The most recent survey conducted by BrightLocal revealed the importance of managing reviews and comments on companies’ Google+ and other Social Media channels and building their websites’ reputation as an essential part of the SEO strategy. BrightLocal surveyed 20 highly respected and influential SEO professionals to find out how they are using reviews and the importance of online reputation management as a part of an Internet Marketing strategy.
The management of reviews and reputation is seen as one the most important services within the SEO services offered by agencies and is growing in popularity in the local search space. When a company has many positive comments or reviews, it helps to improve local search rankings and provides credibility, ultimately bringing online users closer to becoming a client. The reviews are gaining in importance for Google’s local search algorithm because it is a trustworthy source to use when measuring the quality of the products and services. Reviews are also made by real users which makes them less vulnerable to “spammy” procedures.
Nowadays the volume of demand for reputation management on the web is increasing dramatically. According to the research, the time spent working obtaining new reviews is much higher than the time spent on responding and managing bad reviews. Managing negative comments can be a very time consuming process, however shouldn’t be neglected. Online users normally go through a maximum of six reviews until they form their own opinion about the business. It is important to have constantly new and positive reviews since the older ones will be pushed down in the search results over time. Obtaining consistent new reviews will also demonstrate that the website’s business is still active as well. It is important to note that reviews and comments should be authentic and done by real users and clients. You can ask people who are visiting your Social Media channels or your website to leave a comment or a review. However, it is crucial to assess and choose wisely which sites you will allow comments and reviews on. The options available have different impact on the SEO results. Obviously, Google+ will be your first choice since it is a Google product and most of the users searching for local businesses using Google. Other Social Media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as Yelp, Yahoo, TripAdvisor will also help your SEO strategy.
On a final note, it is important to include a reputation management plan in your SEO strategy for effective local search optimization: “The overwhelming belief among local experts is that reviews are extremely important to local search optimization and that having an effective review strategy is crucial to successfully generating reviews for clients.”
iRISE-media.com is a digital media agency and SEO company, specializing in SEO and Internet Marketing. Our team helps clients increase their reach and profitability by developing and implementing customized and targeted social media marketing strategies. We service clients in Toronto, Ontario, the GTA and throughout Canada as well as globally.
