The popularity of review sites is undoubtedly something that any business must take into consideration for brand reputation. One bad review posted onto your company review page can deter potential new customers and damage the identity of your company.  Gaining genuine good reviews also helps strengthen your search engine optimization. Whether you are receiving rave reviews or are trying to counteract a negative one, gaining more reviews on sites like Yelp and G+ Local is extremely beneficial for any company. Use these tips to gain more reviews and establish your company on these review sites in a positive light.

Take control of your account: If you haven’t already, you need to hop on these sites and take control of your company page. On Yelp, if no one has created a review about your business, then you will be able to easily create a company account.  If there have been reviews, the company page must be unlocked by entering your name, email etc. for you to have access.  On G+ Local you will need to make sure that your G+ Local page is connected to the G+ page you wish it to be linked with.

Be sure that correct information is listed: After gaining access, make sure the correct information about your company is listed. For example, check the hours, address, phone number and website are listed correctly. It is also best practice to add photos of your business including your logo to these pages. This will help establish your business as legitimate on these pages.

Respond to any and all reviews: Good or bad, reviews need to be responded to. If a bad review is listed, responding in a cordial manner that helps improve the situation will do more for brand reputation than not responding.  This will show other reviewers that you care about your customers and the service you provide. This will also show that you are active on these pages and will likely encourage more engagement from reviewers.

Include a Yelp/G+ link on your site and in-store: Make it easy for a customer to know you appreciate reviews. Including a Yelp or G+ button on your website will indicate to the customer that a review is appreciated and makes it much easier for them to do. At your business, having a Yelp sticker on your window or door and including Yelp and G+ on print advertising will also indicate that reviews are appreciated.

List deals on Yelp: Many potential customers search for companies exclusively through Yelp and G+ Local, especially if they are in a new area. Having specials or exclusive deals listed on these sites will often drive customers to your business. This can even motivate potential customers to look past a bad review listed.

You need SEO for your page reviews too: Just like your website, implementing keywords properly on your Yelp and Google+ Local pages can help your page reviews come up in searches. Having the reviews showing up near your website can help sway any potential customers to use your business instead of a competitor.

Implementing these tips can help motivate people to give you reviews, improve your brand reputation, customer retention and help gain new customers. The more proactive you are with page review sites, the more your customers will engage as well.