Alan Rabinowitz

6 Online Review Tips That Will Help You Rank Higher & Get More Sales
October 7, 2020 by Alan Rabinowitz
The following online review tips we share with you below will help your website convert more traffic into sales.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Now with studies showing that 82% of customers read online reviews for local businesses, it’s always shocking when we come across business owners who operate without an online reviews strategy.

And it’s true: Online reviews can make or break your business; they can determine whether new customers either buy from you or buy from your competitors.

If you don’t know where to start, keep reading. Below we share a few helpful insights and online reviews tips that’ll help your business improve its overall online image while boosting conversion rates.

Why Are Google Reviews Important?

The majority of your customers are social creatures who need validation from their peer group and the general public.

When they don’t know what to buy, they go online and look for social proof from an online community.

Online reviews are essential for many reasons:

Search Engines Love Online Reviews

It’s simple: The more customer reviews your business publishes; the more search engines love you.

Search engines want to show users what is most relevant to them.

If your company is receiving a lot of online reviews online, that tells search engines that your business is attracting customer feedback; meaning customers have put trust in your brand.

But this doesn’t mean that your domain will earn the top spot. Your overall reviews rating will determine whether or not you’re viewed as a trusted source online.

Online Reviews Serves Fresh Content

One of Google’s many algorithms is fresh content. It often ranks websites by how relevant and up-to-date they are.

Google reviews also show that your business is still in business and is, therefore, fresh and up-to-date.

Alongside encouraging people to review your business, you can also keep producing regular blog content on your website.

Online Reviews Gets You On The Local Pack

The Google Local Pack is the map section of the Google search results which is usually above the organic results.

Google will generally show the top 3 local businesses for each query; featuring contact information and their 1-5-star ratings. Generally, the sorting of listings starts at 4.0 and higher.

For example, if you searched for an SEO agency in NYC, the top 3 SEO agencies with Google My Business accounts nearest to you will appear in the local pack first.

Online Reviews Make You Trustworthy

Because people now have more options than ever before, they tend to do their homework before giving their business to a specific company.

When you have online reviews from real customers, it shows prospective purchasers that your business is legitimate, has been validated by previous customers, and is trusted.

Online Review Tips
1. Sign Up For A Google My Business Account
The first thing you want to do to increase your business reviews is to first make sure you can receive online reviews in the first place.

For Google Reviews to be possible, your business needs to create a Google My Business account.

The process is simple. Google even provides a guide to make sure any business owner – tech-savvy or not – can manage it.

Once your business account is verified, any customer that is looking for your business will find all the information they need. Like the following:
- What you offer
- Service options
- The address
- Opening hours
- Menu
- Website
- Phone number
- Reviews
It’s also worth noting that the number of online reviews and your current star rating is shown directly under your business name in the search results, which gives users an immediate first impression. A user will most likely click on a 5-star company over a 2-star company.
1. Encourage Customer Reviews
Most customers are aware of online reviews and that they can review businesses online; be it through Google, or another platform like Yelp.

But most of the time, customers are not incentivized to write an online review or prompted to do so. Don’t feel ashamed to remind people that the option is there.

It’s important not to make people feel pressured into leaving a review, but, planting the idea can be all that it takes.

As they leave your store, or after they make an online purchase, you can say something as simple as, “thank you for your purchase, and if you’re happy with it, feel free to leave a Google Review.” See? Not complicated, not pushy, but can ultimately lead to more reviews and a higher ranking.

3. Don’t Be Discouraged By Negative Reviews

The reality is, many people are going to look up your business with the sole intention of leaving an online review if they are not happy with their experience.

That’s the nature of the beast. However, your aim should be to make sure the number of positive reviews is higher than the number of negative ones.

Don’t be discouraged by disgruntled customers.

Instead, use them as a learning opportunity to improve your products and services so you can prevent their issue from being one in the future.

You can also reply to negative reviews as well, share your side of the story and give readers context.

4. Don’t Be Fooled By All Positive Reviews

If you’ve been looking at your competition, frustrated at how they managed to achieve a perfect star rating across hundreds of reviews, then don’t be concerned.

According to research, a perfect score can actually decrease the trust of a business.

It sounds strange, but with the prevalence of fake reviews, having an average score of between 4.5 to 4.7 can make your business seem more trustworthy than one that achieves a perfect 5-star rating.

5. Reply To Google Reviews

A Harvard Business Review study found that if business owners respond to a customer review (be it a positive or negative one), they can see a rating increase.

Remember, you can learn a lot from all reviews that customers leave, so engaging with them on a public platform can have more of a positive impact than you might think.

Be transparent about any mistakes you may have made, and, thank them for taking the time to leave the review.

Ask questions if the information is unclear, and offer a solution to their problem. You can even humanize the response by putting your name at the bottom of it.

Responding promptly is also quite important, for it shows your customer that you respect the decision they made to come forward and value what they have said.

6. Advertise That You Have A Reviewing Platform

If you’re struggling to drum up reviews for your Google My Business account, try positioning or marketing to your audience that your business has a reviews page.

You don’t have to take out a full-page ad in the newspaper, but small, discrete links in emails and on your website can often be enough.

Remember, you’re not trying to drum up a positive review, but a review in general. By providing a link for people to click, you’re making it easy for customers to leave an online review, which will help you improve your overall online imageimprove your overall online image.
We’re Hiring – Remote SEO Sales – Stay Safe and Earn!
by Alan Rabinowitz

Stay Safe and Earn!

We’re actively seeking a remote salesperson who has what it takes to work with small, mid, and enterprise-level businesses. Selling of SEO and Reputation Management services for one of the nationwide leaders in both services. With 18+ years of experience. Our background sells itself.

You will be responsible for generating leads as well as working on existing leads with the sales team.

Details can be found here:
https://seoimage.com/careers/seo-sales/
SEO Image on Instagram
by Alan Rabinowitz
SEO Image is now on Instagram at /seoimage.

Many thanks to the imageseo.io team for helping us with the account. imageseo.io is a WordPress image plugin (not affiliated with SEO Image) that optimizes elements of images for image search and worth a look if you use WordPress. Check out their Image SEO Guide as well. It’s worth the read and has some great info for helping you optimize your website images.

SEO Image is not about optimizing images, although that is a ranking factor we optimize for with all our clients. We’re referring to our Brand. The SEO Image brand and motto is: Defining Your Corporate Image on the Web™. So we are using it differently.

We have always been about branding through SEO and Online Reputation Management (ORM) hence the SEO of your business Image. Image Optimization is an important ranking factor and can be a great traffic driver when images are triggered in the search results. Also, Image search is a great traffic driver as well and for some businesses, it represents a great way to bring in relevant traffic…

Why Optimize Your Images?

There are numerous reasons why image optimization is important for any SEO strategy including:
- Driving In traffic from image results
- Helps your website scoring as a whole
- Images can trigger for some searches and become clickthroughs and traffic
- Elements of an image like “ALT text” impact overall rankings of pages
- Image names correlate to site relevancy ranking factors
So as part of any SEO campaign we typically optimize image alt tags and naming conventions to help overall SEO scoring.

What Are Image SEO Ranking Factors?

There are a few things you can do for images to help your image SEO:
- Image SIze – Speed is important you need to scale your images for fast loading sites. In a day and age where speed is becoming (not yet) a significant ranking factor, we need to think ahead and make cleaner faster, more user-friendly sites. Google recommends using Imagemin to compress images. However, this requires developer expertise to use so it will not be utilized by a majority of the web until better supported. So WordPress plugins like Smush, ShortPixel, and Hummingbird will suffice.
- Image Alt Text & Image Title – This is the invisible element designed for the visually impaired that Search Engines use for content. It also allows you to place the content of the image in the alt or “alternate text”. The title tag title=”Similar to Alt”… does the same thing but is a tool top and a long mouseover on an image will make the tooltip visible. Personally, I do not like the title tag usage in images. it is not necessary (unless the alt text is missing and you want to validate it) and not recommended by the W3C.
- Captions or Content Around the image – Search Engines will use surrounding content as indicators of what the image may be about.
- Image Name – simple enough? Name it appropriately and build trust by avoiding excessive use of keywords in the image name. Do not stuff it with keywords.
- Link to Images – What!? That’s correct, multiple sites referencing an image can help it rank, links work for images too! Don’t go nuts. As it can be considered hotlinking if you reference it from another site, a direct link is different. Google does have rendering engines, however, the amount they can read in images is debatable. Good images such as infographics can get shares and links that help search engines see more value in them. Despite the lack of tools to determine social image links, ranking factors like this are helpful.
- Format – For speed, formating can be important, and modern image formats that have little support from most image/photo/design applications are recommended for use by search engines in their speed scoring reports. Pagespeed Insights used to suggest using a format like .svg or .webp. It currently appears removed from the reporting. Modern formatting allows for Image Metadata which can also help images.
- Schema – Schema helps search engines understand advanced layouts and since there is in fact schema for images, where appropriate, you can utilize it in BlogPosting and Article types. It is a property. Be sure you match your image SEO, so Alt Text and Object should be the same. Since Schema is not designed for Images, images are used in conjunction with other parameters, this is reserved to featured images, post images, social media images, etc. where the image is part of a specific schema, if you match your alt tags, your strengthen your SEO for keywords added. For example: <img src=”…./images/bestphotoever.jpg” alt=”Best Photo Ever”…
  "@type": "ImageObject",
  
  "url": "https://example.com/images/bestphotoever.jpg",
  
  "name": "Best Photo Ever",
  
  "description": "This is my Best Photo Ever"
- Use an Image Sitemap – Let Search Engines know where all your images are. Sites maps ease the load on search engine spiders. This is NOT a ranking factor, sitemaps are used to help search engines and assure proper indexing of your website so we suggest you consider using them.
According to 2017 Data from Jumpshot & Moz,2017 Data from Jumpshot & Moz, Google images represent close to 30% of online searches. So this is not an area to be missed. Optimize your images and the content that surrounds them. If you need help, hire a professional SEO Company like SEO Image!
SEO Image’s Alan Rabinowitz Noted as a Top New York Influencer by Metropolitan Magazine
by Alan Rabinowitz

SEO Image’s CEO, Alan Rabinowitz is noted as one of the Most Influential New Yorkers by Metropolitan Magazine, In their 2019 Influencers Issue.

Metropolitan Magazine is one of NY’s most respected luxury magazines which constantly features lifestyles of the rich and famous and hot spots and hot stars. SEO Image’s Alan Rabinowitz has been a marketing guru since the late ’90s. As a seasoned veteran of the SEO and Reputation Management services industry, Alan has helped numerous businesses and individuals gain exposure online and clean their reputations.

Having an extensive art and design background, Alan helps them his clients understand what visitors see and how their eyes travel across websites. He utilizes this know-how, to help client websites capture more leads and sales by designing with conversion strategies in mind so that the full impact of the SEO services can be seen with constant form fills, phone calls and sales.

Imagine having a website that has super-high conversion rates and lots of related traffic!

Call 888-736-2667 today to get Alan and his teams, cutting-edge SEO services to help your business achieve success online. Let us use this Influencer know-how, to help your business grow.
How To SEO For Voice Search, Local & Near Me SEO Strategies
by Alan Rabinowitz

With the rise of voice technologies like Apple’s Siri, Google’s Ok Google, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana, marketers today are only beginning to uncover the most effective voice search optimization strategies in marketing.

The voice search revolution is around the corner and voice command is on the rise.

According to Hitwise, nearly 60 percent of all search engine searches on mobile devices are made with voice.

What’s more interesting is how we see voice search evolving passed our laptops, smartphones, and tablets; oozing into our speakers, TVs, watches, cars and even in our homes to just to name a few connected things.

The good news?

Voice search optimization is in its early stages, and early adopting search marketers have the opportunity to beat competitors to the punch.

In this SEO voice search article you will learn:
● Why voice search matters to marketers
● How users use voice search
● Voice search strategies that optimize for digital assistants

Why Voice Search Matters To Marketers?

Hummingbird
In 2013 Google released the algorithm update, Hummingbird. It splashed waves in the SEO community and marketers were forced to adjust their SEO strategies. Before, search was all about keyword strings and backlinks from other sites.

Now with Hummingbird, Google went from “strings to things”; considering each keyword in each query, user intent and the overall relationships behind keywords; forcing webmasters to feed search spiders content in a more human manner.

Instead of keyword stuffing, webmasters now must identify important keywords and also make connections to user pain points (points where conversions drop); increasing the chances that users will find a more semantically correct search result.

RankBrain
In 2015, Google introduced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, RankBrain. Which helps Google come up with accurate search results for queries that it technically does not know. It does this by depositing large amounts of written language into mathematical entities called vectors for computers to understand.

Why is RankBrain important to search marketers?

With all the different variations a query can be phrased, combined with all the meaning variations behind each word, whether it be typed in keyboard or with voice search, RankBrain AI uses mathematical guesses to connect unique keyphrases to related keywords. And because it’s AI, it gets better with time.

With 15 percent of queries being 100 percent unique to Google every day, RankBrain not only provides users with the next best possible options but also inspires search marketers to create more content that can rank for the other 15 unique variations Google has never seen before.

Google also goes on record stating that RankBrain is the third most important ranking signal in their algorithm – that’s huge!

Search Market Pie

Google dominates the search market, owning 74.5% of the search market pie. Search marketers have no other option but to cater to Google’s algorithm. Other notable search engines like Bing, Yahoo!, Baidu, and others together all hold only between 5% – 10% of the search market pie.

To win the search war, marketers have to play on Google turf.

Voice Technology Revolution

Today it’s trendy to use voice commands. Voice search is already a popular gesture with users, and its growth rate is expected to increase as voice technology matures.

At the moment, voice search market stats show:

● 50% of US households use voice search for online content;
● 62% of adults between 25 – 34 use voice search for online content;
● 75% of adults between 18 – 24 use voice search for online content.

Also, with the internet of things coming around the corner, it’s expected that by 2022 the average US household will have at least one voice activated device. In total that’s about 70-million devices. Marketers need to pay serious attention to voice search and learn how to leverage voice search strategies to their advantage.

So How Do Users Use Voice Search?

There’s a difference between voice search queries and keyboard queries.
Contrary to queries made on keyboards, voice search queries tend to be longer and are classified as being “more human.”

For example, a typed query for a vegan restaurant may look like this: “best vegan restaurant.”
On the other hand, voice queries are more likely to be more human and look like this: “where’s the best vegan restaurant near me?”

It’s also worth noting that since voice search hit the scene, question phrase queries have spiked 61 percent yearly.

Sitting at the top of the question phrase movement are “who” questions.
“Who” phrases skyrocketed up 134 percent and “How” phrases up 81 percent.

Voice Queries Tend To Look For Local Content

Search phrase “near me” has grown more than 130% year after year.

Users want digital assistants to know the best possible answer to their query nearest them. Whether it be “best cafes near me” or “best dentists near me” mobile users on the go want to know local content, whether it be in Manhattan or Los Angeles. Keep in mind that desktop searches and non-voice searches tend to type the region vs. using “near me” which is usually added to Google suggest as well as the region. Mobile users tend to say “near me” as noted by Google. 88% of “near me” searches are mobile and a growing trend on mobile as well. So optimize accordingly.

Voice Search Strategies And How To Optimize For Digital Assistants

Create Content That Answers Questions

With voice search queries being more conversational and stacked with question phrases, you’ll want to tailor your content so that your website answers questions in a more human way.

So how do you answer questions in a more human way?

Well, a good place to start is to listen and note how your customers ask for products and services in your store. If you’re doing keyword research for answer optimization, use tools like Question Samurai, StoryBase, and Answer the Public. From here you can tailor your content for voice search queries and create original pieces like a FAQs page, blog posts, free eBooks, infographics and even videos.

It’s nothing complicated, just write like a human.

Search Engines Love Mobile-Friendly Websites

With Google’s Mobilegeddon algorithm pushing the mobile search revolution into 2015, it’s never been more important for brands today to deliver mobile-friendly experiences. Sites that do not perform well on mobile tests like speed and responsive design will rank lower in 2018.

You can use Google’s free mobile-friendly tool and also Google’s page speed tool as well to figure out if your website needs extra work. Most voice commands are made on mobile devices, so it’s without a doubt that Google will serve users the best possible mobile-friendly experience.

The free tools mentioned above will provide useful insights that show you how you can improve your overall site speed .

Local Optimization

One of the most effective voice search strategies out there is local optimization. Voice queries tend to ask for local information. Start by brainstorming keywords that describe your niche industry and your neighborhood. Then create local pages that target those keywords. Be sure to also use the trending keyphrase “near me” in your title tags, meta descriptions, internal links and anchor text.

Also, you’ll want to claim your My Google Business listing. It’s free, and with it, you’ll be able to show important information to searchers such as your business name, address, phone number, ratings, hours of operation, directions and your website. This will also help you populate Google’s prized Knowledge Graph.

And remember: when you fill out your Google My Business listing, be consistent in how you use it on your website and in other local directories.

Why?

Google rewards consistency. Whenever you fill out any business information online with any listing make sure your business name, address, and phone number are all consistent. This signals to search engines that your business is legit. When businesses show inconsistency on the web, it makes their business look fake, spammy or even hacker-ish. Even the slightest mistake can lower your SEO score.

Structured Data And Schema Markup

Web pages with schema markup have an advantage over websites without schema markup. Pages with markup give search engines a better understanding of a webpage’s content and most importantly its context; pacifying to Google Hummingbird and voice search. When you markup content properties in your source code, you’ll get to take advantage of Rich Snippets and Rich Cards, which help with voice search and conversion rates.

The example below shows you the difference between search results with rich snippets and results without.

Conclusion
The SEO world is on the cusp of a voice search revolution. The voice technology we have seen in sci-fi series’ and films is finally here. And yes, it’s hard to keep up with technology in the marketing world.

The voice search strategies I mentioned above will give you a leg up on the competition. Remember to target local queries, create content and pages on your website that answer question phrases, and be sure to take users to fast and mobile-friendly websites that have marked up pages.

If you can think of one or more effective voice search strategies that are not on our list, feel free to share your insights below and leave a comment in the comments section.
A Proactive Online Reputation Management Guide
by Alan Rabinowitz
Did you know that all the time and effort it takes to build a positive brand reputation can be ruined by a single bad review on Google, Yelp, Rip-off Report, or Complaints Board? Managing your online reputation is no longer optional but mandatory for your company’s survival.

First, Some Highlighted Statistics:
- 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations while only 14% trust advertisers.
- 8 out of 10 Internet Users in the US say that negative information read online made them change their mind on a purchasing decision.
- 86% of people would pay more for services from a company with higher ratings and reviews.
The Importance of creating a positive reputation online has never been more crucial. Continue reading →