the insane power of online reviews

“ ”@calindanielBy: Calin Yablonski

THE INSANE POWER OF ONLINE REVIEWS…

…and how to get them for your business.

The Insane Power of Online Reviews @calindaniel

“ ”


“ ”TODAY WE’RE GOING TO EXPLORE

✓Why reviews are insanely important

✓ Secrets of the web’s most popular review platforms

✓ Tactics for acquiring reviews

✓ 5-step process for responding to negative reviews


“ ”✓ 92% of consumers now read online

reviews

✓ 80% of people said they trust online reviews as much as they’d trust a personal recommendation

✓Only 14% of consumers would consider using a business with a one or two star rating

WHY REVIEWS ARE INSANELY IMPORTANT

Data from: https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/


“ ”21 point increase since 2011!

% P

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le W

ho

Rea

d R

evie

ws

0

20

40

60

80

100

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

9288847671




reviews

✓ 80% of people say they trust online reviews as much as they’d trust a personal recommendation





“ ”We trust the opinions of

complete strangers nearly as much as we trust those of our friends,

family members and colleagues.



reviews

✓ 80% of people said they trust online reviews as much as they’d trust a personal recommendation





“ ”Bad reviews could cause

86% of our potential customers to disappear!


“ ”In short, for businesses to be successful online, they need

to harness the power of online reviews.


“ ”SECRETS OF THE WEB’S

MOST POPULAR REVIEW WEBSITES


“ ”My Business

Appears in Google Maps

Integrated with Google+

Google’s Review Interface

✓ ✓ ✓


“ ”WHY GOOGLE REVIEWS MATTER

✓Reviews appear in Google’s local search results

✓ Increase local business rankings

✓Can be integrated into Google Adwords


“ ”


“ ”When evaluating reviews, star rating is the #1 factor

customers pay attention to.Data from: https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/


“ ”Quantity of native reviews was ranked #11 on a list of

top local SEO ranking factors.

The 2015 Local Search Ranking Factors


“ ”


“ ”Time for a

knowledge bomb!


“ ”5 OUT OF 5 STARS, BUT…


“ ”


“ ”WE NEED TO OUTSMART BAYESIAN LOGIC

5 - 9 10+

4.9 5.0

Reviews Reviews


“ ”Reviews

102 MillionClaimed

Businesses

2.8 MillionAvg. Monthly

Users

145 Million


“ ”WHY YELP REVIEWS MATTER

✓ Yelp appeals to an affluent, high income demographic

✓ 67% of Yelp reviews are 4-5 star

✓Reviews are aggregated to other platforms

✓ Yelp categories have a commanding presence in most search engines


“ ”US DEMOGRAPHICS OF YELP USERS


“ ”US DEMOGRAPHICS OF YELP USERS

https://www.yelp.com/factsheet


HOW DATA IS AGGREGATED

Shared with permission from Phil Rozek LocalVisibilitySystem.com

http://LocalVisibilitySystem.com


“ ”Just look at Yelp & Bing!

#1

#2

#3

#1#2#3


“ ”And, Yelp & Apple Maps

#1

#2

#3

#1

#2

#3


“ ”But, be forewarned!


“ ”


“ ”Your website!


“ ”WHY YOUR WEBSITE MATTERS

✓ 48% of people will visit a business’s website after reading positive reviews

✓ Integrates Microformats & Schema

✓Creates a branded search result


“ ”Does your website provide a positive user experience for

your customers?


“ ”✓ 48% of people will visit a business’s

website after reading positive reviews



WHY YOUR WEBSITE MATTERS


“ ”


“ ”✓ 48% of people will visit a business’s

website after reading positive reviews



WHY YOUR WEBSITE MATTERS


“ ”


“ ”TACTICS FOR GETTING

ONLINE REVIEWS


“ ”KNOW YOUR REVIEW ECOSYSTEM

✓Research where customers leave reviews within your industry

✓Make a list of the relevant review websites


“ ”


“ ”KNOW THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

✓Can you respond to reviews?

✓Can you incentivize reviews?

✓Can you solicit reviews?


“ ”Damn!!


“ ”CLAIM AND OPTIMIZE YOUR LISTINGS

✓Verify your business

✓ Insert the correct address, telephone number, website, description, and business info

✓ If you have the opportunity, insert attractive photos and videos


“ ”


“ ”CREATE A REVIEWS PAGE

✓ It creates a location to collect and publish your reviews

✓Optimize it for “keyword” + reviews

✓Use Microformats & Schema


“ ”


“ ”PRIME CUSTOMERS AT THE START OF YOUR RELATIONSHIP

✓ Let your customers know that you ask for reviews at the end of providing your services.


“ ”Feedback Is Important to Us Your success is our success. It’s why we work incredibly hard to ensure our clients receive value from the services we provide. At the end of your project you can expect a request from our team to write a review of the work we’ve completed. We will (politely) ask for you to share your experience so other business owners can benefit from the work our team provides. As we mentioned, your success is our success.


“ ”MAKE IT EASY TO GET REVIEWED

✓Publish a “check us out on Yelp” banner in your business

✓ Include a reviews link in your email signature

✓Create a review download sheet


“ ”whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator/


“ ”WATCH OUT FOR REVIEW FILTERS

✓Reviews for the same IP address such as an in store kiosk

✓ Throttling reviews

✓ Including URLs in the review

✓Referencing a person’s name


“ ”“Calin and his team at Inbound Interactive are the best in the business. They got my

website www.oykhmancriminaldefence.com to #1 on Google and kept me there

despite the heavy competition in my Google market place. If you don’t hire them to

help your business, the competition will! ”


“ ”Time for a

knowledge bomb!


“ ”SEGMENT BY NET PROMOTER SCORE

“How likely are you to recommend our business to a friend, family member or colleague?”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100


“ ”


“ ”HOW TO RESPOND TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS


“ ”BAD REVIEWS… EVERYONE GETS THEM.


“ ”A study by Reevoo found that 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad scores.

https://econsultancy.com/blog/8638-bad-reviews-improve-conversion-by-67

https://econsultancy.com/blog/8638-bad-reviews-improve-conversion-by-67


“ ”STEP 1: Cool down & evaluate

✓Be sure you’re in the right frame of mind to reply

✓ If you’re angry it’s not the right time to respond to a negative review


“ ”STEP 2: Acknowledge and look into the problem

✓Ask your staff or anyone who was involved in the situation what actually happened

✓ Evaluate the accuracy of the review so you can craft a response

✓Remember, this is a chance to salvage a customer relationship


“ ”If a business resolves its issue quickly and efficiently, 95% of unhappy customers will return

to your business.

https://www.vendasta.com/blog/50-stats-you-need-to-know-about-online-reviews/


“ ”STEP 3: Address the problem directly.

✓Did your business screw up? Apologize and make things right

✓What if your business was not in the wrong? Apologize anyway, and explain the situation

✓A “non-apology” won’t work here. Keep your response short, and sweet

✓Always be sincere, direct, and polite


“ ”STEP 4: Attempt to take the conversation offline.

✓Be upfront with the customer, and invite them to contact you directly

✓Be certain that the channels you provide are prompt, personal, and effective


“ ”STEP 5: Document the complaint and watch for patterns

✓Keep detailed records about when people are complaining, and what they’re complaining about

✓Bad reviews can be one of the best ways of identifying and solving systemic business problems


“ ”1. Cool down & evaluate

2. Acknowledge and look into the problem

3. Address the problem directly

4. Attempt to take the conversation offline

5. Document the complaint and watch for patterns

THE 5-STEP PROCESS


“ ”“ ”Don’t underestimate the insane power of reviews.

In closing…

“ ”@calindanielBy: Calin Yablonski

THANKS!

the insane power of online reviews

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