As SEO services providers, we’re tasked with managing our clients’ websites, review platforms, local presence, content, and so much more. Monitoring multiple sites (let alone optimizing them) can be a hefty task. That’s where online tools come in handy.
One essential tool for any ambitious SEO agency is review management software. These are tools that monitor clients’ online review platforms, and even automate responses on their behalf. Review Management software makes it easier to scale your SEO audits and services.
Read on for the top online review management tools to use in your SEO agency.
What are Review Management Tools?
Review management tools are software solutions designed to help businesses and agencies monitor, manage, and respond to reviews across a range of review platforms such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, and others. These tools not only make it easier to generate positive reviews but also catch and respond to negative reviews if they occur.
Review management tools often include dashboards that allow subscribers to track a business’s star rating across several review sites, monitor fluctuations in the number of reviews, and assess the success of review generation efforts. This can be more efficient than monitoring each review site individually.
For agencies, review management tools can be used to help clients maintain a positive online reputation, improve search engine rankings, and build trust with prospective customers. These are all valuable additions to an existing digital marketing strategy.
Why Use Online Review Tools?
There are many reasons to use online review monitoring tools in your agency. For one, review management tools streamline what would otherwise be a manual, time-staking process of monitoring client review sites one at a time. These tools save on resource costs and time.
Here are just a few of the many reasons to use online review tools in your SEO business:
- Value Add: If your existing SEO services don’t already include Review Management, or you usually stick to a manual process, adding a review management tool into the mix can help you provide additional value to your clients. Review management helps improve their online reputation and, potentially, search engine rankings.
- Time Savings: Review management tools automate what would usually be a manual monitoring process. You can monitor, manage, and respond to reviews for multiple clients, across multiple sites, in a matter of minutes rather than hours.
- Insights & Analytics: Most review management tools have native analytics that allow you to monitor the number and quality of reviews. These metrics can be slotted into your existing SEO reporting to highlight the results of your SEO and/or review generation efforts.
- Cut Costs: Review management tools are often more affordable than hiring a team member to monitor clients’ review sites or dedicating time to managing clients’ sites yourself. We’re talking a few hundred dollars per month compared to your hourly rate or a team member’s monthly salary.
You might find other benefits to using review management tools in your SEO agency. Some agency owners find that the addition of Review Management is a revenue-generating add-on to existing SEO services; others find it to be another way to add value without adding to costs. It all depends on how you use them and how you communicate the benefits to your clients.
Top Online Review Tools for SEO Agencies
Want to easily manage multiple clients’ review platforms all in one place? If you’re a digital marketing agency offering SEO or Online Reputation Management (ORM) services, adding a review management system to the mix is a great way to provide additional value to clients.
Here are some of the best online review tools to help you streamline the review management process, saving time and money in your SEO agency.
BrightLocal
BrightLocal is perhaps the most robust and well-known review management software solution around. With comprehensive review monitoring, management, and responding features, BrightLocal makes it easy to improve your clients’ local listings and online presence.
BrightLocal offers white label solutions for agencies as well, allowing you to “brand” your very own review management system for your clients. Even better, it leverages AI technology to monitor dozens of review sites, including those of your clients’ competitors. Manage multiple brands, multiple locations, and build citations for all your clients.
Birdeye
Birdeye is a handy review management platform designed to help business owners monitor their review sites and stay on top of their online reputation. BirdEye can also be used by SEO agencies to manage multiple review sites for multiple clients, even across multiple business locations. BirdeEye offers a suite of tools aimed at improving customer engagement, boosting local search rankings, and rising above the competition. The platform also facilitates the generation of new reviews through automated requests, whether email or SMS
Semrush
Semrush is a best-in-class SEO tool offering a range of features, from Keyword Research to Social Listening to Review Management. Its Review Management tool is designed to help businesses monitor their review platforms, respond to reviews via AI-assisted messages, and analyze competitor reviews for strategic insights. This feature is part of Semrush’s Local suite, which also includes Listing Management and Map Rank Tracker. This makes Semrush one of the leading SEO + review management platforms for agencies.
Uberall
Uberall also boasts a powerful Review Management platform. This tool offers a completely centralized solution, helping agencies effectively monitor, respond to, and analyze customer reviews on their clients’ behalf. The platform consolidates reviews from over 125 online directories, making it easy for agency teams to read and respond to reviews. It even provides Sentiment Analysis, which offers insights into customer sentiment, trends, and areas for improvement.
Agency owners love Uberall’s user-friendly interface and simple yet effective features.
Brandwatch
Brandwatch is primarily seen as a “social media management” tool but actually offers a range of features applicable to SEO agencies. Its Consumer Intelligence product helps businesses with consumer research and review management, and its Social Media Management software includes tools for publishing content, engaging with followers, and measuring channel performance. Business owners and agencies can effectively monitor reviews across a variety of channels, while also getting a sense of customer sentiment on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media sites.
Grade.us
Grade.us is an online review management tool that offers customizable white label options for agencies. This tool is a “no frills” software solution that makes it easy to collect and manage customer reviews across the top directory websites. It also offers Listings Management features, which go hand-in-hand with Review Generation, Review Monitoring, and review platform Analytics.
InMoment
InMoment is a lesser-known review monitoring tool, but packs a punch when it comes to its Reputation Management features. The platform aims to help businesses boost their online reputation, convert online searches into actual location visits, and grow a community of raving fans. It also claims to do ALL of this in half the time as other review management solutions, making it a great time- (and cost- ) saver for agencies. Check out InMoment for its many agency solutions, from Market Research to AI-enabled Insights.
TrueReview
TrueTeview is the #1 rated Google review management tool, helping businesses and agencies monitor and address reviews on Google. It offers review generation capabilities, including email and SMS requests to past clients. It also boasts its “Star Rating System”, monitoring the overall star rating on your clients’ Google pages. Agency owners also love TrueReview because it integrates with other digital marketing tools, like Zapier, and can generate shareable QR codes to help clients get more 5-star reviews.
More Helpful Tools for SEO Agencies
If you’re looking for more tools to manage and grow your SEO, you’re in the right place. As an established SEO agency with 20 years under our belt, we’re well-versed in the best tools of the trade. Hennessey Digital is a trusted source of law firm SEO services, as well as support for growing agencies.
Check out these SEO resources and tools:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best review management tool?
BrightLocal, BirdEye, and Grade.us are just a few of the many review management tools available to monitor and optimize your review profiles. The “best” review management software for you will depend on your goals, the number of review sites you are managing, and your review generation needs. Some solutions are limited to review management while others are more robust, offering everything from Social Listening tools to Keyword Research to AI Analytics. Look for the right review management solution for your agency or business.
What are the benefits of using review management tools?
Review management tools make it easier and more cost-effective to monitor multiple review platforms for multiple businesses, even across many business locations. Business owners and agencies often don’t have the time or resources to monitor all review sites manually. Review management tools allow subscribers to see all review sites at once, generate new reviews in a matter of minutes, automate review responses, and so much more, for less than the cost of hiring a dedicated resource.