Online reviews drive websites. This is such good news for website owners: clients who are happy can make a difference in your business.<\/p>\n
But how to get reviews: ask. Attach a note\/flyer to every invoice leaving your shop asking for a review.\u00a0 Begin by asking clients to use their favorite review\u00a0source (such as Yelp<\/a>!) or ask them to\u00a0find you on Google Maps, Yahoo Local, Bing Maps, Facebook – any place your business is listed.\u00a0 Put buttons on your website <\/a>with a direct link to your Google Maps\/Places Yahoo, Yelp and other directory listings. Make it easy for your clients. If they are not computer savvy – ask them to email or hand write it for you – and post on your website. They will enjoy being part of the Internet, and sincere testimonials are\u00a0wonderful additions to your website. All this can be simply put in a note\/flyer to hand out with invoices. Include an email address – if you have a web designer send these to him\/her.<\/p>\n You may never have heard of Yelp.com<\/a>\u00a0but they have been an online business\u00a0directory for years. In the past year Yelp!\u00a0has moved ahead of the pack in delivering reviews along side your Google Places\/Maps listing – this is where the “driving” comes into the picture. The more reviews – the better for your website. Even bad reviews count – so far Google can\u00a0count, but doesn’t have an opinion :)<\/p>\n What to do about bad reviews? Address them. See where they came from – if from Yelp – create a yelp account and go to your listing and respond to the complaint. Don’t get angry – represent yourself well, and that stance alone will go a long way in representing your side of the equation. Some of my clients have no invoice from a complainer…state that: “We cannot find a record of your visit to our business, perhaps you have confused us with another business?” The public knowsthere are customers who will never be happy – so don’t feel badly if you cannot resolve a bad review. Addressing it is the critical step to take.\u00a0<\/p>\n If the review contains foul language you can report to Google and it will <\/strong>be removed.<\/p>\n It is good to get people talking about your business and happy customers like to help and point others to your business…engage!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Online reviews drive websites. This is such good news for website owners: clients who are happy can make a difference in your business. But how to get reviews: ask. Attach a note\/flyer to every invoice leaving your shop asking for … Continue reading