If you aren’t aware of how frequently people use search engines to find your businesses, know that in 2011, Inc reported 97% of consumers find local businesses through search engines.  In the physical world, your business has a reputation to maintain.  In the virtual world, you have a reputation to maintain too, but guess what – you have a concrete trail of evidence you can follow-up on to make sure everything is in good order.

What to do If You are a Local Business

If you are a local company, there are a number of things you can do to check on the state of your reputation online and keep it squeaky clean.  Keep in mind, even just a handful of negative mentions on various channels or websites can significantly affect your profits.  Here are a few things to check, and what you can do to resolve them if there are issues:

Google Reviews

If you are a local business, every time someone searches your company, local reviews appear.  Right by your search result, there’s 5 stars, and the more golden they are, the better you look in the eyes of searchers.  If you have a poor rating, 3 stars or less, or no rating at all, ask satisfied customers to go online and give you a good review.  Don’t post fake reviews though – you can eventually get sued and pay major fines.

Organic Search:  Use a Listening Tool – Google Alerts

By signing up for Google Alerts, you can monitor the web for negative search queries associated with your business’s name.  If negative search results appear in organic search results, you have a serious problem.  It takes time, and money, to either have those webmasters remove those results entirely or push them down and off the 1^st page of Google.

Social Media

If people are complaining publicly on your social media profiles or their own, jump for joy!  You can contact the customer privately and create an amicable resolution for them, assuming they’re reasonable people.  Then, you can announce how you made the customer happy publicly (with their permission), turning that sour experience into one that makes you look like a business that cares about your customers.

Respond to Your Reviews/Positive Mentions

Don’t forget to encourage the positive.  Whenever someone mentions your business in a positive way, shoot them an e-mail or publicly respond with a thank-you.  Consumers today want direct, personal interaction with businesses, and this is one great way to do it online.

Make This Task a Priority

If you can’t take the time to monitor and thank at least some of your customers, assign it to one of your employees and make sure they follow through.  This is just how reputations work nowadays, and keep in mind, many, if not most, local businesses don’t follow through on this practice.  You will make yours stand out by taking the time to show your customers you care.

As always, if you need help managing your online reputation, you can always contact a web expert at Zen Design Firm.