How Can Negative Reviews Impact Online Reputation & Organic Ranking?

It is a proven fact that building something requires incessant efforts, dedication, and commitment, but tarnishing or shattering can happen in seconds. Building trust and reputation are extensive, so they must be retained in all respects. After months of hard work and a lot of expenses, you finally launch a new product or service. It will be your ardent dream that such efforts yield results and you benefit to whatever level possible without even facing any iota of a damaging impact. Learn how negative reviews affect your reputation and your SEO. 

In the backdrop of such optimism, think twice before taking any step that might turn out to be a bad omen for your business at any point in time. How would you feel if you witnessed receiving negative comments or feedback instead of praises for your business operations for the products or services you deal in. Shouldn’t any such caveat keep you awake to gear up and face the new challenges? Do you think that negative reviews will impact your online reputation and organic ranking? Yes, they impact a lot! Having a clever approach can bring a new metamorphosis to support and help you improve your search engine rankings and online reputation.

This fact can’t be denied in the current context: in the cutthroat competitive environment today, reviews do matter. They have become part and parcel of every business, and no one can deny the irrefutable role of reviews in the multiple contexts of boosting business growth or even causing slumber and vice versa, depending on the level of impact that reviews impart.

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A research finding by SEOContentIndia reveals that 6 out of 10 new buyers look for product or service reviews before making any new purchases. If you are still thinking about whether and how do negative reviews impact a business, the above research reveals everything to let you assess certain contextual realities. Be a learned business owner and take prompt action if you realize that certain negative reviews have started impacting you to the worst.

How can negative reviews badly affect the Online Reputation of your firm?

Negative reviews turn people off and 40% of the potential buyers will not use a business if they see a negative review. Your online reputation matters a lot, so businesses should make it a priority. It is also a fact that 90% of your local consumers are likely to do research online before they make a purchase decision. Negative reviews, therefore, play a vitally malicious role. You should remain updated with all the ways and means to avoid negative reviews while striving to retain the online reputation of your business.

Adopting word-of-mouth marketing strategies can do wonders, as it easily spread like wildfire. Remember that the outcomes of such efforts in the form of either positive or negative criticism, can make or break a business. It all depends on your approach and the strategies you apply to bring people in your fold. For the long-term sustainability of your business in the online market, you must not afford to face negative reviews. It’s high time you start learning the benefits of online customer reviews for your businesses to retain and them and thus have a bigger impact. Do you think that negative reviews can affect your ranking on Google searches?

Do reviews affect SEO rankings?

Yes, reviews affect the organic ranking of your website. If your business receives positive reviews, then search engines start giving you priority. On contrary to this, search engines give less priority to your website if it has been negatively reviewed.

Reviews and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are closely linked with each other. Both have a similar objective and are somehow connected with each other. Reviews prove helpful and guide individual buyers in making a buying decision for a good product or service selection. In a similar way, a search engine would smooth your way to help the users find the right product or service. It is obvious that bad reviews are going to mar your retention rate. That is why you should remain abreast of the various means and ways on how to remove such Google reviews for the smooth operation of your business.

How Do Reviews Affect Your Company in the Long Run?

Positive reviews play a pivotal role in improving the online reputation of any organization that strives to achieve greater heights. They prove helpful for the brands to attain more credibility, thus gaining a stronger grip on the market. On the contrary, negative reviews can have a lasting impact on your customers by having a catastrophic impact. Whatever may be the case and how much are the negative reviews, responding to them with a positive vibe is a must. It is the first and foremost step to regain and re-impose faith in those who are angry with you.

Let your replies bring a ray of hope with utmost optimism to change their mind and approach. Resultantly, you will get benefitted from an engrossed impact on a new dawn in the market. Nowadays, building a trustworthy online reputation is more important than ever. So, check your online profiles regularly and respond to each review you receive—whether they are positive or negative.

Here are the ways negative reviews can play a positive role in your online reputation and search engine rankings:

1. Increases the overall number of reviews

Sometimes, the number plays a great role in a company. Whether you have negative or positive reviews, Google displays several results that reflect how many reviews each firm or brand has. The social proof of a particular business or brand gets increased with the total number of reviews done, irrespective of their positive or negative categories.

You should respond to both negative and positive reviews to increase the conversations naturally, thus a gradual increase in the number of reviews you have. The searchers on Google and other search engines comprehend that none of the businesses are perfect, thus some negative reviews are the natural course of action. So, getting both types of reviews is part and parcel of any business. When your site has several reviews, most of people are likely to read the last one; therefore, you should try to have the last review at least a positive one to reflect your image in an affirmation and convincing tone.

2. Boosts credibility

It is also a fact that if you have positive reviews only, your target customers will start suspecting your credibility. A company with positive and negative reviews in certain proportions looks genuine and original. When a website represents the presence of a variety of reviews, its prospects will stay on it for a long period of time, benefiting your business with renewed trust. It will significantly improve your search engine ranking in the long run. It is a fact that session duration and engagements are two vital factors to consider for improving your SEO strategies as well.

In order to avoid the impact of negative reviews, you should have all types of reviews, such as negative reviews, positive reviews and neutral reviews, amongst others to showcase ample variety. Keyword-optimized reviews help greatly to your web pages to attain a place on the SERPs.

3. Improve relationships with potential customers

You must understand this crucial factor: the importance of responding to reviews does matter. Apart from responding cleverly and trying to resolve the issues, you also get an opportunity to improve your products or services in line with the requirements of your customers after thoroughly evaluating the factors raised in the negative reviews. Genuine negative feedback actually helps a business or brand make the right decisions regarding its business. Apart from improving customers’ retention, they would also help businesses to get more loyal customers, provided strategic and prudent steps are taken.

If you take quick actions on the basis of genuine negative reviews, it would reflect how much you value the opinions of your clients and you are always interested in taking the necessary measures to get the potential issues resolved without causing any further delays. In order to grow your business, you not only need to retain your existing customers but also try to improve the products and services of your business at regular intervals. It is equally important to retain loyal customers and attract potential ones.

4. Get a real picture of your company

When your business fails to meet the expectations of your existing customers, they feel disappointed and therefore start writing negative feedback in anguish. They remain associated with you because they believe you will provide them with the products or services as expect. In such a situation, you start getting negative feedback and reviews that might affect your business.

If you are striving to build an online reputation and boost search engine rankings, your potential customers should spend more and more time on your website. An increased number of reviews by them will help you engage your prospects and customers alike for a newer escalation of your business.

5. Improves your SEO strategies

Whenever you think about how negative reviews impact business, you should remain aware of this fact that even negative reviews can improve your SEO. You should respond to each review that you receive. And, while responding to them, you must try incorporating your SEO-optimized keywords.

Search engines always appreciate and attract online reviews due to an SEO factor. This is how customers love using online reviews, that always have a causal relationship with SEO strategies. Traffic also improves your SEO. Increased website traffic sends Google a positive signal that people believe your brand has the solution to their problems. It is also one of the important factors to take into account.

6. Assist Search Engines to Recognize Your Brand

Reviews, whether they are good or bad, always encourage search engines to crawl your website to its related content with the “spiders” that read and interpret them, thus helping to connect consumers to a company. Keyword-rich content on your website will help your web pages attain the right place on the top of search rankings. On the other hand, you should also avoid all sorts of keyword-stuffing practices to save your website from any possible Google penalty.

7. Drive Your Content Marketing

Now that you already know the answer, how does Google rank the reviews? It is high time to further understand how negative reviews might equally prove helpful for you in your content marketing efforts. You could create a number of blog posts or articles, besides social media posts, that address every one of these issues.

When you address previous issues, you will rectify them and win the hearts of your existing customers. If you want to know how negative reviews affect your SEO ranking, then read the whole post.

8. Deliver What You Promise

Negative reviews also teach you to find out the loopholes in your products or services. They guide you further on how to rectify them without repeating any such mistakes that caused the anger of your customers so much so that they started writing negatively. Loopholes will ruin your online reputation. Don’t make any false promises. If you are pretty sure that you can’t deliver as per the expectations of your customers, then be honest and politely admit what is possible and what is not. Your honest confessions will help you re-impose faith in them.

Learning ways to transform your unhappy customers into valuable resources is also a great idea for your business.

9. Present on More Social Platforms

An adage that suits here is that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. You can build an online reputation via social media channels. Being a company, you should be present in almost all channels. Even if it is a negative review, you must reply promptly so that your reputation remains intact.

Your customers use social channels as per their preferences and tastes. Some customers are more familiar with one, so you, as a company, should be present on as many as possible. Remember, customers can leave reviews on the profile they use. And, this, you can understand the impact of negative reviews on online reputation and organic ranking.

10. allow You to Improve

Do you want to know how negative reviews can impact online reputation & organic ranking? Negative reviews give you an opportunity to improve your products and services. You should be a quick learner; otherwise, you know 90% of Indian Startups Fail.

However, by having an effective customer handling strategy, you can increase the success ratio of your organization. Consider every kind of feedback as a gift from a customer. It is a free piece of information that your firm can use to improve and grow its business. It is true that negative reviews can impact SEO if not handled properly.

Final Say: Negative Reviews Can Impact SEO

As you are well aware now, disappointing reviews can actually help you reach your business goals by increasing numbers and engaging your audiences if prudent steps are taken, Plan things strategically. Negative reviews might possibly help you show that your business is trustworthy, credible, and real, so make your action plan that way. We have elaborately discussed all points, considering how a negative online reputation hurts SEO.

Therefore, the next time when you see a negative review, don’t panic, believing as if it is a failure step. Take it as a massive opportunity to build your brand, loyalty, and credibility. You may also hire an online reputation management company to manage your online health. We also offer academic content writing, SEO content writing, etc., among others.