Online reputation management for small businesses

Before booking a haircut, reserving a room or taking the car to a garage, almost everyone does the same thing: they search for the business name and read what others have written. Online reputation management is the work of looking after what that person finds: your Google reviews, comments, the replies your business gave and the contact details scattered across the web.

Many small businesses offer a good service and neglect their online reputation: reviews left unanswered for months, an old phone number in a directory, the wrong opening hours on Apple Maps. A reader cannot tell the work is good; they only see a business that does not reply. The number and quality of reviews also weigh heavily on your map position in Google Business Profile.

This is the starting point, done once. We check how your business appears and correct whatever is wrong.

• A check of Google, Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Páginas Amarelas, plus Booking and Airbnb for holiday rentals
• Your name, address, phone and opening hours corrected across 15 directories
• The same details everywhere, which also strengthens your local SEO
• A report of what was found and fixed

Once things are in order, they need keeping that way. Monthly management costs €169/month, or €129/month if we also handle your Google management. There is a 3-month minimum.

• Replies to reviews and comments on every platform, up to 40 a month, in Portuguese and English
• A weekly check of what is said about your business
• A response to any negative review within 1 working day
• A monthly request for reviews from real customers, with a WhatsApp message template and the QR card included
• A short summary of your rating and number of reviews

See the figures side by side in our online reputation prices.

Most satisfied customers never leave a review because nobody asks, or because asking is a hassle. The answer is to make the request simple and send it at the right moment, straight after the service, while the experience is still fresh.

We prepare a ready-to-send WhatsApp message with a direct link for leaving a review, and agree with you when and to whom it goes. At the counter, a QR card does the same job for the person in front of you; with reputation management, the card is included. We only ever ask real customers, and each of them writes whatever they choose.

We never write or buy fake reviews. Google detects them and can suspend your profile, and one discovered case costs more than dozens of honest reviews are worth. If you would rather start on your own, our step-by-step Google Business Profile guide explains how the profile works.

Replying to reviews is not only for the person who wrote them. It is mostly for whoever is reading and deciding. A short, polite reply shows there is someone on the other side who listens and sorts things out.

We write replies in your tone, in Portuguese or English to match the customer, without repeating stock phrases. For positive reviews, we say thank you and mention the service in question. For negative ones, we acknowledge the problem, explain what happened where that makes sense and invite the person to speak to you directly. When something is a decision only the owner can make, we ask first and reply afterwards.

A negative review is not the end of the world: a profile with nothing but five stars can even look less believable. What counts is how the business reacts. In practice there are three routes:

• Reply. This is the usual route, even when the criticism is hard to hear.
• Dispute. If a review breaks Google’s rules, we dispute it through the official forms. The decision always rests with Google.
• Balance. More honest reviews from satisfied customers put the few that went badly into context.

We do not delete honest reviews or promise to. Anyone promising to remove any review is promising something they do not control.

It makes a difference to any local business, but in some trades the review almost decides on its own. In holiday rentals, guests read Google, Booking and TripAdvisor before booking. In salons and barbers, trust is personal, and anyone looking for a new hairdresser compares reviews and photos before booking.

Reputation pays off more when everything else is in place. A complete Google profile is where most reviews get read. Local SEO benefits from consistent details across every directory. And a professional website gives a convinced customer somewhere to book or ask for a quote.

Not sure where you stand today? Ask for the free audit: within 48 hours you get 5 concrete improvements for your business. All our figures are published on the prices page.