In fast-paced business environments like San Diego, a company’s digital footprint could be its most valuable asset. The corporate downtown office and La Jolla storefront both rely on search engine results and public reviews to gain new customers. Likewise, customers use those same tools to find the companies they want to do business with.
So what happens when a local company’s hard-earned reputation is attacked? Pixsan, a firm providing SEO services in San Diego, says it all depends on how the company responds.
Like it or not, local businesses in highly competitive markets need to account for real threats against their public images. A single disgruntled customer could post a highly exaggerated, negative review that turns into a wave of fraudulent spam reviews. What your company considers a simple misunderstanding could be fodder for feedback that sends new customers to a competitor. You need to be able to actively protect and repair your brand at the same time.
Negativity’s Compounding Cost
The modern purchase journey is trust-driven and deeply visual. So before scheduling an appointment or signing up for service, potential clients are very likely to take a good look at your aggregate ratings and customer feedback. There are two ways to approach this.
First, be honest about whether the negativity attached to your brand is earned. If it is, your number one task is to change the way you do business so that future customers have no reason to think of your company in a negative light.
Second, assuming you have not earned a bad reputation, consider how negative ratings impact your Google Business Profile. Negative ratings don’t just impact the profile itself. They act as a major deterrent to consumers who care about trust.
The thing about trust is that it is hard to gain back once it’s lost. Google knows this, so its local search algorithms intentionally prioritize companies with high consumer ratings. High ratings equate to authority in the search realm. Likewise, negative sentiment degrades authority and leads to search engine performance erosion.
How to Defend Your Digital Reputation
All of this isn’t bad news. In fact, there’s a silver lining here: it is possible to defend your digital reputation by engaging in some simple practices commonly utilized by firms offering SEO services in San Diego:
- Public De-escalation – Negative feedback in the public arena should be addressed with public de-escalation. In other words, respond to negative feedback promptly and professionally. Avoid defensiveness and technical arguments. Acknowledge your customer’s frustrations and find a way to solve the problem.
- Report Fraudulent Activity – Fraudulent reviews are not uncommon. The best way to overcome them is to document the evidence and then report them. Flag fraudulent reviews for removal through the channels established by the website owner.
- Request Authentic Reviews – Your best defense against online negativity is countering with positivity provided by your customers. Ask them to write reviews for you. Publish them wherever you can. You can even automate review requests to streamline the process.
Defending your digital reputation is less about eliminating all negativity and more about diluting it. It is unreasonable to think that all your customers are going to be happy 100% of the time. So your ultimate goal is to make sure that the positive aspects of your online reputation overwhelm any negativity.
The key to all of this is proactive monitoring. Keep track of what customers and competitors are saying about you on social media, review sites, etc. Actively seek to remove the fraud while simultaneously giving your customers every reason to leave positive feedback on your behalf.
