DO YOU HAVE A GOOD ONLINE REPUTATION?

If you do, or do not, would you even know? If not, there are ways to assess the online reputation of your small business to determine whether it is good or bad, keeping in mind that the absence of any web presence can be just as bad as a negative reputation. If your small business has few or no search results, it can look like you’re hiding something, or that there is nothing positive to say about your business. Even worse, if your business gets a negative review, it will be right at the top when searched for, and your business could become synonymous with that single bad review.

Some small business owners pay no mind to their online reputation. They are therefore either ignorant of or unconcerned about what customers are saying about them, which is extremely detrimental, as a business’ online reputation has the power to make or break said business. In fact, 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, so it is imperative for small business owners to either enhance or fix their online reputation. In order to do this, however, they must first determine whether their online reputation is good or bad. One quick way to determine how your business appears online is to use a free scan tool.

You can also start by searching your business’ name. Remember that when searching the name of your business online to assess your reputation, the information on the first search engine report page (SERP) typically tells you a lot about your business’ estimation. However, it is essential you keep going because people researching your business usually will; in fact, three out of four users will click on results within the first three SERPs. If unconcerned about any info past page one, be aware that if your business’ top 10 search results are primarily negative, you have a bad online rep that needs improvement. If predominantly positive, your reputation is obviously good, but can always be better.

According to Forbes, online reviews have been shown to impact 67.7% of purchasing decisions, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation and 74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. To sum up, your online reputation is vital to your business.

For more information about how to get a good online reputation, check out our short video here.