I’ve written previously about the importance of getting positive feedback from your customers to use on your websites. The more fresh content you can post, the more likely it is you’ll rank higher in the search engines, and the better your online reputation will be.

But I’ve found that some companies are afraid to talk to their customers. Once these companies start to get a bad reputation online -- that is, negative reviews and complaints -- they just assume everyone hates them, including their customers.

They’re afraid of hearing more bad news, so they don’t even bother asking for feedback from customers who may well be satisfied with everything the company does. That’s a shame.

After all, if you’re afraid of what your customers will say, why are you in business?

Just because a few people complain -- or just because someone with a chip on his shoulder posts a rant about your company -- it doesn’t mean everyone feels the same way. In fact, the critics tend to be in the minority, and generally only people with a  complaint will take the effort to post something about you. Your satisfied customers have no reason to post a review.

Don’t let a few bad reviews keep you from asking for feedback. Make it a habit to keep in touch with your customers and ask them for comments. In the first place, this is how you keep improving your products and services. In the second place, this is an excellent way to elicit positive reviews that you can use in your marketing.

You can use the positive comments as content in the websites that you’re trying to rank high in the search engines, assuming you get permission from the customers who wrote them.

You can even create a website dedicated to positive testimonials from your happy customers. Imagine the impact that will have on anyone doing a search on you when that pops up on the first page of the results. That’s a great way to boost your online reputation -- and it will encourage you to ask even more customers for their feedback.