In 2013 Vitals.com reported over 150 million searches for medical care providers. With the implementation of the Affordable Healthcare Act and the redefiniton of private-pay and elective services, the number of searches connected to online review sites has multiplied exponentially.... View Article Read more...
Too many business owners are unaware of the part local reviews play in successful business strategies. Here is the bottom line: In order to facilitate growth for your business, it Read more...
Customers seeking out information on your business demand easy access first and foremost. As a way to create a dialogue with your audience, it's imperative to generate a significant number of online reviews. In the past, a person's reputation was based on his or her actions. Today's generation is judged largely by how their past customers speak about them online.
Although our company, The Review SolutionTM, has experience in removing negative reviews, it is extremely difficult to do so. Unless the content actually violates the Terms of Service, a site will not remove bad reviews. And so, even if we assist your business in removing negative reviews, you will still need a proactive strategy for generating positive reviews in the future. By waiting until another negative review appears ? or the original poster of the negative review reposts the negative complaint in a compliant manner ? you run the risk of developing a poor online reputation. Read more...
The Denver Post recently published a story about a Denver-area Walmart that has all the markings of a shoplifter-friendly store.
In one week of 2013 at the Walmart in Stapleton, Colorado, a pair of men walked out of the store with a paintball gun, while another attempted to steal pillows and a futon. Finally, a fourth shoplifter was by a cop after absconding with nearly 100 items in his shopping cart.
This Walmart has reported 283 shoplifting occurrences in 2013, 179 more than Denver's second-place finisher, a downtown Rite-Aid. Denver police officers have resorted to parking squad cars around the building in hopes of warding off thieves. However, this tactic has yet to yield positive result. Read more...
Studies have shown that approximately 90 percent of consumers will consult the Internet before making a purchase. When sites such as Google Places for Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor and MerchantCircle appeared on the scene, many businesses failed to understand the impact that these informational tools would have on their sales and customer retention. Reviews of any nature - negative or positive - will have a significant effect on your search rankings.
Local business reviews and ratings sites like Yelp are designed to allow consumers the opportunity to read and share opinions about businesses, services and products. Some sites organized information based on city and state, while others focus on a particular niche. Customers needing a place to speak their piece will more often than not go online to voice their displeasure. Read more...
As if Twitter, Facebook and other social-media sites don't offer enough advice for today's consumers, physician ratings and reviews sites are there to give patients important information about their healthcare options. More than 30 sites exist in this particular niche, including RateMDs.com and Healthgrades.com. General sites like Angie's List and Yelp also contain physician listings.
These sites have been a little slow to catch on, but doubts that these reviews and ratings services will turn into complaint forums hasn't necessarily proven true. Although the American Medical Association had previously expressed concerns about patient confidentiality, their doubts have been assuaged by the positive nature of most physician online reviews. Read more...
Online ratings and reviews sites can be just the solution for finding a terrific local restaurant ? or avoiding a terrible one. However, when it comes to finding the best medical care, it's still difficult to find enough reviews to make a reliable decision.
In a 2012 study published in The Journal of Urology, 500 urologists were surveyed. They averaged 2.4 reviews on 10 major online reviews and ratings sites such as RateMDs.com, Healthgrades.com and Vitals.com, with total reviews per physicians ranging from a high of 64 to a low of zero. The reviews were generally positive (86 percent), but the negative reviews focused on aspects like office decor as opposed to the actual patient treatment. In some cases, a physician can have a perfect rating of 5 stars on one site and a poor rating of 2 stars on another. Read more...
For Physicians Facing Negative Online Reviews, the Law is Not on Your Side
Physicians are increasingly concerned with reviews and ratings sites and the potential for negative feedback that might tarnish their online reputation management efforts. For many professionals in the medical field, it would seem obvious to get the law involved and sue the site.
Legal Precedent for Physician-Review Sites
Unfortunately, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in 1996 says that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. Read more...
The best word of mouth is unsolicited and organic.
Yelp uses analytics to flag online review solicitations. A major offense could result in the removal of your listing, not simply the filtering of the ratings and reviews. When manipulating reviews for the benefit of your reputation management, review-site algorithms could be the least of your worries.
Businesses that choose to pay for fraudulent reviews have faced public outrage, along with monetary fines from government officials. In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission determined that paying for reviews without disclosing the reviewer's compensation is considered a form of deceptive advertisement and would be prosecuted. Read more...
As the Restaurant Industry Adjusts to the Digital Age, Online Reviews and Ratings Sites Offer a Powerful First Impression
Every restaurant owner knows that positive reviews will boost sales while negative reviews could spell disaster. In an age when everyone's a critic, these reviews have never carried more weight in the court of public opinion.
A pair of economists from the University of California - Berkeley published a 2012 study in the Economic Journal that showed a distinct relationship between online ratings and consumer's purchasing decisions. These researchers focused on the effects of positive ratings for 300 San Francisco area restaurants on Yelp. They discovered that a restaurant with a rating increased by just half a star - on a 1-5 scale - was much more likely to be full at peak dining times. Read more...
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