How a Business Should Withstand Negative Reviews on Review Websites

We analyzed the search results, worked with SERM (search engine reputation management) and improved the client’s rating from 1.1 to 4.7. In this case, I want to focus on what has been done to achieve that and share some lifehacks from our agency that could help improve a company’s online reputation.

What We Did

First. We analyzed the search results in Google and selected the websites that allow leaving reviews about the brand’s service and products. We took into account all the existing positions in top-50 search results for a ‘brand’s name + reviews’ keyword.

Second. After we selected the review websites, we analyzed the monthly average number of negative reviews on each website separately. Then we came up with the work plan for the next 3-6 months to improve the client’s average rating.

To achieve that, we used the statistics for the last few months. We calculated the projected number of negative reviews by month and the number of positive reviews (with a 4-5 rating). Then we distributed the required daily amount of review publications with monthly correlation, based on the average value by the end of the month.

Lifehacks and Recommendations

To make the reviews look as natural as possible, follow several essential rules:

1. Make sure that the style of the reviews is different.

2. Distribute the review publications evenly during the day.

3. Use the IP addresses of the country or city where the business works: review websites track the location.

4. Some review websites prioritize reviews (often negative) with the most significant number of likes and comments. Those reviews are displayed in Google search results for a ‘brand’s name + reviews’ keyword. What can you do to change that? Create a new detailed positive review and use like and comments from new profiles to help this review reach the TOP on a website. Then wait until the review page is reindexed (it could take from a couple of days to a couple of weeks), and the search results snippet displays this positive review.

5. Track the problematic questions and reviews on such websites and try to react to them as quickly as possible. Comment both the positive and the negative reviews on behalf of company’s representative. Make the replies personalized: this shows your clients that you care about them.

Use the following words:

• very sorry
• please
• thank you
• our apologies
• with respect

After you figure out what the problem is, try to solve it, and don’t forget to mention it in the comments to that review. This shows your existing and potential clients that your company is loyal to them.

The Conclusion

When you create a work plan to improve SERM, do your best to fully specify the resources you’ll be working with.

These two things are especially important to keep in mind:

Time interval. If a company’s image is currently negative, it could take 4-6 months of work to change the situation.

Naturalness. Positive reviews should look as realistic as possible: you should drive different contractors to write them, mix them with the neutral ones, work from different IP addresses, provide photos, and so on.

P.S.

In other cases, it’s possible to create an integrated work strategy for SERM improvement. Such an approach focuses not only on working with the review websites but also on creating a special webpage with positive reviews on the company’s website.

It’s also possible to write articles with positive reviews about a company, to publish such articles on trusted resources, and to promote them to help them reach the top search results for a keyword ‘brand’s name + reviews.’ However, that is a different story 🙂

If you have questions left, please reach out to us at 4partners@adindex.ua and let us offer you the best solutions for your company’s reputation management and improvement of your online image.