When you think of reputation monitoring, what do you think of? Watching Google for more reviews? While that’s a huge part of it, there’s a lot more to consider.
These days, you have a lot more than just Google to think about. There are a lot of review sites to keep an eye on that differ by industry, social media, and just a ton of places you can be mentioned on the web that you might not be thinking about.
With all of that in mind…
Follow these 5 steps to monitor your online reputation
1. Look/Watch for Mentions Across the Web
The very first thing you should do, if you haven’t yet, is sign up for Google Alerts. This is a completely free tool that Google provides for keeping an eye out for mentions of anything you want to watch across the web. It’s a great way to watch for mentions of your business or brand on the web!
Note, though, that while it watches the entire web, it doesn’t always pick up on new reviews on your review sites.
Bonus: Google Alerts Tips & Tricks
When using Google Alerts, we’d advise always using quotes around the phrase you’re keeping an eye on. Otherwise, you’re going to get a bunch of results that aren’t actually related to your business.
Also, make sure to use the “Show options” dropdown to select some parameters for what geographic area your search covers, how often you’re getting emailed, and what sources you’re monitoring. This will help keep your inbox in check.
2. Keep Your Eyes on Social Media
The first and second rules of social media are to build out your profiles and then be active there – at least on your top several channels. Building them out helps establish your NAP (name, address, phone number) consistency across the web, and increases the number of mentions of your business or brand and your website.
However, building out profiles for that reason and then leaving them unattended is one of the worst mistakes you can make for your brand. Not only does it just reflect poorly if someone visits your profile to find it not updated in months or years, but it leaves spaces for people to talk about you that you’re not watching.
So, to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you, always monitor your profiles. A few tips:
- Make sure you’ve checked any boxes you can to receive email notifications of new reviews, ratings, or posts
- Add tasks to your to-do list to log in and check on your profiles. Do this daily for your most active profiles, or weekly for the ones you use less (as long as you have notifications set up if something were to pop up).
- Make it a point to post an update at least occasionally. Don’t be absent.
3. Check Your Top Review Sites Daily
Think critically about what your top review sites are. These differ greatly by industry! Google and Facebook are the across-the-board standards, but that’s where it ends. A local business should be concerned about Yelp, a home services company should think about Houzz and Angie’s List, and a medical clinic should be checking ZocDoc and Healthgrades.
First of all, visit each site’s settings and make sure you’re set up to receive notifications if a new review comes in, right away. You can even set up a label or folder in your inbox specifically for these notifications. Devote time daily to checking on your reputation.
Bonus tip: Make sure you’re on the same review sites as your competitors. Search “[competitor name] reviews” to check out where they’re listed.
4. Look for Negative Mentions
These days, there are quite a few specific sites around the web where people can go just to complain about a negative experience with a company or brand. It’s very important that you check these sites for any about you!
One way to look for these negative reviews is to use Go Fish Digital’s tool, Complaint Search. It searches the top complaint websites for mentions of your business or brand.
Otherwise, try Google searching “[your business name] reviews” to see if any complaints come up. You’re looking for sites like Ripoff Report, ConsumerAffairs, My3Cents, ComplaintsBoard, and more.
If you do find negative mentions, make sure to respond to them ASAP.
5. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
The internet never sleeps! You need to be vigilant with your online reputation management. Build a habit out of checking your reputation – it’s too important to miss out on. Having a negative online reputation can greatly affect your bottom line!
In Conclusion
Monitoring your online reputation is one of the best things you can do for your business online. Consistency is key! Here are our 5 steps to successfully monitor your online reputation.
- Look/Watch for Mentions Across the Web
- Keep Your Eyes on Social Media
- Check Your Top Review Sites Daily
- Look for Negative Mentions
- Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
Bonus: Want help with online reputation monitoring? Here’s a helpful list of reputation monitoring tools!
