Posted by Craig Maloney | June 29, 2017 | Filed under: Earned Traffic Articles, Online Reputation Management
Customer feedback is critically important—and not just to your ego. It can also have a direct impact on your online reputation and even your search engine visibility. Especially important to consider are Google’s verified reviews. It’s no exaggeration to say that these verified reviews can have a make-or-break impact on your brand.
What is a Verified Customer Review?
Anyone can leave reviews on Google. Verified customer reviews are a little more specific than that, though. Basically, a verified customer review has to come from a customer who has made a purchase from a company website. What this means, of course, is that verified customer reviews are only available for businesses that have online stores.
Crucially, a regular Google review can be left by anyone, and for any reason. Though Google discourages fake reviews, there’s really no way to ensure that your reviews are being left by real customers. Not so with verified customer reviews.
Verified customer reviews were rolled out specifically to address this problem—to provide Google with a better way to regulate the authenticity of reviews. Basically, if a customer buys from your online store, he or she will receive an email asking them to leave feedback on the specific product that was purchased. When your business received a verified customer review, there’s no guesswork required: You know the review is legit.
Obtaining Verified Customer Reviews
Now, these reviews carry a lot of SEO clout; in addition to shaping your online reputation, they can also contribute to your local search rankings. As such, it’s very much worth your time to be proactive in amassing verified customer reviews.
The first thing you’ll need to do is simply sign up for this feature. Google has provided some great, step-by-step instructions for this.
From there, it’s important to have a strategy in place to get positive reviews. You can’t be passive, or hope that the positive reviews will just come. No, you’ve got to reach for them. Here’s how.
Provide an Incentive to Your Customers
The sad reality is that customers who have had a bad experience are more likely to leave reviews—but you can balance things out by providing an incentive, encouraging everyone who buys a product from you to leave a verified customer review. You might offer something as simple as free shipping on a future order, or a $5 off discount. It doesn’t have to be huge. Just make sure you publicize the incentive through a company newsletter, e-blast, or social media account.
Ask for Reviews—Directly
Something else we recommend: If you have regular/loyal customers, reach out to them with a direct, personal email, and explain to them just how much a review would mean to you. Just asking for feedback is often all it takes, especially when you make it feel like a personal request, not just another marketing message.
Respond to Reviews
People are more inclined to leave a review when they see that the business owner reads them—and responds. Make it a priority to say thank-you for the positive feedback you receive, and to politely deal with any negative ones.
Make Reviews Part of the Big Picture
Ideally, customer reviews won’t be incidental to your marketing plan. Instead, we recommend making them key to your ongoing SEO and ORM endeavors. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact the pros.
That’s where we come in. EverythingOnline offers ample experience in online reputation marketing. We know how to get results, and we provide the stats and analytics to prove it. Learn more by contacting us today.
