SEO – Online Reputation Management

What does online reputation management mean?

Belongs to the SEO module: “Local SEO”.

Online reputation management refers to processes and strategies that companies and individuals use to maintain and protect their own reputation or brand image on the Internet:

  1. Monitoring
    of online reviews, comments and feedback published on various platforms such as social media, review portals and other online channels.
    The aim is to identify potential problems at an early stage and then respond appropriately.
  2. Creation of positive online content
    to manifest and increase the reputation of a company or person. This can be achieved through content creation such as blog articles, social media posts, online PR and other methods.

How can TBA support?

TBA-Berlin can support your team in online reputation management by taking over the monitoring and making suggestions, even on very specific individual cases.

Questions about specific incidents can of course only be answered by you, we can help there with the factual formulation of the answers and suggest further measures.

Customer ratings from the perspective of prospective customers

Many people look for reviews online before buying a product or service or deciding on a company.

Whether and how a company reacts to praise and criticism also plays an important role in the decision-making process.

Customer reviews from an SEO perspective

For search engines, reviews and reactions to them are important manual “user signals” for assessing the relevance and credibility of a website or a company.

Important factors that search engines evaluate:

  1. Number of reviews
    The more reviews a company has, the more likely it is that Google will consider this company to be relevant and credible compared to its competitors.

  2. Rating average
    Companies with higher ratings are ranked higher by Google than companies with lower ratings.

  3. Frequency of reviews
    Companies that regularly receive reviews from customers are considered more relevant by Google than companies that only occasionally receive reviews (or suddenly receive many on a few days).

  4. Quality of reviews
    In addition to length, content also plays a role: more detailed reviews are generally rated higher than short reviews with little content.
    If the reviewer adds their own photos, this is particularly good.

  5. Use of keywords
    If certain keywords are used in the reviews, this can help the company to be ranked higher in the search results when users search for exactly these keywords.

Important rating platforms
in Germany

Local SEO Google Example Screen
  1. Google My Business
    A Google platform on which companies can manage their company information, photos and reviews. This is probably the most important platform at the moment, especially for local businesses and practices.
  2. Yelp
    A platform where users can rate local businesses and leave feedback.
  3. Kununu
    A platform on which employees can publish reviews and testimonials about their employers.
  4. Trusted Shops
    A platform that helps companies to collect trustworthy reviews from customers.
  5. Ciao!
    A platform on which users can rate products, services and companies.
  6. Qype
    A platform where users can rate local businesses and leave feedback.
  7. golocal.de
    A platform where users can rate local businesses and leave feedback.
  8. Amazon
    For products sold there

Industry-specific:

for doctors

  1. Jameda
    One of the best-known rating platforms for doctors and dentists in Germany.
  2. DocInsider
    A platform where patients can publish reviews and testimonials about doctors.
  3. Sanego
    A platform where patients can leave reviews about doctors, clinics and medicines.
  4. Arzt-Auskunft
    A platform of the Association of Private Health Insurers on which doctors and clinics can be rated.
  5. MeineArztbewertung
    A platform where patients can publish reviews and experiences about doctors.
  6. Med-Kolleg
    A platform where patients can rate doctors and clinics.
  7. Patientus
    A platform where patients can rate doctors who specialize in digital consultations.
  8. German Medical Association
    A platform of the German Medical Association where patients can rate doctors and give feedback.

for gastronomy and travel industry

  1. Tripadvisor
    A platform where users can rate hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions.
  2. HolidayCheck
    Over 10 million reviews from travelers in Europe, provides detailed information on hotels, restaurants and attractions.
  3. Booking.com
    online platform for booking hotels, but it also has a large number of reviews of hotels and restaurants from guests who have actually stayed in the hotels or eaten in the restaurants.

Strategies for positive assessment management and promotion

Positive reviews strengthen trust in a company or product and they increase the potential for future business.

If a company neglects or fails to respond to positive reviews, there is a chance that potential customers will think that your company is disinterested or unprofessional.

Good strategies

  1. Monitor review platforms regularly: Make sure you have a presence on platforms and monitor them regularly for new reviews.
  2. Respond to customer reviews: When customers leave positive reviews, be sure to thank them and answer any questions or concerns they may have. In this way, you can boost customer confidence and encourage them to leave positive reviews in the future.
  3. Leverage social media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram offer businesses another way to receive and manage customer reviews and feedback. Post/share positive reviews on your social media channels to boost your image.
  4. Ask for feedback:
    ► Encourage customers to leave feedback by sending them emails with surveys or feedback forms.
    ► If you hand out documents after successful transactions/treatments, include a small printed card with the request for a review, with instructions on how and where to do this, for example with a QR code of the web addresses (we can professionally design such a card for you).
    ► Many shop/restaurant operators also have a sticker with the QR code of their preferred review portal stuck to the entrance door (you can also get a sticker from us).
  5. Be open to criticism: Make sure you listen to suggestions and criticism and make changes to products or services as necessary.
  6. Offer incentives: Offer customers incentives such as discounts or coupons to encourage them to leave positive reviews.
  7. Improve your products and services: the best strategy to encourage positive reviews is, of course, to improve your products and services. If you offer a quality product or service and are responsive to customer concerns, they will be more inclined to leave positive reviews.

Dealing with negative reviews

Negative reviews can also negatively impact a company’s reputation and potentially deter future customers.

By responding professionally and positively to negative reviews, however, you can regain the trust of customers and further improve your company.

Important steps to take when faced with negative reviews:

  1. Read the review carefully and understand what the customer complained about. Take time to fully understand the complaint before responding.
  2. Remain polite and professional. Even if you disagree with the review, it is important to remain polite and respectful.
    Do not react “attacked”, offended or with derogatory assessments (even if it is sometimes difficult).
  3. Avoid escalation: Avoid at all costs getting drawn into a public argument with the customer and escalating the case in this way.
    Long discussions attract attention, make the case appear more important than it perhaps is and provoke further comments (in order to have the “last word”).
  4. Apologize when appropriate. If the customer has a legitimate reason to complain, you should sincerely apologize and try to resolve the issue. Mistakes happen, customers know that. What is important is how it is handled.
  5. Offer a solution that solves the customer’s problem and show that you are willing to solve the problem.
  6. Use the feedback constructively to improve your company and ensure that the problem does not occur again.
  7. Have reviews deleted? In exceptional cases, it is also possible to have reviews removed if the content is completely out of thin air, offensive and defamatory.
    This is particularly possible if comments violate the terms of use of the review portals or the GDPR. In such cases, it can help to consult specialized lawyers to present the request for deletion with emphasis.
    TBA-Berlin can assist in the search for specialists.

Prevention through transparency

Companies that communicate transparently and openly about their products, services and business practices build trust with their customers and can thus strengthen their reputation online.

  1. Open and honest communication
    Companies should communicate openly and honestly about their products, services and business practices.
    This means that companies should clearly communicate what they do and how they do it.
  2. Incorporate customer feedback
    Companies should take customer feedback seriously and respond to it. Companies should provide open channels for feedback, such as rating platforms, social media channels or feedback forms.
  3. Clear data protection guidelines
    Companies should have clear data protection guidelines and communicate transparently about how they use their customers’ data.
  4. Open corporate culture
    Companies should promote an open corporate culture in which employees and customers can express themselves freely and in which there is no room for secrecy or hidden information.
  5. Responsible behavior
    Companies should act responsibly and ensure that their business practices are ethical and sustainable.

Sources:

Wikipedia

Carl D. Erling, Berlin, CTO
Carl D. Erling, CTO