Local Business Review Sites Drive Results on Google Places Business Listings

Aug. 24, 2010 - PRLog -- For most internet marketers, whether consultants or do-it-yourself business owners or managers, the issue of customer reviews on Google, Yelp, CitySearch, Yahoo, YellowPages, or MerchantCircle is confined to the occasional flame (highly negative review) or the pleasant surprise of seeing a nice review.  But those in the hotel or restaurant business have seen the future and the future is "he who has the most reviews wins."  

Do a search for hotels near Orlando or Italian Restaurant San Diego.  Fifty reviews might not get you into the critical Google Places seven pack.  In fact 500 reviews might not turn the trick.  What does that mean for the bakeries, orthodontists, and bike shops who haven't a single review, but are happily seeing their name on the outside of the Map on page one.  It is only a matter of time for most before the competition will realize the importance of reviews.  

One of my clients managed after a great deal of work to hit the top of an extremely competitive category in Los Angeles.  Not just a zip code, but simply his business keyword Los Angeles.  He lasted for a few weeks at number one until a competitor struck back with 6 reviews.  Another competitor came in with three, dropping my client to number three on Google Places.

He is now scrambling to add reviews, but the other guys are too.  A year ago, it was rare to see a review of categories like bike shops or bakeries, but now the top of the pack almost always has three or more.  With Google Places scraping the reviews from the other Local Search Engines, the review competition is starting to heat up.

In meetings that I had with managers of both CitySearch and Yelp there was no question that they were pushing the review angle as the driving force of local internet marketing.  It is very clear that everything else being somewhat equal, total reviews matter a bunch on rankings for Google Places.  There isn't a direct corollary, because Google give points for many other aspects of the listing.  But the reviews are a big weight.

In addition to the drive for position on Google Places Map, there is also the issue of online reputation.  All online marketers know that a few negative reviews can effect behavior of clients and potential clients.  I have personally made decisions based on these reviews.  The easiest and least expensive method for dealing with negative reviews is to overwhelm them with positive reviews.  

The opposite is also true, the positive reviews are beneficial in and of themselves.  If a client is trying to decide between two potential suppliers, he may very well choose the one with a single positive review over one that has no reviews at all.  Haven't you done this?

Let's now assume that we all agree with the premise:  Accumulating dozens or even hundreds of positive reviews can help your business now, preempt your competitors from getting a review lead on you, and help you to manage your reputation.  Now then, how do you generate the reviews you need?

There are 100's of ways to accomplish the result.  This article will focus on three.  
   1.   Ask for the review while you are still with the customer.  Assuming you believe that
the experience has been a positive one, just boldly ask them if they would be willing to do a review.  Be prepared to provide them with some direction on how to do this.  
   2.   Provide links on your website, Facebook Fan Page, Blog, or any other place you might intersect with your public.
   3.   Ask through your email campaign.  Or if you don' t have a campaign, start one with this as your main goal.

http://www.Page1Listings.com has created a easy and fun method for helping you with these three methods.  It is called ShoutDog.  The ShoutDog logo will soon be seen on websites, blogs, Fan Pages, and emails.  And it will also show up on a cute reminder card that can be handed to clients as the check out.  All of these tools will lead the customer to an easy three step website specially created for the business.  There they will be able to easily access the local search engines and directories that offer reviews, and they will land on the actual listing of the business where the review option is offered.  So simple.

Page1Listings is offering a special introductory offer through the rest of 2010.  New signups will get the full service and 200 free Shout Dog cards for only $19.95 per month with no contract.  The service not only provides all the links and helps, but there will also be tracking and analytics to help the business see the results of the effort.   For more information go to http://www.ShoutDog.com

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Page1Listings.com is a SearchEngineMarketing company specializing in getting the phone to ring in small local businesses throughout the US and beyond. Utilizing web sites, articles, YouTube, Press Releases, blogs, and local search engines and directories, Page1Listings.com, their clients are seeing sales and profit increases even in this recession.

Now Page1Listings has created a completely new tool for achieving the goal of sales increases for SMB's. ShoutDog is a method for helping consumers easily put up reviews of their favorite businesses.