Kudzu is Shutting Down

Online reviews are important to potential customers and search engines. Reviews can be found in many places such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook, Sometimes, smaller local business directories shut down. That’s the case with Kudzu, which is scheduled to close its digital doors in the coming days.

On their Facebook page, Kudzu writes “After careful consideration, Cox Media Group has decided to shut down the Kudzu.com directory as of November 30, 2018. We will continue to deliver all other digital marketing products that we currently provide our small business customers. We want to thank our fans and friends of the site for your 13 years of support”. A couple Facebook commenters below are concerned about keeping their reviews.

Business Reviews Disappearing

We often stress the need for business owners to attract positive reviews for their company. This isn’t a one-time event; instead, it’s an ongoing process with no end. Reviews are a ranking signal which helps your business rank higher in Local search results. Positive reviews also build trust for potential customers or clients. What should a business do if they have reviews on Kudzu?

If the reviews tend to be negative, the business should do nothing. After all, it’s beneficial to them that the negative results will disappear. They might as well start from scratch in attracting reviews on another review platform. This is also an opportunity for them to improve their products or services which will allow them to get more positive results. But what about the positive reviews? Surely, the business will want to keep those!

Keeping Positive Reviews

Let’s take a look at an example of a positive review a business will want to keep. The company is Elizondo’s Tree Service and they’ve been given a 5 Star review. The reviewer writes, “David’s hard-working crew did a wonderful job for me. They removed a large oak tree, removed the stump, and put down sod all in a two day period. David completed work as promised and even did extra work that I was not expecting. David also removed a tree, a bush, and trimmed trees for several neighbors. They have also given positive comments to me. I would recommend David Elizondo’s tree service as a great value”.

The first thing the business owner should do is visit their testimonial page. There, they should copy and save each review in a document. Saving the reviews will allow the business owner to keep the reviews before they disappear. Feedback from customers is vital for a business to know because it tells the business what it’s doing right and wrong.

The second thing the business owner should do is reach out to those who left positive reviews. Kudzu allows businesses to interact with reviewers. A business owner can request the reviewer to write the same positive review on another platform such as Facebook, Yelp, or Google reviews.

Once in the Business Center area of Kudzu’s website, navigate to the Managing Reviews section. Click “edit” next to “Manage My Reviews”. Business owners should keep in mind that comments must be under 3,000 characters; furthermore, these comments to reviewers are public.

Final Thoughts on Local Reviews

Kudzu shutting down is a perfect example of why a business should not put all their eggs in one basket. Business should attempt to attract reviews on multiple local business directory review websites. Manta, Angie’s List, HomeAdvisor, Judy’s Book, and PlanetRate are all excellent local review websites.

Remember this: In addition to attracting reviews on multiple platforms, business owners should register their website and company on any legitimate local business website they find. This expands their digital footprint and spreads their NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number). Search engines use NAP as a ranking signal when they determine if you’re a legitimate business, or not. Having this type of verified information also improves the authority of the business in the eyes of search engines, which can help the business rank higher in Local search results.

Featured photo by Tim Mossholder on Pexels

Facebook comments and Kudzu review photos are screenshots by Gain Local