Because more and more consumers are researching businesses’ credibility online before making a purchase, it is imperative that you incorporate a program to build your online reputation. The tips below will help:

Review your business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Begin by documenting what customers find special about your business and how they benefit from your products or services. Audit your marketing material and revise, if necessary, to align with your USP.

Develop a 5-Star Reputation. Online reviews are critical to success. Seventy-two percent of buyers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 70% trust consumer opinions posted online, according to a Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey. Strive to have at least 10 happy customers post great reviews about your business. Ask them to post to at least one of the following: Google Plus Local, Yelp, CitySearch, SuperPages, YP.com, your Facebook Fan page, or Linkedin. A high volume of positive reviews can counter a poor one.

Market Your Reputation. Once reviews are posted, implement a well-designed online marketing strategy to drive targeted traffic to your website. Begin with a comprehensive keyword search that identifies what your target market is looking for online. Conduct a competitive analysis to prioritize keyword phrases to ensure top search engine rankings. Insert these keyword phrases into your content and distribute to YouTube and other content-sharing directories as well as to Facebook and Twitter.

If you are a local business, claim and thoroughly complete your Google Plus Local, Bing, and Yahoo accounts. When your business profiles and website are optimized according to user and search engine best practices, they can simultaneously achieve top page rankings.

Additionally, complete your listings on the top business directories, such as Yelp and Merchant Circle. Ensure that your business information is accurate and identical across all directories.

You must continuously market online to achieve and maintain top search engine rankings; if you do not have an internal person who thoroughly understands Internet marketing, hire a consulting firm.

Manage Your Reputation. Regularly check reviews about your business. You can receive Google Alerts for your business name; however, you will need to check the local directories, too, since they’re not picked up by Google Alerts. Quickly post a reply to a negative review. Always be professional and indicate what action you have taken to remedy the situation.

Create a Reputation Marketing Culture. Train your staff to proactively ask customers for reviews and to deal immediately with unhappy customers.

By incorporating a sound digital marketing strategy, you will brand your business as an authority online while having customer reviews to prove it. With this approach, you will be less concerned about your competition and more focused on properly serving new customers.