I’m sure you have heard the expression, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Accidents can and will happen. Plan to have several baskets so when one breaks, you have several others from which you can still count on to get the job done. Of course, in this case, we are using this metaphor to stress the importance of spreading your customer reviews over many places, and not just on Google.
Sometimes the Google “tunnel vision” is hard to escape. Google is so big, so powerful, and so important. Sometimes it seems that Google is the only thing in our line of vision. When it comes to reviews, of course we want to be directing customers to our Google+ Local listings to leave us a comment. However, if we limit our review strategy to Google+ Local alone, we are missing out on a lot of opportunity. Let’s face it; Google has been very disappointing over the last few months in the review department. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check this article out.
There are many business directories that you can direct your customers to so they can leave reviews for your business. Some of the key business directories will even distribute your reviews to tons of different sites including Google, Yahoo, and Bing (and many others). Two of these key directories are City Search and Insider Pages. Getting reviews on these two is really easy because you don’t have to create an account or anything, you just need a Facebook account (which almost everyone has these days).
Some advantages to having reviews spread over many business directories:
- Google views them as signals of trust, which can lead to better rankings
- Helps to avoid having “waves” of reviews added directly to your Google+ Local listing (which has been identified as an indicator of spam)
- It reduces agitation for the client as they are likely to have an account somewhere (don’t have to create a G+ account)
- It offers your client a choice
See below for two sample e-mails that you can send to your clients that have clear instructions on how they can leave you a review on Insider Pages and City Search.
City Search
Hey ____,
I’m trying to improve my online presence and was wondering if you would mind taking 2 minutes to leave me a review on CitySearch using your Facebook account? Here’s what you’d need to do:
- Go to (INSERT CITYSEARCH URL HERE)
- Click on the “Write a Tip” in the middle of the page.
- This will prompt you to sign in using Facebook.
- Press “allow” if it asks you for access.
- It might ask you for your zip code, just fill that in.
- It will bring you back to the City Search page. Click on “Write a Tip”.
- Type in your review and hit save.
Insider Pages
Hey ____,
I’m trying to improve my online presence and was wondering if you would mind taking 2 minutes to leave me a review on Insider Pages using your Facebook account? Here’s what you’d need to do:
- Go to (INSERT INSIDER PAGES URL HERE)
- Click on the “Write a Review” at the top of the page.
- Click the Facebook login button at the top left of the screen.
- It will bring you back to the Insider Pages site and ask you to enter your e-mail to complete the account set-up.
- Go to (INSERT INSIDER PAGES URL HERE)
- Click on “Write a Review”
- Choose a star rating, type in your review, and hit submit.