How to Get Reviews for Local Search

Local search engine optimization is a complex process. There are a lot of things to do such as optimizing your pages, submitting to Google Places, and getting backlinks from third party sites. Getting reviews is also a must. Below are some information and tips on how to get reviews for local search.

Local Reviews on Google Places Page

The best way to help your business' online presence is to get and maintain good reviews on your page at Google Places. This comes after your submissions are accepted. It is important that the reviews are natural. You can ask your customers to place the reviews there. If your clients are happy with you and your products, they may send you an email telling how happy they are. Many opt to publish it on their website as testimonials but if your website needs off-site optimization, you can encourage them to publish the review on your Google Places page. Some businesses would handout or send via email a step by step guide on how one can leave a review on the page. It can help in search engine optimization as well as in maintaining a good record that's visible to your target consumers. Another option when customers send what they think about your product and service via email is to publish them on review sites with their name. Be sure to tell them about your plans of publishing their review.

Competition and Quantity of Reviews

You have probably seen lots of tips and advice telling you that it is more on quality than quantity. Google absolutely considers quality when it comes to the reviews. However, there are times when the number of reviews also matters. You may see a competitor or just any other local business that ranks well without lots of quality link and reviews but has a lot of reviews. To beat the competition, make sure to have more reviews than your competitors. There are some companies that can help you get reviews of your products and services. There are also bloggers who can gladly review your products. Get 150 reviews if your competitor has 50 reviews. It is also important that you have your reviews on the same sites where your competitor has.

Keywords in Reviews

Reviews seem to be ultimately helpful when it comes to improving local search engine ranking. Many could attest to that. If you can't seem to see the benefits of reviews, check the keywords because you may be using the wrong ones or not using one at all.

Respond to Review Too

Now that you know a few tricks on how to get reviews for local search, it is time to respond to them. It does not end when you have plenty of reviews on Google Places and other significant sites. It would also help if you could respond to reviews whether they are positive or negative. Thank the ones who left positive reviews. Explain or offer ways to help to those who left negative feedbacks. Don't go into a word fight with angry customers. Don't be scared either. Other consumers may ignore these bad reviews if you handle it well. Sometimes, you will have to search the Web to find reviews posted by your clients without you knowing.