Creating Your Own Website: Things to Consider

Can you create your own website? Sure you can - there are lots of programs (many of them free) and with a little tech knowledge and lot of time, you can put together a website that will give people your basic information. However, if you are creating your website for a business, there are some critical elements that you want to be able to address:

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - Having a great website won't do you any good if the search engines cannot find it. SEO is the technical description of how a website is designed to match what Google, Yahoo, and Bing are looking for when their systems "crawl" through your website. A lot of SEO rides on the actual writing of the website, but there are coding and behind-the-scenes issues to be considered as well. Thankfully, much information is available online to help you with SEO too including articles that come straight from the horses' mouths - that is, written by Google, Bing, and Yahoo experts. 
2. Web-friendly content - In order for search engines to be "happy" with your page, your content has to be written in a very specific way. Google prefers a certain number of words per page depending on the page type, the content should have specific keywords included, headings need to be of the right type and style, the writing should be at about an 8th grade reading level, your location should be included, links are necessary, and the list goes on. 
3. Pictures and graphics - Your website will be much more attractive if you include pictures - just make sure you have permission to use them! If you have taken the pictures yourself, you are just fine, but just because you found the picture online doesn't mean that you can use it on your website - many copyright suits are based on this mistake. 
4. Business listings - Each of the three major search engines and all of the major online review websites create a business listing page specific for your business. You will want to take control of your your listings and ensure all of the information is up to date and includes the link to your website. There are many ways to use reviews to market your business, so be sure to read up on Online Reputation Managing (ORM) too.

Depending on your level of comfort with technology, you may be able to put together your own website with minimal support, but if you need more guidance, IRM would be happy to help you either with your website, your SEO, or your ORM. 

Digital Marketing for Dentists: WDA Conference

November is fast approaching and dentists in the Midwest will be gathering at the Wisconsin Dental Association's InSession Conference. In addition to learning about all of the latest research, techniques, services and products available to cutting-edge dental practices, participants will have the opportunity to advance their digital marketing impact.

Bring your laptops as we will be taking time to discuss how to evaluate your practice's current online presence, respond to reviews, build your reputation, and get your business listing up on Google+ and other major search engines and review sites. 

www.impressionsrm.com

Negative Reviews: An Inherited Mess

Negative reviews are tough enough to swallow, but harder still when they weren't your reviews - they belong to the previous business owner!

Negative Reviews Compliments of the Previous Business Owner

You were bright-eyed and idealistic as you bought a business that was struggling and you were determined to turn it around. Unfortunately, the business also had a reputation that you have inherited and it's hurting your online reputation and impacting the number of new customers willing to come through your doors. 

What should you do?

• Claim all of your review website pages - You need to have control over what is being displayed on these sites so that you can direct the conversation and reveal the changes and improvements you've made.
• Post a note on every one of the review websites that the business is under new ownership.
• Reply to the existing negative reviews - Express that you are sorry they had the experience that they did and let them know that you have purchased the business with the intent of improving the service and products offered. Let them know you don't approve of the treatment they received either and that you hope they will give you a chance to show how different the business will be. 
• Read ALL of the negative comments and use that feedback to guide your plans for improvement. 
• Start building your new reputation - As you have new happy clients, ask them to write reviews for you so that, when people go online, they see new comments and evidence that the new owners have turned the place around. 
• Monitor your review websites daily - Be sure to publicly thank the people who leave positive notes for you and to address any comments that voice concerns by offering to speak with the customer offline. 

Grow Your Reputation

As time goes on, your reputation will stand on its own and the memory of the previous business owner will fade. You have the choice of growing a solid reputation both online and off, but as is true with anything worth doing, it will take diligence. 

Claim your business listings, monitor for new reviews, and interact with customers who take the time to write reviews for you. Listen to your customers and use their feedback to positively impact your local online advertising!

www.impressionsrm.com 

Fake Reviews: Fooling Only Yourself

Writing fake reviews is not only unethical and illegal, it also hurts your reputation even worse than simply ignoring your online reviews.

Writing Fake Reviews

I just had an interaction with one of the nastiest business owners with whom I have had the misfortune to meet. He has numerous negative reviews on the web and refuses to accept what is being said by his clients on social media sites which really are not that bad of comments and could give him the tools he needs to make business improvements and significantly impact his influx of new customers. He is rude to those he deems beneath him and it shows in the interactions I have experienced and it is echoed in his online reviews.

Instead of making changes and using the feedback he is receiving, it appears he is writing and having others write fake reviews for him. The more I work with reviews, the easier it becomes to spot the fakes and his simply scream FAKE.

Obviously it's unethical. It's also been the subject of court cases by Yelp - cases they have won and that have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Recognizing Fake Reviews

How can you tell if a review is fake? Sometimes you can't, but when you see multiple reviews using language that's not common to everyone, it's a pretty good sign that the reviews are being written by someone or a few people who have insider knowledge about the industry for which they are writing. 

For example, when you see several reviews all posted in close time frame of each other and every one of them mentions a specific service or product being offered by that business, you could be seeing fake reviews:

• I love that this place has flexible hours.
• Isn't it great that the hours are so flexible?
• Their hours are way more flexible than ABC Business.
• Their flexible hours make it easy for me to visit them!

Handling Fake Reviews

So, if you think a series of reviews are fake, what should you do? 

Several of the review websites like Google+ and Yelp allow you to "flag" a review. You can click a button that looks like a flag and then you will be given some options on why you are flagging the review. It doesn't necessarily mean that the reviews will be removed, but the website is more likely to take a look and investigate further. They are also pretty good about letting you know if they agree with you and will remove the reviews or if they think there is not enough evidence to warrant removal. 

What's a Small Business To Do?

It IS frustrating when negative reviews are posted on websites and social media about your business. You pour your life into this business and oftentimes the review is not entirely based in fact. Negative reviews have a huge impact on sales and the temptation is to cheat a bit. 

Just like your offline reputation though, your online reputation will be in jeopardy if you choose to try to cheat your way to the top. Instead, you can take control of your online reputation and build it ethically into a solid representation of your quality products and services. 

Don't sell yourself short. Take control and use online reviews to advertise your excellence. No amount of fake reviews will overcome a true strong online presence. 

Social Media Marketing Conference - Last Week to Register!

This is the last week to register for the 6th Annual Social Media Marketing Conference in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where I will be presenting, "Word of Mouth Gone Viral." The conference offers several excellent learning opportunities to maximize your online marketing efforts - hope to see you there!

www.impressionsrm.com 

Eau Claire Social Media Marketing Conference

Will you be in Eau Claire for the Social Media Marketing Conference? Be sure to attend our "Word of Mouth Gone Viral" workshop!

www.impressionsrm.com

Online Reviews: Candid Shots

Using Online Reviews to Promote Your Business

Promoting your business online in an affordable manner doesn't have to be difficult. You can use the online feedback your clients are using to let the world know that your products are excellent and your customer service is top of the line. 

Video Transcript:

What if we chose a random moment in time to take a picture of your reputation? I’m betting that most times we would get a nice picture of who you are as you go about your day as a business owner making sure your business runs smoothly, your customers are happy, your products and services do what they are supposed to be doing and then you head for home to lead a pretty average life.

But, what if I chose the wrong moment to take that candid shot? You know what I mean… the time you ran to get the phone and tripped over the cat, landing on the coffee table and breaking you favorite vase. You snatched up that phone and let the person on the other end hear your less-than-happy voice.

Online reviews are just like these snapshots.

Better than 75% of online reviews show the snapshots of your business as functioning smoothly with great customer service and quality products – just like you know it typically is!

But every once in a while, someone catches that trip-on-the-cat moment and the candid snapshot they see of your business is less than pretty.

No one likes it when candid and less than flattering pictures of their lives end up being seen by anyone and the same is true with negative reviews. It doesn’t tell the full story and you’d like a chance to show a better picture.

If you are paying attention, you can do just that! Online review websites like Google My Business, Yelp, Yahoo, and many others will allow you to respond to reviews that are posted about your business!

You don’t have to feel powerless and victimized by negative reviews – you can take control of your online reputation!  Apologize for your cat-tripping moments and show people the really excellent business you actually run. Impressions Review Managing can help – contact our friendly team today!  We grow your reputation. You grow your business.