. In fact, one study found that as much as 63% of your company value is based on your reputation.(1)
Poor online reputation management can have a devastating effect on any business, big or small. Think of United Airlines, where in 2017 a crew member was filmed dragging a customer down the aisle. The video went viral on social media and was reported in news outlets across the world. As a result, United Airlines lost almost one billion dollars in market value. (2)
Sure, this example is extreme. But even on a smaller scale, negative experiences have the potential to damage not just your reputation, but also your revenue.
Keeping an eye on your business reputation isn't all about avoiding the negative! There are plenty of other benefits that online reputation management offers. Let's take a look at a few.
These days, potential customers will almost always check online reviews before they make a purchase. Reading genuine opinions from other people helps build confidence for any consumer. After all, if almost every reviewer had a positive experience with a brand, chances are that they will too.
In one study, 94% of people said that positive reviews increased trust in a brand (3). On the other hand, 81% would not trust a company with no reviews. (3) That's why proactively asking customers for feedback is so important for business.
There's a direct correlation between positive reviews and sales. According to a Harvard Business School Working Paper, every additional one-star Yelp rating causes an increase in the business’s revenue as high as 9%.(4)
But that's not all! Positive reviews even have the power to override a higher price point. Research has shown that if a customer is comparing two different products with a price difference of $2, 73% would be inclined to purchase the item with the better rating. (5)
Collecting reviews can also be a great help with SEO, or search engine optimization. In other words, they have a direct impact on how high you show up in search engine results. The closer you are to the top of the page, the more clicks you will get on your site. Did you know that the top 3 Google search results get 54.4% of all clicks? (6) Just think what that could do for your business.
Confused by SEO? You're not alone! Check out our short guide, 'How do I increase SEO traffic through online reviews?', for a good general overview of how search engines work when it comes to reviews.
Being proactive in asking for reviews won't only make you look good - both positive and negative feedback can provide fantastic insight into your company. With the right tools in place (we'll dive deeper into this later on) it can help you pinpoint your customers' unique satisfaction drivers and make you aware of areas where you may be falling short. Act on those insights and you can make great strides in both your customer satisfaction and your business.
Online reputation management isn't just about creating a positive brand image. Sometimes, you can even win customers back. A key principle of managing your reputation is making sure customers feel heard and understood. Often, this gives them a reason to stick around, even after a negative customer experience.
One study showed that up to 70% of customers who complained to a business and got a satisfying response would come back and do business with them again (7). We all know that finding a new customer is far more costly than retaining an existing one, so this is a strategy well worth investing in.
As we've mentioned, almost all customer journeys now start online. As a result, it's easier than ever for people to compare different companies and weigh up their options. It's rare that someone will spend their money with the first business they find. Instead, they take a deeper look. Not only, "Does this company offer what I need?", but also, "What are other people saying about this brand?"
The hospitality industry is a great example of this. Most people consider several different hotels in any given location. If each hotel offers all the amenities they need and has similar price points, better (and more) reviews are often a deciding factor. If you are in a competitive or highly populated industry, this is all the more important.
There's a lot to learn when it comes to online reputation management and, as with any new initiative, there will be a bit of trial and error. But there's no reason you can't start off strong with a little bit of know-how. Here are some of the key things to keep in mind when tackling your digital reputation for the first time.
Particularly if you have a small to medium-sized business, online reputation management may be lower down your list of priorities. But the fact is that a brand's online reputation doesn't take care of itself and, as we covered above, just a single negative review or negative experience can cost you sales.
If you're short on resources or overwhelmed by all the different strategies, review management is a great place to start. If it fits in with your budget and goals, online reputation management services can also take care of the hard work for you.
When you receive a negative review it can be tough to respond in a level-headed way, particularly if you feel the review is unfair, rude or downright untrue. But every business is going to get negative feedback sooner or later, so it's important to know how to deal with it.
Even big brands can make the mistake of getting defensive in the face of criticism. In 2010, Greenpeace launched an online campaign accusing Nestle of harmful environmental practices. Greenpeace posted a video on YouTube, encouraged its supporters to change their profile pictures to an anti-Nestle logo and write on Nestle's Facebook page.
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Rather than accept and respond to the criticism, Nestle wrote to users asking them to not use any version of their logo (due to copyright infringement) or they would delete their comments. They also attempted to have the video removed from YouTube. The uproar was so great that Nestle ended up temporarily shutting down their public page. (8)
So how should you respond? Learn all the tricks of the trade with our free whitepaper: Complaint Management
Though not as damaging as a negative reply, not responding at all to reviews is a missed opportunity for your business. Why? As many as 97% of people who read reviews online also read responses from businesses. How you deal with criticism shows potential customers a lot about your brand and your standards of service. That alone can be enough to win them over.
You shouldn't just be responding to negative reviews either. Showing a genuine appreciation for positive feedback is great for your online image. It shows you really care about your customers (and makes them feel good in the process!). It gives a great indication of how someone will be treated should they decide to become one of your customers.
Too many businesses sit back and wait for customers to leave a review. While that may get you one review a month or even one a week, being proactive will garner much better results. Once you start asking, you may be surprised at how many customers are happy to share their thoughts!
The key to getting more reviews is to make it as easy as possible for your customers to do so. For instance, you can set up a QR code that takes them straight to your Google My Business listing. Or set up an automated email that arrives shortly after their purchase or visit. If leaving a review requires just a few minutes of someone's time, they will be much more likely to see it through.
It's clear that generating a consistent stream of reviews is important for your business. So it's no surprise that some companies see posting fake reviews as an easy solution. However, this is a big mistake that will only hurt you in the long run.
Google has systems in place to detect fake feedback (involving both computers and thousands of human analysts) as it violates their policies. If you get found out, not only will Google remove those reviews, but they may also apply ranking penalties that make it much harder for you to be seen online. All in all, it's simply not worth the risk. So what can you do instead? We talk all about it in the following section.
Now you know all the great benefits of online reputation management. But how do you actually implement it in your business? Fortunately, it's easier than you might think!
The best approach to your online reputation management strategy is to partner with a platform that takes care of the hard work for you. Whether you opt for this approach or would like to take care of it on your own, there are a few essential aspects to include in your plans.
One of the easiest ways to keep track of your overall reputation is to put a number on it. At Customer Alliance, our Public Reviews Score takes the average star rating from all your reviews and converts it into a percentage. By using a single figure, you can see at a glance how well you are performing over time and take fast action if standards start to slip.
Using some kind of metric will make it much easier to monitor your reputation and also report your findings to others in your company. Without one, it can be harder to figure out exactly how you are performing and communicate it effectively. To learn more about the different metrics out there, head over to our article: How to measure customer satisfaction KPI: NPS, CSAT, CES, & CLI
You don't need to rely on reviews and social mentions to get a solid grasp on your reputation. Making a habit of engaging with your existing customers can help you catch any issues that could translate to a negative post or comment further down the line. What's the best way to do this? Surveys!
Well-designed surveys allow you to capture authentic feedback when the experience is fresh in the customer's mind. Customer satisfaction metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) allow you to put a number on how well you are performing, while follow-up questions give you specific insights into where you can improve. Act quickly on your feedback and you can prevent damage to your reputation before it even happens.
With so many different platforms and spaces involved in online reputation management, having all your data in one place is key. A dedicated space for all of your reviews and survey responses allows you to get a great general overview of your feedback and ensures you don't miss a thing. Ideally, this space should also have alerts in place for any negative feedback that needs your attention. Software like our own Voice of the Customer platform is ideal.
To avoid adding too much manual work for your team, make sure that the platform can integrate with any systems you already have in place. This way, you won't have to manually move any of your data from one place to another. Once you're set up, you'll find that managing your online reputation is much more streamlined and efficient.
When you have to manually reach out to individual customers, it's no wonder online reputation management falls by the wayside. Using a platform that automates part of your workflow will make a world of difference, saving you time and creating a streamlined process that anyone on your team can take over.
For example, think about asking customers for a review. Even if you use a template email, you still have to gather your customers' contact information, copy and paste the template and add each email address one by one. Not only that, but you need to leave enough time between each booking or purchase to ask for a review. This makes one seemingly simple task take up hours of your valuable time.
With software like Customer Alliance, review requests are sent automatically. You can choose exactly how long after purchase the request will be sent, and you can even send it through different channels. Once you have set up the message, the platform takes care of the rest, generating plenty of new reviews with almost no effort on your part.
SEO is a complex topic, but as a component of online reputation management, there are just a few things you need to do to get started. Make sure you claim all of your social profiles, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and especially Google My Business. Doing so will help make sure you are in control of the top-ranking search results for your business. If you 'own' this real estate, you will be in a much better position to promote a strong reputation for your brand.
You should also establish a presence on the review sites most relevant to your business (e.g. TripAdvisor for hotels and restaurants, Jameda for healthcare organisations). Reviews across any of these sites will help improve your search rankings and even boost rankings for keywords connected to your business. When combined with the other techniques we've talked about in this article, this helps ensure that you not only get found by more potential customers, but they have a great first impression of your brand.
Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can be great tools for business owners. However, the nature of these sites means that negative comments can quickly be circulated and damage your brand perception. Oftentimes, customers also take their complaints directly to your social channels instead of customer service. That's why keeping an eye on your social media accounts is essential.
The good news is that social media monitoring doesn't have to be too complex. You can set up alerts for brand mentions (whether that be directly or with a hashtag) directly on social media platforms. You can even help build your positive reputation by sharing positive testimonials and reviews on your channels. If you want to dive deeper into your social media results, you can always come up with a more in-depth strategy further down the line.
Online reputation management helps you put your best foot forward in a competitive digital landscape. Even for brick-and-mortar businesses, the huge impact of online reputation can't be underestimated. As well as winning you business, fostering a positive reputation has plenty of other benefits that contribute to your overall success. So if you're not making the most of online reputation management, now's the time to start.
As part of our Voice of the Customer platform, we provide an easy-to-use solution to managing your online reputation. From our seamless review stream, you can see all your reviews (from every major platform) in one place and can reply directly, with alerts to let you know when a review needs your attention. Not only that, but our Public Reviews score shows how you are doing at a glance, while a range of other innovative features help you dive deeper and see where you can improve.
Learn more about how we can help your business and see the platform first-hand in a personalised, free demo. One of our experts will be glad to walk you through and answer all your questions. Alternatively, fill out this short form to gain access to your own free test account.
Want to learn more about online reputation management in the meantime? Check out these other helpful resources:
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Customers expect an excellent experience both in-store and online. Even if your enterprise doesn’t have a physical store, the consumer experience is still a defining factor. The voice of the consumer is what your shoppers say about their experience with your brand. Use consumer feedback to put your shop in front of the competition.
Read on to see how you can harness the power of feedback to elevate your ecommerce shop.
Voice of the customer, also called voice of the consumer, is now the leading way to understand your customer. Be proactive about asking for feedback. Let consumers tell you what they want and need to remove the guesswork from discovering their desires. To review, see The Voice of the Customer Guide: Importance, VoC tools and examples.
89% of consumers worldwide make the effort to read reviews before buying a product (1).
This stat alone reveals how influential the voice of the consumer is to other potential consumers. What others have to say about your products often provides more value and trust to your brand than what you have to say about your own shop.
Investigate what is being said about your company. If it’s good, use it to promote. If not, use the feedback to improve. Let’s dive into how you can collect this feedback.
The opportunities for feedback collection are plentiful. Consider these ways to capture your voice of the consumer data.
Send out a questionnaire to ask for feedback regarding different stages of the customer journey.
You can also send out questionnaires to loyal customers to test out new concepts. For more examples, see 5 ways to use the new questionnaire that you haven’t thought of yet!.
Just because your shop operates online does not discount the importance of interviews. Interviews offer a great way to obtain the raw, unfiltered voice of the consumer data and it will build trust with those whom you interview.
Conduct the interview over the phone or even by email at the convenience of your client. Make sure to ask them if you can record the interview and even use them on your website for customer quotes.
Our suggestion: Don’t wait and simply hope customers leave reviews. Why?
Your customers are much more willing to give reviews than you think:
76% of consumers will leave a review if asked (2).
So don’t be shy. Why not automate a review invitation after every purchase? There are many providers offering this solution.
These online reviews will provide valuable insight on what you consumers think about your brand, their customer journey and your products/services. See this article: 5 reasons to use a tool to manage reviews for your online store.
If you have the capabilities, use live chat to talk to customers when they’re on your site. They’ll love the convenience of a quick answer and will find their purchasing made easier as they could quickly get an answer to their question.
Additionally, to reduce cart abandonment, consider putting a live chat on your checkout page or pricing page.
We believe the above tools are the best to help ecommerce sites gather the voice of the consumer feedback. Check out Voice of the Customer Tools to Improve Customer Experience for a few more techniques to look into.
Show you care by taking reviews seriously. Many customers find that brands don’t respond to their reviews at all and guess what? When you don’t respond to reviews, you risk increasing your customer churn by 15%. (3)
Respond well to negative feedback. And yes, consumers look for how a company responds to negative feedback. If you end up collecting a lot of reviews (as you should!), you’re bound to have a few negative ones. But you know what? That works to build trust. 30% of consumers will not believe your reviews to be real if you don’t have any negative ones (4).
Additionally, by responding quickly and appropriately, you might be able to convince a consumer to edit their rating or review of your shop and end up with another positive review.
Negative customer feedback is also always an opportunity to learn from the voice of the consumer. Perhaps they’ll enjoy your product overall, but mention a small pain point in a review or questionnaire. Fix it to increase sales and customer satisfaction.
Oh, and another thing we’ve heard to be helpful: Optimise product descriptions based on feedback. Then your consumers’ expectations are more likely to match your product or service. And then they’ll be happy, and likely loyal!
Improve your shop based on customers’ likes and dislikes. This goes beyond your company’s offerings, but also includes the customer experience:
Evolve whether it’s positive, neutral, or negative. Analyse the results and make actionable decisions.
As the ecommerce industry is online, it relies heavily on consumer reviews and ecommerce shops need quite a bit of reviews per product to drive revenue. Look:
Reviews of 50 or more per product can mean a 4.6% increase in conversion rates (4).
Increase your ecommerce shop’s conversion rate by using voice of the consumer data directly on your website. Many companies encourage purchasing by displaying consumer reviews.
For example, here at Customer Alliance, we offer a widget that clients can integrate on their website to display the customer feedback they receive.
Lastly, it’s important to distribute consumer feedback among various review portals to build your online presence. Make sure you have reviews on all relevant review platforms. By doing so, you’ll attract new consumers to your website.
In conclusion, investing in a voice of the consumer solution is an excellent step to building your ecommerce site’s online visibility and promoting customer trust.
Sources:
Related Content:
The Voice of the Customer survey for competitive customer insights
Hotel VoC: The key to guest satisfaction is voice of the customer
VoC Restaurant 101: Develop a Voice of the Customer Strategy
We’re so excited to announce the launch of in-app and in-web surveys! Also known as microsurveys, they offer a short, targeted and timely way to collect customer feedback right inside your website or app.
With lots of use cases and instant, actionable data, we can’t wait to see how microsurveys will get you even better results. But first, let’s dive in and learn more about this powerful feedback tool. Here we go!
Traditional surveys are multi-question or multi-page and are often sent to the customer via email. These types of surveys still hold tremendous value, providing deep insights that are key to any Voice of the Customer program.
But there are some instances where bigger isn’t necessarily better. Microsurveys are the perfect complement to traditional surveys, targeting the here and now of specific customer scenarios.
Microsurveys ask just one core question (with an optional conditional question), making them quick and easy to complete. By reducing the number of steps the customer needs to take, microsurveys reduce friction.
As they appear right on the screen, they also eliminate the need to leave the website or app to give feedback. This results in a higher response rate and even more valuable data for your business.
Microsurveys allow you to ask the right questions at the right time with customisable triggers. Your microsurvey could appear on a certain page, like a booking confirmation. Or it could pop up when a customer clicks a specific button, for example after hitting ‘Send’ on a message. This helps capture feedback when the topic is still fresh in the customer’s mind (which will again make them more likely to respond!)
In-web and in-app surveys can be used for many different question types depending on your business goals. This includes:
Let’s take a look at a few ways microsurveys can be used in practice.
In a bid to increase revenue, a hotel is looking to optimise its booking process. To do this, they collect opinions using one simple question that appears when a user has completed a booking.
This Customer Effort Score (CES) question offers a simple way to learn how easy the user found the booking process. Depending on the score given, the in-web survey could also include a follow-up, free text question, like:
A car dealership wants to know why some customers cancel their maintenance plan so they can improve their offer. To do this, they ask a single, multiple-choice question to users of their app when they have completed a cancellation.
The car dealership can then analyse the responses for trends to steer the direction of their service. For example, if most respondents answered ‘It was too expensive’, the dealership may consider lowering the monthly cost or introducing an additional service into the plan.
A company wants to identify their most loyal customers and convert them into brand ambassadors. A single Net Promoter Score (NPS) question gives them the ideal solution.
Again, the company could ask a follow-up question that changes depending on the score given. Run continuously, this microsurvey will also allow them to track changes in overall customer loyalty.
Simply schedule a call with your Customer Success Manager who will answer your questions and help you get set up! Alternatively, if you are not yet working with Customer Alliance but would like to find out more, you can schedule a free, no-obligation demo with us by clicking the button below.
“We know that people want to hear other people’s experiences to help them make decisions.”
That’s what Google say about the development of Search Generative Experience (SGE). Soon, being found online won’t just be about optimised websites and targeting keywords. It will be about your entire digital footprint, including how other people talk about your brand.
In this article, we’ll explore how this evolution is set to shift the way businesses approach online visibility and give you a clear strategy going forward.
Understanding and adapting to these changes is crucial for anyone looking to stay ahead in the digital marketplace. So let’s demystify SGE–your roadmap to mastering the future of online search starts here.
To understand why external content will be so powerful for online visibility, first, we need to get familiar with the goal of SGE.
According to Google:
“With the new generative AI functions, search becomes even more efficient. Thanks to these advances, you can understand a topic more quickly, gain new perspectives and insights, and complete your tasks more easily.”
What does this mean in practice? Imagine a traveller, let’s call her Sarah, planning a trip to Paris. She’s not just looking for any accommodation; she wants to stay in a quintessentially Parisian boutique hotel. It has to be pet-friendly because her dog Roscoe goes wherever she goes. Sarah also cares about sustainable practices and wants to make the most of Paris’s café scene.
Traditionally, Sarah might search “pet-friendly boutique hotels near Eiffel Tower”. She would likely click on a few different pages, weigh up the amenities, read vague descriptions, and cross-reference locations. Then once she’d narrowed down her best options, she might check for sustainability credentials and search the areas for local cafés.
SGE aims to condense Sarah’s quest into a single, intuitive search query: “Eco-friendly pet-friendly hotel in Paris near cafes”.
The websites that Google’s AI thinks are the most relevant for that query will show up at the top of the page, above organic rankings (and sometimes even above paid ads).
So how can you feed Google the information it needs to ensure your business shows up where it matters most?
As we pointed out at the start of this article, Google is interested in hearing what other people think of your brand, not just how you present yourselves.
That’s not to say that you needn’t bother optimizing your website for search—far from it—but it means that external content is just as important. This includes:
Together, these create a complete picture of your brand authority that tells Google how to include you in the search results. Their goal is to provide the most relevant content for their users, so the more information they have about you, the more accurately their algorithms can figure out where to place you.
Of the types of external content we mentioned above, we think reviews will become one of the most important factors for ranking when SGE rolls around. Why? Not only do reviews provide insights from people who’ve actually used your products or services, they also tell Google more about what you do well and how certain demographics might experience your business.
To prepare for SGE, we recommend three things:
Most businesses take a hands-off approach to reviews. They expect some, though not all, happy customers to share their feedback and leave their review volume up to chance.
If you want to reap the benefits of reviews for SGE, you need to take a more proactive approach. There are many ways you can encourage customers to leave reviews. The key is to make it as quick, convenient and easy as possible.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Pro tip 💡 use review management software to automate review collection. Platforms like Customer Alliance offer the most efficient way to consistently increase your reviews. Our software sends automatic invitations that allow your customers to leave public reviews in a matter of seconds, with no manual work on your end.
Many reviews are surface-level, and don’t go into detail about their experience. This is fine if you just want to build up your review score on portals like Google or Yelp. However, to give search algorithms more information about your business your reviews need to include relevant keywords.
Simple prompts can help you get richer reviews that offer more information for potential customers and Google alike. For example, rather than simply asking guests you leave a review, you could ask them if there was anything they particularly enjoyed about their experience or the nature of their visit.
You can also think about this strategically. Say you’re a general manager of a hotel, and one of your unique selling points is your proximity to a popular tourist attraction. In this case, you might encourage guests to mention how they found the location convenient for their sightseeing plans.
Questions like, “Did our proximity to [Tourist Attraction] enhance your stay?” or “How did you find the convenience of getting to [Tourist Attraction] from our hotel?” can guide guests to provide reviews that highlight this key aspect of your hotel.
Remember, it’s important to make these prompts as natural and unobtrusive as possible. The aim is to encourage guests to share their genuine experiences in a way that also feeds directly into SGE’s demand for specificity and personalisation
The quality of your responses can be just as influential as the reviews themselves in shaping public perception and improving your SGE rankings. Responding to all types of reviews, not just the positive ones, shows a well-rounded and authentic approach to customer service. It provides additional content for SGE algorithms to scan, improving your search relevance and demonstrating active engagement with your customer base.
A good review response should be personalised, addressing the customer by name if possible, and reflect genuine appreciation for their feedback. Whether the review is positive or negative, acknowledge the customer’s experience.
For positive reviews, express gratitude and reiterate any specific points they praised, subtly incorporating relevant keywords. For example, if a review mentions the high-quality breakfast at your hotel, you could suggest the guest might enjoy the restaurant’s signature three-course tasting menu during their next stay.
In the case of negative reviews, respond with empathy and a commitment to improve. Apologise for any issues they faced, and if appropriate, offer a way to rectify the situation. This not only demonstrates good customer service but also reassures potential customers reading the reviews.
Pro tip 💡 use AI to keep up with your review responses.
As you collect more reviews, you may find that it’s hard to respond to each one manually. Customer Alliance’s AI Reply Assistant will drastically reduce the time spent replying while generating consistently high-quality, personalised responses.
With SGE on the horizon, your customer reviews are set to become more crucial than ever. They’re not just snapshots of customer sentiment. They’re the blueprint for how you show up online.
The key isn’t just getting more reviews–it’s getting richer, more detailed feedback. Engage with these reviews genuinely–thank your customers, address concerns, and show you’re listening. It’s not just good customer service; it’s smart SEO strategy.
Embrace this shift. Use your reviews to paint a vivid picture of your business for Google’s AI. Do this, and you’re not just adapting to the future of search–you’re owning it.
It’s a Monday morning, and you settle into your chair, cup of coffee in hand, ready to check your latest reviews. A stream of positive feedback flows by, validating your team’s hard work. But then, you spot it—a harsh, critical review that makes your heart sink. As you read closer, though, something’s off. This isn’t a dissatisfied customer; it’s a fake review.
But before the panic sets in, know this: you’re not powerless. By the end of this article, you’ll know how to combat fake reviews and minimise their impact on your business.
Before you tackle the suspicious review, let’s review Google’s guidelines. They’ve provided clear rules about which reviews can be removed.
After acquainting yourself with Google’s guidelines, revisit the review in question. Does it violate any of the above policies?
If you’re unsure, it’s still worth flagging the review. Google’s support team will then assess its validity. It’s always better to bring a potential issue to their attention than to let a possible fake review tarnish your business’s reputation.
Fortunately, requesting that Google remove a review is fairly straightforward. Here are step-by-step instructions to guide you through the process.
Finding the review on your profile:
Once you’ve identified the fake review:
Describing the review:
After clicking the flag:
It’s disheartening when a clearly fake review remains on your profile even after you’ve reported it. However, Google provides another way to assert your case – a one-time appeal. Here’s how to navigate this process:
Understanding the criteria for re-evaluation: Before proceeding, it’s essential to know that Google will only re-evaluate reviews based on their guidelines and policies. This means that the content of the review should clearly violate these guidelines for a successful appeal.
Steps to launch your appeal:
How to make your appeal stand out
After submitting an appeal for a review on Google, the response time can vary. Typically, you can expect to hear back from Google within 3 to 5 business days, although this can be longer during peak times or for complex cases. It’s essential to remain patient and periodically check your email, including the spam folder, for any notifications from the Google My Business team.
While it’s frustrating when Google won’t take down a fake review, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, how you respond can make a significant difference in how potential customers perceive your business.
Responding to a review—especially a fake one—requires tact and professionalism. Your response can influence potential clients and show that your business values feedback and integrity.
Tips for crafting a professional response
Remember, your response isn’t just for the person who left the review—it’s for all the potential customers reading it. By showcasing your professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction, even a fake review can become an opportunity to highlight your business’s integrity.
Pro tip 💡 Customer Alliance’s AI Reply Assistant wites high-quality, personalised responses with just one click, making it easy to respond to even the trickiest reviews.
A single negative or fake review can disproportionately sway potential customers. However, one of the most effective ways to counteract this is by amplifying the voices of your genuine, satisfied customers.
Launching a review campaign can help spotlight these authentic, positive experiences. Here’s how you can get started:
Get new reviews on autopilot
Review management software like Customer Alliance enables you to send review invitations to your customers automatically. Since they constantly run in the background, they make sure you always have a steady stream of reviews coming in. This helps you maintain a strong online reputation while counteracting any isolated negative or fake feedback.
Fake Google reviews can be a challenge, but they’re manageable with the right approach. While it might be tempting to react emotionally to unjust feedback, it’s essential to remain calm and strategic. By staying informed and understanding the tools at your disposal, you can tackle these challenges head-on.
Remember, how you handle adversity often speaks louder than the adversity itself. Engage with reviews professionally, be transparent in your communications, and always prioritize the concerns of genuine customers.
Instead of getting frustrated with fake feedback, use it as an opportunity to showcase your business’s strengths. Your proactive approach to managing reviews, both real and fake, can set you apart from the rest.
A: If you believe a review is fake, the first step is to familiarize yourself with Google’s content and review policies. This helps you determine if the review in question violates any of their guidelines. If it does, you can proceed to report or flag it through your Google Business Profile.
Ensure you document the review (like taking a screenshot) before any actions, as you might need it later for reference or appeals.
A: If you’ve flagged a review and Google didn’t take action, it doesn’t mean the end of the road. You can submit a one-time appeal for a re-evaluation. Navigate to the Google My Business Help Center, choose “Contact Us”, and follow the prompts related to reviews.
When appealing, provide a clear, concise explanation about why you believe the review is fake, and if possible, share any evidence (like correspondence or transaction records) that supports your claim.
A: Absolutely! If a fake review can’t be removed, it’s important to respond to it professionally. A well-crafted response can reassure potential customers of your dedication to service.
Mention any discrepancies in the review without being confrontational and offer a way for the reviewer to contact you directly. Additionally, consider running a review campaign to encourage genuine, positive reviews from your satisfied customers, which can overshadow the negative impact of a fake one.
Picture settling into your office chair on a Monday morning, your cup of coffee steaming beside your computer. You start your week by scrolling through the latest customer reviews. There’s a mix of glowing praise and a couple of critiques. With your day’s tasks already piling up, you wonder — is it worth taking the time to respond?
It’s a scenario that any business professional can relate to. That nagging question of whether or not to engage with online reviews might seem trivial. But what if it impacts more than just your relationship with customers? What if it’s tied to the heartbeat of your online visibility—your search engine ranking?
Let’s delve into whether responding to reviews really does help SEO, and how this seemingly small task could have big implications for your business.
To understand the impact of responding to reviews on SEO, who better to turn to than Google itself? While the tech giant doesn’t hand out step-by-step instructions on how to rise in the rankings, they do sprinkle clues throughout their support documentation and resources.
The screenshot below is taken directly from Grow with Google, created by the search engine with the goal of helping people improve their digital skills. They advise:
“According to consumers, businesses that respond to reviews are seen as 1.7X more trustworthy than businesses who don’t (76% vs. 46%). Not only does responding to reviews support trust-building, it also gives you an opportunity to humanize your business, show customers you care, and demonstrates professionalism.”
What’s clear from this statement is Google’s emphasis on valuing customer interaction. While they might not say it directly, the underlying message resonates with their broader philosophy: creating meaningful connections with users and providing relevant content.
It’s worth pausing to consider what this means in the grander scheme of SEO. Google’s algorithms are notoriously complex, but user experience is at the heart of their design.
By valuing your customers and their feedback by engaging with reviews, you align with the principles that guide Google’s algorithm. The more you do so, the more you build your online visibility, enjoy better search rankings and establish a more authoritative presence in your industry.
Now we know what Google says about replying to reviews, but why exactly is it so important? Let’s take a look at some specific ways engaging with your reviews helps boost your search rankings.
Google pays attention to the keywords within your responses to reviews. By “reading” these reviews and your responses, it gets a clearer picture of the products and services your business offers and optimises its relevance to user searches.
For example, say you’re a car dealership and you have lots of five-star reviews raving about the smooth drive and advanced features of a particular model. Let’s call it the Vortex Sedan. You can use responses to these reviews to amplify your rankings for searches related to this model in your area.
A fitting response to a review like this might be:
“Hi [Customer Name], thank you for choosing [Dealership Name] for your recent purchase. We’re ecstatic to hear you’re loving the comfort and cutting-edge features of the Vortex Sedan. It’s customers like you who make our job in [City] so rewarding. Safe travels on the road, and remember, our team is always here should you need anything in the future!”
By incorporating specific model names and your dealership’s location in your responses, you better position your listing for potential customers seeking similar vehicles or experiences.
We know that most people (some studies show as many as 89%!) check reviews online before making a buying decision.
When you respond to reviews, it encourages people to spend longer on your listing reading through your replies. It means they’re more likely to be curious about your offering, leading them to click on your website or contact details for more information.
More time spent on your listing and higher click-through rates send a strong signal to Google. It tells them that users find your listing valuable and relevant to their search. If there’s one thing we know about Google, is that the search engine giant is all about relevance. So, the more you engage, the better your chances of climbing those search rankings over time.
Writing a personalised response to a review does a few things. It:
All this works together to build trust in your business, leading to increased engagement with your website as visitors feel more connected and understood.
Now, let’s talk about SEO. Trust isn’t just a warm, fuzzy feeling; it has tangible implications for your site’s performance. A trusting visitor is more likely to explore multiple pages, spend more time on your site, and less likely to “bounce” back to the search results.
These factors–bounce rate and time on page–are recognised SEO signals. They tell search engines that your site is providing value, and in turn, this can improve your ranking.
If you knew that a business owner would respond to your feedback, would you be more likely to leave a review yourself?
People are inherently influenced by their peers. When customers see their feedback being valued and acknowledged, it motivates others to share their own experiences. This has a knock-on effect on your SEO.
User-generated content, like reviews, adds freshness and relevance to your site. Search engines love content that is updated regularly and resonates with the audience.
By encouraging more reviews through your active response, you indirectly fuel your SEO engine, making your online presence more attractive to users and search algorithms alike.
When it comes to improving your search engine rankings, don’t underestimate the impact of responding to reviews.
Every response is a nudge to Google, signalling that your business is not just another name in the list. It’s active, it’s relevant, and it’s connected with its audience. Beyond the metrics and the algorithms, it’s this human touch that can set you apart.
So, next time you come across a review, positive or negative, think of it as an invitation to build your business’s online presence. In the world of SEO, it’s these seemingly small gestures can lead to monumental shifts in visibility.
Consistency is key. Aim to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, promptly. Regular interactions signal that your business is active and values customer feedback. While there isn’t a strict frequency that guarantees SEO improvements, the general rule is the sooner and more consistently you respond, the better it is for building trust and online presence.
Pro tip 💡: Don’t have the time or resources to reply to all your reviews efficiently? Our AI Reply Assistant generates unique, personalised review replies in just one click.
Yes, the content of your response does matter. By incorporating relevant keywords naturally into your replies, you can subtly reinforce the products or services you offer, and this can aid in improving local SEO. However, always prioritise genuine engagement and clarity over keyword stuffing.
Absolutely. Responding to negative reviews constructively and professionally showcases your commitment to customer service. It not only helps in damage control but can also turn a negative experience into a positive one.
From an SEO standpoint, search engines don’t differentiate between positive or negative reviews; it’s the engagement and relevant content that matters. Addressing issues and providing solutions can also lead to enhanced user trust and brand credibility.
If you’re not sure of the best way to respond to negative reviews, head over to our most popular resource with 20 Google review response templates.
In hospitality, the guest experience is everything. But knowing what your guests want can present a challenge. A platform that helps you collect and understand feedback enables you to make tangible improvements to your business without getting lost in the noise.
Customer Alliance (that’s us 👋) and ReviewPro are two of the most popular platforms in the hospitality space. Here’s the lowdown of how they compare.
Both platforms share similar review management features, including:
However, Customer Alliance has a few additional features to increase your review management’s efficiency.
Customer Alliance offers a flexible approach to distributing reviews across different platforms, allowing you to be more targeted with your review management strategy.
This makes Customer Alliance particularly useful for hotels targeting specific countries with their own popular review portals (for example Zoover, where close to 90% of its traffic comes from the Netherlands).
You can add additional review sites to distribute to. However, the feature is only compatible with open portals – meaning those where the reviewer doesn’t need to have made a booking through the platform to leave a review.
See how Distribution works in our interactive demo
Both platforms allow you to reply directly to reviews from your dashboard, but Customer Alliance uses AI to save your staff time.
AI Reply Assistant makes Customer Alliance particularly well-suited for hotels with a high volume of reviews that need to be managed efficiently without overwhelming your staff. This capability is especially valuable for larger hotels or hotel chains where managing guest feedback at scale is crucial.
See AI Reply Assistant in action in the interactive demo
Both platforms share similar guest feedback management features, including:
However, Customer Alliance has a few additional features that help you get more comprehensive guest feedback and insights into satisfaction.
Customer Alliance allows you to gather feedback across the whole guest journey, from the first time a guest visits your website to after they’ve checked out.
This flexibility positions Customer Alliance as an ideal choice for hotels seeking to gather feedback directly from guests while their experiences are still fresh in their minds. Capturing insights across various touchpoints also helps you quickly address any guest preferences and concerns.
This proactive approach encourages continuous improvements, leading to higher satisfaction scores by ensuring that guest expectations are consistently met and exceeded throughout their stay.
See how Relais Castello di Casiglio uses surveys to increase guest satisfaction. Read the case study here.
Both platforms have features that help analyse your guest feedback and reviews, but Customer Alliance offers the flexibility to customise your data parameters for more precise reporting.
The ability to tailor your data parameters and reporting makes Customer Alliance particularly well-suited for larger organisations. With more detailed reporting options, different stakeholders can get the precise information they need. Reports can be created quickly and easily, saving time and allowing your team to focus on making faster, more confident decisions about how to increase satisfaction.
Choose Customer Alliance if:
Choose ReviewPro if:
See how AI insights, automated workflows, and unified dashboards can reduce manual work and increase satisfaction across your hotel.
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