Entering the Review Era - State of Search

Editor's Notes

• #3: The infamous about me page. Why do we have an about me page? TO BUILD TRUST. As a presenter what I say will carry little weight if you don’t trust me. Do you know what else builds trust? Common ground. Familiarity. What color do you see? Anyone color blind? Anyone see a different color? Free tshirt? My goal is that by the end of my presentation I will have given you a new perspective. A new way of looking at something so common.
• #4: It is 2005, I am apartment hunting. Not just for 1 apartment but for 20 to 30 apartments. I had to house over 100 door to door salesman and crew that summer. My boss suggested I pick up a phonebook and call some local realtors or apartment finders to help. UGHHHH… Slow. Difficult. Could I trust them since they were paid commissions? Trust issues.
• #5: ApartmentRatings.com saved my insanity. Close to $100,000 in rental contracts signed that year all based on reviews from ApartmentRatings.com. I used that site year after year. I handed that task off and to this day we still use that website to find apartments. Over 1million dollars has now been spent on apartments based on reviews. First time I used online reviews in bulk.
• #6: Online reviews changed my world. Internet changed our world.
• #7: Let’s focus on the get ideas & recommendations. Click = I call these reviews. Reviews are others sharing their thoughts and experiences on anything. Verbally, written, or by example. How did reviews begin?
• #8: This is where reviews began. With the need to eat. We watched and learned from others.
• #9: A few millennia later… we were not just eating to survive anymore but eating for pleasure. His friends trusted him.
• #10: Skip forward a few more years… Today we review everything. We add our input into the common knowledge bucket by thumbs up, down, tweets, comments, and even just our viewing habits. If 10 million other people viewed it then it must be worth watching. Herd mentality. We trust the herd to keep us safe.
• #11: Because of our herd mentality and our innate learning model to observe, evaluate, and experiment. This latest and newest review and learn process slipped in virtually unnoticed.
• #12: Ebay was the first online shopping experience for most of us. Back when ebay started most of the world didn’t even feel comfortable with entering their credit card online. We had trust issues. Not just with credit cards but other users. How could I purchase something from someone I don’t know and without seeing that something first? Ebay’s solution was user ratings.
• #13: Pest Control Guy likes spidey jokes. Spiderman… pest control. … Bad experiences are also learning experiences. If you aren’t going to learn from your mistakes then why make them?
• #14: But it goes beyond just the negative side of this. We learned to trust users with high ratings. We trust them so much in fact, that we would pay them more money then a guy with no ratings.
• #15: You earn a user’s trust and you get MORE money.
• #16: This does not just apply to selling things on ebay. Human nature does not change. If you are selling to humans then you must earn their trust. If you earn their trust then you too can sell more and sell for higher. Getting individuals to review your service or product will earn the trust of the masses.
• #18: Do basic human needs get reviews? Can you get people to review you? Why would humans review basic needs? Who would ever take a picture of their food and share it with others?
• #19: Yes. In fact I will show you a few other needs that have just begun getting online reviews.
• #20: Per Google trends in 2005 searches for dentist reviews hit critical mass. There were enough searches at that time to show up on their trend scale. What do you notice about these searches? How do they compare to local dentist searches?
• #21: Lawyers, can’t live with them, can’t live without them. I am sure a few of know a lawyer joke or two, perhaps I should have
• #23: Are you saying the concept of reviewing businesses is new? IS IT THE NEXT GAME CHANGER? No and Yes. Word of mouth has always existed. But it now has a new form as digital word of mouth. Permeant digital ink. Today’s digital word of mouth not only has the potential to gain greater audience, but its reach spans more time.
• #24: Are you saying the concept of reviewing businesses is new? IS IT THE NEXT GAME CHANGER? No and Yes. Word of mouth has always existed. But it now has a new form as digital word of mouth. Permeant digital ink. Today’s digital word of mouth not only has the potential to gain greater audience, but its reach spans more time.
• #28: This could happen in any industry. And it doesn’t have to be turning to Yelp. …DentistRatings.com.. Maybe. ApartmentRatings.com has cornered it’s market. Be aware of other review sites.
• #29: Advertising isn’t working anymore. Why? Advertising is losing to reviews.
• #30: This is a huge opportunity for small local businesses!!! Does this mean that McDonalds should ignore their reviews?
• #33: Okay I get it, most of your sales come from referrals… So what do they see when they search for you?
• #38: Sorry Steve Floyd
• #41: What color do you see? Anyone color blind? Anyone see a different color? Free tshirt? My goal is that by the end of my presentation I will have given you a new perspective.