For a business to have a quality reputation online, first impressions are everything and that requires some management. 86% of customers read reviews for local businesses. So online reviews are of utmost importance.
While reviews are the cornerstone of a quality reputation online, you also want to make sure you have good SEO information both on-page and off-page.
We break down each facet of a quality online reputation below.
1. Reviews
As we’ve shared previously in our blog, Does Getting More Online Reviews Help My SEO?, getting more positive reviews across multiple third-party review platforms is essential to a solid reputation online (Eg. Google, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.).
To maintain prominence online, you must receive substantial reviews to be seen as legitimate and have a consistent flow of new reviews. We’ve written before about how asking for customer feedback and reviews can help your reputation online and lead to a better customer experience.
Sidenote: Remember, bad reviews keep review systems honest. You may not be able to get rid of bad reviews, but you can offset them by collecting more positive reviews.
2. On-Page SEO
You must have consistent brand messaging and a strong meta description on your Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Give the person searching a clear idea of what they are about to click. Clear meta descriptions mean that you will help increase organic search traffic.
Your website has a frontend and backend. You want to hire an SEO company that you can trust to properly maintain your SEO strategy for the backend of your website.
3. Off-Page SEO
You need consistent information across third-party sites that link back to your website. These sites are constantly aggregating data from each other to build an accurate representation of your business. If you fail to manage the business information on these sites, your reputation will degrade over time. As the misinformation snowballs, it will cannibalize your business information.
We do not recommend manual management of the business citations on third-party sites, and it’s incredibly time-consuming. Instead, hire a company like ours that has tools to manage your network of listings all in one place with quick updates.
Improve Your Business’ Online Reputation
Are you thinking about taking the first step toward improving your reputation? Read on to learn how to build a review management strategy in 6 steps.
Do you have more questions about how to improve your SEO ranking? Book a quick call with one of our SEO experts.