Last Updated on February 15, 2021 by Bright Past
Online Reputation Management is a relatively new but fairly booming business. The problem with the internet is that it offers an almost unlimited amount of data storage, which means any skeletons in your corporate closet never really vanish, they have the ability to just keep popping up over and over.
While you can’t always eliminate them entirely, you can make sure that if they do rear their ugly head again, they show up far, far down a search engine list behind a vast number of glowing, positive reviews of your business, company, product or service. Here are 4 simple ways to boost your brand.
1. Comments Matter
Today’s sophisticated search engine algorithms are capable of assigning greater or lesser weight to a wide variety of data. How many times you use certain keywords in a given article now holds less weight in search rankings than how many times users comment on a post or on another site about your products or services.
Even Google Maps gets in on the action, assigning a bigger pin to businesses that have better online interaction with clients and consumers. Don’t be afraid to solicit comments or ask your clients or consumers to leave positive reviews on major sites like Amazon or Yelp.
If you have the ability, place a desktop computer in your office or reception area and ask happy clients or customers if they could take a moment right now to leave a digital comment or review.
Not only will this ensure they don’t agree and then forget about it later, but they will most likely leave the most favorable review when they are in that happy, joyful mental space we are all in when we are ecstatic about the results of something we have just purchased or paid for.
If you don’t have an office or your service is a mobile one, consider carrying an iPad or tablet with you to get on-the-spot reviews.
2. Use peer pressure to your advantage
If you get a great comment or review, share, share, share. Not only will sharing great reviews help you get more clients, it will also help you get more good reviews. No matter what age, we are all susceptible to peer pressure.
If people read glowing reviews from other people, they are more likely to leave glowing reviews. If you have hundreds of reviews, that is actually more likely to cause people to leave a similar review than if you only have 5 reviews which were left over the last 2-5 years.
3. Create your own press
“Buzz” creates high SEO rankings, but you don’t have to wait for someone to make it for you, you can make it yourself or with Brightpast. There are a number of different websites such as Fiverr or Textbroker where you can have articles, press releases, blog posts and other content created just for you.
You can post them on your own website or ask peers, friends, and family to post them on their website or social media pages and share, share, share.
The more people are talking online about your business or company, the higher your rankings go. The point is to create an interconnected web.
4. Claim your business listings
Your business will most likely already be listed on a number of online sites ranging from Yelp to the White Pages to the Better Business Bureau. If you are the owner of this business, you have the ability to manage some of the content, not to mention ensuring that all of the business information is accurate.
This is particularly important if you have ever moved your business, as many online services may have incorrect or out-of-date information.
Once you have claimed your business listings on every site you can find, then you can begin to solicit comments on those sites, which will drive up your rankings. Don’t ask clients or consumers to post on several sites, but do consider asking clients or consumers to leave comments on a different site each month.
If you have repeat customers that are genuinely enthusiastic about your service, they may be more than willing to leave a comment on a different site each month or every few months.
Contact professionals to get the best reviews and improve your online reputation.