5 Reasons Why Negative Reviews Help SEO & Online Reputation Management

5 Reasons Why Negative Reviews Help SEO & Online Reputation Management

Jasmin Marketing - 5 Reasons Why Negative Reviews Help SEO & Online Reputation Management
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5 Reasons Why Negative Reviews Help SEO & Online Reputation Management

Not every review is a stellar review. Things happen, people have bad days, and some customers can just be challenging to please. Most businesses react viscerally with any kind of negative review. Any kind of negative review can certainly feel like a punch to the gut (especially for small or local businesses). However, business owners would do well to consider negative reviews as a part of the fabric of running a great business. Consumers rely heavily on reviews for their business decisions and negativity can actually provide some benefit and authenticity.
 

Here are 5 reasons why sometimes bad can be good.

Table of Contents

1. Earn Customers’ Trust in your Review Process

Customers are catching on that not all reviews on every site are legitimate reviews. It’s important for your business’s reviews to translate as authentic, trustworthy, and legitimate to earn your customers’ loyalty. If a business’s reviews aren’t channelling as authentic, a customer will most likely find another product or service that is more “real”.

2. Develops Authentic SEO

Ratings and reviews on Google and other sites impact your search engine optimization rankings. This is most true with high-quality reviews – even if they are negative or have some negative aspects. Ideally, more positive reviews will outweigh the negative ones on the platforms that you’re participating on. However, encouraging all honest and authentic reviews increases the total likelihood that a customer will visit your business.

3. Improve Business Operations

Phew, that 1-star review can still really bring you down. However, business owners who look at a negative review as an opportunity can benefit greatly. Consider a negative review a constructive criticism. It can be a way to gain insight on how to fix, improve, and upgrade business operations. This can be the edge that your business is looking for in today’s competitive market.

4. Engage with Customers and Make Things Right

If you have received a negative review, don’t forget to respond and attempt to right the wrong (if possible) with your unsatisfied customer. Your online reputation management strategy should come into play with negative reviews and can influence your future customers. If you’re not sure about digital reputation management, try a quick Google search to start developing your own strategy.

5. Build Brand Trust & Loyalty

Bad reviews are a necessary piece of building an authentic brand. Developing long-term brand trust and loyalty is imperative to increase sales over time. Future customers appreciate authentic reviews (even if they’re negative). Not everyone can love everything – this is true of all products and services across the board. Again, ensure that you’re responding to negative reviews and learn from your mistakes. It can help you build a brand that serves its clients better over time.

Bad reviews can feel like a serious punch to the gut. It’s critical not to react in the heat of the moment. Take time to review the words (and general sentiment) that the customer is attempting to communicate. Respond appropriately, calmly, and attempt to right your wrongs if you can.

Conclusion

Many businesses will reach out to the customer to provide an additional experience, refund, or replacement if the product or service didn’t meet expectations. Do your best to write a professional response and have a friend or trusted coworker review it prior to posting. Striking the right tone here is key to successfully responding to a negative review. Remember that your response is not only for the disgruntled customer… it also will be read by potential future customers as well!

To read more about the SEO, check out SEO for Beginners: An Introduction to SEO and Why It Matters article.

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