How to Take Advantage of Customer Reviews In SEO
A business review is a written sentiment customers sends to a third-party platform or website. Numerous review platforms are specific to certain industries. These can be continuous conversations customers have about your brand.
Unfortunately, you can’t control what customers say about your product or services. However, you can influence and build a lasting impression about your business depending on how you respond to customer reviews online.
Make Reviews Work for Your Company
As a site or business owner, you are responsible for how your product/service is presented to the public (How they respond to it is different). It would be best to aim for customer satisfaction in all aspects of what the business provides.
You’re watering ground for more positive customer experiences when you treat your customers exceptionally well. These interactions can be shared in a review sentiment. In the same breath, negative or neutral feedback can arise from different people because of their views.
“A recent survey found that 68% of consumers say review sentiment influences the trust they feel in a business. Reviews are also considered to be a key local search ranking factor.”-moz.com
Maybe you have neglected reviews; it’s never too late to change. Following a review audit process can help restore or reaffirm your site’s reputation.
- This involves going to main review websites and taking notes of the negative messages in the last two years or so. Tools like Free Review Monitoring and Review Tracker are available.
- Take note of the negative sentiment sent more than once in the past two years.
- Categorize the complaints
- Gather your findings
- Come up with a solution – respond in the best way possible.
This is how you can further implement a review strategy when you revise your SEO plan:
- Request a review after a transaction
- Save emails from customers and ask for a rating
- On your website, you can include a review/testimonial section
- Don’t go for spammy review services
What are the Different Types of Review Sentiment?
- Positive
- Negative
- Neutral
People work hard to make their business great, and responding to reviews can be tough. We look at the above three major types of reviews closely and how to effectively respond to each:
Positive
Companies should also respond to positive reviews by expressing their gratitude. It helps build a community, and giving feedback to such messages can give you the desired success (increase your ranking on SERPs). You want your customers to feel appreciated.
Negative
A negative review is inevitable for a business. Sometimes companies with the best customer service can get a bad review here and there. In such a situation, the owner will have to make amends and do something to win their client back. At this point, it doesn’t matter who is wrong but the message you post in response to the backlash. This shows anyone who reads the review that the company cares.
Firstly, there are a few things that you should not be doing:
- Shift the blame to your employees or customer
- Not believe the customer
- Respond unprofessionally
- Not planning to apologize
This is what you should do:
- Accept responsibility and commit to fixing the problem
- Sincerely apologize to the customer for their bad experience and empathize
- Offer the client something in return (free product, refund etc.)
- The response should be short and sweet
Neutral
A good place to start is thanking the customer for taking their time to give you feedback. Point out and complement the positive part of the comment. If there is a need to apologize, do so and explain any complaints mentioned. Lastly, invite them to send you a message on their next experience or how you can improve.
When Should You Reply?
“52% of customers expect you to reply to their comments and messages within 7 days”- says revlocal.com. So, don’t forget to catch up with your customers and respond on time to keep them happy.
Online Reviews
Ultimately, reviews are a powerful marketing tool for companies. Therefore, doing review management is important in drawing in traffic, and Google values them too. It wouldn’t hurt to include checking online reviews in your SEO strategy. You can use many resources depending on your type of business, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon Reviews and more.
