There are A TON of online review sites today, and more and more consumers are using these sites to share their insights and feelings about your company. But online review sites like Angie’s List, TripAdvisor and Citysearch are not just beneficial for the consumers—they’re also extremely beneficial to your business. Some companies choose to ignore online review sites, and this is not a smart business move. Not only should you be paying attention to what is being said about your company on these sites, but you also need to take the time to respond to the reviews that are left—both positive and negative. Responding to online reviews left about your business can be extremely beneficial for your business, and here’s why:

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(Source: smallbizdiamonds.com)

There are some businesses out there that were created with every penny the owner had, leaving little room for a marketing budget. In today’s society, every business knows that it’s important to have an online presence, but if you don’t have the money to create a website, you’re not going to have a successful online presence…or will you? Thanks to free tools like social networks, blogs and customer review sites, many businesses are thriving on the Internet—and they don’t even have their own website. Yelp is an online review site that has helped many new businesses gain both online visibility and customers. How? Check it out…

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When it comes down to finding local restaurants, hotels, shopping, spas and bars, Citysearch offers a wide array of information and reviews on them all. Dubbing them “recommendations” instead of “reviews”, Citysearch offers shortened versions of what you’d find on sites like Yelp or Urbanspoon. Their professional scouts search cities high and low to and offer the best possible information for all to see. Many businesses make the mistake in thinking that these sites are just a place for certain individuals to share their opinion and that they have no bearing on the overall success of the establishment. They’re wrong. Plenty of people turn to Citysearch for information and to help them make a decision as to where to eat, shop or stay, and if companies aren’t using Citysearch to their advantage, they could be missing out on a great deal of business. So if you want to reach a large audience, claim your business on Citysearch today and start enjoying the following benefits to help you become successful.

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The first step in optimizing your website for local search is to list it in Google Places, or Google+ Local now. It’s a pretty straightforward process – you fill in the boxes with your address, description of your business, insert important keywords… Yet, people tend to make beginner’s mistakes right there: if you’ve decided to help local customers to find you more easily, do it right and fill out your profile 100%. Then  you can ask: what am I supposed to do next? In less competitive markets, just properly claiming your physical location can be enough to outrank your competitors for a locally specified search; but if your competition is doing any kind of serious SEO, you will have to beat them in every little detail - on-site optimization, local backlinks and all other fun stuff including, yes, getting the most out of your Google+ Local listing. And the most obvious place to start is to make the blue button with “Write a review” on it work in your favor.

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Customer reviews or testimonials are an important component of a website. Visitors to a website can learn a lot from other’s experience. They help build trust and credibility, which is crucial on the Web or for any business. Customer reviews or testimonials also serve a marketing purpose and are a fantastic way to get feedback on how you are doing. Whether you are a webmaster or a business owner, below are seven ways to get more customer reviews your website.

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