Social Media Guide - Managing Your Online Reputation by Resonate Cloud Services Limited

Social Media Guide

Managing Your Online Reputation

Intro to Social Media: What is it and why is it important? The Opportunity There’s no question that social media has taken the world by storm. In the last year alone, Americans have tripled the amount of time that they spend socializing online.* And people of all ages – from 12 to 82 – are connecting with each other like never before on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

local

So what does this mean for your business? Quite simply: people are talking about you without you. Before the Internet, businesses controlled their public image and message through television, yellow pages, radio and print advertisements. But now, people are openly discussing your business image, products and services on social networks, review sites, online directories and blogs. Not only that, what they say impacts the buying decisions of your potential customers.

The Solution Now, social media is crucial to the success of your business. But with different types of conversations occurring over so many different channels online, it’s important to have a strategy that can help you and your business make the most of what’s available today. At ReachLocal, we’re here to help your business harness this powerful emerging media. With many free tools already available, this guide will get you on the fast track to engaging your existing and future customers online through social media and optimization techniques. In this Local Business Social Media Guide, you’ll learn how to manage your online reputation in three steps: Evaluate, Improve and Monitor. Throughout each section, you’ll find helpful tips and tricks to help you make the most of this guide.

About ReachLocal Since 2004, we’ve been dedicated to helping local businesses like yours find new customers as they search, surf, and socialize online. We pioneered local online marketing and remain a leader today by providing a broad reach of local digital media, high-touch local relationships, and technology that continually optimizes results. Our goal is to help you stay on top of trends and take advantage of the latest online marketing techniques and technology. We created this guide so you’ll have everything you need to evaluate and improve your reputation online. * The Nielsen Company, 2009

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Table of Contents Introduction

Why Your Online Reputation Matters

Mapping the Online Search Landscape

1 Evaluate My Online Reputation A On Search Engines B On Local Directories and Review Sites C My Online Reputation Grade Today 2 Improve My Online Reputation A Collect, Create and Publish Content B Claim and Update Directories and Review Site Listings C Respond to Negative Reviews D Request New Positive Reviews E Summary Action Plan 3 Monitor My Online Reputation A Re-grade Your Online Reputation B Set Monthly Goals Appendices Appendix A Local Directories and Review Sites Appendix B Social Media Glossary Appendix C How to Claim Your Listings Appendix D Why Bid On Your Own Name Appendix E Sample Worksheet Reputation Worksheets

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Introduction: Why Your Online Reputation Matters

What is My Online Reputation? The name of your business says a lot to new and existing customers. It could mean “great customer service.” It might stand for “unbeatable value” or it could be “rude salespeople, long wait, STAY AWAY.” In a nutshell, the name of your business is shorthand for the reputation of your business. Before the Internet, the reputation of your business was something housed in the minds and mouths of customers, advertisements, and the occasional newspaper review. But now that your business has digitized, your reputation consists of everything people say and see about you online. This can mean a lot of things: blog posts, user reviews, your own website, local directory listings, pictures, videos and more. Some of what people see is information you know about because you’ve put it out there. Some of what people see is information you don’t know about, because it was written by others: current and former customers, current and former employees – even competitors.

Why is My Online Reputation Important? Your online reputation is the crucial hurdle between the first time a consumer is introduced to your business (through your offline and online marketing efforts like your ReachSearch™ and ReachDisplay™ campaigns) and their decision whether or not to purchase your product or service. Getting your name out there through advertising is only the beginning, because when a potential customer researches your business online to learn more, what do they see? Lots of rave reviews from longtime customers who swear by your business? Or complaints about bad service, warning all future customers to stay away?

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Introduction: Why Your Online Reputation Matters The Purchase Path: How Consumers Make Buying Decisions Today Your online reputation affects your bottom line because it can mean the difference between a consumer doing business with you or doing business with one of your competitors. Delivering excellent products and services at every transaction will always be the best foundation for maintaining a good reputation, but taking measures to manage your online reputation helps consumers feel more confident about becoming your customer.

Searches for Your Product type/Sees Your Online Ad

Checks Your Name on Search Engines

Contacts You

Checks Your Name on Review Sites

Visits Competitor

Whether consumers are seeing your business for the first time or checking you out online before making a purchase decision, they usually starts with a search. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take a closer look at the online search landscape so you can see where your online reputation exists.

Visits Your Site

Sees Your Offline Ad (TV, radio, print) 86%* of consumers check out business reviews online before making purchasing decisions.

90%* of consumers trust the reviews they read!

58%* of searchers visit a competitor site after seeing negative comments!

* Kudzu.com Study, 2008

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Introduction: Mapping the Online Search Landscape The Online Search Landscape Search engines have fundamentally changed the way we seek and receive information. As the main portals of the Internet, search engines show us the sites we’re looking for by matching the keywords (search terms) a consumer wants to know more about the billions of sites that have been catalogued for content. Search engine results pages typically display two types of links, or listings:

Paid (or “sponsored”) listings appear when advertisers pay to have their ad show up when certain keywords are used.

Natural (or “organic”) listings link to pages with content containing the keywords used.

Map Listings for local businesses appear prominently and we’ll address them in depth later in this guide.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Introduction: Mapping the Online Search Landscape Focus on Keywords When consumers search for a local business like yours, there are two types of keywords (search terms) they can enter into a search engine. Business category keywords describe your products, services or business type (for example, “dallas spa”). Naturally, if you are a spa owner, you want to show up at least once for this keyword. But this is difficult because hundreds (if not thousands!) of spas in the area are all competing to show up for that generic keyword. But when a consumer is looking for your business, to run a free “background check” after hearing your name, or seeing your offline or online ads, they enter your business name keywords into a search engine (for example, “XYZ Spa”). For searches like these you should absolutely show up. After all, it’s your name! On the results page, there will probably be links to your website or Google Maps listing, but there may also be less favorable links, such as a negative review of your business. Business Category Keywords - when consumers look for any business

Business Name Keywords - when consumers are researching your business

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Introduction: Mapping the Online Search Landscape Covering Your Bases Ideally, you want your business to appear on a search engine results page as both natural and paid listings, for both category and business name keywords. Understanding the way these factors work together can best be seen in the Online Search Grid (see figure below). Each square represents the technique you need if you want your business to show up for that search scenario.

Capturing Sponsored Listings Today, advertisers of all types can run sponsored ad campaigns to appear for both category and business name keywords. Because many businesses want to show up for them, the most common, generic or popular category keywords tend to be the most competitive. Thankfully, business name keywords tend to be more affordable, yet very effective for the business in question (see Appendix D). For both types of keywords, the pricing model used for paid ads is known as pay-per-click, and solutions like ReachSearch can streamline the process for business owners who value their time and money.

Capturing Natural Listings Appearing in organic listings for both keyword types is a bit trickier. It’s possible to appear organically for category keywords by improving your website content in the hopes that search engines will notice. This is known as search engine optimization (or SEO), and though it’s very complex, you can hire a firm for help, or solutions like ReachSearch offer some organic visibility in addition to sponsored ads. Appearing organically for business name keywords is something most businesses do not know how to do – or even realize they should be doing in the first place! That’s where this guide comes in.

This guide details the reputation optimization techniques that will help you manage where links about your business appear in search engine results, and the reputation management strategies that will help you manage what appears in those links.

Online Search Grid Natural Listings

Sponsored Listings

Business Category Keywords

Search Engine Optimization

Paid Search Ads

Business Name Keywords

Reputation Optimization

Paid Search Ads

The first step in managing your online reputation is knowing where your online reputation is found. Following this Local Business Social Media Guide will give you everything you need to evaluate, improve and monitor your online reputation. So let’s get started!

local Most consumers start with search engines

Review sites/ Directories

Some consumers visit review sites directly

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Now that you’re ready to start evaluating your online reputation, it’s time to grab a clean Reputation Worksheet from the end of this guide. This is where you’ll record all the relevant places online that need your attention, and will serve as a point of reference to gauge your progress going forward. Worksheet 1A Evaluate On Search Engines

RN = Respond to Negative Review

PP = Promote Positive Review

+ = Positive

Reviews Search for your [Business Name]

Site name

Search for your [Business Name] Reviews

Status

Google

+ + + + + + + + + +

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Site name

Yahoo

+ + + + + + + + + +

Action

RN PP

Status

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Site name

+ + + + + + + + + +

Bing

Action RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Listing Claimed?

Listing Updates Needed?

Action RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

RN = Respond to Negative Review

RN PP

PP = Promote Positive Review

Reviews

Rating

Description

Status

+ + + + + + + + + +

Total

Positive

Action

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yahoo Local

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Bing Local Listing

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yelp

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Worksheet 2 Summary Action Plan Review Sites Site

Action Item

Collect, Create & Publish Content

Negative

Google Maps

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Site

Action Item

Claim & Update Directories & Review Site Listings

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

grand total

Completed

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Site

Action Item

Respond to Negative Reviews

Completed Y

RN PP

total Site name

Completed

total

total Site name

Worksheet 1B Evaluate On Local Directories and Review Sites Site

Search for your [Business Name] Complaints

Status

+ + + + + + + + + + total

Status

– = Negative

Complaints

1C Evaluate My Current Grade

Site

Action Item

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total –

total +

negative

1A & 1B

positive

choose the correct one

1A & 1B

Getting There Roll Up Your Sleeves

Request New Positive Reviews

Completed Y

Minty Fresh

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

1 | Evaluate First, you need to evaluate your online reputation as it is today and record the details on your Reputation Worksheet. Once you assess the current state of your online reputation, you’ll identify action items so you know where to focus your efforts towards improvement and how to measure progress. There are two areas where your online reputation has the most impact to potential customers: on search engines and on local directories/review sites. You’ll examine each, then total everything up to give you a final grade.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

1A Evaluate My Online Reputation on Search Engines

Reviews Search for your [Business Name]

Site name

+ + + + + + + + + +

Google

Google, Yahoo! and Bing

Site name

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Yahoo

+ + + + + + + + + +

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

[your business name] [your business name] reviews [your business name] complaints

Remember, your potential customers will most likely enter the additional words “reviews” and “complaints” when checking up on what others are saying about your business online. And some pages that might be hurting your reputation only show up when searching for your business name plus one of those words. Examine the first page of results for each search on all three search engines and record the sites that directly affect your business on section 1A of your Reputation Worksheet. Then, circle the plus symbol (+) if you feel that overall the page is favorable (positive) to your business. Or circle the minus symbol (–) if you feel that overall the page is unfavorable (negative) to your business. Keep in mind that not all the results you see may be about your business, but the ones that are (both good and bad) are worth keeping track of because they are what potential customers read when deciding whether or not to choose your business. Have multiple locations? Fill out one reputation worksheet per location, and add the location keyword for each area every time you search for your name.

Note: Don’t worry about the columns labeled Action. We’ll tackle those later.

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Status

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

+ + + + + + + + + +

Bing

Search for your [Business Name] Complaints

Status

total Status

Site name

Complaints

Search for your [Business Name] Reviews

Status

total

First, let’s start with the three most popular search engines: Google, Yahoo! and Bing. You’ll want to run three searches on each search engine using these keywords:

Worksheets

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

grand total

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Reputation Worksheet 1A If your business name is one that can be found in many areas (ex: AAA Plumbing), be sure to add a location keyword for your area to make sure you’re only focusing on your business, not somebody else’s. (ex: AAA Plumbing Dallas) When listing the search engine results about your business on your Reputation Worksheet, it’s best to copy and paste the entire site address, or URL (especially if you’re filling out your worksheet digitally). However, some URLs can be extremely long and full of characters. In those cases, just be sure to jot down the crucial details, or at least the first part of the URL so you can recognize it when you come across it later.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

1B Evaluate My Online Reputation on Local Directories and Review Sites Google Maps, Yahoo! Local and Yelp Some of the sites you’ve listed from your search engine results pages (on Worksheet 1A) may be links to popular directories, review sites or sites all about your business type/industry. These sites are especially important because some consumers will go to them directly without visiting a search engine first. Google Maps, Yahoo! Local and Yelp are the most important free local directories and review sites you need to be on, but be sure to list some of the other sites you saw in your search results on your Reputation Worksheet, section 1B, in the column labeled Site.

Site

Circle Y if: You do see a listing and it’s one you set up before. You do see a listing and it’s one you’ve submitted information to already.

Note: Don’t worry about the columns labeled Action. We’ll tackle those later. Next let’s take a closer look at the listings for your business that already exist (if any).

Listing Updates Needed?

Reviews

Rating

Description

Total

Positive

Action Negative

Google Maps

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yahoo Local

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Bing Local Listing

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yelp

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Now, look for your business by name on each of these sites.

In the Listing Claimed column, circle N if: You do not see a listing for your business. You have never set up a listing or submitted information to that site.

Listing Claimed?

RN PP

Reputation Worksheet 1B total – + The Internet is a verytotalbig place, and every business is unique. So there may be more local directory/review/vertical-specific sites that are worth checking out because they’re relevant to your business type. If you don’t know any off the top of your head, see Appendix A. negative

1A & 1B

positive

choose the correct one

1A & 1B

Getting There Roll Up Your Sleeves

Minty Fresh

In the Listing Updates Needed column, circle Y if: The information is incomplete or incorrect. There are no photos or video, or you need new ones.

In the Rating column, note the rating (often a number of stars) for each listing if applicable.

Finally, see if there are any reviews posted on your listings.

In the Reviews column, tally the total number of reviews and then evaluate the ones you feel are positive or negative, and enter the number in the appropriate cell.

YY NN

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

Intro

1 2 3 4 5

1C Evaluate My Online Reputation Grade Today Y

YY NN Y

N N

1 2 3 4 5

Y N N 1 2 3 4 5 Now that you’ve taken stock of Ywhat’s online when consumers research your business, it’s time Y N Y N 1 2 3 4 5 to give yourself a grade! Get your Reputation Worksheet and let’s tally up your points. Y

RN PP RN PP

RN PP

RN PP RN PP

Evaluate RN PP

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

RN PP

Worksheets RN PP RN PP

RN PP RN PP

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

First, add your total positive search engine results (from section 1A) to your total positive reviews (from section 1B). Record your overall positive total number.

total total – negative negative

1A & 1A 1B & 1B

–

total + positive

choose the correct onechoose correct one 1Athe & 1B

total + positive

1A & 1B

Getting There

Getting There Roll Up Your Sleeves

Next, add your total negative search engine results (from section 1A) to your total negative reviews (from section 1B). Record your overall negative total number.

Minty Fresh

Roll Up Your Sleeves

Minty Fresh

Reputation Worksheet 1C

What does your online reputation look like? Are there more positives or negatives? More negatives: ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. Right now, your online reputation is costing you new customers – and maybe even some existing ones. You’ve got your work cut out for you, but don’t fret: just follow this guide to help you improve your online reputation over the next few weeks. About equal: GETTING THERE. Looks like your online reputation is okay, but could be even better. The good news is you’re starting on some fairly neutral ground, which will make establishing a foundation for your online reputation that much easier.

If you don’t find much about your business online, don’t worry. Just put yourself in the “Roll Up Your Sleeves” category and read on!

More positives: MINTY FRESH. Your online reputation is pretty decent! Anyone who looks for your business online is sure to feel confidently informed and encouraged to give you a try. But don’t rest on your laurels – be sure to deal with problem spots as they arise, and take steps to strengthen your online reputation even more to maximize your branding potential.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2 | Improve It’s time to polish your online reputation! In this section, you’ll learn how to do this with four cornerstone techniques: collecting, creating and publishing your content, claiming your listings, responding to negative reviews and promoting positive reviews.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2A Collect, Create and Publish Content The Power of Publishing When the Internet was just getting popular, the businesses who got the most exposure were those who were very familiar with computer code. This left out a lot of businesses who had wonderful things to share with consumers but couldn’t because they didn’t “speak” HTML fluently. Today, social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and more make it easier than ever for anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to share their own content with anyone they want. Now, anyone can be a publisher – including you!

What Can Multimedia Content Do for You? Why should you embrace this new opportunity to be your very own publisher? Because gathering, creating and uploading multimedia content about your business will deliver serious benefits to your business.

It will: Improve your reputation on search engines. Because Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and other popular multimedia sites appear in the top spots of search engine results (this is also known as “indexing highly”), links to these accounts under your business name are sure to show up when people look for you by business name. Doing this gives you a better chance to push ugly stuff like negative reviews further down while promoting your business culture and character. Build your brand – for free. Go ahead, blanket the Internet with your presence! Not only are these multimedia sites free to join and use, but there is more than one photo, video and blog site where your content will feel right at home. Here are some of the most popular sites to explore:

On the Internet, video is king of multimedia – especially for businesses. Whether you want to take a television commercial approach, record an interview, or make a-day-in-the-shop montage, a video brings your business to life unlike anything else. Would you try a business you knew nothing about, or a business that had a tour of the facilities available online? A video could be the difference between a consumer choosing you or a competitor. Make their decision easy with a video of your own on your site and across the web!

Video: YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Metacafe Photo: Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket (Micro-)Blogging: Twitter, Blogger, Posterous, Vox

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2A Collect, Create and Publish Content Collect Your Content If your search engine results revealed some negative links, take heart. Uploading pictures, videos, and other forms of multimedia content to the Internet can help! Popular content communities like YouTube and Flickr index highly (show up in the top spots on search engines), and regular updates from a blog or Twitter account are considered very relevant as long as your business name is plastered all over them.

If you don’t have any photos or videos, it’s time to make some! Check the ReachLocal Xchange for designers and artists who can give your business a visual makeover just in time for your debut on all these sites!

Below is your Content Toolbox. On it, take inventory of all the current information and existing content assets you have for your business right now. Circle Y if you already have these assets on hand, and circle N for the ones you need to create. Think about where each piece of information should go (we’ve included some suggestions). Remember: thanks to the Internet, these assets can have a second life – and do more for your business than you thought.

Company Info

Content Available

Why is this important?

Publish to:

Business Description

Helps consumers know if you're what they're looking for

Key, photo, video, and blog sites

Product Description

Helps consumers know if you have what they need

Key, photo, video, and blog sites

Contact Info

Puts a name behind the company

Key, photo, video, and blog sites

Website/E-mail Address

Gives consumers a way to learn more & contact

Key, photo, video, and blog sites

Company Logo

Identifies your business by your branding element

Key, photo, video, and blog sites

Photos

Adds personality and realism to your business

Photo sites, key sites (if permitted)

Videos

Gives consumers a more complete look inside your business

Video sites, key sites (if permitted)

Testimonials

Helps consumers learn how you have helped others like them

Key sites

Coupons/Offers

Incentivizes consumers to visit your business

Key sites, blog sites

Blogs

Provides a transparent, authentic view of your company

Blog sites

Awards/Seals/Accreditations

Gives 3rd party validation of your business

Key sites, Blog sites

Key Sites: Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local Listing, Yelp | Photo sites: Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket | Video sites: Youtube, Vimeo, Metacafe | Blog sites: Twitter, Blogger, Postereous, Vox

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings It’s Time to Claim What’s Yours! Now that you’ve filled up your Content Toolbox, it’s time to publish all that good stuff! Let’s start with the directory and review sites that are most impactful for your business. First, you’ll need to set up a new listing if none exists, or update an existing listing. We call the act of setting up or updating a listing “claiming.” Claiming these listings will give you ownership and more control over what people see. Not only that, it lets you add value to these pages. Because each listing may be the first time a consumer “meets” your business, this is a great opportunity to put your best foot forward! Dressing up your listing with pictures of your store or products gives consumers a good idea of what to expect. Remember: a prospective consumer who is debating one business versus another is much more likely to try the business they feel they know more about. So empower them! After all, which business would you be more likely to call?

This one:

Employees may come and go, but as the owner or head decision-maker, you’re there for good. Make sure that your email address and your name is the one used before claiming your listings. Pick one email address to manage all your accounts – we even recommend creating a new email address dedicated to managing your listings. It’s easy to get a free, web-based one you can access anywhere through Yahoo! Mail or Gmail (Google’s email service). By doing this, you can be sure to have all the “keys” to these sites no matter what.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings It’s Time to Claim What’s Yours!

Or this one: Don’t forget to add pizzazz to local listings with multimedia content! Your hours of operation, address and phone number are the bare minimum of information each listing should contain. But you and your business have way more personality than that! Bring your listing to life with photos of your shop, store or office. Introduce newcomers to your business with photos of your employees. People are more confidently inclined to choose your business over another if they have a more complete idea of what your business is like.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings What Should You Claim? Refer back to section 1B of your Reputation Worksheet and look at the “Sites” column to identify the listings you need to claim and/or update. The must-claim sites you should absolutely grab are: Google Maps: www.google.com/localbusinesscenter

Some local listings that show up first on search results pages are available to claim, but for a fee (like CitySearch). It’s up to you to decide whether or not to pay for a local listing when there are many free sites available. Check Appendix A for a more complete list of places where you might want to set up a profile, or ask your customers which online resources they use to make decisions about businesses like yours.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings What Should You Claim? Yahoo! Local: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/

Bing Local Listing Center: https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings What Should You Claim? Yelp: www.yelp.com/business

In order to prevent competitors from hijacking listings, most of these sites require the business owner to verify the listings as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re being claimed. Sometimes this happens right away, or it can take a few hours or a few days. Be patient, but stay by the phone for that verification call!

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2B Claim and Update Directory and Review Site Listings How to Claim Your Listings Now that you know which sites to work on, it’s time to fill out all your listings with the content from your Content Toolbox. Include as much information as each site will allow, and double-check to ensure all your business details are consistent across each site.

Ask your IMC how ReachSearch can give you an additional boost when it comes to your Google Maps listing!

The process is pretty similar across many of these sites. We’ll start with Google Maps: just follow the step-by-step tutorial with screenshots on the following pages. Once you’ve set up your Google Maps listing, it’ll be easy to do the rest. We’ve included more step-by-step instructions for Yahoo! Local, Yelp and Bing in Appendix C, but because sometimes the sites change their signup process, we recommend following the online tutorial for each site to make sure you’re getting the most up-to-date instructions.

How to Claim Your Google Maps Listing To begin, visit http://www.google.com/localbusinesscenter

you have signed in, 2 Once click “Add new business.”

If a listing for your business already exists, you may click “Claim Listing.” If that listing is not for your business, continue by clicking “Add Listing.”

Fill in the rest of the information on the following pages as completely as you are comfortable with. Remember: more information is better than less!

Now you will have to validate your listing. Please choose the option that works best for you (phone will be faster!). When you’re all done, click Finish.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2C Respond to Negative Reviews Chances are you saw some ugly, nasty, awful rants while evaluating your online reputation. Guess what? You’re not alone! Dealing with negative reviews is something even the best companies have to deal with. If you want proof, just run a search for “Apple complaint,” and see how many negative results there are for one of the most innovative, respected and loved brands in the world.

See! It happens to the best of us.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2C Respond to Negative Reviews Lemons and Lemonade

How to Reply to Bad Review

The good news is that negative reviews about your business can actually be an opportunity to strengthen your online reputation! By responding publicly, you can let people know that at your business, you: Care about your customers having a good experience with your business Are human just like everyone else, but will always make an effort to right any wrongs Can take criticism well and turn it into a chance to be your best In most cases, a prospective customer reading a negative review about you will feel better if they see you taking responsibility out in the open. The details become less important when you make it clear you care about providing the best customer service possible every time. But when someone’s said something so horrible that it’s made you very upset, it can be tempting to defend your honor at all costs.

Keep Calm Not all negative reviews are created equal, but one rule applies to every case: never ever respond negatively to anything that is said about you online. Period. The moment you lose your cool, you’ve not only wasted an opportunity to win over customers, you’ve also just added fuel to the fire. If you can’t hold your anger, ask an employee to handle this for you. It’s that serious! Even if someone is clearly overreacting, you can’t risk one bad comment spiraling into a long argument that is so fiery it attracts onlookers to the blaze. The Internet can often feel like an episode of a trashy daytime talk show: people love to cheer, jeer and rubberneck. But whatever you say and do online can last a very long time and be seen by more people than you intended, so it’s important to get it right.

XYZ Day Spa I really wanted to like this spa, but just couldn’t. First, I arrived for my appointment on time but they didn’t seat me until 15 minutes later. Bad start. Then, the nail technician was sloppy and got polish everywhere! Ugh!

Sample Bad reply We’ve been in business for over 10 years and don’t hire “sloppy” nail technicians. Maybe if customers like you talked on their phone less YOU wouldn’t get YOUR wet polish all over YOUR phone. I’m not even sure you’re a real reviewer, so I am having my lawyer look into your information. We will not tolerate this kind of slander from anybody.

Sample Good reply I’m so sorry we were late for your appointment. As the owner, I personally read all customer reviews because your opinion matters the most. Because of your feedback, we have now made 10-minute breaks mandatory between appointments to prevent sessions from running long. Thank you for letting us know how we can be better from now on - if you ever want to try us again please ask for me by name and I would be very happy to attend to you personally!

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2C Respond to Negative Reviews Choose Your Battles

When to Reply

Once you’re ready to respond calmly, it’s time to identify the top trouble spots that warrant a thoughtful response. Refer to Section 1A of your Reputation Worksheet where you listed links about your business you found while doing searches on your business name. Revisit each of the links where you circled the minus sign. Which are worth responding to? Which aren’t? In general, you should circle RN (or “respond to negative”) in the Action column if the reviewer: Had a genuinely bad experience with your product or service States facts that are incorrect If someone is making personal attacks that aren’t really a critique of your product or service, you can address these indirectly with positive reviews (which we’ll address in the next section).

OK to reply: The nail polish selection at XYZ Spa was disappointing. My manicurist also dug way too hard at my cuticle bed – ouch! Don’t reply: XYZ Spa is THE WORST and everyone there is a total idiot, they don’t know how to run a spa and always act like they’re better than anyone else, from now on I’m going to ABS Spa.

DOs and DON’Ts All responses should be in your own words. Here are some guidelines to help steer you on the right path.

Give each and every reviewer the benefit of the doubt. Assume they are customers, even if you suspect they aren’t. Use your real name and speak for yourself in the first person (“I”). Stick to clear, plain English – no jargon or inappropriate language please! Include information about the original post in your response to show you really heard what that reviewer had to say. Take responsibility and admit fault if you truly goofed up. Represent yourself professionally and respectfully. Focus on a finding a way to move forward by extending a sincere offer to fix the situation. Nip a bad review in the bud by encouraging the reviewer to contact you offline. Openly promise to do better in the future.

Without question, false reviews are the biggest pain that every company has to deal with online. If someone is leaving factually incorrect information about you, politely provide the correct information if the website lets you respond. Otherwise, the best way to deal with these reviews is to try to make them less noticeable on the search engine results by promoting positive reviews at that site (see the next section), or by publishing your multimedia content across as many online channels as possible.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2C Respond to Negative Reviews DOs and DON’Ts DON’T

Accuse a reviewer of lying, being a competitor, or a spurned employee. Try to make yourself look better by badmouthing anyone or anything. Pick a fight – diffuse it instead. Make excuses or try to “spin” your response to make yourself look like the victim. Post a response without first proofreading for tone, message, and any typos.

Kill ‘Em With Kindness Some websites claim to be a resource for consumers to warn other consumers about unethical businesses, but are actually for-profit websites with an agenda. The owners of these sites make money by encouraging and posting anonymous attacks on a business and will only remove those attacks if the business in question pays. Many of these payment options are never-ending monthly payments instead of a one-time payment. But sometimes these sites will give a business owner the opportunity to post a response. If you don’t feel that paying ongoing fees is worth it, respond with a polite and formal public apology. Then again, some websites won’t even let a business respond to negative reviews. In cases like these, take the opportunity to learn what you can do to deliver a better product or customer service going forward. See if there’s any way to reach out and make amends with those customers offline, then ask them to update or revise their review if the website allows. Remember: what you say and do online reflects on your business, and nobody wants to do business with someone who isn’t gracious or humble in the face of a fussy customer.

Take it offline! When offering to make things right to a wronged customer, request that they contact you personally through email or phone – or even in person. Not only will that communicate your seriousness in rectifying the situation, but it will provide a degree of closure to the bad review. It’s like saying “Nothing to see here folks, move along.”

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2D Request New Positive Reviews Word-of-Mouth – Amplified! You know how powerful word-of-mouth marketing can be for your business. But now that people are moving their two-way conversations (from in-person or over the phone) to a much more public arena (the Internet!), what they say can have much more of an impact than ever before. And it’s time for you to capitalize on that opportunity!

A positive review can

While your intentions may be good, don’t offer any goodies or incentives to customers in exchange for leaving a good review. If they’ve left a good review, you can surprise them with

Promote your business to new potential customers Lessen the impact of a negative review Help indecisive consumers choose your business instead of a competitor

a nice reward, but customers should be writing reviews because they want to, not because you’re going to throw in a discount or freebie. In

Not only that, a positive review online can last indefinitely and get read by a prospective customer days, weeks, months – even years after it was posted!

fact, the FTC recently updated its guidelines for

Spread the Love

other word-of-mouth marketers “who make an

The places you’ll always want to have lots of positive reviews on will be everything you listed in the “Sites” column on section 1B of your Reputation Worksheet, including the Google Maps, Yahoo! Local, Yelp, and Bing listings, plus the additional sites from Appendix A that you identified as being particularly impactful for your business. That’s because these will be the most common places people will read reviews about your company. There may be other spots where a well-placed positive review from a customer could carry a lot of weight. Refer to section 1A of your Reputation Worksheet again, and revisit each of the links where you circled the minus sign. Circle PP (or “promote positive”) in the Action column if the site: Allows people to post positive reviews Doesn’t have any positive reviews yet, and needs some Has one or two positive reviews, but could use more

the first time in 29 years to say that bloggers or endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service*.” That means if you offer incentives in exchange for reviews, those reviewers have to say so in their review. Otherwise, you could be fined – and think what that might do for your online reputation! * FTC, 2009

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2D Request New Positive Reviews Asking for Reviews Chances are you’re the kind of business owner who takes great pride in the products and services you provide. So don’t be shy about requesting reviews! Let your customers know that you value their business – and their opinion could really help others make the right decision when it comes to your business.

When to Request Testimonials and Reviews In person: after doing a job well done, hand customers a nicely-designed card with a request to leave a review at key links to the local directories and review sites of your choice (see the example on the following page). This is also a good opportunity to take pictures with happy clients, or pictures of the completed job, for use on your business profiles and listings! On the phone: a follow-up call checking on your customer after they’ve received your product or service is the perfect time to ask. You can even boost sales by mentioning upcoming events, specials or promotions. One-on-one time with your customers is also key to evaluating customer satisfaction and identifying opportunities for improving service in order to strengthen retention. Via email: send your best customers a special email request (see the template on the next page) with links to the sites where you want to beef up your positive reviews. Through social networks: mobilize your friends and fans (on Facebook, Twitter, etc.) by asking for feedback on certain review sites (include links to the specific sites). Don’t forget to ask your employees to mobilize their social networks too! In the shop or office: set up an employee contest to see who can get the most new testimonials! Don’t forget to have them take pictures with happy customers to post on your business profiles and listings.

When requesting reviews, it pays to be picky! Instead of sending requests to every customer you’ve ever had (which might look like spamming), choose your most loyal customers who are the most likely to leave a glowing review.

In a perfect world, every positive review you’ve requested on your best directories and review sites would stay there forever. But some sites, like Yelp, make editorial decisions from time to time on which reviews stay – and for how long. These sites aim to protect consumers from reviews they deem to be too false, so be sure to check each site’s guidelines or email them directly if you feel your reviews are being handled unfairly.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2D Request New Positive Reviews Email version

Postcard version

When asking your customers to review your business, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t send them to the homepage of a directory or review site where they have to search for your business page to leave the review. Make it easy and foolproof by sending them a direct link to your business profile on those sites!

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

2E Summary Action Plan Tackle Your To-Dos

Site

Before you start feeling overwhelmed with the work that’s to be done, relax! Reputation Management needs time to really work, so for now you should concentrate on setting realistic, manageable goals to get started. Some of the links and listings that need your attention are more urgent than others, and you may not get to everything in time. And some action items, like claiming and setting up your listings, are more time-intensive than others (e.g. sending an email blast to customers to request positive reviews). Even if you finish this month’s action items, you might find some new things when you check your reputation again next month! Start by filling out the Summary Action on your Reputation Worksheet with your hottest, must-do action items. We’ve included 10 spaces for each of the four techniques we’ve just covered, but you should list the amount that you feel comfortable completing in 4 weeks. Not sure what your first steps should be? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Claim your listings Upload existing photos or videos to multimedia sites Update your listings with the latest info and content Create an email and postcard for requesting customer reviews

Site

Action Item

Collect, Create & Publish Content

Claim & Update Directories & Review Site Listings

Respond to Negative Reviews

Request New Positive Reviews

Completed Y

Reputation Worksheet 2 Include as much information as you can on this sheet so you have all the vital info you need in one place. Refer to sections 1A and 1B of your Reputation Worksheet for specific URLs, and list your action items according to urgency. Don’t forget to check them off when you’re done!

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

3 | Monitor By now, you know what it takes to evaluate and improve your online reputation. And while laying the foundation for your online reputation is most time and energy intensive at the beginning, monitoring it is an ongoing project. By re-grading your online reputation, setting new goals, and drafting a monthly plan, you’ll not only be aware of what potential customers are reading about you online, you’ll be able to use your online reputation as a valuable tool for branding your business and acquiring new customers.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

3A Re-grade Your Online Reputation So you’ve diligently uploaded your multimedia content, straightened up your listings, have politely responded to negative reviews and your loyal customers are singing your praises online. Congratulations! You’re off to a great start. But before you relax, remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint. While you might start seeing some results right away, reputation management efforts take time once they’re set in motion. Stay focused, be patient, and keep at it. One month after you’ve completed the items on your Action Plan, revisit Section 1of this guide Evaluate My Online Reputation. Follow the same steps as before and tally up your points on a fresh Reputation Worksheet to assess your new grade. How does it compare to the first time you evaluated your online reputation? Which efforts have had the most impact? What could still use more work?

3B Set Monthly Goals Tracking your progress is one piece of the puzzle, but continuing to make progress is absolutely crucial. So set new goals by filling out a fresh Action Plan every month. Some examples of new action items you can always include:

Update your listings as your business evolves (ex: add new addresses as you expand to more locations.) Create and upload new content to your listings and multimedia sites Tackle negative reviews (by making good on mistakes) as soon as you find them Get a bunch of new positive reviews per month

Soon you’ll be ready for:

Social Media Guide

Social Media Marketing and Referrals There, you’ll learn all about how to keep in touch with new and existing customers using the social media sites and programs they use to keep in touch with friends and family. Learn more about which techniques will be most effective for your business type, and how to harness the power of referrals to promote special offers, events, and your business to new customers.

By now, you know your online reputation is essential to the ongoing success of your business. So make it a goal to evaluate and improve your online reputation at least once a month. Doing a quick weekly check for new reviews is a great idea – that way, you can respond to any new negative reviews quickly, like the attentive business owner you are. Block off some time on your calendar to commit to this priority, and in no time it will become as natural and automatic as checking your phone messages or email.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

About ReachLocal The digital world has permeated every aspect of our lives— from the way we communicate, to the way we entertain ourselves, to the way we stay informed. Now, we are all digital consumers. At ReachLocal, we call this shift from offline to online digitization. And in order to reach your digital consumers, you have to digitize your business. Our vision is that soon all businesses will acquire, manage, and retain customers 100 percent digitally. That’s why our mission is to help you manage the digital transformation and reach local consumers as they search, surf, and socialize online.

Ranked #1

Local Pioneer, Industry Leader. Since 2004, ReachLocal has been providing local businesses everything they need to digitize and reach more local consumers online.

We built an industry-recognized advertising platform specifically for local businesses. We offer the broadest reach of local online media. We provide face-to-face guidance through our dedicated local Internet Marketing Consultants. We combine powerful technology and digital marketing experts to deliver optimized performance. We have unrivalled experience running hundreds of thousands of local online campaigns.

Our passion for helping local businesses succeed in this digital era is why we continually strive to develop innovative solutions that help our customers grow.

Ranked #39 (2009)

(2009)

For more information contact us at:

Web Phone Email

www.reachlocal.com (866) 500-1692 social@reachlocal.com

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix A Local Directories and Review Sites Below are some local directories and review sites that you may want to consider for establishing and managing your online reputation. This is not an exhaustive list, but a broad sample representative of many regional or vertical-specific destinations to help get you started in building your own list. The sites that will be most meaningful for your business are the ones which appear when you search online for your business name, or the sites that your existing and potential customers refer to most when making decisions about businesses. ReachLocal is not endorsing or prioritizing affiliations by including any names in this list.

• Google Maps: http://www.google.com/local/add

• Yahoo! Local: http://listings.local.yahoo.com/csubmit/index.php

• Bing: https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

• Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/business/unlocking

• CitySearch: http://www.citysearch.com

• Insider Pages: http://www.insiderpages.com/advertiser/sign_up.html

• Localeze: http://webapp.localeze.com/bizreg/Add.aspx

• Local.com: http://advertise.local.com/

• Info USA: http://dbupdate.infousa.com/dbupdate/startupdate?bas_request=A

• Kudzu: https://register.kudzu.com/packageSelect.do

• HealthSpa Guru: http://www.healthspaguru.com/Spa-Submit.aspx

• 1-800-Dentist: http://www.1800dentist.com/for-dentists/

• Angie’s List: https://company.angieslist.com/Registration/Registration.aspx

• RateMDs: http://www.ratemds.com/StartAddDoctor.jsp

• Urban Spoon: http://www.urbanspoon.com/e/add_restaurant/13

Some websites offer solutions that streamline the process of claiming your business listings. For instance, GetListed.org will let you know whether there are already listings for your business on some sites, but do not offer as much flexibility for publishing information to those listings. UniversalBusinessListing.org lets you put in all your business info and content in one place, then publishes that content simultaneously to several directories or review sites. Services like these may reduce the time you spend doing this manually, but only for a fee – and you may not have as much control when it comes to updating a new phone number or location. We recommend you discuss these options with your IMC to see if one is right for your business.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix B Social Media Glossary astroturfing: An effort to generate buzz or interest in a product, service or idea that looks like it was coordinated by individuals outside of a business or organization, but is really coordinated by the organization itself. (The word is a play on “grassroots.”) authenticity: One of the pillars of social media, authenticity is the quality of being honest and true. blog: Short for “web log.” An online journal where one can write, edit and post. claim: To declare ownership or control of (in this case, a business listing). cloud: Also known as “cloud computing,” this refers to the ability to access data from any physical location or device rather than being tied to a particular machine. comments: Public postings individuals leave in response to original content online. content: Used here to describe text, pictures, video, or any other meaningful material that is meant to be seen by an audience. crowdsourcing: Calling on a network of individuals or the general public in order to harness their skills and enthusiasm to contribute content or solve problems. digitization: The shift of information and content from the offline physical world to the online virtual world (the Internet). directory: A directory is a collection of website addresses (or URLs), often organized by interest, category type, or location. Flickr, Picasa: Free websites where members can upload, view, share and comment on individuals’ photos. keywords: Words or word phrases entered into search engines. Ex: “gardening” or “best time to plant fall vegetables”. Business category keywords describe a specific product or service, and business name keywords cite a specific business by name. listing: On search engines, a listing is a link to a webpage found on the search results page. On directories or review sites, it is a page containing as much information as possible about (in this case) a business in one place. microblog: A web service that allows subscribers to broadcast short messages. Twitter is the most well-known example. multimedia: The various types of information or entertainment formats, such as: pictures, video, audio, text, etc. online reputation: The total sum of the information about your business online, including the personal reviews or stories left by users, both named and anonymous. organic: Another way to describe natural, unpaid listings on a search engine results page. publish: To make content publically available to an audience. reputation management: An ongoing, holistic approach to evaluating, improving and monitoring one’s reputation on the Internet. reputation optimization: Similar to SEO, reputation optimization focuses on business name keywords. review site: A review site is a webpage that invites users to leave their personal reviews. These may include products, movies, or local businesses. search engine: A web portal that uses mathematical formulas to collect, organize and recall as much Internet data as possible to return relevant results to someone searching online. Popular search engines include Google, Yahoo! and Bing. search engine optimization (SEO): The process of using strategically-placed business category keywords in the content of a webpage to improve the volume or quality of traffic to a webstie from search engines via unpaid natural, or “organic” search results. social media: The various types of content that are created and shared by individuals. sponsored: Another way to describe paid Search Ads on a search engine results page. transparency: Another pillar of social media, transparency is the property of being open to such a degree that doubts or suspicions are mitigated. upload: To transfer a file from one’s local computer to another place, usually online. word-of-mouth (aka “grassroots”): An effort to generate buzz or interest in a product, service or idea coordinated by individuals outside of a business or organization. Youtube, Metacafe, Vimeo: Free websites where members can upload, view, share and comment on individuals’ videos. © 2009 ReachLocal, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission. All other logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix C How to Claim Your Listings How to Claim Your Yelp Listing To begin, visit http://biz.yelp.com/signup/new

Fill out the fields as completely as possible.

You will need to be near the phone at this stage to continue, for verification purposes.

Fill in all fields as prompted.

If you do not already have a Yelp Business Owner Account, sign up for one. Once you are logged in, follow the directions from each page.

Once verified, you can add your information by following instructions.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix C How to Claim Your Listings How to Claim Your Bing Listing To begin, visit https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

Begin by clicking the “Add new listing” button.

Add more details about your business. Take care to use correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Bing offers the option to select keywords to associate with your business.

Enter your business information to see if a listing already exists. If one does, follow the on-screen instructions.

Verify your location on the map, and continue.

If you are creating a new listing, fill out every field with your basic business information.

Again, it will be faster and more convenient to be near the phone for verification purposes.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix C How to Claim Your Listings How to Claim Your Yahoo! Local Listing To begin, visit http://listings.local.yahoo.com

Begin by clicking “Sign Up” button.

Fill in the fields with your information as completely as possible.

Fill in all fields as prompted.

Review your info before proceeding.

Fill in all fields as prompted.

We recommend checking “automatically send me reviews of my business” to keep up-to-date on any reviews left on your listing.

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix D Why Bid On Your Own Name You already know that consumers are looking for your business online. Many are searching for your business by name because they are researching your company or looking for your contact info. After all, the easiest way for consumers to run a free “background check” on your business is by looking for you on one of the three major search

Business Ad

engines: Google, Yahoo! or Bing. But what shows up for those searches, known as your online reputation, can convince a consumer whether to purchase your product or service, or buy from

Competitor Ad

one of your competitors. When it comes to search engine marketing, bidding on business category keywords (ex: “Dallas spa”) is a must if you want your business to show up in a paid ad when someone is looking

Already running a ReachSearch campaign? Then your business name keywords are covered.

for your kind of products or services. But it’s just as important to bid on your business name keywords (ex: “XYZ Spa”). Take a look at a typical results page for a specific business name search. What kind of an impact might a page like this have on a consumer?

Your brand name or business name may qualify as being “trademarked” by some search engines. That will protect you from competitors who might want to bid on your business name keywords! Check the link below to see if your business name is eligible on Google. http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer. py?hl=en&answer=6118py?hl=en&answer=6118

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix D Why Bid On Your Own Name The Competition It’s your business name – so why pay for it? Because your competitors are! According to Performics, leading brands only receive 87% of traffic from their business name keyword searches. The remaining 13% are “poached” by competitors!* That’s because they know that when your customers search for your business, they have an opportunity to snatch the sale straight out of your hands with a well-worded sponsored ad. Don’t give them the chance.

Dominate the Page Instead, dominate the search results page when someone searches with your business name keywords. Efforts you’ve made to manage your reputation will help you dominate the organic listings, but bidding on your business name will ensure you dominate the sponsored ad listings on the search engine results page.

Control the Message Controlling what appears in natural (or “organic”) listings is difficult and happens slowly. But you can control the message using a paid ad quickly and easily! Highlight seasonal specials, new inventory, a rewards program or unique features and convert an interested consumer into a paying customer. Plus, a paid ad for your business name keywords lets you control the click-through destination to a special landing page featuring a promotion or product.

It’s Inexpensive More businesses like yours are bidding on the same business category keywords because many businesses may offer the types of products or services you do. That makes category keywords more costly. But although a few sneaky competitors may bid on your name, it’s yours which means the search engines will typically give you the best placement at the best price.

Strategic Defense Bidding on your own business name keywords lets you seed the page with more positive results to actively “counter-attack” any negative links on the page. A negative review looks more serious when there are lots of them, but when the bulk of the results on the page are positive it looks more isolated and rare.

Big Brands Know Why Still not convinced? Then consider this: big, well-established brands like Apple, Verizon or Walmart bid on their own keywords. These brands have enough global recognition, local presence and customer loyalty that most customers know to go to them directly. Yet they still run television ads and understand the value of locking out competitors by dominating the search engine results page. So take a page out of their multi-million dollar marketing playbook and be sure to bid on your business name keywords! * Performics, 2009

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix E Sample Worksheet

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix E Sample Worksheet

Intro

Evaluate

Improve

Monitor

Appendices

Worksheets

Appendix E Sample Worksheet

Worksheet 1A Evaluate On Search Engines

RN = Respond to Negative Review

PP = Promote Positive Review

+ = Positive

Reviews Search for your [Business Name]

Site name

Google

+ + + + + + + + + +

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Site name

Status

Yahoo

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

+ + + + + + + + + +

Action

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Status

Bing

Search for your [Business Name] Complaints

total

+ + + + + + + + + + Site name

Complaints

Search for your [Business Name] Reviews

Status

– = Negative

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total Status

Action

+ + + + + + + + + +

RN PP

Site name

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

total

grand total

RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP RN PP

Worksheet 1B Evaluate On Local Directories and Review Sites Site

Listing Claimed?

Listing Updates Needed?

RN = Respond to Negative Review

Reviews

Rating

Description

PP = Promote Positive Review

Total

Positive

Action Negative

Google Maps

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yahoo Local

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Bing Local Listing

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

Yelp

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1 2 3 4 5

RN PP

1C Evaluate My Current Grade

total –

total +

negative

1A & 1B

positive

choose the correct one

1A & 1B

Getting There Roll Up Your Sleeves

Minty Fresh

Worksheet 2 Summary Action Plan Site

Site

Action Item

Collect, Create & Publish Content

Claim & Update Directories & Review Site Listings

Respond to Negative Reviews

Request New Positive Reviews

Completed Y

Credits Author Angela Epley Creative Direction and Design Robert Baker Editors Nathan Hanks Todd Ebert Contributors Justin Brookes Melanie Neal Tamara Farley Production Christina Maner Special thanks to the IMCs, CSCs and everyone else at ReachLocal who helped review and test this guide.