I think we can all agree that review sites like Yelp are the way of the future. Not only are they easy to use and provide valuable consumer-driven information, but they can provide businesses with a unique view onto what customers are passing along via “word of mouth”. With this is mind, it’s easy to think that getting better reviews out there can be as simple as having some friends and family get the ball rolling with glowing reviews. After all, it’s just a little push start to help your business and there’s no harm in that, right?

Unfortunately, you’d be wrong. With online review sites come a certain expectancy of veracity. People using the sites are trusting that the site takes measures to prevent fraudulent reviews from taking over. In fact, a recent FTC crackdown about online reviews paid for by businesses shows that even the authorities are getting involved with the online review world and how easily fake reviews can overpower the legitimate ones.

What kind of message do you send through your digital customer service?

So, you want legitimate reviews for your site, and Yelp is a great site to start with. Yelp as a site is pretty user friendly, which explains its current popularity. Its search feature allows you to search for a business and narrow that search down to a city, or even an area, ie Belltown in Seattle, or even the Eastside. Step one on taking advantage of what Yelp can provide is searching for your business by name. (If you don’t immediately find it, I’d also recommend breaking your name into parts and checking those. For example, searching “Bob’s Burgers” and “Bodacious Burgers” for a restaurant called Bob’s Bodacious Burgers.)

If you do find your business, click on it and explore your listing. Is the information correct? Are there hours posted, or even an address or website? If you see inaccuracies, or want to add information, changing all that is as easy as claiming your listing as the business owner. Listings that have been unclaimed will have a button encouraging the owner to claim and add to the listing. If you searched for your business and didn’t find it, the option to add the business will be displayed. (If you find your listing and it’s somehow been claimed already or are having difficulties with finding things on the site, the Frequently Asked Questions section is pretty extensive and should cover what you need.)

Now that your business is claimed/added, all you have to do is sit back and let the positive reviews roll in, right? Unfortunately, you’d be wrong again. If you’re not a restaurant and already have an industry that depends on reviews, you actually need to let your customers know that you would love reviews from them. Many businesses have different ways to do this. They offer contests, attach the request for a review with a survey or even directly remind their frequent customers to place a review. The trick is to be gentle about the encouragement and to avoid asking for only glowing reviews. Yelp does frown on positive reviews that have been “paid” for via free services or products, and do filter out reviews that seem too positive or too negative to be genuine.

Some Yelp users, or Yelpers, only give a 5 star review for a mind blowing experience. Some give 5 stars all the time, and only give 3 when they were absolutely unsatisfied. No matter how they rate your business, it’s always good to actually read the reviews and avoid becoming complacent with reviews that appear positive on the surface. The big challenge is to maintain your thick skin and keep sight of the big picture. Some customers will never be satisfied. Some have legitimate complaints. Take what you need from each review to improve, and keep an eye out for patterns. You may be surprised by what your customers are saying.

When interacting with customers on sites like Yelp, remember your responses are public for all potential customers to see.

If you decide to take a more active role in your Yelp listing, the ability to respond to reviews is something Yelp offers business owners. I would encourage anyone taking advantage of that feature to stop and:

Think: Why are you responding to this review? Is it to say thanks, is it to right a wrong, or is it to refute the nasty things a reviewer said about your business? If it’s the last option, what positive outcome do you see coming from responding in the way you’re planning to respond?

Be Mindful: All of your other customers will be able to see your response. Is it the face you want to present to potential customers any time they look up your business? If you do try and right a bad experience, have you promised anything that will be hard to deliver on? (I’ve seen plenty of reviewers come back to their review and drop a star off for being promised something that the business never came through on. Sometimes something as simple as a sincere apology can do wonders, and get a customer to give you a second chance!)

Be Fair: Be sure that you keep your responses balanced and fair. So what if they guy that complained about your servers was a drunken boor and deserved the pitcher that was dumped on his head? The other Yelpers don’t know about that and only care how you handle this guy on Yelp. Most of the time, a reader can tell when someone is unreasonable or a jerk and ignore what they have to say in favor of more informative reviews. Sometimes you just need to either ignore the ranting reviews and trust in the intelligence of your customers or give a classic noncommittal answer such as, “We’re sorry that you feel that way and we regret that we couldn’t fulfill your needs.” No further explanation necessary.

It can be difficult trying to do public relations work online, but many business owners are finding that they or a trusted employee have to fill that role in the digital world. It can be challenging, but with the proper time and care, an endeavor such as a thriving Yelp listing can bring countless advantages to your site and business. How much attention and use it gets is up to you.