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93% of consumers read reviews before choosing a local business. A strong review profile generates more leads than any ad campaign. We help you build, protect and manage your online reputation.
Review Generation Systems | 24-Hour Response Times | Multi-Platform Monitoring
of consumers read online reviews before choosing a local business
BrightLocal 2024
is the minimum star rating consumers will consider
BrightLocal 2024
of consumers only pay attention to reviews from the last month
BrightLocal 2024
of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations
BrightLocal 2024
More reviews signal to Google that your business is active and popular. A business with 150 reviews will typically outrank a competitor with 15 reviews, all else being equal.
Google pays attention to how frequently you receive new reviews. A steady stream of 3-4 reviews per month looks more natural than getting 50 reviews in one week then nothing for 6 months.
Reviews across multiple platforms (Google, Facebook, Yelp, industry-specific sites) signal broader credibility. Google cross-references review data from multiple sources.
Responding to reviews (both positive and negative) shows Google that you're an engaged business owner. Google has confirmed that review responses are a ranking factor.
Reviews that mention specific services, locations and experiences provide keyword signals to Google. A review saying 'great roof repair in Mankato' helps you rank for that exact search.
Your average star rating affects click-through rates from search results. Businesses below 4.0 stars see significantly fewer clicks even if they rank well.
Negative reviews happen to every business. How you respond matters more than the review itself.
Ignoring it, getting defensive or arguing publicly.
Acknowledge the issue, apologize sincerely, explain what you're doing to fix it and offer to make it right offline. 'We're sorry about your experience. This isn't the standard we hold ourselves to. Please call us at (507) 555-0123 so we can make this right.'
Future customers are watching how you handle complaints. A professional response to a negative review can actually improve your reputation more than the negative review hurts it.
Accusing the reviewer of being fake in your response.
Respond professionally: 'We don't have any record of this transaction. Please contact us directly so we can look into this.' Then flag the review for removal through the platform's reporting process.
Google and other platforms do remove fake reviews, but it takes time. Your professional response protects your reputation while the removal process plays out.
Explaining in detail why the customer is wrong.
Acknowledge their frustration without admitting fault: 'We understand this wasn't the experience you expected. We'd like to discuss this further. Please reach out to us directly.' Keep the details offline.
Public arguments never look good regardless of who’s right. Take the conversation private where you can address the specifics without an audience.
Google reviews directly impact your local search rankings and appear in search results. This is your #1 priority.
Aim for 5+ new reviews per month
Facebook reviews (now called Recommendations) influence social proof and appear when people search for your business on Facebook.
Aim for 2-3 new reviews per month
Critical for restaurants, home services and healthcare. Less important for B2B. Yelp has strict review policies and filters aggressively.
Don’t actively solicit Yelp reviews (they filter them). Focus on providing great service.
BBB accreditation and reviews matter for older demographics and high-value services (contractors, financial services, legal).
Maintain A+ rating and respond to all complaints
Houzz for home services, Healthgrades for healthcare, Avvo for lawyers, TripAdvisor for hospitality. These sites rank well for industry searches
Focus on 1-2 relevant industry platforms
We can’t remove legitimate negative reviews and neither can anyone else (be wary of companies that promise this). We can flag reviews that violate platform policies (fake reviews, reviews from non-customers, reviews with inappropriate content) for removal. Google removes about 50-60% of flagged reviews that genuinely violate their policies. The best defense against negative reviews is a high volume of positive ones.
Pricing depends on the scope of work and number of platforms involved. Contact us for a quote based on your specific needs.
Yes, it’s completely legal and encouraged to ask customers for reviews. What you can’t do is offer incentives for positive reviews specifically (like discounts for 5-star reviews), write fake reviews or selectively gate reviews (only sending happy customers to review sites). You can ask all customers for honest feedback.
Three things: ask at the right time (immediately after a positive interaction), make it easy (send a direct link, not ‘go to Google and search for us’) and follow up once (a text or email reminder 24-48 hours later). Most businesses don’t get reviews because they simply don’t ask. We set up automated systems to handle all of this.
Yes, always. Responding to positive reviews shows appreciation, encourages future reviews from other customers and provides additional keyword-rich content for Google. Keep responses genuine and specific. ‘Thanks for the kind words about your kitchen remodel, Sarah! We loved working on that project.’ is better than ‘Thanks for the review!’
The fastest way to improve your rating is to increase the volume of new positive reviews. If you have a 3.5 rating with 20 reviews, getting 30 new 5-star reviews would bring you to about 4.3. We create a review generation campaign to accelerate this while you focus on delivering great service. Most businesses can significantly improve their rating within 3-6 months.
Indirectly, yes. Google’s algorithm considers your overall online reputation, not just Google reviews. Having positive reviews across multiple platforms signals broader credibility. Additionally, sites like Yelp and BBB rank well on Google, so positive reviews there can occupy more of the first page when someone searches your business name.
We manage online reputations for businesses in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Mankato, Rochester and throughout Minnesota.
Don’t see your city? We serve all of Minnesota.View all areas or contact us.
We offer a full suite of web design and digital marketing services to help your business grow online.
We’ll review your current online reputation across all major platforms and give you a clear picture of where you stand and what needs improvement.
612-558-1020
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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