Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
According to a Bright Local study, 85% of Internet users consider customer reviews to be perfectly reliable indicators of the quality of a company or service.
Historically, customer reviews have mainly concerned companies such as restaurants, hotels, or tourist activities. Many print guides had also built their success on the basis of rating of these institutions. With the democratization of the web, platforms on which it is possible to post opinions have multiplied (Facebook, Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor etc.) and all types of companies are now concerned by customer reviews.
Some of these reviews appear directly on your Google My Business listing and are displayed as soon as an Internet user enters your company’s name in the search bar.
These reviews can therefore have an extremely positive impact on your traffic and conversions, as well as have a devastating effect if the reviews you have received are negative. In fact, Google reviews are 12 times more highly regarded by Internet users than the company’s description.
How do customer reviews impact your reputation?
Customer reviews are very valuable on the Internet. They impact your reputation with consumers on the one hand, but also directly in Google’s algorithm.
User reviews
A bad customer opinion reaches about twice as many users as a positive opinion, and a simple negative opinion can drive up to 22% of your potential consumers away from the service you offer. In addition, customers will most often seek to express their dissatisfaction after a bad shopping experience with regard to spontaneous opinions (in about 50 to 70% of cases).
Customer reviews therefore have a direct impact on your company’s reputation and the services you offer. You should ensure that you offer your customers other ways to contact you in case of dissatisfaction to avoid the proliferation of negative customer reviews on your web page, which can be very harmful to your business.
Customer reviews not only improve your reputation with potential customers, but are also an excellent indicator of trust for Google. Google’s algorithm takes into account the opinions left on your site that directly influence your natural referencing. It is therefore very important to use all the tools at your disposal to increase the positive reviews on your page and therefore optimize your SEO.
5 tips to encourage positive customer reviews
Most consumers are happy to leave opinions and help you if they have had a good experience with you, do not hesitate to encourage them to leave some.
Have several spaces to post notices
Today, there are many platforms that allow you to leave opinions: Facebook, Google My Business, Yelp, Amazon, etc. Use more spaces to give your customers the opportunity to leave feedback. Make it as easy as possible for them by asking them to leave opinions on all the spaces you have a presence in.
Optimize your website content to give people the opportunity to leave feedback
Your time is precious, and so is that of your consumers. Few consumers will look on your website to leave a review. Highlight the spaces reserved for customer reviews to always give them the opportunity to leave a comment.
Offer gifts in exchange for reviews
Encourage your customers to leave reviews by offering them rewards (discounts, promotions, gift cards, etc.). They will spend even more time writing a positive review for you if they have an interest in it. Be careful, however, this type of practice is not accepted by all review platforms.
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Pick the right time to ask for a review
Sometimes, sales processes are tedious and you have to choose the right time to suggest that your consumers leave reviews, in order to avoid having the customer write a review at a time when he or she may be dissatisfied with any aspect of the service.
Do not hesitate to ask your customers for a review after receiving the product, when they order another product through your site, after they tag you in a post on social media, or if they advise other customers to visit you.
If you have an e-commerce site, you can set up an automatic system where your customer receives an email asking them to leave a review at a specific step after the purchase.
In the case where you are a service company, it is more effective to ask your customers in person to leave positive reviews. They will understand your approach and will try to help you as long as the service you have provided has been satisfactory to them.
Respond to all opinions, even negative ones
Responding to reviews gives your company a more human dimension. Consumers who leave opinions will be happy to receive an answer, and other customers who see the answer will get direct feedback on the issue raised. Do not take an overly defensive or abrupt stance in your response and try to be supportive of your client. A positive response to a negative comment will result in empathy for your company from other customers.
How to make your page a point of reference online with reviews
Getting positive feedback online is not impossible and many customers will be willing to help you, spontaneously or after a request. Don’t wait for reviews to come to you, instead go out and meet your customers to increase the number of reviews about you. By following these tips, you can significantly increase your online reputation and attract significant traffic while optimizing your website’s SEO.
If you would like to benefit from advice to improve your marketing strategy and your natural referencing, contact us!
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