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In this article:\nHow to tell if a review is fake\nHow to respond to fake reviews\nHow to remove fake reviews\nGet more positive reviews\nGetting regular online reviews is an important part of keeping up with your online reputation. Often times these will come naturally, and sometimes you have to do a little more work to maintain a good supply of fresh reviews. But sometimes, people who weren’t ever your customers take it upon themselves to try to badmouth your company with fake Google reviews. \nFake reviews are frustrating. They sometimes come from a disgruntled former employee or a competitor and they are loaded with false claims. But occasionally people mistake your business for another and leave a negative review in the wrong place.\nAs part of your small business's review management strategy, you need to know how to handle a fake review if you ever receive one. \nWe’ll walk you through the best course of action in handling fake Google reviews. \nHow to tell if a negative Google review is fake\nFirst, you need to determine if the review is indeed fake. Sometimes this is guesswork, but more often than not you’ll be able to tell.\nWatch out for these top identifiers of fake reviews on Google:\nThe person who left the review doesn’t match up with anyone in your customer list or a current customer/patient that you have record of\nThe profile of the reviewer is anonymous\nThe timing of the review is suspicious (after an employee was let go or a new competitor enters the market)\nThe profile of the reviewer is suspicious (only leaves negative reviews for specific types of companies or uses repetition in their reviews across different companies)\nThe comments of the review are generic or full of keyword spam\nGo deeper: \nHow to spot fake online reviews\nPay attention to the review and do a little deeper dive to determine if the review is fake. When you have made that discovery, take the next steps to handle the fake review. \nHow to respond to a fake negative review on Google\nEven though you know the review is fake, that doesn’t mean that potential customers who read your reviews will catch on. That’s why it is important to respond in a professional manner to fake reviews (even though you may not want to give them the time of day). \nIt’s important to respond to \nall\n reviews that come across your Google Business listing, including those that are negative or fake. \nThe best way to respond to a fake review is to point out that it is fake in a subtle and professional way. This will help others who read the reviews to recognize the spammy review and discredit it. \nwoman with paper bag over her head with frowny face for fake reviews\n\nHere’s an example of a response you might use on an anonymous review or a review from someone you don’t recognize:\n“Hello, we are sorry you had a negative experience with our company. However, we are unable to identify you as a customer in our records. If we are mistaken, please reach out so we can improve this situation.”\nCheck out our complete guide: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\nReporting fake reviews on Google\nThe next step is to report the review. Google will only remove reviews if they are in clear violation of their review content policies:\nNo fake or spammy content \nNo off-topic content\nNo restricted content\nNo illegal or sexually explicit content\nNo offensive, dangerous, or derogatory content\nNo impersonating\nNo conflicts of interest (reviewing your own company or a competitor’s listing)\nIf you are certain the review is fake, then it goes against Google’s policies and has a high chance of being removed. \nThis doesn’t guarantee that Google will remove the review, though, because they do need to be convinced that the review is fake. So it’s good to provide as much insight as possible into the report of a fake review (or at least as much as Google will allow you to). \nTo report a Google review, you simply need to navigate to the review on the Google My Business listing, or within your Google My Business dashboard, and click the three-dot icon in the right corner of the review. Click “flag as inappropriate” and then follow the prompts to report the review to Google. \nRead our comprehensive guide: \nThe complete guide to removing fake reviews\nWork to get more positive reviews\nThe best course of action after dealing with a negative review on Google, especially a fake one that you can’t remove, is to consistently be working to get more positive reviews. \nDon’t let fake reviews ruin your online reputation. Instead, continue to improve it with a good review management strategy. \nHappy customers generally aren’t as motivated to leave reviews as unhappy customers (or, unfortunately, as ill-advised competitors). That’s why you need to have a strategy in place to encourage satisfied customers to leave your business online reviews. \nReminding happy customers that you appreciate their honest feedback can encourage them to leave reviews, and will help you drown out the noise of any fake and negative reviews you’ve acquired, and show potential customers the awesome things that your company is doing well. \nThe best way to invite a customer to leave a review is to make it as easy for them as possible. Simply reminding your customers that their feedback is important to you, or sending a text or email link to your Google My Business page, makes this process much easier. 

What to do when you get a fake Google review of your business

In this article:\nWhy add business to Apple Maps\nHow to add and claim your business on Apple Maps\nWhat to do next\nWhen it comes to navigation apps, Google Maps definitely takes the cake in terms of usage, with 72% of the market while Apple Maps only takes 11%.\nHowever, that 11% is still equal to more than 23 million monthly users, so Apple Maps is still an important platform to be thinking about when adding your business to various online directories. \nWhy add your business to Apple Maps\nAs you can see, many people are using Apple Maps to navigate from place to place. That means they are likely using it to find their way to new businesses that they want to try out too. (Hint: that’s you!)\nIn order to reach the most customers for your business, you should be adding your business to multiple online directories and map services. The more directories you are listed on, the better opportunity you have to reach more people. \nBeyond people finding your business on Apple Maps directly, adding your business to multiple online directories (Apple Maps included) can help your business rank better in local searches on Google, Bing, and other search engines. \nGo deeper: \n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\nHow to list and verify your business with Apple Maps\nLet’s get started. \nStep 1: Log into Apple Maps Connect\nThe first thing you need to do to add your business to Apple Maps (or check to see if it is there) is sign into Apple Maps Connect. \nGo to \nmapsconnect.apple.com\n and sign in with your Apple ID. If you don’t have an Apple ID, create one. \n(Image)\n\n
If you need to create an Apple ID, you will be redirected to appleid.apple.com. Click “Create Your Apple ID” and follow the steps to set this up. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Choose your language and agree to terms\nOnce you’re signed into Apple Maps Connect, you’ll be prompted to select a language. Choose the most relevant language for your business, and click “Done.” \n(Image)\n\nThen you’ll be directed to a window to agree to Apple’s term before proceeding. Check “I have read and agree to these terms of use” and click “Agree.”\nStep 3: Find your business\nNext, search for your business to see if it already exists on Apple Maps. Type your business name and address into the fields provided and click “Search.”\n(Image)\n\nClick on your business if you see it. Once you click on your business, look to the bottom of your screen and click “Claim this place.” Proceed to Step 4.\n(Image)\n\nIf you don’t see your business listed when you search for it, click “Add new place” and then continue to Step 4 of this guide. \n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Add and/or claim your business on Apple Maps\nWhether you are clicking to claim your business or clicked “Add new place,” the next steps will be the same. \nYou’ll be provided with a few options to add or update your information: \nBusiness name (make sure this is accurate)\nPlace status (open or not)\nCategories\nPhone number\nWhether or not you accept Apple Pay\nComplete this form and click “Next.”\n(Image)\n\nTo finish claim your listing, you will be prompted to have Apple call your business to verify your phone number. Click “Call me now” and they will place an automated call to your business with a code. \n(Image)\n\nEnter the code you received and click “Done.”\n(Image)\n\nCongratulations, you have now claimed your business on Apple Maps!\nWhat to do next\nNow that your business is listed on Apple Maps, you’ve just increased your opportunities to gain more customers and improve your brand awareness. \nBut you shouldn’t stop there.\nWe have some guides that will help you further improve your online visibility:\n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\nIt’s important to add your business to multiple online directory sites and navigational apps to improve your opportunity to rank well in the search engines, as well as to show up on every channel that customers use to find new businesses. 


How to add your business to Apple Maps

In this article:\nWhy use Citysearch\nHow to create and claim your Citysearch business listing\nWhat to do next\nCitysearch is all about helping consumers find local businesses within their city or neighborhood–that’s you!\nCitysearch is run by a company called CityGrid, which pulls its information from ExpressUpdate’s database, so you can add your listing there to get found by more customers in your city. We’ll show you how!\nWhy add your business to Citysearch\nYou should continue to add your business to as many reputable online directories as possible. These listings you create (also called citations) will help improve your online visibility not only across these various platforms, but in the search engine results too. \nBeyond the search engine ranking benefits, Citysearch has some pretty cool features. They strive to bring customers and businesses together with fun things like voting on favorite businesses and granting award badges to the top businesses. \nCitysearch also has capabilities to advertise on its platform and offer customer deals to entice more people to click on your listing and find your business. \nRead on to learn how to get started. \nHow to create and claim your Citysearch business profile\nLet’s get your business added to Citysearch. \nStep 1: Check to see if your business is on Citysearch through ExpressUpdate\nOne someone counterintuitive thing about Citysearch is that you can’t add your business directly to its site. They pull all of their information from ExpressUpdate, so that’s where we’re going to start. \nGo to \nExpressUpdate.com\n and search to see if your business is in their database. Type in your business name, phone number, or address. Make sure to try a couple of different searches just in case they don’t have all of your information or they have old information. \n(Image)\n\nIf you’ve found your business, click “Claim Now” and proceed to Step 3 to verify your business. \n(Image)\n\nIf your business didn’t show up in any of your searches, click “Add it now” on the search results page and proceed to Step 2. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Add your business to Citysearch through ExpressUpdate\nAfter clicking “Add it now” you’ll be brought to \nthis submission form\n to add your business information on ExpressUpdate. \nAdd the following information to the form:\nBusiness name\nFull address (street, city, state, postal code)\nBusiness phone number\nBusiness category\nYour affiliation to the business\nA phone number to contact you\nClick “Submit.”\n(Image)\n\nYou will then be prompted to create an account to continue the process of verifying your business listing. Add your email address and click “Continue.”\n(Image)\n\nGo to your email and follow the instructions you received to finish setting up your business profile.\n(Image)\n\nThe email you receive will direct you to Data Axle to finish setting up your login account. \n(Image)\n\nAdd your first and last name and set a new password. Click “Continue,” and you will be directed to a new page on ExpressUpdate to claim your listing. Proceed to Step 3. \n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Claim your listing on ExpressUpdate to claim it on Citysearch\nWhether your business already existed on ExpressUpdate or you added it just now and went through the signup process, you’ll be redirected to this same page to claim your listing. \nYour business phone number will be displayed, and all you have to do is click “Yes, Call Me Now.”\n(Image)\n\nYou will then receive an automated phone call from ExpressUpdate. They will display a 4-digit code on your screen which you will need to enter into the keypad on your phone. \n(Image)\n\nAfter that, you will be redirected to your business dashboard. Your business status will be “Pending” until ExpressUpdate approves your claim after a few days, but you now have a verified listing!\n(Image)\n\nImportant note: It can take 1-2 months for Citysearch to pull your data from ExpressUpdate, so don’t expect immediate results on citysearch.com. Be patient and know that you’ve done the work to get it there. SEO takes time!\nYou’ve finished the steps to add your business to Citysearch, now what?\nNow that you’ve added your business to ExpressUpdate (and Citysearch through their database), you might be wondering where to go next. Here are a couple of great next steps to continue improving your online visibility. \nCheck out these \n15 free tips for better local search rankings\nAdd your business to more directories with this guide: \n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\n\n

How to add your business to Citysearch and claim your listing

In this article, learn: \nWhy repairing your online business reputation can be difficult and expensive\nHow small businesses can fix their business online reputation\nHow to flag reviews for removal\nHow to remove Google search results\nHow to improve small business SEO by creating content\nIf you’re reading this post, there’s a strong likelihood that you have suffered some setbacks because of a less-than-stellar online business reputation. The first thing you need to understand is you’re not alone. The harsh reality of our increasingly digital world is you have very little control over what people say about you or your business online. And the importance of a business’s online reputation is growing, even for small, local shops and one-person businesses.\nWhile local business used to rely solely on friendly service, a good product, and positive word of mouth to attract new customers, the new forum for that conversation is online. 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and the majority of people trust those reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family. \nEven if customers are sitting in a business's parking lot or standing on the sidewalk outside the front door, they will likely check their mobile device for “social proof” that there are no huge problems with the business before deciding to enter and buy.\nOnline review sites favor the reviewer, not the business\nFor a small business owner suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous customer reviews or other negative content online, this digital realm can feel a little like the Twilight Zone.\nOnline review sites like Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook, and TripAdvisor clearly value the input of individual reviewers and most make it extremely difficult or even impossible for business owners to remove potentially damaging reviews, unless they meet certain criteria, which we’ll outline later.\nIn fact, Google has stated that its priority is accurately delivering the search results people are looking for, whether or not those results are necessarily factual.\nThis could be viewed as somewhat of a “mob mentality” or “power to the people” approach, but since these companies make hundreds of millions or even multiple billions of dollars annually with their current policies, there’s very little chance of them changing anytime in the foreseeable future.\nRepairing your business online reputation can be difficult and expensive\nThere are several companies that may dedicate a team of SEO experts and/or content specialists to your online presence in the hopes of both improving your standing in search engine results as well as “burying” or hiding any negative content.\nThese approaches can be somewhat effective, depending on how bad your online reputation is to begin with, and—this is key—how much money you have to spend. Experts and specialists usually don’t work for free, and for the purposes of this article we are talking about the online reputation of small, local businesses who are working on very slim margins.\nSo, since it’s the rare exception for a small business to have the resources to dedicate to hire a team of reputation repair experts, let’s focus on the more cost-effective, realistic approach that small business owners can take to move the needle in the right direction.\nHow can small businesses fix a bad online reputation?\nThe first step in repairing a bad online reputation is to clarify and identify the actual source of the damaging content. When small businesses talk about repairing their online business reputation, they almost always mean “reviews.” Some businesses face attacks in other venues, however, so we’ll touch briefly on some steps you can take to remove other types of damaging online content.\nIf your business suffers a bad online reputation due to negative publicity, news stories, criminal or legal action, bloggers posting damaging—but factual—content about you, etc., then you may be in a position where you need to hire one of the professional reputation repair firms mentioned above.\nWhat kinds of content can be removed?\nAccording to Google, they will will remove results that contain:\nNational identification numbers such as U.S. Social Security Numbers\nBank account numbers\nCredit card numbers\nImages of signatures\nNude or sexually explicit images that were uploaded or shared without your consent\nConfidential, personal medical records of private people\nTo request such personal information to be removed, \ncontact Google here\n.\nTwo problems with trying to remove content from search results\nThe first is, even if you get Google to remove damaging content from search results, the actual content still exists on the web and can be found on other search engines, or if people visit the website where the content is hosted.\nThe second problem is, if the negative content doesn’t fit into one of the above categories, and is factual, there is no motivation for a news outlet or a blogger to remove it—quite the contrary. If people are searching for that content, the website that is hosting it benefits from that traffic, and the more the better. If you consult Google about removing such content, they will tell you to \ncontact the webmaster\n.\nHowever, if the story or content is outdated, no longer relevant, you may have some success contacting the webmaster and asking for it to be removed. You can also ask Google to remove results that direct searchers to content that has been removed (by a webmaster).\nIf the negative content \nisn’t\n factual and you can prove it is defamatory or libelous, you may choose to take legal action to have it removed. Again, bring money. Lawyers aren’t cheap. What’s worse, legal action almost always just draws more attention to the problem. (To request that Google remove content for legal reasons, \nclick here\n.)\nIf the negative content is pervasive and you can’t afford to hire a team of experts, the best you may be able to do is move on to the steps outlined below.\nHow to remove bad reviews\nStep one in all online review site engagement is to \nclaim your business listings\n on \nGoogle\n, \nYelp\n, Facebook, \nTripAdvisor\n, and all other applicable sites (such as OpenTable for restaurants). Click the links for detailed, step-by-step articles on that process.\nOnce you have claimed your pages, you can start responding to reviews and flagging any appropriate ones for removal.\nYelp and other review sites have similar policies regarding removing reviews, so we’ll focus on Yelp for this example. You can flag Yelp reviews for removal if they contain:\nSpam\nHarassment\nThreats of violence\nConflicts of interest\nIrrelevant content\nFalse/fake reviews\nPromotional material\nPrivate information\nTo report a Yelp review, click the three dots beside the content and select “report review.”\nHowever, there’s a harsh reality to this online world we live in: if a review appears to be from one of your actual customers, even if it’s what you consider “mean” or “inaccurate” or “unfair,” chances are, it’s there for good, unless you can resolve the problem and convince the reviewer to remove it. And even if they refuse, the best approach here is to respond appropriately to the public review and work to bet more positive ones.\nPlus, research shows that negative online business reviews aren’t necessarily as harmful as you might think. \nHow to respond to negative reviews\nWhen considering \nhow to reply to negative reviews\n, use the R.E.S.T. model: \nRespond quickly: A single bad review can cost your business 30 customers (especially if left unanswered). Replying in a timely fashion shows you take feedback seriously.\nEliminate emotion: Even if you’re being attacked unjustly, stay calm. Be the grown-up. Your reply is an advertisement to prospective customers, who will see that you are reasonable and civil.  \nSay you’re sorry: Apologizing goes a long way toward meliorating bad feelings. Even if you know you didn’t do anything wrong, even if you’re sure the review is fake or malicious, saying, “Sorry you had a bad experience!” can go a long way towards taking the reviewer’s guard down and helping potential customers see you in a more positive light.\nTake it offline: Don’t air your grievances or continue discussions online. Try to take the conversation private. Provide your contact information or direct them to your website and ask them to contact you to resolve the issue. \nIf a customer has brought up a legitimate problem that you have addressed, you should state in your public reply that the problem is now fixed as well as whatever other measures you’ve taken to make sure the problem doesn’t recur.\nYou might offer dissatisfied customers discounts, refunds, or other promotions to bring them back to shop with you—but do this privately. Be careful not to go overboard or make these offers public, or you’ll just be known for handing out free stuff in exchange for a bad review, which obviously is not a precedent you want to establish.\nIf you suspect the review is fake or malicious, but it doesn’t meet the review site’s criteria for removal, you can gain back some credibility by simply stating something like, “We have no record of this transaction. We take our customers seriously and we are sorry if we didn’t meet your expectations. Please contact us to resolve this issue.” \nEven if a review is very harsh or unfair, treating all feedback with professionalism will go farther toward improving your online reputation than arguing, insulting, or ignoring. \nUse negative reviews to improve your business\nAlthough it sometimes might feel like it, getting a negative review isn’t the end of the world. In fact, studies show that people don’t trust businesses if they have NO negative reviews. Like Cindy Crawford’s mole, it’s the slight imperfection that makes it perfect. However, if \nall you get\n is negative reviews, there’s probably something very wrong with your staff, product, services, or facilities. \nSee what you can learn from the reviews. Lots of big companies pay millions of dollars to know what their customers think. Online reviews give you useful insights into your customers, all for free. So have an open mind. Often times, reviewers are actually trying to give you helpful feedback to improve your business. Listen to them. Consider ways you can improve.\nStart to fix your business online reputation by getting more reviews\nThe best way to minimize the impact of negative reviews is to get a lot more positive reviews. Studies show 73% of consumers feel reviews older than 3 months are no longer relevant. So if you can start getting more good reviews from your happiest customers, the negative reviews will fade into the background.\nRead our detailed article on \nhow to get more reviews\n to learn the proper way, then simply ask. Don’t bribe or threaten, don’t ask for good reviews, and never try to buy good reviews. Simply tell your customers you value their feedback and put up official signage for Yelp, Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor, etc. \nGood, recent reviews have more impact than old, negative reviews.\nImprove your online business reputation by producing positive content\nIf your main concern isn’t negative reviews, but rather negative content posted elsewhere online, things get more complicated. \nFor small businesses with few resources and little knowledge of SEO, linkbuilding, improving rankings in local search, or similar techniques (best left to those with experience), the easiest way to start minimizing the impact of negative online content is to counter it with positive content. \nOne way that is approachable to most small business owners is to add positive content to your company website or start a blog. If you can produce high-quality, regular, relevant content, Google and other search engines will begin to put those results up higher and push the negative ones down. This is basically what may of the “reputation repair” companies do, only they have dedicated teams of writers and content producers working on your situation (that’s why they are so expensive).\nIf you have good writing skills or know someone who does, you may also consider writing an article for an online industry publication, or a guest post for a blog you find relevant, or content for a local news outlet’s Op/Ed page, but if you choose to go this route, make sure it’s not simply a “one and done” thing. For search engines to take your content seriously you need to produce more than just one piece of content. This can take a lot of effort, but over time your content can attract the attention and validation of more powerful sites who might link to it, which will improve its rankings in search results and push any negative content down.\nStart today and improve your reputation\nThe bottom line is there are no shortcuts or easy answers to dealing with a negative online business reputation, but there are definitely ways to start improving right now. Any movement toward the positive will be well worth it. \nA Cornell study found, for example, that a one-star increase in your star rating can increase revenue by 39%. And another study found that a half-star improvement in Yelp’s rating makes it 30 to 49 percent more likely that a restaurant will sell out seats during peak hours. \nSo get started today undertaking the steps outlined above. \nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/\n
\nhttps://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803\n
\nhttp://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=chrreports\n
\nhttps://www.reviewtrackers.com/blog/restaurant-review-sites/\n

How to fix your online business reputation

In this article:\nWhat are Google Alerts?\nHow to set up Google Alerts for your business\nReasons why you should be using Google Alerts\nGoogle Alerts can be a powerful tool to help you grow your business and online visibility. It may not be the most effective tool out there, but it’s a surprisingly useful, free tool to get you started in tracking brand mentions, competitor reputations, (some) reviews, and keywords.\nThroughout this article, we’ll guide you through the best uses of Google Alerts for your small business, how to get it set up, and how to create specific alerts for your business needs. \nWhat are Google Alerts?\nGoogle created a free system, Google Alerts, that allows you to set up notifications for specific mentions of phrases online. When Google Alerts find a mention of the phrases you set up, you’ll receive an email notification to let you know where that mention was found. \nGoogle Alerts can help your business in several different capacities, from tracking competitor activity online, to notifying you of negative reviews, to finding more link opportunities for your business. \nWe’ll guide you through these applications in a little more detail below. But first let’s go over how to get set up to use Google Alerts. \nHow to set up Google Alerts for your business\nFirst, we want to show you how to set up Google Alerts. As long as you have a Google account, you can sign in and use Google Alerts. \nIf you don’t already have an account, simply go to Google.com and click “Sign in” to create a new account. \nStep 1: Sign in to Google Alerts\nGo to google.com/alerts and click “Sign in.” If you already have a Google account, it may already have you signed in. If that’s the case, move on to Step 2. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Create an Alert\nOnce you’re signed in, you can easily start creating Alerts for your business. On the main page, Google will provide you with several suggestions, including “Me on the web.” These will be your personal or business name and email (depending on which Google account you are logged in with).\nIt’s always a good idea to see where your business is showing up on the web, so feel free to click the + icon next to your business name if it shows up. \nTo create your own alert, simply type something into the search bar that says “Create an alert about…”\nSeveral of the most recent search results with your phrase will be displayed below the search box, similar to a normal Google search. \nClick “Show options” to select the following options:\nHow often to receive notifications\nSources\nLanguage\nRegion\nHow many results\nWhich email to deliver to\nOnce you’ve filled all of that out, click “‘Create Alert.” And you’re done!\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nReasons why you should be using Google Alerts\nNow that you know how to set up Google Alerts for your business, let’s talk about some of the reasons why you should and how Google Alerts can benefit your online growth. \nMonitor new content\nIf you are involved with content marketing (which you should be), then you are likely producing new content on your website on a regular basis. This could be blog articles, infographics, videos, etc. \nAs you create new content, set up a Google Alert with the name of your new page or article to see when other websites share or republish your content. \nCheck to see that these websites are giving you proper credit as the originator of the content and linking back to you. If not, you can ask them to properly credit you and insert valuable links to your site.\nTrack mentions and reviews of your brand and get more links\nBeyond new content that you post, you can track mentions of your brand/company name and specific branded services or products. Check these mentions regularly and see if they are being linked back to relevant pages on your website. \nexcited african american male getting google alerts on cell phone\n\nThis will help provide more value to the places that are mentioning your brand so that their readers can follow the link to learn more about you. It also helps increase your search engine visibility. \nYou can also create a search string like “[your brand or product] + review” to get alerts when blogs or websites post articles containing your company or product and “review” in the title or content.\nTrack your competitors to find new citation opportunities\nSee where your competitors are showing up online. You can create alerts for your competitors’ name, phone number, and address to find new opportunities for ideas for citations and listings to help improve your local SEO. \nQuick guide: \nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\nYou may also like: \n25 free business listings for your business\nSearching for your competitors could also help you find other link opportunities. Chances are if someone is linking to a related competitor they’d be willing to link to your website as well. \nFind new guest post opportunities\nGoogle Alerts can help you find new guest-posting opportunities for your business. \nGuest posting is a great link-building and content-marketing strategy that can help improve your online reputation. \nCreate an alert for phrases like “[insert topic] + write for us” or “[insert topic] + become a contributor.” Most websites that accept guest posts will have some kind of “write for us” page, so keep an eye out for those kinds of opportunities within your industry. \nMonitor your keywords\nAnd finally, you can and should be monitoring your own keywords that you want to be showing up for on Google. This will show you the places that are likely showing up well for these phrases and what kind of content they are producing. \nUse that to guide your content strategy and help your website rank better for specific phrases. 

How and why you should set up Google Alerts for your business

In this article:\nFree advertising ideas for retail shops\nFree SEO ideas for local businesses\nGet involved locally\nIs the cost of advertising your store bumming you out? It’s a tough gig to start a new business, get your name out there, and start acquiring new customers. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, and there are even some free strategies that you can use to get started. \nThese strategies can help you advertise your retail business for free, and several of them will even help you show up better on Google and other search engines!\n1. Create and claim your online profiles\nTo help increase your store’s online visibility, it is imperative that you claim your major online profiles. Google and Yelp are the big ones here. When you claim these profiles, it helps these search engines and review platforms verify that you are a legitimate business and they are more likely to show your listings to customers. \nMake sure you add as much relevant information as possible to these listings so customers can get all of the details they need before coming into your store. \nCheck out our guides:\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\n2. Get more online reviews\nWhen you have your online profiles created, you can start getting online reviews. Reviews are a powerful conversion tool that will help sway consumers toward your store. \nTry these methods to get new customer reviews:\nProvide great customer service and ask for reviews\nPut signs up that encourage customers to leave reviews on your online platforms\nInclude links to your Google listing in email receipts\nInclude instructions to leave reviews on print and email receipts\n3. Respond to your reviews\nWhen you start getting reviews, it’s important to respond to them too. Develop a rapport with your online followers and customers by engaging with them when they leave nice feedback about your store. \nIt’s especially important to respond to any negative reviews that may come in. You want everyone to have a good experience with your store, so find out what went wrong and try to improve the relationship. This also shows potential customers that you are willing to resolve any issues that may come up. \nGo deeper: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\n4. Find more listings sites to post your store on\nBeyond Google and Yelp, there are tons of other free listings sites that you can use to advertise your retail business. When you do start creating these profiles, just be sure that your business name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) are consistent across all of these. \nInconsistencies with your NAP info can make it difficult for search engines to verify your information, which could result in lower search result rankings. \nGet started with \n25 free business listing websites every small business should be on\n. \n5. Set up a free website\nWhile free websites aren’t always the most user-friendly (for the creator of them) they are a great way to get started if you’re strapped for cash. And every business should have a website. \nSome of the free resources we like for building websites include:\nWix\nSquarespace\nGoogle My Business\nThere may be some fees associated with owning your own domain and hosting the website, but these are usually very manageable and totally worth it when you consider the total cost of creating a website with a professional web developer. \n6. Boost your local SEO\nSEO, or search engine optimization, is how you get your website and business to show up in the search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines. Some of these methods we’ve mentioned, like setting up a website and claiming your online listings, can help you with this. \nWe also have \n15 free tips for better local search engine rankings\n that you’ll definitely want to check out. \n7. Start a blog\nA blog is another thing that can contribute to your SEO efforts. But it can do more than just that. A blog provides value to consumers without them having to purchase anything from you. It can help customers learn more about you and your business too. But remember, you need to keep posting new content regularly for your blog to be worth anything.\nHere are some ideas that you can use for your store’s blog:\nPhotos of new products as they come in\nEmployee features\nVideo tutorials (how to create the perfect budget outfit, how to use specific products you offer)\n8. Start social media accounts\nWhen most of your target customer base is spending at least 30 minutes of their free time on social media, it’s good to take advantage of that. Create social media accounts for your store on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter—whichever is relevant to your business that you can keep up with posting on. \nCreate lots of fun content that users will feel enticed to engage with. Here are some ideas to get you going:\nDiscounts and deals\nNew products\nOutfit pairings (for clothing stores)\nCustomer testimonials\n9. Partner with other local businesses\nGet together with other local businesses and partner with each other on social media. Share each other’s followings by doing a Facebook Live video together and tagging each other’s business page in it. \nMaybe you’re a clothing store that just got a new shipment of workout clothes in. Partner with a local gym to do a fun workout tip post. Get creative with this and have fun. \n10. Send out email newsletters\nEmail might seem like old news, but there’s still a lot of power in this. For retail businesses, send out emails that offer online specials or sweet deals. Use the subject line of the email to mention the deal and entice your customer to open it. \n11. Get involved with your local chamber of commerce\nYour local \nchamber of commerce\n is all about helping small businesses in their community succeed. Take advantage of their resources, like marketing materials and a free listing on their website. This will help get your business out in front of your community. \n12. Get involved with community events\nAnother way to get known in your community is to get involved in local events. Maybe there’s a 5k or a blood drive going on. Volunteer yourself and your employees to help out. Where your logo and display your branding to help spread awareness. \nYou might even offer some free swag to participants like pens, bracelets, or coupons for your store. \n13. Host an online Q&A\nDo you get a lot of questions from customers about the products in your store? Maybe you sell cleaning products and customers want the know what works best to get pet smells out of carpet. Or maybe you sell clothing and jewelry and customers are concerned about what goes best with their hair color and style. \nHost an online Q&A for customers to ask their questions or with a list of common questions that you hear from customers and answer them. Post this on your website, in your blog, and on your social media channels.\n14. Offer discounts and promotions\nWe all love to save a few bucks. Offer some sweet deals to your customers to entice them to come into your store and share those deals with their friends. Never underestimate the power of referrals when it comes to great deals. \n15. Start a loyalty program\nSpeaking of saving some money, loyalty programs are a great way to advertise your store and get customers to buy more items. Use a point system or punch card and after they spend so much money, give them some store credit. \nCheck out our guide: \nThe 6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program\n16. Make promotional videos\nMake promotional videos to share on your website, online listings, and social profiles. One resource we like for this is \nBiteable\n. You can create a free video that looks professional and shows off the great qualities of your store. \n17. Start a YouTube channel\nWhen you make your promotional videos, online Q&A’s, or video tutorials, share them on a YouTube channel. This is another great way to spread brand awareness, attract new customers, and build up your online reach. \n18. Put customer testimonials on your website\nReviews are powerful. And sharing a video testimonial that shows a customer who is genuinely happy with their experience at your store can go a long way. You can use these as a part of your promotional videos, add them to your social media accounts, and gain more opportunities to bring in customers. \n19. Post on the Facebook Marketplace\nTake advantage of every platform out there for putting your products in front of new customers. People are constantly searching for great deals on things they need in the Facebook Marketplace. Post popular items from your store in the Marketplace to get them in front of more people. \nYou’ll have to do this from your personal page, but customers want to connect with real people, so it’s really a win-win. \n20. Print out flyers\nSpread awareness of your store the good old fashioned way with printed flyers. Get a friend or local college graphic design student to create a professional-looking flyer with an enticing promotion and post those things everywhere! \nTest out these strategies to see what works best for your store as you’re getting started. Get new customers, and start growing your business!

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