Those interested in improving online visibility may think the easiest way is to purchase ad space on a major search engine. But recent research from MDG Advertising hints that paid ads aren’t necessarily the way to go.
The study found that 94 percent of all clicked search results are organic, not paid. Consumers have grown accustomed to search engines’ habits of placing paid results at the top of content and now scroll past them. This means to truly reach customers on search engines, businesses must consistently create and upload good content.
Other alarming reputation management statistics include:
- 4 out of 5 consumers changed their minds about a purchase based solely on negative information found online. (Source: Code/TrendTracker)
- A bad customer experience can result in a 22 percent drop in business. (Source: Net Promoter)
- More than one-third of consumers would not book a hotel room without reading guest reviews first. (Source: LateRooms)
Online reviews can make or break a business, regardless of whether those reviews are from genuine customers. Because most review sites allow anonymous postings, negative reviews might be posted by a fired employee, a competitor or simply a particularly unhappy customer.
For businesses, it’s more important than ever to think through each online post thoroughly. Even a well-meaning response can backfire, leading to retweets and reposts that repeatedly paint a company in a bad light.
One recent example was Progressive’s reaction to a customer’s car accident. When the family of a woman killed in a car accident wrote a blog detailing how the insurance company reacted to paying the claim, the company responded by tweeting its sympathy. The problem? The tweets appeared to have been copied and pasted to multiple recipients, making them seem disingenuous.
When a blog post goes viral, as the Progressive one did, a company’s reaction can be crucial to its online reputation. The wrong response can go viral as well, resulting in lost customers and inflicting long-term damage to that company’s online reputation. The wrong response is definitely worse than no response at all, but any posted responses should be crafted by an expert and considered carefully before going public.
When negative reviews appear, a company needs to know how to react. Customers will be disappointed if a company doesn’t take responsibility for any wrongdoing. If you attempt to address incorrect information, take care not to come across as overly defensive.
As always, one of the best ways to combat negative online content is to create positive content that provides correct information about your business. This positive content will eventually prevail, letting businesses retake control of their online reputations.
Reputation Advocate provides digital branding and online reputation assistance for companies across the country. With a team of skilled marketing professionals, Reputation Advocate has the expertise to improve a business’s or individual’s online reputation.