If like many firms, your business operates both online and offline you will have a locality that needs just as much of your attention as your website does. When it comes to your SEO, your site needs to cover local keywords and incorporate a few off-page strategies to take best advantage of local search. Having a plan for negative reviews should be a part of your overarching strategy.

There are SEO strategies that take local business into account. In fact, smart businesses keep an eye on local search while they plot out their main search engine optimisation. This is helpful for businesses for which local search is just as important as general search.

Local search is growing in strength over time. There once was a time when any search would turn out the best results across the globe. The search engines swiftly realised that someone in the UK will be more satisfied with UK-focussed results, and altered their strategy. In the last few years, the search engines have been narrowing down results according to a user’s locality, and in today’s search many keywords will turn up a local listing before more general results. This is important for any business to keep in mind, as these subtle changes can see a healthy ranking being overtaken by more localised results.

For businesses with a local focus, the approach to local search needs to have two angles. The first is, of course, to land highest in the local rankings for your main keywords. This can be achieved with the same methods as your regular on-page SEO techniques. The second is in nurturing and maintaining the reviews featured across the net, particularly in Google’s Local Search review section.

Unlike most traditional forms of review, the local reviews around today are mostly anonymous and you will have no idea that a review is on the way. The positive side is that these reviews tend to be trusted by the average user and they will augment your off-page SEO work. Furthermore, your business will sometimes have a chance to reply, which comes in handy for negative reviews.

Negative reviews are a sad fact for every business. In the SEO community they are seen as a positive thing, despite the fact that they can put users off. Of course, a negative review has to be countered, either with a balancing positive review or with a reply. Where replies are possible, they should be taken advantage of. Your answer should be polite and understanding; it should address the complaint and should invite the reviewer to contact you.

Positive reviews are a boon for a business, but no business can afford to wait for them. You can encourage your users to review with incentives or hold a promotion to get positive reviews started. Your SEO consultant should have their own strategies for fostering positive reviews, and you can talk to our experts at SEO Consult for more ideas. With a little help, planning and luck, reviews will stream in.

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