Why Reputation Management Become Crucial for SERP

Source: Free Vector | Pr managers, internet marketers coworking. online reputation management, product and service search results, digital space representation concept.

Over the past few years, online reputation management has been a trending topic of discussion and concern among business owners. In fact, in 2018, a TripAdvisor-Ipsos MORI study pointed out that 97% of businesses believe that online reputation management is crucial for their success.

While 98% of respondents were more concerned about online reviews, 92% gave more importance to the social presence.

Although the study was mainly focused on the travel industry, the data it suggests is not unique to one sector alone. Today, managing your online reputation is more important than ever. Buyers of all types of services and products are resorting to online searches and reviews before making their purchasing decisions. Both established and upcoming businesses must worry about what their customer or investors can find online that could set the image of the brand.

How Does Your Online Reputation Affect Your SERP?

In simple terms, reputation management means controlling a brand's online reputation. It was originally intended for PR purposes; however, with the growth of digital marketing , how the customer perceives a brand has become more significant.

Given these factors, you can clearly see why your business's online reputation is directly associated with SERP rating. To make things clearer, let us look at online reputation from a different perspective. Here are some of the aspects that search engines look for when it decides the ranking of your pages.

Conversion Rates and SERP

You should know by now that good reviews are directly proportional to conversion rates. If a potential customer is looking for a product online, he or she is likely to check out a service that has good reviews and make a purchase from them. In other words, top ratings mean better conversion rates.

Now, conversion rates also play a significant role in deciding your SERP. As you can guess, the higher your conversion rates are, the better it is for your SERP. On the other hand, if your conversion rates are dropping due to negative reviews, then it will also lower your SERP ranking.

Customer Engagement and SERP

Apart from conversion rates, the total number of views you get is also correlated to your online reputation. If there are more feedback about your business, then it means there are more backlinks to your website. These can directly impact how well you move ahead in SERP.

Launch a review section for customers directly on the website. For example, if you run an academic writing service, clients should have an easy opportunity to leave a positive review on essay writer performance.

Moreover, ratings and reviews also mean opportunities to engage with customers. This can result in more brand mentions, more visits to your page, and all together, leading to a positive influence on your rankings.

Source: Free Vector | Client review on web screen, successful 4/4 star business opinion

Online Reputation Management for SERP

By now, you have a reasonable idea of how your online reputation can have an effect on your SERP rankings. If you feel that your online presence needs an intervention, it is better to get started on it right away.

Here are some reputation management strategies that you can employ to improve your online repute.

Improve your SEO

One of the most important factors that directly influence your SERP is your SEO. The search engines compare the pages based on the relevance and authority of an individual post, as well as the website as a whole.

That said, there are some SEO tactics that can help you build your online reputation. For instance, you can place paid ads or sponsored content to obtain more mentions. You can also feature some of the positive feedback on your website that will convert to more visits and sales.

It can help to displace any misleading content and replace it with a positive image of your site. You are looking to project the best positive impression when it comes to online reputation, and consequently, it will improve your SERP as well.

Active Monitoring of ORM

That said, one of the main objectives of your business is to attain customer satisfaction. If you have happy customers, it is likely to result in positive reviews and an excellent online reputation. However, there might be scenarios where you are not entirely responsible for bad reviews.

In order to mitigate such cases, you should be aware of how your business is being projected on the internet. You can consult platforms such as:

Search engine reviews such as in Google and Yahoo
Comments on articles, and posts
Engagement on social media
Third-party review platforms

Monitoring your reviews is crucial as it will not only give you a chance to better your reputation, but also your services.

Respond to Negative Feedback

If you are ignoring negative reviews, it can come across to other users as if you do not care about customer voices. Instead, you should leverage your resources to reach out to an unsatisfied customer and solve their problem. You should convey that they have been heard, apologize for the negative experience, and see what you can do to improve.

Furthermore, third-party review platforms such as Yelp even give you the option to send a direct message to the user for a free visit or purchase and visit you again so that they can revise their review.

Such efforts will indicate that you value your customers and might even encourage the user to change their opinion about the brand.

Leverage Social Media

Social networks have evolved to become a powerful tool in defining your brand's success. It is also vital for a business to maintain interactions with the audience, influence them and gain their trust. This positive engagement can lead to a better online reputation and upgrade your SERP.

The more engagement you receive, the more appealing you are to the search engines.

With proper online reputation management, your business can build a strong digital presence. As it goes, this can either make or break your business. It not only enhances rankings but accessibility to your site, effortless marketing, and consumer trust.

Put otherwise, you can look at a positive review as a referral. It can sway a potential customer's decision on whether or not they should contact your business. It can bring in more visits, result in more conversions, and better customer retention.