Reviews

Your Helpful Guide: Yelp’s New Review Solicitation Policy

Yelp recently announced that it will be more aggressively enforcing its “Don’t Ask” policy, penalizing companies that show signs of “organized review solicitation.” Specifically, companies that Yelp believes to be actively soliciting reviews are now at risk of having their pages demoted in the platform’s search results as well as having a “Consumer Alert” warning placed on their Yelp business page. A Yelp spokesperson explained the company’s reasoning for its “Don’t Ask” policy stating, “A business is more likely to ask their satisfied customers to write reviews, and when businesses heavily solicit or offer freebies or discounts in exchange for reviews, that puts other businesses that play by the rules at a disadvantage.” Whether or not Yelp’s policy is a sound business decision is yet to be seen. In the meantime, business owners need to figure out their next move. If you’re working on your own to collect more reviews … Continued

User Reviews are The King

Did you know that positive online reviews produce an 18% average uplift in sales? Or that consumers are likely to spend 31% more with businesses that have excellent reviews? How about that 59% of consumers say that review sites have the most influence on their booking decisions when traveling? Online reviews have become an important part of how consumers make decisions, whether it’s what to eat, watch, buy, or sell. See below for even more industry-specific information and statistics. The facts and impact of online reviews are real. What are some effective strategies you’ve used to garner positive online reviews for your business? Image Credit: Website Builder

How Do I Respond to Google Reviews of My Business? #FAQuesday

With a sleek, professionally designed website and a plethora of Google reviews brimming with positive accounts of your service, your company is way ahead of the curve when it comes to digital marketing. If you’re not responding to those reviews, however, you could be missing out on opportunities to directly connect with potential lifelong customers.

Should I Respond to Customer Reviews? #FAQuesday

Word of mouth travels much faster these days with the dawn of the digital age. Reviews can spread like wild fire and do wonders for your online presence. That’s why we at The Web Guys put so much emphasis on our clients inspiring customer reviews. Not only do good reviews attract new customers and leads, they can lead to higher rankings on Google and other search engines. Recently, Google added a snippet to their “Improve Your Local Ranking” support page that highlights how important it is to respond to all customer reviews. While it’s always been important to respond to negative review, this new update from Google solidifies just how important customer reviews are for your business. Let’s go over some best practices when it comes to writing responses. Stay Brief Get in, say thanks, get out. There’s no need to get long winded, even if it’s in response to … Continued