Online Reputation Management Checklist

Proactively build, monitor, and protect your online reputation. For local businesses, reputation is revenue — this checklist gives you a system to manage it.

26 total items45 minBeginner3 sections

Review Generation

0 / 8

Ask for a Google review verbally at the end of every positive customer interaction
Send an automated review request SMS within 1 hour of service completion
Create a short review link using Google's Place ID (g.page/[yourbusiness]/review)
Print QR codes linking to your review page and place them at checkout, on receipts, and at tables
Add a 'Leave us a review' link to your email signature and post-service emails
Train all staff to ask for reviews after positive interactions — make it a standard part of checkout
Set a team target: 4 new Google reviews per week — track it at your weekly team meetings
Never incentivize reviews with discounts or gifts — it violates Google's policies

Review Monitoring & Response

0 / 8

Set up Google Alerts for your business name, owner name, and common misspellings
Use a reputation tool (BirdEye, Podium, or Grade.us) to monitor all platforms in one dashboard
Respond to every Google review within 24 hours — no exceptions
Respond to every Yelp review — Yelp ranks businesses that engage with reviews higher
For negative reviews: acknowledge, apologize, take it offline (share your phone/email)
Never argue with a reviewer publicly — potential customers read your responses
Flag fake reviews using Google's reporting process — document your evidence
Reply to positive reviews by name: 'Thanks [Name]! We love seeing you every [day].'

Brand Protection & Growth

0 / 10

Claim your business name on every major social platform — even if you don't plan to use it
Monitor Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Thumbtack, and BBB monthly
Create a 'Social Proof' page on your website featuring your best reviews
Add review schema markup to your website to show star ratings in Google search results
Proactively share your best reviews as social media posts (with permission)
Build a portfolio page with case studies, transformations, or project photos
Respond to all Google Q&A questions to show engagement and control the narrative
Create a crisis response plan: what to do if a major negative review goes viral
Track your Net Promoter Score (NPS) quarterly by surveying customers post-service
Publish a 'Why our customers love us' page that aggregates your best social proof

Ready to implement?

Get a free marketing audit

Book a 30-minute audit with Nataliia. You'll get a personalized action plan for your business — no sales pitch, just strategy.

Book Free Audit

← Back to all checklists