Understanding Online Reputation Management

Do you know what’s posted about your business online? Having a positive online reputation is key for any successful business. Your business’s online reputation impacts how potential customers perceive your services.

Not sure where to start or why? We’ve got you covered.

What is online reputation management?

Online reputation management refers to activities and best practices influencing how potential customers view your business. It involves monitoring and improving your online presence, addressing customer feedback, and building a strong brand image.

Your online reputation will affect people’s decisions to hire you. Focusing efforts here is an important part of business reputation management and can help your company stay ahead of competitors.

Why online reputation management is important

Your business reputation can make or break you. No one wants to hire a company with only bad reviews. Managing your online presence ensures the following:

• Credibility. A strong, positive brand reputation helps your company succeed. A high level of professionalism shows expert knowledge and excellent service.
• Customer retention. Good work keeps satisfied customers coming back, and their customer reviews and recommendations bring in new business.
• Brand awareness. People remember popular brands. Before hiring a professional, people research companies and read social media and Google reviews. Prospective customers recognize and hire you if you’re well-known in your service area.
• Protection. If an unhappy customer posts a negative review, respond and address the issue. Managing this engagement shows you care about customer feedback and protects your brand image.

A strong online reputation management strategy builds your brand and gives you a competitive edge.

Tips for improving online reputation management

It’s never too late to start improving your online reputation. Here’s how:

Ask customers to leave positive online reviews

Always ask customers to leave online reviews for your business. Reviews on Google and review sites like Yelp get a lot of reach. Share these positive reviews on your website and social media profiles.

Always respond to negative reviews

Don’t ignore negative reviews. Responding is part of a good reputation management strategy and essential for maintaining a positive online reputation.

Spam reviews may pop up and can be annoying to deal with. However, there are ways to navigate and remove them on Facebook and Google. 

If a negative review is making false claims, consider seeking legal advice to see how to handle it.

Pro Tip: If you need help replying to negative online reviews, use response templates or prompt AI tools like Jobber Copilot to help craft responses. 

Implement SEO best practices

Set your website up with basic SEO so it shows up in search results. Focus on the following:

• Local SEO. This improves your online presence for local searches. State your business name and service area on your website. Use local keywords like “HVAC service in [your city/region].”
• On page SEO. This is for content on your website and helps you rank higher in all web searches. Use relevant headings, meta tags, and internal links.
• Off-page SEO. This is for content related to your business that’s published elsewhere. For example, getting other websites to link back to yours, social media mentions, and online reviews.

Monitor all mentions of your business

How often is your business mentioned online? If you don’t know where people are talking about you, you don’t know what they’re saying.

Use reputation management tools to monitor mentions of your business and respond to comments and reviews. Regular reputation monitoring helps maintain your company’s reputation and improve customer sentiment.

Update social media accounts regularly

Effective social media management can help you boost your online presence. Keep your Facebook and Instagram accounts active with relevant content, such as promotions. Set up a Google Business Profile that accurately reflects what you offer and how potential customers can contact you.

What is online reputation management software?

Online reputation management software helps you monitor and manage your business’s brand reputation. With it, you can track mentions, pull analytics and stats, and request and collect customer feedback.

Using software for online review management improves your workflow and is often cheaper than outsourcing the work, especially for small businesses.

There are many online reputation management tools available. Here are some top options for reputation management tools that work well for home service businesses.

Jobber Reviews

With Jobber Reviews, you can double your monthly Google reviews by automatically prompting customers to leave a review after paying invoices. You can easily track ratings and reviews from the dashboard and respond to them.

NiceJob

NiceJob is a great choice for social media marketing. It shares customer reviews on social media channels and adds them to your website’s testimonials page.

Broadly

Broadly sends automated review requests for Google, Facebook, Nextdoor, and other review sites. You can contact customers via email or text and easily track everything on a reputation management dashboard.

Podium

Podium uses AI to engage customers, request reviews, and respond to published reviews. Because everything is automated, it operates 24/7 and saves valuable time and resources.

Whitespark

Whitespark focuses on local SEO and driving business through Google. Their software is specifically designed for small businesses.

How to choose the best online reputation management software

When looking for reputation management software, consider the following:

• Pricing. Will it fit your budget? Can you try it before you buy it with a free trial? Check out different price tiers and features to find the best fit for your business. Some might cost more, but the feature sets will get you a better ROI.
• Integrations. How well does it integrate with other tools you’re currently using? 
• Ease of use. Is the new program easy to use, or will you need training to get started?
• Reporting. What types of reports can you pull? Are you able to get valuable information from them?
• Security and privacy. Make sure you can keep your business information and customer data safe and secure.

Improving your online reputation can take time and effort, but leveraging online tools can help. Focusing on these strategies, you’ll create a strong social media reputation and a trusted brand image.