If you have not been proactively checking your brand
online, then this is the right time to do so. With the advent of the internet,
most potential customers will probably do some "Googling" or
searching about your site in the internet before actually visiting your site to
purchase whatever products or services you offer. This is where the tricky part
comes in; without you knowing, some irate customer or competitor might have
written something negative about your site, and it is showing in Google's top
page or any other search engine result. This literally kills your sales even
before it actually starts and you are unaware of it.
Think of what other potential customers will do when they
see that particular review about your company.
Word of mouth takes a new trendy courtesy of the
internet, and with how fast one can access the internet, your company might be
losing millions of sales and even prospective suppliers who can give you
discounts. So what are you going to do about it?
Do Your Research
Your company's brand is its most treasured asset. It is
therefore crucial that you take matters in your own hands and that starts with
researching yourself. Search your company for keywords that you want to be
found. If you find a negative review about your company, then you might want to
talk with the moderator if it is a forum or the web administrator to have it
pulled down especially if the reviews are false or accusatory. More often than
not, contacting the web master or moderator would resolve the issue.
Worst Case Scenario
The worst thing that could happen is if the moderator or
web administrator refuses to pull down the review. This can happen especially
in forums or review sites where the moderators have limited powers to do so. If
this happens to you, then you can try out several of the tips below before you
launch a lawsuit against the reviewer. A lawsuit is not only costly but also
ineffective as you would lose valuable time and money that you can re-allocate
elsewhere.
What to do?
If the webmaster refuses to remove the negative review,
you can ask them what to do to overturn the review. More often than not, they
would suggest some options including contacting the reviewer and remedying the
problem. If the reviewer refuses, you can comment on the site and explain your
side of the story so other viewers would be able to know your side and judge
you for that.
One of the best things that you can do is to polish your
company's image so that the cracks will appear so small that nobody would
bother checking it out is to join professional networks in your industry and
make connections not only with your peers but also with prospects that are
interested in your product and services. Aside from professional networks, you
can also open a social media network for your company such as a FB page or a
Twitter account. The two sites have a high percentage of users and since these
rank high in terms of authority, they can pass some link juice and also help
push down the negative review to oblivion.
Another thing to do is to make use of some reciprocal
links with other websites in your industry. This is especially effective if the
site is considered an authority site in your niche. Google loves sites that
link to relevant sites. Do not link with other sites outside of your industry
as this would look spammy and Google might slap your site with penalties.
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