How to Maintain Good Google Reputation Management

Trust is the foundation of every great relationship, especially when it comes to businesses and customers. One of the ways you can establish this trust is by having proper Google reputation management.

It's clear to see why when you have 65% of consumers trusting search engines.

When it comes to searching for businesses and products/services, the first thing they'll see is business listings. And on these business listings are customer reviews.

You have 46% of all Google searches made up of local searches. And a whopping 95% of people don't take action until after reading reviews.

That speaks volumes of the impact your online reputation has on your business. So we're going to look at several ways you can maintain a good status.

Build Your Brand On Social Media

Alright, so what does social media have to do with building a good Google reputation? In short -- everything.

When you conduct a search on Google, it's not just websites and business directories that appear. You also see YouTube videos, tweets, and Instagram and Facebook posts.

Having a presence on one of these platforms makes sense (as long as your audience actually uses them). Be sure to fill out your profiles completely, include links back to your website, and regularly publish posts.

It also helps to engage in conversations, so your account will receive mentions.

Create (Or Claim) Your Google My Business Listing

Having your business listing show up in the Local 3-Pack is the key to driving more foot traffic to your storefront.

This will make your Google reputation management much easier.

But to get here, you'll need to do several things:

• Find and claim your GMB listing (or create one) using Gosite's placement tool
• Fill out the profile completely (including your products/services, hours of operation, and other locations)
• Ensure your business name, address, and phone number are consistent with what's on your website
• Ask your customers for reviews (the higher the rating, the higher your rank)

Then depending on how many similar businesses there are in your area, you'll either find it easy or difficult to reach the top three spots. But not to worry, some users click "more" to view the top 10 places, so make this your first goal.

Publish Content Regularly for Google Reputation Management

The odds of you making it to the first page of Google increase when you consistently push out fresh content. Ideally, you want to focus on a set of local keywords to help your site rank for them.

The more content you have using similar keywords, the more relevant Google will see the term is for your site.

You'll need to build a blog to do this, though. If you're using WordPress and other content management systems (CMS) then this will be simple to do. Otherwise, you can add a WordPress to your hosting plan to build a blog that way.

Read and Reply to Negative Reviews

Consumers trust peer reviews -- and it makes sense that they do. It's like getting a personal recommendation from a friend.

People want to know they're buying from a trusted company. But what happens when your local business receives unfavorable reviews?

It's bound to happen, even to the best of companies. There's no way to guarantee the satisfaction of every customer, but you can try to turn things around.

As a part of Google reputation management, we recommend taking the time to read negative reviews and form an outreach plan. The first step is to apologize for the issue. The next step is to offer a solution, such as a discount on a future product or service.

Or if your business is at fault, then you can ensure they receive a refund. There are two goals you're trying to achieve here:

1. Appease the disgruntled customer
2. Show the world (or your locale) your local business cares and goes out of its way to appease disgruntled customers

It's psychology -- customers trust companies that acknowledge their wrong-doings and/or aims to please all of its customers. As for managing customer feedback, you can use GoSite's review tool.

Google Reputation Management Hack: Monitor Brand Mentions

Now, there are several places on the web where users can mention your brand. On social media, users may write out your company name or your social media handle (i.e., @yourbusinessname).

Knowing what people are saying about your local business (customers and prospects) will allow you to stay ahead of potential problems. Plus, you can see what people like so you can do more of it or enhance your offerings.

Let's just say that not monitoring brand mentions is the exact opposite of good Google reputation management.

So how do you go about monitoring your brand mentions?

The most popular method is to set up Google alerts for keywords (your brand name). This will email you anytime someone on your Google listing, a website, blog comment, or public social media post mentions your brand keyword.

Engage with Your Audience Everywhere

The internet hosts millions of conversations at any one time. This offers you an opportunity to be seen and heard as a brand. You just have to know where relevant conversations are taking place.

In most cases, it'll be somewhere on social media and forums. Using the brand mentions hack, you can find opportunities to insert your brand into the conversation. After all, someone mentioned you, and you have the right to agree, disagree, or offer an additional perspective.

It's also a good idea to start conversations on the social platforms your audience uses. This way, you can get people engaged and liking your social profiles.

You'll need to understand your audience to pull this off. This means conducting research on your target market so you can learn their habits and where they like to hang out online.

Having a customer profile is vital to creating a strategy for Google reputation management.

Start Building Your Google Reputation Management Strategy

These are the top methods local businesses can and should be using to grow their online presence (and maintain a positive spotlight).

If you're not already using a strategy to achieve this, then now's a great time to start. You can get a head start by using GoSite's placement tool to ensure your listings are up to par.

Then to keep an eye on what people are saying, you can use GoSite's review tool. Get started using it for free today!