More than ever, consumer reviews are playing a big role in purchasing decisions. Not only do 95% of customers read reviews before making a purchase, but the quality and quantity of a business’s reviews are among Google’s most important ranking factors. Want to break into the local three-pack, which accounts for 41% of all clicks? […]
If you manage your business’s local presence online, you know that content uploaded by users, or user-generated content (UGC), can cause headaches. Our clients often ask us about fundamental issues like users suggesting inaccurate edits, uploading photos that do not always portray the business well, and answering other users’ questions before the business itself has […]
As the undisputed heavyweight champion of the digital age, Google rarely attempts to hide its ambitions. In fact, in a thoroughly disrupted year that has dramatically accelerated digital uptake, the search giant has made huge, conspicuous leaps forward in both shopping and local. For the latter, Google has now enlisted two-time unified heavyweight world boxing […]
Managing reviews and mentions online has become a critically important part of every modern business strategy. So today, we’re launching a new tool to make reputation management easier than ever before: the Review Response Assistant (RRA). Why do review responses matter? Because you can amplify positive comments, mitigate negative ones, and engage with your audience […]
Google doesn’t often make huge mistakes, but that’s exactly what happened this July. Hot on the heels of a suite of new features for Google My Business (GMB), early adopters of one such feature saw their listings suddenly suspended. If that wasn’t bad enough, Google also mass-deleted the reviews of many local listings in an […]
In the restaurant industry, reviews can have a significant impact on a business’s success. With major websites like Yelp and Zomato dedicated to providing a place for customers to rate and review places to eat, it’s crucial that restaurant owners embrace every opportunity to manage and respond to online reviews. While some restaurants only reply […]
It’s no surprise that a business’s review score can affect its success. The most basic understanding is that high scores are good and low scores are bad. Many businesses focus on keeping their star ratings above a certain threshold, which on the surface sounds reasonable. However, blindly following star ratings without understanding why those scores […]
For many enterprise-level businesses, your biggest competition is other multi-location brands. While you can almost be sure that your main competitor will have locations near yours, that isn’t all you have to worry about. Local chains and growing startups can drive business away from your locations just as well as—or even better than—the usual suspects. […]
It has been shown time and time again that responding to online reviews is a necessity for any business. In fact, modern consumers expect a review response within 24 hours, and brands who provide direct responses to reviews have better ratings. At this point, it’s clear that businesses in virtually every sector have to get […]
We’re always looking ahead for what marketers and businesses will need to be successful. In 2017 that includes a foolproof strategy to manage online customer reviews and brand sentiment. Brands can no longer take a passive approach to manage their online reputation – in fact, 88% of customers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. […]