reviews on multiple sites amplify smbs presence in local search

To call the myriad offerings on the Internet extensive may be a slight understatement. And while it’s tempting to generalize the growth of the Internet as exponential, the reality is the Internet’s growth is actually sigmoidal (apparently), or S-shaped.

In this choice-filled online world, small business owners know best that the vast number of options available, in everything, online are overwhelming. Whether choosing a social media platform or seeking reviews for your business, it’s important to diversify.

Local reviews of your business build credibility, help your rank in local search, and act as a form of word-of-mouth marketing but, as if you haven’t heard this enough, you can’t be content with just one review outlet online.

“The reality is that to 'get found,' they [businesses] need a profile on every citation source and review site that they can get,” says Ben Lloyd of Amplify Interactive.

Diversify: Seek Reviews Across Multiple Sites

As previously recommended, it’s necessary to create review-ready business profiles that contain real, up-to-date information about your business—and important to create these profiles across multiple sites.

“Never put all of your eggs in one basket,” advises John McPhee, the vice president of Formic Media, a Portland firm that specializes in search and social media for small businesses. “Give your customers options on where to leave reviews. Try to get reviews from Google, Yelp, Yahoo/Bing Local, and any other review sites relevant to your industry.”

Encourage reviews during an interaction in-store, via email and social media, or by using links or badges on your website, directing customers to your profile on review sites.

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Find out more about where you can go to diversify and why hyperlocal search matters on Neighborhood Notes.

how to write quality consumer reviews that help local business thrive

By writing quality consumer reviews, you have the opportunity to contribute to the success of locally owned businesses, not just by influencing others' buying decisions but also by providing critical feedback to business owners. Your input will enable businesses to provide better services or products, which will in turn help them stay open and thrive.

The reviews that you write also help local businesses gain online credibility with other consumers as well as search engines.

But that doesn’t mean all reviews are good reviews—and we’re not talking about glowing versus scathing reviews. While often good intentioned, many reviews are simply not helpful.

If you want to write reviews that truly help businesses in your community, then consider what makes a quality review from the perspectives of the business owner, the search engine and the customer. Because really, no matter if you’re an independent proprietor, an Internet robot, or a living, breathing consumer, you all want the same thing: relevant, accurate, usable information.

What Kinds of Reviews Are Helpful to Business Owners?

Winemaker and Hip Chicks do Wine owner Laurie Lewis says “factual unbiased information” is most helpful in customer reviews.

A review is valuable to her if it answers questions like: “Were you greeted in a timely fashion? Did you get the information you were looking for? Was our staff helpful, informative and pleasant?”

An important point about these questions is that they are all things that Lewis can control, not subjective opinions.

“Writing a review saying, ‘I didn't like this wine,’ is not helpful to the business owner or consumers looking for information,” she explains.

Lewis stresses the importance of being specific with your feedback: “Things like, ‘this packaging was hard to open’ or ‘the food was cold.’ Those things are helpful because a business can improve on them.”

Business owners want to know if their products or services meet a consistent level of quality, especially when they are not present. Being absent from their businesses means they can definitely miss out on certain customer experiences, so it’s important for Jenna Forzley of Atomic Pizza to get customer reviews that allow her “to hear if our quality of food and service are consistent.”

Lewis also recognizes that there are often things business owners don’t want to hear—like my server “spent more time on his or her cell phone than assisting me,” “the bathroom was dirty,” etc.—but those “are all things that show where some attention needs to be focused.”

Whether you’re leaving a positive or negative review, it’s important to remember to be constructive, offering factual, rational information or examples to support your accolades or criticism.

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Find out what makes a good review in the eyes of consumers as well as search engines on Neighborhood Notes.

how to encourage real, genuine reviews + build trust in your business

Getting customers through your doors in today’s marketplace is really tough.

The business landscape is competitive, the economy is uncertain, and people are really picky about where they spend their money.

If trying to figure out how to make your small business stand out online is stressing you out, you’re not alone.

One of the most effective ways to build trust, rank in local search, and generate the word-of-mouth marketing crucial to your success is to get real, genuine reviews of your business.

An Econsultancy article simply titled "Online consumers trust real people, not companies" says it all: “Ninety percent of consumers online trust recommendations from people that they know, with 70 percent trusting the opinions posted online by unknown users.”

Besides just trusting in what others say online, 70 percent of Americans also say they look at product reviews before making a purchase, according to author Jim Lecinski in Winning The Zero Moment of Truth.

So, how do you get consumer reviews? It’s easier than you think. You just need to be proactive.

Create Review-Ready Business Profiles

Your contact details don’t say much about your business. Add as much real, relevant information about your business as possible to your profile on review sites: recent photos, up-to-date information about the owners and staff, your hours, menu, products, and any information that will help consumers write better reviews and/or help your business stand out when people are searching for businesses in your category.

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Get more advice on how to encourage reviews on Neighborhood Notes.

3 ways online reviews help small businesses gain credibility + succeed

“Roughly 30 percent of all searches have a local intent,” says John McPhee, the vice president of Formic Media, a Portland firm that specializes in search and social media for small businesses.

“This equates to roughly 18-20 billion searches per month,” he continues. “With reviews being served within the search results, it’s imperative that business owners get in the review game.”

Reviews Are Like Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing has long been considered the most effective form of promotion and “the leading influencing factor in how consumers select a business to patronize,” says Formic Media founder and President Kent Lewis.

Ask yourself: Are you more likely to trust what a business trying to sell you something says, or someone you know who has interacted with that business, product or service?

The answer is obvious. Yet, in today’s online world, it doesn’t even matter if you know that person—the individual providing advice—anymore. The reviewer can be completely anonymous. As a small business owner, getting reviews isn't just in your best interest, it's crucial to your business' success.

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Find out two more reasons why you should get in the review game on Neighborhood Notes.