In today’s highly competitive online landscape, businesses need to do everything they can to stand out. More people than ever are using Google and other search engines to find local businesses, and the information that is displayed in search results is a major factor that influences people’s decisions. Of the different types of information that can be displayed in search results, online reviews are often among the most important.

According to Google, 71% of consumers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it has positive reviews, and businesses which have positive reviews have 360% more clicks to their site from their business listings. As part of its efforts to help small businesses get the most out of Google, the company has created a new tool that businesses can use to generate free marketing materials.

Using the #SmallThanks Hub

With Google’s #SmallThanks Hub, any business which has a verified Google listing can create marketing materials which highlight their positive reviews and encourage people to review them on Google. The tool automatically generates images that include quotes from positive reviews or a message encouraging customers to show their support by leaving a review or sharing a photo.

In the modern digital world, people are constantly bombarded with information. We see advertisements everywhere we go, from billboards and TV commercials to the pop-ups that display on the websites we visit on our computers or smartphones. It can be difficult to sort out relevant information from noise, which is why people turn to Google and other search engines to find what they are looking for. 

The widespread use of Google search makes search engine optimization (SEO) more important than ever, and companies will need to do everything they can to stand out in search results. Google has worked to make it easy for companies to provide relevant information to their customers through Google My Business, and one new feature, known as Google Posts, gives companies a great way to add visibility to search results.

What Are Google Posts?

Google Posts became available to all Google My Business users in June of 2017, and this feature allows a company to add a short message to their profile that will be displayed in Google search results and on Google Maps. These messages can be used to spotlight sales and special offers, publicize events, highlight products, or share pictures.

For many years, Twitter has been a great social media platform that law firms and other businesses can use to connect with their customers. One thing that makes Twitter unique is its limit on the size of messages that can be posted, which often inspires creativity in people as they work to fit what they want to say into 140 characters. 

According to Twitter, this limit was somewhat arbitrary, since it was based on character limits for SMS text messages which were in place when the company was founded, and these restrictions are no longer applicable. With that in mind, Twitter recently doubled its character limit to 280, providing its users with more space to send a complete message.

This expanded limit makes Twitter better than ever for getting your message out to the people you want to connect with online. Here are a few ways to get the most out of the time you spend on this social network:

The internet is a vast treasure trove of data, and the number and variety of websites covering every topic under the sun is mind-boggling. Without the help of search engines like Google, finding useful information online would be nearly impossible. This is why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is so important; any business that wants to connect with their customers online needs to ensure that people will be able to find them in online searches.

When determining how to rank a site in search results, Google and other search engines look at a number of factors, but one of the most important of these is page load time. The amount of time it takes your site to load can play a major role in how people interact with the site, especially when they are using a mobile device. According to Google, 53% of website visits are abandoned if a site takes more than three seconds to load, but on average, mobile landing pages take 22 seconds to load.

Since Google emphasizes the importance of a site’s loading speed, it is essential to do everything you can to improve load times. One of the best ways to do so is through image optimization.

At some point, every business has to deal with disgruntled or unsatisfied customers. While interactions with these customers were once limited to phone calls or in-person complaints, the nature of our online world means that negative reviews left by unhappy customers are publicly available for everyone to see, and they can have a major impact on a company’s bottom line.

Studies have shown that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and that a company risks losing as much as 22% of their business if a there is a negative review on the first page of their search results. This means that it is incredibly important to respond quickly to negative reviews. But even if you are unable to rectify a customer’s complaint, following these reputation management tips will help you get the most out of these interactions:

1. Stay calm - It can be tempting to respond in anger and attack the person who left a negative review, but this will only make things worse. Take the time to calm down and respond rationally to the customer’s issues, even if you do not believe the review was left in good faith.