Google holds high power when it comes to reputation management, ranking, and searchability. After all, they are the biggest search engine.
That being said, what can you do if you have negative feedback? The steps outlined by Google may seem simple, but it’s more complex of a situation. Google protects peoples’ right to leave reviews as they wish.
The key to improving your ranking with Google is not necessarily to delete negative reviews (although it’s best to try!) but to clean up your profile to boost positive reviews to the top and, overall, improve ranking.
Let’s dive in!
Check Status of Google Reputation
First, it’s essential to investigate the status of your company and how it ranks with Google. Do some digging to find out about:
- Your company name
- Your product/services
- Names of top executives and leaders
- Any other critical relevant terms
These are the main items to search for. You can also type in the company name and “reviews.” You will most likely find information from that search.
Clean Up Your Google Reputation
After you’ve looked over your reputation through Google search, make a list of these essential items to check and clarify the validity.
Social Media
Believe it or not, your social media accounts might be hurting your Google ranking. Go through old content and delete if it’s irrelevant or not ranking well. Sift through companies, organizations, and friends to delete if not acquainted or relevant to your page. In doing so, you could be significantly reducing the number of bots following your social handles.
Google Images
Google imagines can drastically impact your ranking. Plus, not many people search images when checking their online reputation. Google images might have information improperly associated with you. It’s imperative to track down the person who posted it and try to request its removal. If not, request Google removes any inappropriate photos that violate the terms of use.
Refresh Content
You might not be able to remove all the negative feedback you find on Google or third-party sites, but you can continually improve the content you’re putting out there to help improve ranking.
Take the time to go through what content you have and possibly refresh old material. Maybe change your website and invest in an SEO writer to optimize your website and add SEO-enriched blog posts. Improving your overall image can help boost traffic and, hopefully, your Google ranking.
Improve Reviews on Third Party Sites for Google Reputation
Although third-party sites won’t directly impact Google rankings, they can improve your overall online reputation. Even if your Google reviews aren’t great, invest time in removing negative reviews from other sites. That way, it increases your odds that people will find your reviews somewhere other than Google.
Invest in a Reputation Management Software
While managing online reviews can be challenging, there’s a technology that can help. Using online reputation software is the easiest way to manage your Google reviews and ranking. Although Google dominates the space, you don’t have to let that define your online reputation.
Online reputation software, like ReviewInc, monitors all online reviews on all platforms. It allows for immediate attention to help reduce negative consequences. Your customers can get their issues resolved while preserving your online presence and protecting your overall Google ranking.
Online review software, depending on the version, can be costly but not as expensive as a poor reputation online. Using reputation management software offers you peace of mind to run your business effectively and take care of your online presence.
Don’t let Google’s algorithms bring you down!
