Find out how this local drywalling company was getting sabotaged online, and learn how to avoid or manage this situation if it happens to you!

I was looking at http://maps.google.com/ the other day searching for a contractor, when I found this local drywalling firm’s listing. The listing said there were 2 reviews which I clicked on. They are displayed below:
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Rip off artists ‎‎

By jensinclair47 – Oct 30, 2007 Rip off artists and unprofessional!!!. I highley recommend that you look around and price out contractors before you choose one. Do NOT use ******* stucco, you can get a much better price somewhere else and better service.‎ maps.google.com 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes – No – Flag as inappropriate

Do not Use ! By BurN3D – May 20, 2009 Worst drywall & taping forever, and they backcharge a lots, be carefull dont use ********* if you dont want to be screwed.‎ maps.google.com 3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful? Yes – No – Flag as inappropriate

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Obviously, this is a bad situation, and it unfortunately could happen to you without you even being aware of it. Lucky for them, I knew an individual at this company and I called and informed them of the situation so they could manage it… but what if I hadn’t?

There are now literally hundreds of websites out there that offer the public the ability to review your business. In most cases you will never know about the review or take the steps to address it, unless you check the Internet regularly by “googling” your company name.

Make sure there aren’t any bad or bogus reviews about your company that could potentially sabotage the hard work you have put in to build and maintain a good reputation. If there are, try to contact the individual to rectify their concerns.

As there is no way to remove the reviews yourself, you either have to ask the complainer to remove the posting, or ask happy clients to review your company in order to balance out the reviews your company is getting.

Along with http://maps.google.com/ Yelp is also a popular peer review website: http://www.yelp.ca/calgary

Not as harmful, but still prevalent are websites such as:

• http://thiscity.com/
• http://www.foundlocally.com/

Known in the online world as “directory” sites, they will list your company information without your consent or knowledge. This is great additional exposure as long as their information is accurate and complete- check to make sure that your phone number and address is correct, and your website address is included.

In summary, managing your online reputation just got a lot more time consuming and complicated, but if you want to ensure a squeaky clean online image, make sure you do these checks at least once quarterly.

For more information about online directory sites, peer review sites, placement in google or internet marketing please feel free to call 403 614 6708.

04. 09.10
Exposure to online advertising is fundamentally changing the way consumers shop, according to research from Yahoo! and comScore, Inc.

The study, which examined the impact of search and display advertising on in-store sales for five major retailers, showed that consumers exposed to online advertising tend to research or ‘pre-shop’ online prior to purchase, and this behavior ultimately leads to increased in-store sales. These highly-engaged ‘pre-shoppers’ spend an average of 41 percent more in-store when compared to consumers not exposed to online advertising.

“Although recent research cites 89 percent* of consumers shop for information about products online, less than 7 percent** of retail sales actually take place online,” said Amy Vener, Senior Director of Retail Category at Yahoo! “This means retailers have a prime opportunity to engage this audience of ‘pre-shoppers’ through online advertising to capture incremental sales in-store.”

Source: ComScore, Inc.