How to Deal with Negative Online Reviews

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Since we live in a digital world, one of the worst things that can happen to your company’s reputation is negative search results on Google. Prospective customers begin judging you immediately and having unflattering comments appear can quickly undo everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. When this happens, action should be taken immediately.

People are quick to write a negative review or article about an unsatisfying experience that they had with a company – even if it was something minor – and this can damage the company’s digital reputation, causing them to lose money and prospective clients. Therefore, it’s critical to know what to do when you get a negative review so that your online reputation is not damaged beyond repair.

Chances are, you will not be able to get in contact with Google about removing the negative information, but there are some things you can do to help put your online reputation back on track.

dealing with negative online reviews

Try to Make it Right

If you get a negative review about your company on Google or Yelp, you cannot delete it yourself. Usually, if the review is personally threatening or profane, Google will agree to remove it. However, there is no guarantee that the search engine will agree with you about the inappropriateness of the content. The process is entirely subjective.

But, you can try contacting the person who wrote the negative review to find out why they are unhappy with your product or service, and how you may be able to correct the problem that led to the bad review. After you address their concerns, you can then explain how their negative online review can do a lot of damage to your company’s reputation and ask them to delete it.

If that fails, you should respond to the negative review publicly, as this will turn a one-sided outlook of your business into one where a potential customer can see both sides of the issue. Showing that you’ve heard their complaints indicates that you care, which can do a lot to remove a bad review. When responding to the review, remember to be polite – this will demonstrate a contrast between the raging critic and the polite business owner. Laying out information that the critic may not have known, without blaming them, may also help mitigate the bad review.

Push Down Negative Search Results on Google

First impressions matter on Google because statistics have shown that approximately 95 percent of internet users don’t bother scrolling past the first page of search results. So, negative results about a company that appear on the first page of Google can be truly detrimental.

However, negative search results can be buried with positive content by being pushed down on the search engine so that people are less likely to see them. Creating authoritative content that’s good enough to outrank the negative content will suppress undesirable search results.

5-star reviews

This is done best under the advisement of a professional digital marketing team, like Electric Bricks. A common method we use to outrank bad results with positive ones is to build fresh positive content on behalf of the company, whether it’s a blog, article or press release.

Did you just win a big settlement for your client, solve a newsworthy case, or do something remarkable in your industry? If so, be sure to have your professional website team write a press release about it and keep your company name associated with positive news.

Ask Customers for Positive Reviews

The reputation of a company can be its greatest quality or its weakest link. So, it’s more important than ever for any establishment that wants to stay in business to monitor their online reputation and know what’s being said about them.

It’s always a good idea to ask clients who are happy with your services to give you a good, five-star online review. To make it easier for them, send happy customers instructions and the links to post reviews on Google, Yelp, LinkedIn and Facebook. The easiest way to counter a bad review is to bury it in lots of positive ones.

Maintaining your company’s online reputation is an ongoing, long-term strategy. Therefore, enlisting the help of a team, such as Electric Bricks, is crucial to any business owner looking to succeed in our digital world.

 
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