Business Website Advice

Every business owner wants customers to leave glowing online reviews with the highest ranking possible.  What could be wrong with that?  It’s common knowledge that online buyers and travellers move from looker status to buyer/booker status from the nudge of positive reviews.  We want as many as we can get, right? Yes, but… 

Here’s a short case study for all business owners about being proactive and aware of your ranking status with your sector’s major online marketing directories.

Thanks to my readers, Geoff and Chris from 88 Lodge Bed and Breakfast in the beautiful Bay of Islands, New Zealand we learn from their experience with Trip Advisor. Trip Advisor is known in the tourism industry as amongst the handful of top sites travelers use for insights from other travelers.  I used online advice sites myself extensively on our 11 weeks US Road trip.   After being burned by the over hyped content on one accommodation website I found it extremely helpful to read other traveler’s advice and ratings.

Geoff and Chris from 88 Lodge agreed for me to share their story to help others understand being at the top of the tree can be shakey.  [I’ll comment in brackets.]

Geoff wrote:  “We have been ranking 1st or 2nd for B & B in Kerikeri on Trip Advisor for some time now and all of our reviews have been ‘excellent’. Just recently we suddenly slipped to 5th and those who moved above us did not warrant doing so in terms of number of reviews or quality of reviews. We have therefore entered into conversation with Trip Advisor.” [Go guys…don’t sit back and take it, jump in, ask the directory why! There really are humans in there who answer, expecially in the major directories.]

(Here’s the crux of the biscuit).  “It appears they punished us because they could not believe we could have all our reviews as excellent. [Humans are leery of something looking too good to be true…perfection is suspect. In this case I disagree with myself (ha!) see lesson 4 below.] We also had several news ones all posted at the same time. [same time multiple ratings or inbound links raises red flags because often paid for from link/comment farms and not authentic.]  And finally one of the new reviews came from our computer.” [Major red flag when from owners IP address, rather email your customers the rating page link so it will generate from their internet connection IP address.] 

“One of our guests booked through a travel agent and it was the Trip Advisor reviews that swing it.  She does not have her own computer at home so asked if she could do one before leaving. “[Understandable but you are all warned now, rather forego the rating than raise red flags from your own IP address].

“Without any recourse or enquiry of us Trip Advisor acted as judge and jury and de-graded us.  We believe we have managed to convince them we are innocent in all of this but have not yet seen any evidence they have re-instated us and attached the new reviews that they felt were suspicious.  It’s all rather Big Brotherish !!” [ Yep, unfortunately wrongly punished for looking a bit like trickster cowboys who work the system to their advantage.  I’m confident your ranking will will right.]

Lessons for us concerning online reviews.  Thanks so much 88 Lodge for sharing your experience.

1. Avoid reviews being sent from your business internet IP address.  Rather, email your happy online customers the link to where they write their review.  Don’t miss an opportunity to get a positive review on your directory listing. Reviews go a long way to improving your ranking within the directory.  I plan to write about this in detail.  When customers are thanking you for your service, ask them if they’d help you out with your online work by putting their comments into a review. Tell them you can send them a link to where they can write their review.  For an example, here is a link to my business (Marketing Online) listing on Finda. Readers can write a review at the bottom of the page. Hint Hint.  Make it easy for happy customers to write reviews in their free time.  Lesson here - it will be too hard for them to get around to unless you send them the link to where they actually write it. Appearing in their Inbox will be a soft reminder. DO NOT send them the link unsoliticted unless you want your name used in vain. Shall I repeat my mantra - be easy to deal with in all aspects of customer service and online marketing.
2. Avoid same time ratings. In the case of Trip Advisor, even ratings done on the same day became a problem for 88 Lodge B & B.  As business owners we often get a chunk of time to work on our businesses. Message here is to avoid going through all your positive testimonials at the same time, sending out links to your review page so customers are likely to open and do all on same day.  You are best judge of how to handle this.  I say, do it as they come in, drip feed the reviews.
3. Avoid having ratings or reviews coming from our own internet IP address.  Don’t offer your computer to help people out who want to say good things about you.  Tell them you’ll send them a link.
4.  Avoid all positive 1o out of 10 ratings…. no way!  Get all the 10s you can get. Go for excellence, look perfect. Don’t hold back. The authentic words people use as they write will show you are for real. Their comments will show enthusiasm and joy at finding someone who deserves an ‘excellent’. Readers will believe them.  Don’t stress over less than perfect reviews. Comments from people traveling with kids didn’t pertain to my party of 2 so I didn’t care that the cafe didn’t have kiddie seats. You know what I mean.  The reader will sort it.  Directory managers have a profile with more than one measurement, 88 Lodge unknowingly came too close to cowboyville status of breaking all the above.  Now they know better.
5. Last biggest lesson - monitor your own ranking.  Applause is due Geoff and Chris, owners of 88 Lodge, for knowing where they rank, whats being said about them.  They jumped to it when they all of a sudden slipped.  We all should be so sharp.  Well done and thanks for sharing your top of the tree story.

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