Business owners that are serious about online reputation management have long wondered how to remove negative reviews online. It is not surprising that they would worry about this, since customers are turning to online reviews with greater frequency to determine whether or not to make a purchase. In fact, research has shown that the majority of consumers assign the same level of credibility to an online review as they would to a recommendation from a friend. In essence, online reviews are the new word-of-mouth marketing. This article will take a look at several effective public relations strategies that a business owner can also use to remove negative reviews from the internet.
Reach out to the Source
In this case, “the source” can refer to the reviews site that is hosting the negative review or also the individual reviewer who posted it. If a business owner can prove that a negative review should not have been left for them, then review site owners will usually take the review down. Examples of this include when a reviewer posted their review for the wrong location, or when a professional contractor can prove that the name of the reviewer does not show up on a list of his or her past clients. Regardless of the situation, the business owner will need to collect plenty of evidence before making their case. Alternatively, the business owner can contact the reviewer directly to try to have the review removed. In most cases, customers will post something unfavorable about a business in a moment of frustration, and will be willing to take it down if they feel that the business has made an effort to rectify the problem.
Suppress it with Positive Content
If attempts to remove negative reviews prove unsuccessful, another route to attempt is to suppress it with positive content. A business with 1 negative review out of 5 will have a worse score than one with 1 negative review out of 20. Reaching out to current and recent clients to have them write positive reviews will help to improve the reputation of the business. If a business is not sure how to do this, they should consider hiring an online reputation management firm. Many online reputation management companies will be able to share strategies they have used for past clients to increase the percentage of customers that a business gets to review it. Additionally, these firms usually employ individuals who have experience creating search engine optimized content that can be used to remove negative reviews from the first page of Google. Capitalizing on the expertise that these organizations have to offer will ultimately save business owners time and money as they try to figure out what they are doing.
