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Build Trust and Improve Google Rankings – How to Make Your Business Unstoppable

 

One of the best ways your multi-location business can find success through local SEO is to rank high in Google search results. While we’ve already covered how your multi-location business can boost rankings through authority and expertise, there’s one remaining component vital to elevate where you digitally stack up: trustworthiness.

 

Consumers want to feel confident the businesses they interact with are reliable and have a good reputation. There’s always room for improvement when it comes to trustworthiness. Throughout this blog, we’ll look at areas of focus for your multi-location business to establish trust and master local SEO efforts.

 

Keep Your Local Listings Updated and Accurate 

 

Imagine if a potential consumer locates your business listing and store hours through Google, only to find you closed when they try to visit.   Similarly, what if a customer wants to order food from your restaurant, which offers off-premise dining, but there’s no takeout option available in your GMB listings? Scenarios like this could happen if your multi-location business doesn’t prioritize the need for accurate and updated local listings. If someone’s first experience with your company isn’t a good one, how do you think it affects your business’s trustworthiness?

Up-to-date and consistent local listings are essential to building and sustaining trustworthiness with your consumers—and Google.  If Google notices your online profile information is wrong or incomplete, it can hurt your business’s rankings. Maintaining current business information at each location can seem challenging, especially during a pandemic, but it doesn’t have to be. SOCi Listings can help you manage your business listings at scale and effectively optimize your online presence and local search rankings. Along with local listings, there are other areas your business must focus on to create trust.

 

 

Cite Your Sources When Sharing Data or Information

 

If you want to be considered a trustworthy and reliable multi-location business, you must cite sources in your content. For instance, if you say a recent survey listed your product as the No.1 seller in your industry, cite the study with details. False or vague claims or facts stated without the sources to back them up can damage your credibility and alter your Google rankings.

 

Google appreciates businesses that are credible and takes into account source citation and source quality when ranking.  For instance, if you link to an opinion piece when citing a source, is that trustworthy? Make sure references are reliable and provide accurate information as well. Doing so will not only result in more traffic and make your business appear more trustworthy in consumers’ eyes.

 

Provide Your Consumers With Quality Products and Service

 

This should be a given, but we’ll say it anyway: quality products and services are a must to garner customer trust.  You can have the best customer service team in the world, but if product quality is poor, expect a lack of faith to follow. Consumers expect businesses to look out for them and put them first, and quality is directly tied to brand performance. While the quality product or service problems may not impact your Google rankings right away, it eventually shows up through the ratings and reviews your business receives, which we’ll get into next.

 

Manage and Maintain Your Customer Testimonials and Reviews 

 

Eighty-eight percent of consumers say they now trust customer reviews as much as personal recommendations. Similarly, more than half of consumers have passed up a business due to their local ratings and reviews. The numbers speak for themselves. Customer reviews and testimonials are crucial to establishing trust for your multi-location business.

 

Ratings and reviews help consumers know what to expect. Without them, they are more hesitant to trust a company with their business.  On the other hand, glowing reviews and testimonials about your products or customer service should boost business. Online reviews can also your multi-location business gain trust with Google. Reviews are one of the ranking factors Google considers when looking at where to place your business in Google search results. Your ratings and reviews are a strong indicator to Google whether or not consumers trust your business, which will impact how you rank.

While it’s essential to have ratings and reviews to build trust, it’s also necessary to effectively manage your ratings and reviews. For more information on how your business should be monitoring and responding to reviews at the local level, check out our blog on the topic. SOCi also has a streamlined reputation management software that can help. SOCi pulls every review for all your business locations into one centralized platform — accessible by both corporate and local teams. This tool empowers local marketing teams to respond to reviews and provides corporate with oversight by creating approval workflows. If you have a strong reputation management strategy, this will again further boost your trustworthiness.

 

 

Build a Trustworthy Brand and Improve Your Rankings With Google

 

While you may already have a trustworthy brand with a good reputation, where can you improve? If you want to influence your industry and command the competition, it’s essential your trustworthiness, expertise, and authority shine as a multi-location business. The good news is, you don’t have to navigate this alone! SOCi is here to help you strengthen your local SEO efforts and every aspect of your localized marketing strategy.

SOCi is the central command for multi-location marketers and the all-in-one platform for your localized marketing needs. From managing your local listings and ratings and reviews strategy to building a local social strategy that helps you connect with consumers, we’re here for you every step of the way. For more information on how SOCi can help take your business to new heights, request a demo today!