Why Negative Reviews Shouldn’t Scare You and How They Contribute to Your SEO

Every business wants to avoid negative reviews at all costs. While we all want positive reviews, the bad ones aren’t as bad as you think. Negative reviews are almost inevitable for any business and they can even help your business improve its search engine rankings.

More Reviews is Better

When searching for a local business, Google will show users a number of results that also highlight review stars. A higher number of total reviews represents a social proof for your business.

No one knows exactly how reviews impact search engine optimization efforts. The vital factor here is to have a varying set of opinions from customers, even if this includes a few negative reviews.

The team working on Google’s search engines understands very well that no business is perfect. Google’s internal SEO guidelines instruct website reviewers to keep in mind that even the best sites can get bad reviews.

Negative Reviews Increase Credibility

Having an ideal review profile online will tend to make users suspicious. Studies have shown that consumers will label a business with a mix of good, moderate and even bad reviews as more credible than one with a perfect track record.

This is true for a local shop and for an online store with a global reach. If a varied set of reviews leads to greater credibility, then consumers might be willing to spend time on your website, thereby contributing to your search engine rankings in the long term.

Negative Reviews as an Opportunity

Another opportunity that appears in the wake of a negative review is that you receive direct feedback on your business activity that you can address.

Should you have an issue in the customer service department or any other department; negative feedback will point you in the right direction to find any issues that need to be solved.

Moreover, a negative review is also a chance to engage with the dissatisfied customer. When your business responds properly to negative reviews, it shows that your business isn’t oblivious and cares about its customers’ feedback.

This is also a form of guarantee for future customers that they’ll receive proper customer service, making them more comfortable doing business with you.

Embrace the Negative

As you can see, bad reviews also have a good side to them. Sometimes these seemingly disappointing reviews can actually contribute to you reaching your business goals.

Negative reviews help you show that your business is responsive, trustworthy and real. So the next time you get a negative review, don’t see it as a failure but an opportunity to build your brand and credibility.