How Customer Service Can Improve Your Google Rankings

Customer service is something that has always played a key role in business success. However, with the dawn of the Internet age, customer service has never been as important as it is now. The transparency of the online world has meant that there is nowhere for businesses to hide. One negative online review, or a Twitter comment handled incorrectly can cause serious problems for any business, not only for their online reputation, but also for their Google Rankings.

This is why it is integral that your customer service is something that should be considered at all times and should play a key role in any strategy or campaign that you implement. This post will talk you through the key reasons why your customer service will affect your Google rankings and how to ensure that your customer service is positive at all times.

Did you know that a recent study found that 89% of consumers turn to Google, Bing or another search engine to find information on products, services or businesses before making a purchase? This statistic highlights the importance not only of creating a positive online reputation, but also ensuring that the customer service you provide your customers with is attentive, efficient and professional. In the internet age that we live in, the two go hand in hand. You simply cannot achieve a positive online reputation if your customer service isn't of a high standard. But what negative effectcan poor customer service really have on your business?

Online reviews can affect your Google Rankings . This is the long and short of it. If you do not look after your customers and provide them with professional customer service, you run the risk of corrupting your Google Rankings. This ranking is one that can determine the visibility and ultimate success of your website. It is all well and good implementing a great SEO campaign in order to boost your rankings, however, if you are not monitoring the other variables then your effort will be, unfortunately, going to waste.

And it makes sense. Google as a search engine only wants to show its users the best and most efficient websites in the organic search results. Therefore it needs to have a way of ranking each of the different websites in order to ensure that the ones it shows are going to provide you with the best and correct information. Therefore, looking at online reviews and comments as part of its ranking factors can really help determine which are the best websites to show users based on their keyword searches and also which websites are going to provide its users with the best customer service. Google is all about ensuring that their customers' needs are met and so therefore marking websites according to their Google ranking factors is the only way they can guarantee this high standard service.

So now you know how important great customer service is to any business operating online, it is imperative that you understand the techniques that can be applied in order to ensure your online reputation is positive. Implementing an online reputation management strategy can be an excellent way to monitor what is being said about your business and the platforms with which these comments are being made. Having a real understanding of why your customers are making these comments is half the battle. If you can understand the areas where you are going wrong, then you will be more able to make relevant changes.

Here are a few great ways to improve your customer service:

• Live chat - this can be a great way for a customer to ask questions and get in touch without having to send an email or be placed in a telephone queue, which can often anger the customer even more. Installing a live online chat system on your website can ensure that the customer can have their issues and questions dealt with quickly, efficiently and effectively.
  Feedback forms- make it easy for your customers to make their opinions heard. This is a win-win situation for both your business and your customers. Your customers are able to feel like their feedback matters and it also provides you with a great insight into areas of improvement.


• Make the customer journey yourself - from landing on the website to making a purchase, how easy is the journey? This is something you yourself should be extremely familiar with. Know how things work, what sections you felt didn't work quite effectively, which areas you think need improving. Putting yourself in your customers' shoes is a great way to ensure that you would be happy with the service you are providing.


• Instant communication - have you tried setting up a customer service Twitter account or a Facebook page? Putting in place these instant platforms of communication can really make a difference in allowing the customer to feel as if there is someone there to help at all times. Even if you are left with difficult decisions to make or queries to deal with, being seen to be actively dealing with these problems is positive and shows that you really care about providing your customers with the best service possible.

So there you have it, why your customer service will have an impact on your Google Rankings and the steps you can take in order to ensure your customer service stays professional at all times. Google Rankings are something that need to be understood by any business in order to ensure your online activities are adhering to the ranking factors set out by the search engine. Do you agree with this blog? Is there anything that you feel has not been addressed or has this raised some issues that you would not have otherwise been aware of? As always I would love to hear from you so leave a comment below or send me a tweet !

About Jonny Ross Consultancy

Jonny Ross is an established digital guru, specialising in everything from SEO to social media campaigns, website design to website development. He has over 15 years experience working with small businesses and now works with both B2B and B2C businesses on a daily basis.