Navigating Online Review Sites
Francis Skipper Director of Search Marketing
415.542.6250
linkedin.com/in/francisskipper
@fskip
www.451Marketing.com
Wait, you’re a search marketing guy…why are you talking to us
about review sites?
Review Sites Dominate Search Results
Restaurant Website
Keyword and Linking Opportunities
Why are Review Sites
Important to Me?
Reviews on a site can
boost conversion +20%
Traffic to top review sites
grew 158% last year
7 in 10 who read reviews share them
(Compete, 2011; Harris Poll, 2010; Deloitte & Touche, 2010; Bazaarvoice, 2010)
70% now consult reviews or
ratings before purchasing
Consumers are 50% more likely to use a
local business after a positive review
(BusinessWeek, 2011)
14%
of people trust peer recommendations
Only trust advertisements (Qualmann, Socialnomics, 2010)
The Major US Review Sites
250,000 new claimants a month
>61 million unique monthly visitors
1/3 of all Yelp.com searches from mobile
Every other second, directions/call from Yelp app
(Yelp, 2011)
22 million reviews
Quantcast 2011
Not just restaurants!
Changing demographics
15 million reviewers
4 million unique monthly visitors
1.4 million unique
monthly visitors
Claim and Build Listings
Claim
Claim
google.com/places
Claim
Fill Out Completely
Use Keywords!
Be Consistent
Monitor Your Listings
Take an Active Role
Don’t forget
• Your reviewers are your paying customers
• Your reviewers are human beings with
(sometimes unpredictable) feelings
• Your reviewers are vocal and opinionated
(otherwise they would not be writing
reviews!)
Answering as a Real Person
Makes Response More Sincere
Thanks for the feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed your experience!
-John T. Manager
Responding to a Positive Review
• Take a deep breath
• Acknowledge: thank you for the business
and the feedback
• Act: If you can, be specific about the
customer's experience and any changes
you may have made as a result; this could
go very far in earning trust.
• Take the conversation offline
Responding to a Negative Review
(Yelp, 08/11)
Review Distribution
Use Feedback
to Improve Your Brand
Advertise
Remind Customers of
Your Online Presence -
Offline
Review Site Deals and Promotions
What Makes Reviewed Sites
Rise to the Top?
MARCH
28
Take-Aways • Presence on review sites is essential
• List, claim, build
• Complete profiles as much as possible
• Use your keywords
• Monitor profiles
• Be active on sites when necessary
• DON’T solicit reviews
• Think before you respond
• Use them as a tool for improvement
• Make your presence known
• Founded in 2004
• Based in Boston
• 30 Communications Professionals
• Partners Nicholas Lowe,
AJ Gerritson, and Tom Lee
• Named a 2011 & 2012
About 451 Marketing
We specialize in:
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Paid Search and Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Paid Media Management
• Traditional and Digital Public Relations
• Targeted Press Releases
• Content Creation
• Social Media Marketing
• Social Media Strategy Development/Training
• Web Design and Implementation
• Brand Development
Francis Skipper Director of Search Marketing
415.542.6250
linkedin.com/in/francisskipper
@fskip
www.451Marketing.com
Questions?
Navigating Online Review Sites
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