Some of our clients are considered "essential" and able to operate mostly as normal (within CDC guidelines) still others can operate remotely and carry on business as usual for the most part. But nonetheless, all of us are worried about the state of our businesses amid government shutdowns. Customers are likely upset too, and some people are even blaming businesses for adhering to social distancing regulations instead of operating as usual. Worrying about customers leaving negative reviews, especially after how hard we've worked to boost your search return rankings, can make anyone nervous.
I get it, frustrations are high for everyone. Concentrating on how to give the same caliber of service you're used to despite the effect of closures, reduced hours, and strategizing to adapt during this time should be at the forefront of your mind – not the impact of negative reviews.
Consequently, I'm pretty excited to see that major review sites Google and Yelp have taken your concerns (and those of businesses like you) to heart. They understand that people may be leaving over-emotional reviews during the pandemic, and have taken steps to protect small businesses from unfair reviews, or reviews made due to circumstances out of the business owner's control. Here's what we've learned so far:
At Yelp, there is a zero-tolerance policy for reviews that complain about reduced business hours, closures, and service adjustments, as well as zero tolerance for reviews that claim a reviewer contracted Covid-19 from a business. Furthermore, each review is analyzed by an actual human for authenticity and honesty.
On Google's part, they are publishing no new reviews at this time as well as review responses from business owners. Reviews impact your SEO, so Google is protecting small businesses from having their hard-earned high rankings tank due to the pandemic.
Generate Positive Word-Of-Mouth About Your Firm
The best way to continue the forward momentum of your reputation is to engage and listen to your customers. First, although Google and Yelp are either suspending publishing or critically analyzing new reviews doesn't mean that customers can't write them. That's right – customers may still write reviews, they just aren't being published at this time. We aren't sure whether the reviews written during the height of the pandemic will even be published, but we're still monitoring.
Second, just because customers can't publish reviews on these two sites doesn't mean that they can't take to their own – or your own – social media to talk about their experiences with your business. Take the time to talk to customers who reach out to you and work toward accommodation and reach out for potential issues and concerns before you notice that you've been tagged on social media.
For those of you who are relatively new to the program, and have not used our ratings and reviews tools before, pretty please check it out, there is no extra charge for our service and you'll start benefiting right away.
Now is a great time to increase positive word-of-mouth outside of a formal review platform. Take Facebook, for example. Positive mentions about the customer service that your business provides and the efforts you make to take care of clients despite restrictions, supply interruptions, and social distancing can give you positive support even without newly published reviews. Listen to your customers, interact with them throughout all your social media platforms and emails, and take into consideration their feedback to help you tweak your service and local SEO marketing efforts.
Start Utilizing Product Posts In Your GMB
Another new feature I just noticed and have begun to implement is the Product Posts in Google My Business. Looks like this:
These posts are displayed prominently and visibly on desktop, mobile, and in the Google Maps app. We don't yet know if Google will keep Product Posts around for lawyers or for how long, so we definitely recommend that you take advantage right away! If you have more questions send us an email here.
Keep A Close Eye On Your GMB Listing
And another little nuance is that Google has started to place a little marker on the business profile portion of the search stating that "Hours or services may differ due to COVID-19." Businesses don't request it, it's automatic. If you're seeing this on your profile, please send us an email, so that we can get this removed for you ASAP. Here is what that warning looks like:
Keep Your Content Relevant & Current
In addition, you ought to consider writing a blog. I know I mentioned it last month but here are a couple more ideas for you. Not sure what you're hearing, but rumor over here is that a wave of divorce filings is expected to break after the COVID 19 quarantine is lifted. Also, due to the lockdown, domestic violence is on the rise. Why not write a blog about what has changed as a result of COVID-19 as it relates to divorce. e.g. remote prove-up hearings during COVID-19, or how with Zoom you can continue to move forward with your divorce despite coronavirus. Still another idea is to write about all of the day to day adjustments that you have had to make to continue operations despite social distancing. For example, a lot of people are flocking to update wills, power of attorney, and the like right now... so perhaps to comply with social distancing rules your office is now equipped width digital signature technology to help expedite the paperwork. That's a nice consideration for clients!
Power of attorney and divorce searches are going through the roof right now. Here are three spreadsheets with hundreds of the terms people are searching for about divorce and the like:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yBwzrt3xFVstffoZkhzP5tALt9BY9MUZ2zWCilG8EK0/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H-otLxxlqfLOIOVvvxS03-vPdtXlIFocrnQb0n2HzKk/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BMgar-sW8c_uoam4ULDxhCiPVvo3oTlMB2KEB5soUXw/edit?usp=sharing
Write a blog answering real questions. Look at this current situation not as a hindrance but as an opportunity to exceed client expectations.
Program welcome. We'd like to recognize a couple of our client-partners and their success with our reputation management and SEO program. The first is long-term partner A To B Property Management in San Jose. They've been working with us for a long time to attract both tenants and property owners, matching the best tenants with the perfect lease property. We've helped them climb in the rankings in a very competitive market, including helping them gather reviews from happy clients. Their success shows as they've developed a stellar reputation in the market.
Our other spotlight this month is on La Jolla Swimming Pool Service and cleaning. They've recently begun working with us again and we couldn't be happier to partner with the company once more. With our reputation management services, they've had a huge increase in their visibility for keywords like "pool cleaning San Diego" and "San Diego pool service" across the three largest search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Congratulations La Jolla Swimming Pool Service on your increased rankings!
And finally, congrats to Karen for the almost finished rebuild at https://imustaffing.com/. Karen has a wealth of experience in the medical staffing industry in the San Jose and San Francisco area.
